Western Europe

Newsmakers | Turkey
It has been said that ultimately all political careers end in failure, but until June 7, few observers were expecting this maxim to be true, quite yet, of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Scotland still brings in more foreign direct investment than many larger countries. Last year it again headed the list of top UK destinations outside London.

Milestones | Iceland
Nearly seven years after introducing controls on capital movements, Iceland is planning to ease restrictions it put in place when the collapse of its banking system brought the country to the brink of financial meltdown.

Country Report | Portugal
Portugal’s economy is booming. Exports are up and unemployment is down. Insufficient capital investment is the last tough nut to crack, and the government is attacking it with gusto—and significant tax reform.

Management | Tax Policy
In an effort to clamp down on tax avoidance by multinationals, the European Commission has announced plans to revive a proposal to unify the corporate tax base across Europe.

United States | Verizon, one of the largest wireless providers in the United States, announced on May 12 that it will acquire AOL, a leading Internet pioneer and Web content provider, for $4.4 billion.

Trends | FX Commodities Q&A
Petr Grishin, head of macro research and chief economist for Eastern Europe at VTB Capital, discussed the ruble, oil prices and Russian trade with Global Finance.

United Kingdom | Many questions are still being asked about David Cameron’s dramatic win on May 7. How did opinion polls, which predicted a tight race between  Conservatives and Labour and even a Labour win, get it so wrong?

Country Report | Spain
The era of absolute majorities in Spanish politics is over.

Country Report | Spain
Spain’s economic resurgence has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. But how sustainable is it, given structural inefficiencies, stubbornly high unemployment and the threat of external shocks?

Milestones | United Kingdom
As Britons prepare for elections on May 7, the only certainty appears to be uncertainty, which looks set to continue until polling day—and maybe for some time after.

Milestones | France
The French government temporarily increased its stake in French carmaker Renault to nearly 20% ahead of the company’s annual general meeting in April.

Capital Markets | Equity Capital Raising
Eureeca, the first global equity crowdfunding company, with offices in London and Dubai, received regulatory approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to operate in Britain.

Banking | Europe
In its first round of QE, the ECB said that the bonds of only seven European financial institutions were eligible—until further revision, which won’t happen until at least April 15.

Newsmakers | United Kingdom
The appointment of Bill Winters to replace Peter Sands as CEO of Standard Chartered has been universally welcomed, as the troubled bank saw profits fall by 30% last year compared with 2013 levels.

Milestones | Cyprus
The enormous economic challenges faced by Greece have overshadowed a different kind of drama elsewhere in the Mediterranean.

Newsmakers | Switzerland
Swiss giant Credit Suisse stepped out of the industry’s traditional talent pool in March when it hired Tidjane Thiam as chief executive.

with Jan Rasmussen, Nordea Markets

Banking | United Kingdom
In its 2014 annual report published in February, RBS announced that CIB, which includes global transaction services, will reduce its geographical footprint from 38 to 13 countries.

Banking | Portugal/Angola
A tug of war is developing over Portugal’s fourth-largest lender, Banco BPI, between its two largest shareholders.