Author Archives: Georges Ugeux

Why I Am Not Afraid of President Francois Hollande

Georges UgeuxFor the record, I am not French but Belgo-American. My mother tongue and my culture are French. I live in New York since 1996 and became an American citizen as soon as it was possible to do so without losing my Belgian nationality. My viewpoint is therefore non-partisan and tries to look at what lies ahead for President Francois Hollande. He will be a meaningful president and gets this important responsibility at a time when France, and for that matter, Europe is facing huge challenges, particularly in the economic and financial fields. Francois Hollande is more experienced that one gives him credit for. While never having held a ministerial post, he was the leader of the Socialist Party including when it was at Government, or when Francois Mitterrand was president of France. He has held important political responsibilities and displayed during this campaign moderation and statesmanship.
Posted on May 7, 2012 By Georges Ugeux
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French Presidential Elections: What’s Next?

Georges UgeuxThe results of the primaries of the French presidential elections are not a huge surprise in as much as the two expected candidates will be present in the second round, and that the Socialist candidate, Francois Hollande, is likely to be the next President of the French Republic (the polls predict a 54% majority). However beside this facade, some undercurrents of French society are becoming more apparent.
Posted on April 23, 2012 By Georges Ugeux
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The Euro Crisis Is Serious but Not Lethal

Georges Ugeux is chairman and CEO of Galileo Global Advisors and is former head of the international group of the New York Stock Exchange. He is a member of APCO’s International Advisory Council.This post originally appeared in the Huffington Post.As I was participating in the meetings of the International Monetary Fund in Washington last weekend, [...]
Posted on October 3, 2011 By Georges Ugeux
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How Did European Banks Trap Themselves in a Replay of the 2007 Crisis?

At a conference in New York at the end of 2008, Obama's economic advisor, Larry Summers made a prophetic remark at an event organized by the Economist. He told an audience of Wall Street executives that we should never assume that bankers ever learn from their own mistakes. "We, as regulators, should never assume that the banks would amend themselves. Since 1960, banks have been in crisis every three years in one part of the world or another."
Posted on September 12, 2011 By Georges Ugeux
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Reforming Sovereign Ratings: An Urgent and Complex Undertaking

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Rating agencies are in an inextricable situation when it comes to sovereign ratings. On the heels of their near-collapse of structured products, they must confront the issue of the credibility of sovereign ratings in a holistic way. The question of the legitimacy of sovereign ratings cannot be answered by a yes or a no. There is something structurally questionable in the simple fact that rating agencies -- being private companies and sometimes part of listed groups -- appoint themselves as the ultimate judges of policies of sovereign governments.
Posted on July 19, 2011 By Georges Ugeux
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Is Europe About to Collapse? Not if It Restructures Sovereign Debt

Recent news from the European side of the Atlantic is not good. With €270 ($400) billion in bailout plans for three relatively small European countries (Greece, Ireland and Portugal), more than half the resources of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF), the easy task is done. The rescue of Portugal was announced last week and included severe measures that will put the country in recession for most of the next three years. As a precondition for this action, the IMF and the European Union required an approval by both the majority and the opposition. The Parliament approved it.
Posted on May 10, 2011 By Georges Ugeux
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