After a 15 year hiatus, the world’s second largest fast food chain has returned to France. Burger King Worldwide opened a new restaurant for the first time since 1997, at the Marseille airport last Saturday, with an agreement with Autogrill, which operates restaurants in service stations on highways.
Burger King is hopeful that this time around will prove more profitable than its last incarnation in the country better known for its high-minded cuisine than for its love of fast-food. Fifteen years ago Burger King, well-known for its “flame-grilled Whoopers” was forced to close 39 French restaurants because they were losing money.
The restaurant chain is already planning its second opening in a highway service station in Champagne during the first half of 2013.
Optimism prevailed on Wednesday on the world markets as news of an agreement to avoid the US ‘fiscal cliff’ reached investors. Political leaders in the US need to reach an agreement before January 1st, when across-the-board budget cuts and tax increases will go into effect automatically. Economists and other analysts fear that these automatic measures, which are in place to cut the US budget deficit, will send the US economy back into recession.
After lack of progress for weeks between Democratic and Republican lawmakers, several key players in the “fiscal cliff” negotiations have made moves towards a compromise, relieving the fear investors have had that a US recession was imminent, and sending global markets on a rally.
The FTSE 100 in Britain rose by 0.3 percent to 5,954.05. The DAX in Germany increased by 0.2 percent to 7,665.20. In France the CAC-40 rose by 0.3 percent to 3,659.05. Wall Street in New York will be well-placed to open higher, while Dow Jones industrial futures went up by 0.1 percent and S&P 500 futures rose slightly to 1,441.70.
The two sides of the deficit issue took to the Sunday morning talk shows airing their views on how to approach the looming fiscal cliff. The deadly combination of tax hikes and spending cuts will be automatically triggered at the end of the year if no compromise deal is reached between the sides.
Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, and Obama’s chief negotiator, urged Republicans to give specific ideas on ways to cut the deficit during his interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” television broadcast. He even predicted that the Republicans will agree to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans in order to reach a deal by the end of the year and avoid and economic catastrophe.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday” Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner begged to differ and reiterated his position against tax hikes, leaving the debate at an impasse.
"Here's the problem," Boehner told "Fox News Sunday" as both sides took their battle to TV talks shows. "When you go and increase rates, you make it more difficult for our economy to grow," he said.
Boehner added that if Republicans in the end did give in to Obama’s demand for $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue, “He’s going to spend it,” and not lower the deficit with the funds.
The Obama camp believes that they have the upper hand on the issue, giving Geithner the confidence to reiterate his stand that, "There's not going to be an agreement without rates heading up."
Polls show that most Americans support tax increases on the rich, and a few dissenters in what was in the past a solid wall of Republican opposition to such a move has convinced the Obama side that they will prevail on this issue.
Chairman Mary Schapiro and Elisse Walter of the SEC
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro will be leaving her post in December after spending a stormy four years re-making the agency’s ravaged reputation. She will be handing over leadership, at least temporarily, to a close one of her allies, Elisse Walter.
Walter is presently the SEC Commissioner who has supported Schapiro on almost all of the most critical issues she and the SEC have dealt with over the past several years. She has already been named as the chairman-designate and will take over when Schapiro leaves in December. This move will buy time for President Obama to pick a permanent replacement and then win the approval of the Senate.
The White house announced that a candidate for the chairmanship will be nominated soon. Walter is likely to be considered, along with Treasury official Mary Miller. Miller is a veteran of thirty years at T. Rowe Price and has not been shy regarding her views on the necessity of making money markets safer for investors.
“Elisse has been viewed as being in tune with Mary Schapiro’s agenda,” said Barry Barbash, a former director of the SEC’s division of investment management, now an asset management lawyer at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Washington. “If the idea is to keep the SEC running the way it’s been running with the same policies, Elisse would seem an appropriate choice.”
