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Canada’s Finance Minister resigned Monday but claimed his decision had nothing to do with an ongoing charity scandal that has engulfed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Amid calls from political opponents for his resignation, Canada’s finance minister did just that on Monday night. But the minister, Bill Morneau, insisted his decision to step down was not related to a conflict-of-interest scandal that has embroiled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government…Mr. Morneau and Mr. Trudeau have been under political fire for not removing themselves from the cabinet discussion when a substantial no-bid contract was awarded to a charity that had connections to...

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named his close ally and deputy Chrystia Freeland as finance minister. She replaces Bill Morneau who resigned amid friction with Trudeau over government spending amid pandemic. Freeland, 52, a former journalist and foreign minister, on Tuesday became Canada’s first female finance minister, a day after Bill Morneau resigned. She also keeps her job as deputy prime minister. “It’s about time that we broke that glass ceiling,’’ Freeland said. […] Freeland will now be tasked with reviving an economy crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the budget deficit this fiscal year forecast to hit C$343.2...

Berlin: The state finance minister of Germany's Hesse region, which includes Frankfurt, has been found dead. Authorities said he appears to have killed himself and the state's governor suggested Sunday that he was in despair over the fallout from the coronavirus crisis. The body of Thomas Schaefer, a 54-year-old member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, was found Saturday on railway tracks at Hochheim, near Frankfurt. German minister Thomas Schaefer commits suicide over coronavirus worries, body found on railway tracks File image of Thomas Schäfer (CDU), Minister of Finance of Hesse. AP

A Republican in Congress raised the name of the CIA officer accused of being the Ukraine whistleblower during a congressional hearing about Puerto Rico last month. Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas asked Natalie Jaresko, Ukraine’s former finance minister, who is now executive director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, whether she had any involvement with National Security Council officials in her previous post. He cited an April 2016 meeting at a Le Pain Quotidien restaurant close to the White House between Eric Ciaramella, another White House official, and Ukrainian parliamentarian Olga Bielkova. A Foreign Agents Registration...

Britain could be forced to write cheques to Brussels until 2030 despite leaving the EU, the German finance minister has warned. Wolfgang Schauble delivered his blustering warning as Theresa May flew into Berlin for talks with Angela Merkel and other world leaders. Mr Schauble said post-Brexit Britain would be bound by tax rules restricting it from granting incentives to keep investors in the country. He also insisted there will be no special deal to curb freedom of movement if the UK wants to remain part of the common market. Signalling that the bloc is determined to take a tough line...

ATHENS — Greece’s combative finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, who took a strong stand in demanding that creditors write off some of his country’s debts, abruptly resigned on Monday morning. Mr. Varoufakis had played a central role in rallying votes for a resounding no on a referendum on Sunday that asked Greeks whether they were willing to accept an arrangement with creditors that would require considerable further austerity, such as pension cuts. Mr. Varoufakis had threatened last week to resign in the event of a yes vote, and his decision to step down after he and his allies prevailed in the...

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned from his post Monday after Greek citizens voted to reject further austerity measures the day prior, the Associated Press reported. Varoufakis said he was told shortly after the voters rejected Sunday's referendum regarding demands by international creditors to impose further austerity measures in exchange for a bailout package for its bankrupt economy, that the other eurozone finance ministers and Greece's other creditors would prefer he not attend the ministers' meetings. Varoufakis issued an announcement saying Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had judged that Varoufakis' resignation "might help achieve a deal" and that he was leaving...

As per rumors first reported in the overnight summary article, the Cypriot finance minister has joined the other rats dumping the sinking island: CYPRUS FINANCE MINISTER SARRIS SAYS HE RESIGNSSARRIS SAYS RESIGNS DUE TO ONGOING INVESTIGATION IN CYPRUSSARRIS SAYS CYPRUS PRESIDENT ACCEPTED RESIGNATION Investigation? Did he also funnel cash into London ahead of Confiscation Day? But fear not, all shall be well, the now ex-finmin promises: SARRIS SAYS CAPITAL CONTROLS WILL BE EASED GRADUALLY Surely, if this great news doesn't send the S&P to new all time highs, nothing will.From Sigma Live:His resignation, submitted by the Minister of Finance...

In a not-so-subtle rebuke of President Obama’s tendency to offer unsolicited recommendations on how Europeans should handle their debt crises on Sunday evening, Germany’s finance minister suggested that perhaps His Munificence should focus on his own problems before trying to fix everybody else’s. Wolfgang Schaeuble told public broadcaster ZDF in an interview late Sunday that “people are always very quick at giving others advice.”He says: “Mr. Obama should first of all take care of reducing the American deficit, which is higher than in the eurozone.” An unfortunate and embarrassing truth — the EU’s debt-to-GDP ratio is well over eighty percent,...

Finance Minister Nakagawa submits resignation over strange behavior at G7 press conference Finance Minister Nakagawa resigns over strange behavior at G7 press conference Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa tendered his resignation Tuesday to take responsibility for his abnormal behavior at a news conference following a recent meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors in Rome in which he appeared drunk. Earlier in the day, Nakagawa, who doubles as state minister for financial services that oversees financial institutions, had told a news conference that he would resign after the fiscal 2009 state budget draft and relevant laws...

Israel Cabinet: Olmert To Serve As Acting Finance Minister By Israel News Agency Staff Jerusalem ----April 22...... The following was communicated by the Israel Cabinet Secretariat and the Israel Government Press Office to the Israel News Agency. At the weekly Cabinet meeting today Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that he had received Israel Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson’s statement that the latter was taking a temporary leave of absence as a result of the Israel police investigations in his regard and as per Article 24b of Israel Basic Law. Prime Minister Olmert noted that in keeping with Article 24b of...

BOJ urged to monitor missile test reaction By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer 1 hour, 1 minute ago Japan's finance minister urged the central bank Friday to watch the market reaction to North Korea's recent missile tests, ahead of the Bank of Japan's meeting next week when the bank may raise interest rates for the first time in six years. Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki has repeatedly urged the bank to refrain from an early hike in rates, which have been at zero the last five years, so as not to hurt the nation's economic recovery. The bank's policy board meets...

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Finance Minister Antonio Palocci, the architect of Brazil's economic recovery and market-friendly fiscal policy, resigned Monday after becoming caught up in a political scandal. Palocci sent a resignation letter Monday evening to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Silva accepted the resignation, said presidential spokesman Carlos Villanova. Silva tapped former Planning and Budget Minister Guido Mantega to replace Palocci as head of the Finance Ministry. Mantega now heads Brazil's National Development Bank, and was a top Silva adviser along with Palocci during the 2002 campaign that made Silva Brazil's first elected leftist president. Mantega told...

China put on notice over its currency By Andrew Balls and Scheherazade Daneshkhu in Washington Published: April 17 2005 19:11 | Last updated: April 17 2005 19:11The Group of Seven leading industrialised countries this weekend put China on notice that it must shift to a more flexible currency regime, with finance ministers demanding it take action immediately.  The G7's communique repeated its call for "more flexibility in exchange rates" where it was lacking, to help promote more balanced global growth, and added a demand that "vigorous action is needed to address global imbalances". Officials said there was no discussion of...

PARIS (AP) - The spotlight shines more brightly each day on Nicolas Sarkozy, France's rising political star, who has picked a very public sparring match with President Jacques Chirac. The focus on Sarkozy sharpened further Friday with the resignation of the chairman of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement - a job the ambitious finance minister sees as his stepping stone to the French presidency. As finance minister since April, Sarkozy has challenged Chirac with growing frequency on issues ranging from defense spending to labor market reform - a trend that prompted Chirac to use a television interview Wednesday...

Colin Powell speaks by phone with PA Finance Minister Fayyad on disengagement plan, reform of PA finances (Israel Radio)

Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayad has threatened to resign in a dispute with veteran leader Yasser Arafat over reforms to the security budget, official sources said Sunday. Mr Fayad, a former official in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, told Mr Arafat several days ago that he would resign unless the budget was administered more transparently. Palestinian security forces continue to be largely paid by cash despite efforts by Mr Fayad to ensure that their salaries are administered through banks and with proper accounting procedures. "It is a conflict over how to run and administer the budget of the...

Iraqi police in Baghdad have captured the country's former finance minister, Hikmat Ibrahim al-Azzawi, and handed him over to coalition forces, officials from US Central Command in Qatar said. Mr al-Azzawi, who was also a deputy prime minister, is number 45 the coalition forces' list of the 55 most wanted supporters of Saddam Hussein. He was also eight of diamonds in the notorious deck of cards handed out to US troops hunting Iraqi officials. Major Randi Steffy at Central Command said Mr al-Azzawi is now in the custody of US Marines.

No decision on aid yet, Rice tells Netanyahu Israel’s minister of finance told the US national security advisor: Don’t forget we support you over Iraq. Zeev Klein 10 Mar 03 09:54Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by telephone with US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice last night about the loan guarantees Israel is requesting from the US. Rice called Netanyahu and told him that the US administration had taken no decision as yet on the aid package Israel is requesting. Netanyahu told Rice that “Israel’s economic situation is extremely difficult.” He pointed out that Israel was supporting the US over...

Netanyahu gives TASE a shot in the arm For several days, I’ve been predicting that options expiration day would restore the 305-310 level, and that was before one man grabbed the spotlight - Benjamin Netanyahu. Yaron Friedman 27 Feb 03 18:12The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) indices rose today. The Tel Aviv 100 rose 3.18% to 323.63 points, the Tel Aviv 25 index rose 4.37% to 319.02 points, and 3.8% for the week, and the Teltech rose 0.99% to 170.60. Turnover was NIS 537 million. After months of depression, there was a surge of optimism today on the battered local...