Latest news with #politicalclimate
Reuters
21 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
German consumers' pessimism rises amid economic, political concerns, survey shows
BERLIN, June 10 (Reuters) - The economic and political sentiment among consumers in Germany is increasingly worsening, a European survey by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) showed on Tuesday. The study shows that 62% of Germans view the economic situation negatively, marking an increase of 10 percentage points from the previous year. Similarly, two-thirds express dissatisfaction with the political climate. The survey, conducted in April among 16,000 consumers across nine European countries, shows that in France and Britain, negative assessments of the economic situation are even more critical, at 70%. In Germany, almost a third of consumers are worried about their personal financial situation, compared with only 25% last year. Despite declining inflation rates, 70% of respondents are afraid of further price increases, the survey showed. The perception of geopolitical risks, however, is significantly lower. Although the survey coincided with the announcement of global tariff increases by the U.S. government in early April, this was a reason for concern for less than a third of the surveyed Europeans. "Consumers focus on visible price increases, underestimating how strongly trade conflicts can influence prices and supply," said Karin von Funck, senior partner and consumer goods expert at BCG.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
George Clooney tries to hide dodgy hair dye as he makes most dramatic political claims yet
A cap-wearing George Clooney dramatically claimed that the current political climate in the US is worse than anti-communist witch-hunts of the 1950s during an interview with CNN 's Anderson Cooper. The left-leaning Hollywood A-lister gave the interview on the set of his Broadway play 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' based on Clooney's 2005 film about journalist Edward R. Murrow's battles with Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy infamously alleged that communist spies had infiltrated America, targeting everyone from journalists to the movie industry, and earned a forceful rebuke from Murrow. 'What's fun about the play is although McCarthyism was bad, it wasn't anywhere near as pervasive as it is right now,' Clooney told Cooper, citing the President Donald Trump 's wave of executive orders and pushback against legacy media. Clooney, who dyed his famous salt and pepper locks dark brown to portray Murrow in the production, remarked on 'the kind of fear that you see kind of stretching through law firms and universities.' 'You think it's worse now than McCarthyism?' a stunned Cooper responded, pointing to McCarthy's persecution of left-leaning Americans during the 'Second Red Scare.' 'I do think it is worse now,' Clooney replied, while offering 'one caveat.' Scroll down for video: 'When I was a kid, we did duck and cover drills. So, overriding all of this was the threat of nuclear annihilation,' the 64-year-old actor said. 'Very big deal. I mean, we were pretty sure we were going to all die of a nuclear bomb somewhere along the way. 'So, that always kind of rode on top of the McCarthyism of it all,' Clooney continued. 'What's fun about doing the play, is it reminds people that, you know, that we have been through difficult times, challenging times. And that we survive it as a country. 'And we do find our better angels along the way. It takes a minute... We always do.' In a separate portion of the segment, Clooney offered an anecdote about his father - 91-year-old former Cincinnati anchorman and ex-ABC gameshow host Nick Clooney - before revealing he too fears being targeted by the Trump administration. 'When I was a kid, my dad would stand up on a chair like this, and he would do the speech that I start and close the show with. 'The "box of lights and wires" speech,' Clooney said, referencing to the seminal speech Murrow gave to the Radio Television Digital News Association in 1958. The play begins and ends with the black-tie media event where Murrow warned commercial radio and television were becoming anti-intellectual and propagandized at the behest of the government. 'He would do the Edward R. Murrow speech?' Cooper laughed. 'He would do the Edward R. Murrow speech,' Clooney said. 'And my father was an anchorman for like 40 years. [My performance] is a big salute to my dad, and the things that he stands for and believes in and fights for. When asked whether he personally fears being targeted by the Trump administration, Clooney coolly said, 'Sure.' 'I mean, everybody worries about it,' he explained. 'But, you know, if you spend your life worrying about things, then you won't do things.' 'I want to be able to look at my kids in the eye and say where we stood and what we did at certain times in history,' Clooney continued to Cooper, referring to his continued criticisms of the conservative, as well as the legal work of his wife, Amal Clooney. In April, It was widely reported that Clooney's wife, Amal, a Lebanese-born international human rights lawyer with UK citizenship could be barred from re-entering the US after recommending an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu in a war crimes case brought against him earlier this year. The two mainly live in Paris but have homes in London and Lake Como, Italy, and have briefly relocated to New York for the debut of 'Good Night, and Good Luck.' 'I have no problem with that,' Clooney said of ending up in the administration's crosshairs. 'And my wife certainly doesn't. And my wife's the bravest person you've ever met. 'My wife spent two years in a bunker in Beirut trying Hezbollah for killing Hariri. She's the only person to put ISIS on trial. She's the bravest person I've ever met in my life. 'And so, you know, we have other issues, besides just worrying about an American administration that might want to be unkind and say bad things about us. It's a frustrating and scary time.'
CBC
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Some Canadian musicians halt U.S. tours over border fears, political climate
Some Canadian musicians are cancelling U.S. tour dates due to safety concerns stemming from the tense political climate, fears about crossing the border, and ongoing annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Al Jazeera
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Jazeera
‘Fight back': Pedro Pascal urges Cannes to resist US political pressure
Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal has called on members of the film industry to 'fight back' and keep expressing themselves amid what he appeared to describe as a political climate of fear in the United States. 'F*** the people that try to make you scared. And fight back. This is the perfect way to do so in telling stories. Don't let them win,' said 50-year-old Pascal, who was at the Cannes film festival for the premiere of 'Eddington'. 'Fear is the way that they win, for one. And so keep telling the stories and keep expressing yourself and keep fighting to be who you are,' he said. 'Eddington' stars Pascal as a small-town mayor campaigning against a down-on-his-luck sheriff played by Joaquin Phoenix in a New Mexico town where tensions are simmering over COVID-19 mask policies and the Black Lives Matter protests. Pascal, known for his role in dystopian video-game adaptation 'The Last of Us', added that it was 'far too intimidating' for him to address a question about US President Donald Trump's immigration policy. 'It's very scary for an actor participating in a movie to sort of speak to issues like this,' he said. 'I'm an immigrant. My parents are refugees from Chile. We fled a dictatorship, and I was privileged enough to grow up in the US after asylum in Denmark … I stand by those protections,' the 50-year-old told a news conference in Cannes. Trump has launched a crackdown on irregular immigration and has also detained and moved to deport a number of legal permanent US residents, his policies triggering a rash of lawsuits and protests. Trump has made himself one of the main talking points in Cannes this week after announcing on May 5 that he wanted 100 percent tariffs on movies 'produced in foreign lands'. Acting legend Robert de Niro, who accepted a Cannes lifetime achievement award on Tuesday, also urged an audience of A-list directors and actors to resist 'America's philistine president'.
