Question: Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma attempted came from which of the two countries that made up The Powers' alliance in 1879?
Context: Covered interest arbitrage is an arbitrage trading strategy whereby an investor capitalizes on the interest rate differential between two countries by using a forward contract to "cover" (eliminate exposure to) exchange rate risk.  Using forward contracts enables arbitrageurs such as individual investors or banks to make use of the forward premium (or discount) to earn a riskless profit from discrepancies between two countries' interest rates.  The opportunity to earn riskless profits arises from the reality that the interest rate parity condition does not constantly hold.  When spot and forward exchange rate markets are not in a state of equilibrium, investors will no longer be indifferent among the available interest rates in two countries and will invest in whichever currency offers a higher rate of return.  Economists have discovered various factors which affect the occurrence of deviations from covered interest rate parity and the fleeting nature of covered interest arbitrage opportunities, such as differing characteristics of assets, varying frequencies of time series data, and the transaction costs associated with arbitrage trading strategies. Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma (Spanish: "Don Sixto Enrique de Borbón-Parma y Borbón-Busset" ; Italian: "Sisto Enrico di Borbone Parma" ; born 22 July 1940) is considered Regent of Spain by some Carlists who accord him the titles Duke of Aranjuez, Infante of Spain, and Standard-bearer of Tradition. Xavier, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, in France known before 1974 as Prince Xavier de Bourbon-Parme, in Spain known as Francisco Javier de Borbón-Parma y de Braganza or simply as Don Javier (25 May 1889 – 7 May 1977) was the head of the ducal House of Bourbon-Parma.  He is best known as dynastic leader of Carlism and the Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain, since 1936 as a regent-claimant and since 1952 as a claimant, appearing under the name Javier I.  Since 1974 he was pretender to the defunct throne of Parma.  He is also recognized as involved in the so-called Sixtus Affair of 1916-1917 and the so-called Halifax-Chevalier talks of 1940. Malawi–Mozambique relations refers to the current and historical relationship between the countries of Malawi and Mozambique.  As Malawi shares a large border with Mozambique, much of the substance of their foreign relations pertain to the border separating the two nations.  Both of the sovereign states have amicably agreed that lacustrine borders on Lake Malawi remain the largest priority between the two countries, as the exploitation of natural resources within the waters of Lake Malawi remain an issue the two countries continue to resolve.  The moment considered an act of generosity and sympathy within the two countries relations is when, during the Mozambique Civil War, Malawi housed over one million Mozambican refugees between 1985 and 1995.  After this gesture, Malawian relations with Mozambique crumbled under the tenure of Bingu wa Mutharika, notoriously reaching a nadir when Malawian police launched a raid into Mozambique's territory. The Central Powers (German: "Mittelmächte" ; Hungarian: "Központi hatalmak" ; Turkish: "İttifak Devletleri" or "Bağlaşma Devletleri" ; Bulgarian: Централни сили "Tsentralni sili" ), consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary , the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria – hence also known as the Quadruple Alliance (German: "Vierbund" ) – was one of the two main factions during World War I (1914–18).  It faced and was defeated by the Allied Powers that had formed around the Triple Entente.  The Powers' origin was the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1879.  The Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria did not join until after World War I had begun, although the Ottoman Empire retained close relations with both Germany and Austria-Hungary since the beginning of the 20th century. The Sixtus Affair was a failed attempt by Emperor Charles I of Austria to conclude a separate peace with the allies in World War I.  The affair was named after his brother-in-law and intermediary, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma. France–United Kingdom relations are the relations between the governments of the French Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK).  The historical ties between the two countries are long and complex, including conquest, wars, and alliances at various points in history.  The Roman era saw both areas, except Scotland and Northern Ireland, conquered by Rome, whose fortifications exist in both countries to this day, and whose writing system introduced a common alphabet to both areas; however, the language barrier remained.  The Norman conquest of England in 1066 decisively shaped English history, as well as the English language.  In the medieval period, the countries were often bitter enemies, with both nations' monarchs claiming control over France.  The Hundred Years' War stretched from 1337 to 1453 resulting in French victory.  Britain and France fought a series of five major wars , culminating in the Coalition victory over Napoleon in 1815.  After that there were some tensions, but peace generally prevailed and as the 19th century progressed, the relationship became better.  Closer ties between the two began with the 1904 Entente cordiale, particularly via the alliances in World War I and World War II, wherein both countries fought against Germany, and in the latter conflict British armies helped to liberate occupied France from the Nazis.  Both nations opposed the Soviet Union during the Cold War and were founding members of NATO.  In recent years the two countries have experienced a quite close relationship, especially on defence and foreign policy issues; the two countries tend, however, to disagree on a range of other matters, most notably the European Union.  The British press relishes the chance to refer to France and Britain as "historic rivals" or emphasize the perceived ever-lasting competition that still opposes the two countries. The Brazil–United States Treaty was a military assistance agreement signed in 1952 in Rio de Janeiro between the two countries, with the goal of defending the Western Hemisphere.  Military relations between the United States and Brazil date back to World War II, when Brazil supported the Allied effort in the invasion of Italy in 1942.  Brazil provided troops for the invasion.  On January 3, 1952, The Brazilian government issued decree 30363 establishing new government regulations.  These new regulations allowed for the return of foreign capital that was invested in Brazil and profit remittances on that capital.  Shortly after, representatives from the United States and representatives from Brazil started to negotiate a bilateral military assistance agreement in Rio de Janeiro on January 3, 1952.  The document outlining the agreement between the two countries would be signed on March 15, 1952.  The agreement went into effect on May 19, 1952.  During the time of the negotiations, Major General Charles L. Mullins, Jr. negotiated a separate military plan with the Brazilian Government.  The plan was approved on March 14, 1952 by the Secretary of Defense Lovett.  In a private ceremony on March 15, 1952 United States Major General Mullins and Brazilian General Monteiro signed the military plan that outlined a common defense between the two nations.  The agreement allowed major weapons and training by the United States military to the Brazilian military.  This tenuous alliance governed the two nations bilateral ties during the events of the Cold War.  However, the alliance was short lived, and suffered several major blows between the two nations during the military coup in Brazil in 1964.  During this time the United States still provided military support and training to the side that supported the United States. The German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact (German: "Deutsch-polnischer Nichtangriffspakt" ; Polish: "Polsko-niemiecki pakt o nieagresji" ) was an international treaty between Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic, signed on January 26, 1934.  Both countries pledged to resolve their problems by bilateral negotiations and to forgo armed conflict for a period of ten years.  It effectively normalized relations between Poland and Germany, which were previously strained by border disputes arising from the territorial settlement in the Treaty of Versailles.  Germany effectively recognized Poland's borders and moved to end an economically damaging customs war between the two countries that had taken place over the previous decade.  Before 1933 Poland had worried that some sort of alliance would take place between Germany and the Soviet Union, to the detriment of Poland.  Therefore, Poland had a military alliance with France.  The Nazis and the Communists were bitter enemies of each other, so when Hitler came to power in 1933 the likelihood of hostile alliance seemed remote. Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma (1 August 1886 – 14 March 1934) was a son of Robert I, the last reigning Duke of Parma.  He was a prince of the Parmesan branch of the royal House of Bourbon; a Belgian officer in World War I; and the central figure in the Sixtus Affair, an attempt to negotiate a treaty to end Austria-Hungary's participation in the Great War separate from its Central Powers allies.  He also wrote a number of books.
Answer: Austria-Hungary