Eye on the IFIs

ECONOMY: U.N. Summit Seeks Collective Response to Crisis

By Thalif Deen
The president of the 192-member U.N. General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, dismisses the G20 bloc of economically advanced countries as unrepresentative of the international community.

AFRICA: G20 Summit’s Trade-Related Commitments Disappoint

By IPS Correspondents
The Group of 20’s pledges of trade finance and aid for trade are too vague, according to the editors of the e-book ‘‘Rebuilding Global Trade’’, published last week. And the London summit of this group of developed and developing economies last week failed to make a strong commitment to the multilateral trade regime.

G20: Where Is the Money, and Who Is the Moneylender

By Sanjay Suri
It seemed like a lot of money at the time. The leaders of the group of eight richest countries, the G8, met in Gleneagles in Scotland and announced 50 billion dollars in new aid, half of that for Africa and half for the rest of the world.

G20: Give or Take a Trillion or Two

By Sanjay Suri
The ease with which leaders spoke of trillions of dollars at the G20 summit in London Thursday was no doubt intended to signal to the world just how serious leaders are about getting the economy right again. That these fabulous figures may never add up is another matter.
Economist John Nash Credit: Patricia da Cámara, Courtesy of the World Bank

CLIMATE CHANGE: Going Beyond the Carbon Market

By Dario Montero
With an incisive report in hand about what awaits Latin America and the Caribbean in the future if action is not taken to fight climate change, economist John Nash defends the role of the World Bank and underscores the need to expand the so-called "clean development mechanism".

DEVELOPMENT: More Urgent Measures Needed from IDB

By Mario Osava
The financial, environmental and social crises shaking the world today face the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) with demands and expectations it cannot meet, because of the limitations seen at its 50th annual meeting, which ended Tuesday in this Colombian city.

ECONOMY: Zoellick Seeks New Trade Fund Amid Grim Outlook

By Jim Lobe
For the first time since the Great Depression, global economic production will decline in 2009, according to the latest estimates by the World Bank, which also predicted a tough and uncertain 2010.

LATIN AMERICA: IDB Capital Boost – Drop of Water in Sea of Crisis

By Mario Osava
The United States’ cautious backing has cleared up doubts about a new increase in the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) capital, which has been called for by the multilateral lending institution’s governors as well as by the countries of Latin America.

ECONOMY: High Stakes, Modest Outlook for G20

By Abid Aslam
Talks on the global economic crisis, to be held Thursday, could prove a timely reminder of the perils of hype.
Progressive Leaders Summit Credit: José Manuel de la Maza/Chilean government

POLITICS: "People Come First" Say Progressive Leaders

By Daniela Estrada
Countries must put people first if they are to prevent the economic recession from becoming a social recession, concluded the two-day gathering of self-styled progressive world leaders that ended Saturday in this Chilean resort city.

DEVELOPMENT: IDB Falls Short of Its Name, Say Activists

By Mario Osava
The 50th annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has drawn harsh criticism from a parallel civil society counter-assembly in this Colombian city.

LATIN AMERICA: Half Century of Failed Development Policies – NGOs

By Humberto Márquez
As it gets ready to commemorate its 50th anniversary at an assembly in Medellín, Colombia, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has come under heightened criticism from civil society groups which argue that its financing often goes against sustainable development and effective measures to overcome poverty.

ECONOMY-CHINA: Chance to Reform IMF in EU-US Split?

By IPS Correspondents
Differences between the United States and Europe over how to restore global economic growth have given rise to speculations here on whether a failure to agree on a grand strategy at the upcoming G20 summit might create room for China to assert its national agenda.

DEVELOPMENT: World’s Poor Offer Lessons in Bank Study

By IPS Correspondents
To be successful, poverty-reducing programmes must be informed by the lives and experiences of the millions of poor people around the world and emphasise economic opportunity, says a study released Wednesday by the World Bank.

ECONOMY-SRI LANKA: Return of the IMF

By Feizal Samath
Sri Lanka is going on bended knee to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - an institution it chased away two years ago - for a bailout package worth 1.9 billion US dollars, as authorities scrape the barrel for foreign exchange.

ECONOMY: Poor Countries to Need Up to 700 Billion Dollars

By Jim Lobe
In the latest in a series of increasingly dire predictions, the World Bank Sunday warned that developing countries may need up to 700 billion dollars in external financing this year due to the squeeze in global credit markets which has seen a dramatic plunge in private investment.

ECONOMY: Trickle Down Misery

By Abid Aslam
The world's poorest people had nothing to do with the financial gimmickry that has brought the global economy to its knees but they are paying a heavy price for it and relief seems a long way off.

WORLD-ECONOMY: Not The End of Neoliberalism Yet

By IPS Correspondents
The economist and author Prof Patrick Bond warns that the optimism about the dawn of a post-neoliberal era is premature and that ‘‘a more dangerous and painful’’ period may be ahead before any real change to the current global economic regime will be possible.

HEALTH: Privatised Care More Placebo than Panacea

By IPS Correspondents
Rich countries and the World Bank should stop pushing privatised health care in poor countries, Oxfam International said Wednesday.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Resolution and a Plan of Action

By Alejandro Kirk
The World Social Forum ended its ninth edition Sunday in Belém with its "Assembly of assemblies" adopting dozens of resolutions and proposals to be the subjects of a programme of mobilisations around the world in 2009.

ECONOMY: IMF Predicts 2009 Growth Lowest Since World War II

By Jim Lobe
Growth in the world economy will fall to its lowest annual rate since World War II in 2009, according to the latest estimates by the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) which released the latest edition of its 'World Economic Outlook' (WEO) here Wednesday.
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