SPAIN: ‘Rich Must Share Cost of Crisis’

As global working-class outrage against corporate capitalism explodes in organised protests around the world, scores of citizens in Spain are demanding an end to tax breaks for the wealthy.

Bill Gates to Support “Robin Hood” Tax

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates appears poised to endorse the adoption of a controversial financial transactions tax (FTT) to be used as a new source of development aid for poor countries.

China, India Score With Untied Aid

Armed with a smile, Don Marut exposes the pitfalls of Western aid to developing countries. At a conference here, the Indonesian recalled the story of how 40 electric-train carriages were sent from Germany to his country for a journey to nowhere.

SOUTH AFRICA: Mutually Beneficial Trade With India a Key Objective

South African companies are being urged to use the leverage of its government’s strong political relationship with India to develop new business and investment opportunities.

Politics Could Dominate G8 Summit of World Leaders

When leaders of the Group of 8 (G8) industrialised nations meet in Deauville, France later this week, there is a strong possibility that politics will take precedence over traditional socioeconomic issues like food security and development aid, which are being overshadowed by the Arab revolution and Palestinian statehood.

NGOs Call for IMF Head to Be Chosen by Double Majority

More than 100 civil society groups called Monday for the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to be approved by a majority of its 187 member countries, as well as a majority of the voting shares that are heavily weighted in favour of the world's wealthiest countries.

G20: Hungry for Opportunities

Food shortages may be causing hunger in the developing world, but the large Latin American agricultural countries that belong to the Group of 20 (G20) see the situation as an opportunity to exploit.

Financiers Lock Horns over Macro Policies While Millions Go Hungry

As weeks of what the International Monetary Fund's managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn called "painful" negotiations over a host of macroeconomic policies drew to a close here Saturday, confusion over coherent strategies for sustainable economic recovery hangs thick in the air.

G24 Says Rich Nations’ Policies Hurting Developing World

Finance ministers of the G24 group of developing and emerging countries met on the sidelines the World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings here on Thursday, warning against continued risks to their economies, despite largely "strong" growth as the world climbs out of the global financial crisis.

U.N. to Host Slew of Talkfests Through 2011

Living up to its reputation - or notoriety - as one of the world's quintessential talking shops, the United Nations has scheduled a slew of high-level meetings and international conferences through December this year.

ECONOMY: South Africa Prepares to Head Into the BRIC fold

South Africa’s inclusion in the BRIC group of powerful emerging economies has sparked intense debate, with some saying it has done itself a disservice by trying to punch above its weight, and others lauding the inclusion as a step towards becoming a more important player on the global stage.

CANADA: Buck-Passing Marks Postmortem of G20 Chaos

Six months after the chaos surrounding security and policing at June's G20 leaders' summit in Toronto, there is little agreement about where the buck should stop.

DEVELOPMENT: Economic Boom Worsened De-industrialisation of LDCs

Least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa did not use the commodity export boom of the mid-2000s to diversify their economies from commodity dependence to manufacturing value-added products. Significantly, the agricultural sector has also not benefited, with the result that LDC reliance on imported food has become even worse.

G-20: Summit Shows Power Shift for Developing Economies

Currency and trade tensions may have grabbed the headlines from the two-day summit of the Group of 20 advanced and developed economies, but the bigger story is how the tables have turned and given developing countries a much stronger voice at the international negotiating table.

Canada’s Parliament Buckles under Weight of Mining Industry

The corporate clout of the mining industry trumped political ideology in Canada when members of all political parties helped to narrowly defeat a bill late last month that would have imposed standards on Canadian mining companies operating in developing countries.

DEVELOPMENT: Currency Friction A Test of G-20 Mettle

South Korea’s leadership faces a serious test when it hosts a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and developing economies this month, amid a currency war that is straining relations among its members.

FINANCE: Ahead of G-20 Summit, Capital Controls Gain New Currency

South Korea’s closing of ranks with Asian countries that have recently embraced capital controls signifies that such measures will be up for discussion at next week’s summit of the world’s 20 major economies in Seoul.

The G20 in Seoul – Summit or Abyss?

On Nov. 11, the Group of 20 (G20), representing the interests of countries who collectively produce over 85 percent of global wealth, will gather in Seoul, South Korea for its fifth summit.

Scrambling for a Solution on IMF Governance Reform

Among the topics expected to be discussed at the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) that started this week and will continue through the weekend is the reform of the IMF’s governance.

G20 Summit Cracks Open Door to Five Non-Members

The G20, a group of powerful political and economic decision- makers criticised for its exclusivity, has invited five non- members to its next summit meeting in South Korea in November.

Economists, Activists Call for Major IMF Overhaul

Thirteen leading international economists and development specialists called here Tuesday for a major reform of the governing body of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the way it does business.