News

March 11, 2010
U.S. Nears a Crossroads on Trade
After a year in which global exports declined 12 percent in the biggest contraction since World War II, trade policy is heating up again.

March 10, 2010
China Plans New Trade Office as Global Disputes Grow: Sources
China is setting up a new agency to help streamline its trade negotiating bureaucracy as the world's third-largest economy faces a growing number of commercial disputes.

March 9, 2010
Brazil Slaps Trade Sanctions On US Over Cotton Dispute
The Brazilian government has announced trade sanctions against a variety of American goods in retaliation for illegal US subsidies to cotton farmers.

March 8, 2010
Sarkozy Makes Nuclear Energy Plea
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France on Monday called for an international effort to finance civil atomic energy in developing countries, with an appeal to the World Bank to reverse a 50-year abstention from funding the construction of nuclear reactors.

March 7, 2010
China’s Bank Chief Says Currency Is Unlikely to Rise
China’s central bank governor indicated Saturday that the government was unlikely to detach the value of China’s currency from that of the dollar anytime soon, echoing Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s statement on Friday that exchange rates would remain “basically stable” for now.

March 6, 2010
Three Frenchmen Play Leads in Greek Drama
Three Frenchmen are among the key actors pulling the strings behind the Greek crisis, but they frequently pull in different directions.

March 5, 2010
ECB Puts Greek Aid Up to EU
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet rejected calls for more IMF involvement in Greece, saying it is up to Europe to look after its own.

March 4, 2010
The IMF's Inflation Illusion
The International Monetary Fund's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, recently published a paper ("Rethinking Macroeconomic Policy") that attempts to distill preliminary lessons from the financial crisis. The paper contains much that is useful and worthy of further consideration—but it also suggests that central banks should aim for higher inflation during normal times, say 4%.

March 3, 2010
We Need A Plan B To Curb The Debt Headwinds
Policymakers have responded to successive economic downturns in essentially the same Keynesian way since the 1950s. Fiscal deficits have been allowed to rise and interest rates to fall to stimulate aggregate demand.

March 1, 2010
IMF Says Chinese Currency Substantially Undervalued
The U.S. dollar is still somewhat overvalued while the Chinese renminbi is substantially undervalued, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday in an assessment of Group of 20 major economies.

February 26. 2010
IMF Must Better Spot Risks, Offer Liquidity, Strauss-Kahn Says
The International Monetary Fund must better detect risks that individual economies pose to the rest of the world and offer liquidity early during a financial crisis, taking over a role played by central banks, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.

February 25, 2010
Chinese Official To Become Adviser To IMF Head
Zhu Min, one of the most prominent financial officials in China, is to become a special adviser to the head of the International Monetary Fund in the latest sign of China's increasing voice in global financial institutions.

February 24, 2010
Merkel: Euro In Difficult Situation For 1st Time
The euro is in a difficult situation for the first time since its launch, but the 16-nation currency will come through, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview published Thursday.

February 24, 2010
World Trade Contracted 12 percent In 2009: WTO's Lamy
Global trade contracted by about 12 percent in 2009 but has started to pick up, the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday.

February 22, 2010
IMF Reconsiders Capital Controls Opposition
The International Monetary Fund has shifted its long-held stance against capital controls as it seeks to help emerging economies protect themselves from future economic crises.

February 19, 2010
IMF Left Holding its Gold as Buyers Fail To Materialise
When India bought 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund late last year, investors assumed other countries would follow, viewing New Delhi's move as a sign that Asia's central banks were diversifying their swelling reserves from US dollar assets into bullion.

February 17, 2010
Morocco May Top BRICs As Rains Help Reverse 2009 Drop
Morocco’s stocks are laggards no more as the strongest rains in three decades help boost agricultural output in the only emerging-market nation where equities fell in 2009.

February 16, 2010
An Alternative Route to Appreciation for China’s Yuan
With China’s economy surging and flirting with a property bubble, most analysts are prescribing the same remedy: a stronger Chinese currency that would help contain inflation.

February 16, 2010
Cracks in the BRICs?
As all else has crumbled, the BRICs have come through the crisis looking relatively solid. Yet clear differences have opened up among the fast-growing emerging-market quartet consisting of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

February 12, 2010
IMF Floats Plan To Raise Targets For Inflation
International Monetary Fund economists are challenging economic orthodoxy today by suggesting that many pre-crisis policy tools should be redesigned and some sacred cows considered for slaughter.

February 11, 2010
Global Bank Tax Deal Near, UK's Brown Says
Leaders from the world's top economies are close to agreeing on a global bank tax and a deal could be reached at a meeting of the Group of 20 nations later this year, according to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

February 10, 2010
From Sarkozy to Soros
Bill Gates: Making the difference between a bleak and a bright future

January 30, 2010
IMF to Launch $100 Billion Green Fund
The International Monetary Fund will launch a $100 billion green fund as part of global efforts to stimulate economic growth, managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Saturday.

February 7, 2010
Arctic Meeting A Turning Point For G-7
A meeting of finance officials from the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries in this tiny Arctic outpost certainly lived up to host Canada's billing as a gathering with a difference.

February 5, 2010
IMF Head Hints At Return To French Politics
Dominique Strauss-Kahn signalled yesterday that he could step down early as managing director of the International Monetary Fund to stage a return to French politics and run against Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency.

February 4, 2010
Currency Dispute Likely to Further Fray U.S.-China Ties
To the growing list of grievances between the United States and China, add one more: the Obama administration is reviving American pressure on China to stop artificially depressing its currency, a policy that fuels its persistent trade gap with the United States.

February 3, 2010
How Best To Boost U.S. Exports
President Obama has smartly suggested that a new export strategy could support 2 million very good American jobs, more than created by his stimulus initiative

February 2, 2010
World Bank May ‘Co-Invest’ With China in Africa
The World Bank may seek to “co- invest” with China in African manufacturing projects, helping poor nations to add value to exports and create jobs, President Robert Zoellick said.

February 1, 2010
Out Of The Bottle
In 1979, when Standard Bank published Pioneer Bank in a Pioneer Land , the title of the corporate history had a distinctly nostalgic feel.

January 31, 2010
Global Co-Operation On Financial Reforms Needed: IMF
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Sunday urged the United States, Britain and other countries to cooperate on new policies and regulations in the wake of the financial crisis.

January 30, 2010
Trade Ministers Gloomy On WTO Prospects
Trade ministers expressed gloom on Saturday about the prospects of concluding stalled global trade liberalization talks this year, with many blaming the United States for foot-dragging.

January 29, 2010
Development: Organisations Wake Up To The Potential Of Young Perspectives
“We need to step away from the cliché that youth should be placed in the kiddy corner while world leaders make decisions on our futures.” This statement, from the website of the Global Humanitarian Forum’s Youth Forum, shows young people are keen to get involved in helping to solve problems – whether at local or global level.

January 29, 2010
G20 Seeks Role in Post-Crisis World
The financial crisis forced leading economies to engage in unprecedented cooperation, but as the immediate threat to common survival eases, policy makers are searching for ways to make working together a permanent feature of global economic governance.

January 28, 2010
EU Governments Scramble to Cut Budgets
A growing number of European governments are rushing to announce spending cuts and medium-term plans to reduce budget deficits as they scramble to avoid the intense scrutiny Greece is enduring in the credit markets.

January 28, 2010
World Bank Wants Tiger Farms Shut
China and other Asian nations should shut privately run tiger farms as they are inhumane and fuel demand for the endangered big cat's bones and skin, the World Bank said Thursday.

January 27, 2010
IMF Warns on Japan's Rising Debt
An International Monetary Fund working paper warned that the market's ability to absorb Japanese public bonds will likely diminish in years ahead as the country's population grows older, in a view that could add to market concern about whether Japan's massive debt is sustainable.

January 22, 2010
Obama's 'Volcker Rule' Shifts Power Away From Geithner
For much of last year, Paul Volcker wandered the country arguing for tougher restraints on big banks while the Obama administration pursued a more moderate regulatory agenda driven by Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner.

January 21, 2010
Europe's Troubled IMF Borrowers
Amid the global financial crisis, several European countries faced serious economic distress and turned to external creditors, including the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, for emergency financing. This multilateral support relieved investors and calmed worries of full-fledged balance of payment crises. Nevertheless, these economies are not out of the woods. Political developments in countries like Iceland, Latvia, Romania and Ukraine could push the IMF loan programs off track, reigniting crisis fears.

January 19, 2010
Zoellick Warns Haiti Donors Of Long Haul
International donors need to start preparing for the long-term challenge of reconstructing Haiti even as they ramp up near-term emergency relief, Bob Zoellick, president of the World Bank, has told the Financial Times.

January 15, 2010
Inflation Threat To China And India
Inflation is emerging as the key economic problem for India and China as growth surges in the wake of the global financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank warned on Friday.

January 14, 2010
Sovereign Defaults Top 2010 Risk Hitlist for WEF
The risk that deteriorating government finances could push economies into full-fledged debt crises tops a list of threats facing the world in 2010, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.

January 13, 2010
Central Banks Diversify but Don't Dump Dollars
Diversification of central bank foreign-exchange reserves is more a change in management style than a rejection of the dollar.

January 12, 2010
EU Debt Crisis Imperils Bulgaria's Euro-Zone Bid
Bulgaria, the newest and poorest member of the European Union, is emerging as a fiscal model for a number of EU countries struggling to fend off debt crises.

January 12, 2010
Beware The Lure Of GDP When Seeking Stocks In Brics
Emerging markets used to be known as the markets you couldn't emerge from in an emergency. They are now mainstream. Consultants are recommending greatly increased allocations to take advantage of the hottest growth story of our times. Mutual fund investors are syphoning money from developed markets and pouring it into EM funds - just as 10 years ago they cashed out of "old economy" stocks to chase the dotcoms.

January 11, 2009
Japan's High Debt Not A Problem Short-Term: IMF
Japan's public debt is very high but is not a serious problem in the short-term as private savings are abundant and investors continue to buy government bonds, a senior International Monetary Fund official told the Nikkei newspaper.

January 8, 2009
Clean Energy Sources: Sun, Wind and Subsidies
In frigid water four miles off England's east coast, a floating crane is installing the last of 48 wind turbines. The 40-story-tall pinwheels are driven by two plentiful resources: ocean breezes and public funds.

January 7, 2010
Domestic Politics Imperil IMF Deals In Europe
From Ukraine to Iceland, domestic politics and popular discontent are threatening International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue deals, unsettling investors who view them as vital for financial recovery.

January 6, 2009
India Seeks World Bank Support For Tiger Conservation Plan
New Delhi is seeking the support of the World Bank in highlighting efforts to keep alive India's national emblem, the near-extinct wild tiger, as China and Russia champion their own conservation efforts.

January 6, 2009
Asia's Recovery Raises Pressure to Curb Stimulus
Asia's emerging economies entered the new year with a strong manufacturing recovery firmly in place, new data show, adding to pressure on regional authorities to consider pulling back some stimulus policies.

January 5, 2009
Iceland Faces Crisis After Icesave Rejection
Iceland's president refused on Tuesday to sign into law a bill to repay more than $5 billion lost by savers in Britain and the Netherlands, forcing the issue to a referendum and stirring fresh turmoil in the crisis-hit country. President Olafur Grimsson's rejection of the unpopular bill put aid from international lenders and his country's aspirations to join the European Union in serious jeopardy, analysts said.

January 4, 2009
U.S., China Locked In Trade Disputes
Trade disputes between Beijing and Washington over exports of tires, chickens, steel, nylon, autos, paper and salt are multiplying and further damaging the already tense relationship between the two economic powers.

December 31, 2009
Dollar Share of Emerging-Market Reserves Drops, Goldman Says
Emerging-market central banks cut the dollar’s share of their foreign reserves for a second straight quarter, supporting the view that the greenback is becoming less attractive, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

December 29, 2009
Self-Doubt Tarnishes Brand America
If a week is a long time in politics, a decade is starting to look like an age in geopolitics. Comparing the America that began the 21st century with the America of today is to witness a country that has in some ways quite radically altered its view of itself and its relationship to the world.

December 27, 2009
China Won't Be Pressured Over Yuan Peg: Wen
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday struck a defiant note about the country's controversial exchange rate policy, saying the government would not give into foreign demands to let the yuan rise.

December 22, 2009
The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence
Call him Hummer Man -- our man of the decade.

December 21, 2009
WTO: China Unfairly Restricting American CDs, DVDs
The World Trade Organization's top arbitrators upheld a ruling that China is illegally restricting imports of U.S. music, films and books, and Washington pushed forward with a new case accusing China of manipulating the prices for key ingredients in steel and aluminum production.

December 18, 2009
Unrest Risks Seen Rising In 2010 As Stimulus Ends
Civil unrest and attacks on minorities did not rise sharply during the economic crisis in 2009 as many predicted, but with unemployment still high and stimulus packages being withdrawn the risk could rise next year.

December 17, 2009
Breaking The Deadlock At Doha
The World Trade Organization's latest confab on the Doha Round didn't produce a deal, and public statements in the wake of the meeting suggested that any agreement may be a long way off. But behind closed doors, there is some cause for optimism—if political leaders among the 153 member countries, especially those in the United States, can summon the political will and courage to move forward.

December 16, 2009
As Microfinance Grows In India, So Do Its Rivals
The practice of making tiny loans to poor people, or microfinance, was supposed to help drive traditional village moneylenders from rural India.

December 15, 2009
End Of ‘Banana Wars’ Brings Hope For Doha
The longest-running trade dispute of the modern era came to a close last night when parties from Europe, Latin America, the US, the Caribbean and Africa initialed a treaty in Geneva to end the so-called “banana wars”.

December 14, 2009
International Regulation
Who should be driving improved and better coordinated global regulation?

December 11, 2009
EU Calls For Global Financial Levy
European Union leaders called for a global financial transaction levy and more responsible banking pay in the hopes it could help buffer against future market crises, according to a joint statement published Friday.

December 10, 2009
Helping Brazil To Help Itself
In an effort to stem the appreciation of its currency, the real, Brazil has twice resorted to capital controls. In response to these measures, IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn says capital controls are "not something that come from hell", but the IMF won't be recommending them any time soon to remedy the current crisis.

December 9, 2009
A New Spirit Of Solidarity Rises In The South
A significant global financial landmark is passing virtually unnoticed - obscured, perhaps, by the ongoing fallout from the economic and financial crisis in industrialised countries.

December 9, 2009
US Rules Out Climate Aid For China
China will receive no significant funding from the US to combat climate change, the US delegation leader at the Copenhagen conference vowed on Wednesday.

December 8, 2009
China Has Much to Lose In Copenhagen
China has lots at stake if Copenhagen climate change talks don’t come up with a comprehensive green energy package, including financing for two potentially huge growth areas–solar power and carbon capture.

December 7, 2009
World Bank Looks To India For Rail Expansion
The World Bank and New Delhi are in talks about financing the international expansion of Indian Railways, one of the largest and most profitable networks in the world, to bring transport infrastructure to African countries and other developing nations.

December 6, 2009
If It Warms Up, Who's Going to Pay?
As the most important environmental conference in more than a decade gets under way in Copenhagen this week, much of the talk, as usual, is on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. But there's another issue that needs to be addressed—one that is crucial for reaching an overall agreement, but doesn't get nearly as much attention. That issue is adaptation.

December 4, 2009
China And World Bank In Talks To Establish Industrial Zones In Africa
The World Bank and Beijing are in discussions about setting up low-cost factories in industrial zones in Africa to help the continent develop a manufacturing base and reverse its declining share of global trade.

December 3, 2009
Poorer Nations Sign Deal On Trade Tariff Cuts
More than 20 emerging economies - including Brazil, Egypt, India and South Korea - yesterday signed a tariff-cutting deal between themselves that served to underscore mounting frustration among poorer nations with the lack of progress in broader global trade talks

December 2, 2009
Rethinking the Chinese Yuan’s Re-Peg to the Dollar
For the last few years, China has monotonously and rather unhelpfully told the outside world that it runs a “managed floating exchange rate regime based on market supply and demand with reference to a basket of currencies.”

December 1, 2009
Retread Required
Protesters dressed as sea turtles; teargas billowing through the streets; the ignominious collapse of efforts to launch a new round of global trade talks. It is 10 years since the World Trade Organisation meeting in Seattle broke up in chaos.

November 30, 2009
China-EU Talks End With Little Progress
Chinese and European Union leaders appeared to bridge few differences over currency, climate and market access in a round of high-level talks that ended Monday in this eastern Chinese city.

November 29, 2009
EU Business Calls On WTO To Speed Up Doha Talks
European businesses, growing frustrated at slow progress in the World Trade Organization's Doha round, called on Sunday for the WTO to tackle the negotiation at next week's conference.

November 29, 2009
ECB Spurns IMF With Early Exit Strategy
If you are a slow mover, you start early. That will be the European Central Bank’s leitmotif as it presses ahead this week with plans to unwind exceptional measures taken to combat the economic crisis.

November 25, 2009
World Bank To Start Agriculture Fund With $1.5 billion
The World Bank will start a trust fund to boost agriculture in poor countries with an initial $1.5 billion, its president Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday, warning of the risk of another food price crisis.

November 24, 2009
A To-Do List For China’s Statisticians
For skeptics of Chinese economic data – you know who you are – a recent report by the International Monetary Fund makes some interesting reading. The IMF is one of the main international agencies advising China on how to improve its economic statistics, and thus has more access and influence than most outsiders.

November 23, 2009
IMF Chief: Late Stimulus Exit Better Than Early
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Monday that it is still too early for a general exit from stimulus policies and governments should err on the side of caution, with a late exit being potentially less damaging than an early one.

November 20, 2009
Transcript: View From The Top With Robert Zoellick, President Of The World Bank
PART 1: On China and the dollar FT: Thank you for joining us, Mr Zoellick. RZ: Pleased to be with you. FT: What’s your verdict on Obama’s trip to China? How important is it and what’s come out of it?

November 19, 2009
U.S. Dollar To Be Reserve Currency For Years: IMF
The U.S. dollar will remain the world's primary reserve currency for many years or decades, an International Monetary Fund official said on Thursday.

November 18, 2009
Obama Toughens Resolve To Reach Deal On Climate
Just days after playing down the prospects for a full treaty, Barack Obama, the US president, yesterday gave his strongest commitment yet to reaching a deal on climate change at next month's Copenhagen conference.

November 17, 2009
Much Work Needed For 2010 Doha Deal: WTO's Lamy
World Trade Organization members still have much work to do if they want to achieve their goal of reaching a new deal on opening up global commerce in 2010, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said on Tuesday.

November 16, 2009
IMF Chief Urges China To Let Yuan Rise
A stronger yuan is part of the policy mix that Beijing needs to increase domestic consumption and help ease global imbalances, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

November 13, 2009
IMF Chief Does Not See Double-Dip U.S. Recession
The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday the pace of the recovery in the U.S. economy remains sluggish but he does not believe there will be a double-dip recession.

November 12, 2009
Emerging Nations Act To Curb Dollar Impact
Nowhere is the weaker dollar hurting more than in emerging markets. The US currency has fallen by as much as 40 per cent since March against some emerging market currencies - such as the Brazilian real and the South African rand - which is making life extremely painful for some of their exporters.

November 11, 2009
World Bank Warns Unemployment Threatens US Economy
Stubbornly high joblessness threatens to trigger loan defaults and drag on consumption next year, hobbling a U.S. economy struggling to rebound from recession, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday.

November 10, 2009
WTO's Lamy Says U.S. Slowing Doha Talks
The U.S. is slow in reaching a negotiating position in the Doha round trade liberalization talks, the World Trade Organisation's Director General said in an Italian business daily on Tuesday.

November 9, 2009
World Bank's Lin Warns Against Yuan Appreciation
World Bank Chief Economist Justin Yifu Lin staked out a strong position against forcing China to let its currency appreciate as a way to rebalance the world economy. "Currency appreciation in China won't help this imbalance and can deter the global recovery," he said in a lecture Monday at the University of Hong Kong.

October 6, 2009
Internet Censorship Seen Liable To WTO Challenge
Censorship of the Internet is open to challenge at the World Trade Organization as it can restrict trade in services delivered online, a forthcoming study says.

November 5, 2009
G20 Officials To Wrestle Over Economic Imbalances
Leaders of rich and developing countries pledged at their last summit to even out the glaring imbalances that are weighing on the world economy. Their finance officials now face the daunting task of finding common ground on just how to do that.

November 4, 2009
IMF Chief Sees Postcrisis Progress, Warns of Complacency
World leaders seem, at least for now, committed to better coordinating economic policies but the financial sector is returning too rapidly to "business as usual," the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said.

November 3, 2009
Debt High, Too Early To Adjust Fiscal Policies-IMF
The International Monetary Fund Tuesday projected higher debt levels for the world's major economies but emphasized it was too soon to begin scaling back fiscal support for their economies.

November 2, 2009
EBRD Cautions On Currency Debt
Central and eastern Europe must get rid of its “addiction to foreign currency debt” by improving macroeconomic management, building local currency markets and tightening regulation, says the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in a hard-hitting report published on Monday.

October 30, 2009
An Orderly Decline
The financial crisis has pushed the issue of the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency to the forefront of the market’s agenda. And as ultra-loose US fiscal and monetary policies have weighed on its value, so calls for an alternative to the US currency as the world’s numeraire have increased.

October 30, 2009
Replacing The U.S. Consumer: Is China Up To The Job?
China’s rapid growth is leading the recovery in the Asian and world economies, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest regional economic outlook. The fund now forecasts China will grow an outsize 8.5% in 2009 and 9% in 2010, driven by strong investment spending and surging loan growth. By contrast, Japan’s economy is expected to shrink 5.4% in 2009, and other Asian emerging markets are forecast to grow a combined 1.7%. But how much does China’s recovery help the rest of the world?

October 29, 2009
Battle To Restore Confidence In Securitisation
The securitisation markets are increasingly coming into the spotlight of regulators and policymakers seeking to restore investor confidence in the financing techniques that blew up during the financial crisis.

October 28, 2009
Copenhagen Won’t Be An End To Climate Talks, EU Says
The Copenhagen climate summit in December won’t be an end to international negotiations to slow global warming, the European Commission’s director general for the environment said today.

October 27, 2009
UN Signals Delay In Climate Change Treaty
Just weeks before an international conference on climate change, the United Nations signaled it was scaling back expectations of reaching agreement on a new treaty to slow global warming.

October 27, 2009
IFC To Issue First Bond For Microfinance Programs
The International Finance Corp, the World Bank's private-sector lender, said on Tuesday it will seek to raise $300 million through a bond issue targeted at Japanese investors to finance microfinance programs for the poor.

October 26, 2009
Trade Data Underscore Weakness of Recovery
Global trade flows slipped in August after rising for the two previous months, an indication that the economic recovery is more fragile and anemic than previous data have hinted.

October 26, 2009
U.S.Serious About Getting Doha Round Trade Deal: EU
A top European Union official said Monday she believed President Barack Obama was serious about reaching a deal in long-running world trade talks, but the time has come for all countries to show their cards.

October 23, 2009
Russia 'Will Join WTO' Despite Confusion
Dmitry Medvedev says Russia is committed to joining the World Trade Organisation despite hold-ups and confusion caused by its plans to bid for membership in partnership with Kazakhstan and Belarus, writes Isabel Gorst .

October 22, 2009
More Room To Raise Voting Rights In IMF
The proposed transfer of 7% of voting rights held by developed members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to emerging markets will be a welcome start to governance reforms in the multilateral lender.

October 21, 2009
Barriers Failing To Dent Global Trade
A sharply rising number of attempts to block imports has led to a much smaller increase in actual tariffs and affected only a limited share of global trade, according to World Bank research.

October 20, 2009
World Bank Finds Limited Effects From Protectionism
A sharply rising number of attempts to block imports has led to a much smaller increase in actual tariffs and affected only a limited share of global trade, according to World Bank research.

October 19, 2009
China Eyes Key IMF Post
China is grooming a veteran banker with a doctorate in economics to vie for a senior job at the International Monetary Fund, in the latest sign of the country's desire to increase its role at the global financial institution.

October 17, 2009
Irish Warned of Possible IMF Aid
A senior Irish minister has for the first time warned Ireland could be forced to go to the International Monetary Fund for help if the country cannot implement the necessary cuts in the December budget.

October 16, 2009
Eurozone Exports Tumble Sharply
Eurozone exports tumbled unexpectedly sharply in August, raising fresh doubts about the strength of the 16-country region’s economic recovery.

October 16, 2009
US Hardens Stance On Renminbi Rigidity
The Obama administration said on Thursday that it had “serious concerns” about the value of the renminbi, but stopped short of accusing China of manipulating its currency in a closely watched report to Congress.

October 15, 2009
Europe and South Korea Take Step Toward Trade Pact
The European Union and South Korea took a major step Thursday toward a free trade deal aimed at generating billions of euros in new trade flows.

October 14, 2009
ECB Faces Challenge Over Rising Euro
Just when eurozone economic prospects have turned for the better, a new policy challenge is facing the European Central Bank: an unwelcome appreciation of the euro.

October 13, 2009
China, Russia Sign Trade Pacts
China and Russia, in a bid to repair ties strained by a trade spat this summer, signed contracts valued at several billion dollars but didn't reach a breakthrough in protracted negotiations on a deal to supply Russian gas to China.

October 8, 2009
US Clashes With EU And China On Trade
Global trade tensions ratcheted up on Thursday as the US opened an investigation into Chinese steel imports and clashed with the European Union over chickens.

October 7, 2009
Nations Cast Plan For Expanded IMF
The push to reinvent the International Monetary Fund took a significant step forward this week, with nations agreeing to a rough timetable to come up with plans to reform its governance and expand its role in the global economy.

October 6, 2009
Emerging Economies Shine In Dark Times
For many people the future of investing can be summed up in two words: emerging markets.

October 6, 2009
Statement by Secretary Timothy F. Geithner to the Plenary Session of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings
On behalf of Secretary Geithner and the U.S. delegation, thank you to the people of Istanbul and our host country Turkey. It is fitting that we meet today in this great country - a land at the crossroads of history and civilization.

October 5, 2009
IMF Gets New Role Of Serving The G-20
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn is using the IMF's annual meeting here to campaign for turning the fund into a kind of global central bank with at least $1 trillion for lending developing nations in a crisis.

October 5, 2009
Calls For Change At World Bank
Finance ministers from developing countries said Monday that they should get more voting power at the World Bank, echoing calls for change at the International Monetary Fund.

October 4, 2009
G7 Struggles To Remain Relevant
The rise of the group of 20 advanced and emerging economies to a central position in global governance is an ultimately inevitable transformation. But the outbreak of a financial crisis in the world’s advanced countries greatly accelerated the transition. The latter have lost not just the prestige, but even the ability to steer the world economy. The result must be a rethink of informal global institutions, not least of the meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors of the group of seven leading high-income countries.

October 3, 2009
Doubts Remain On IMF Global Power
For most of the past decade, the International Monetary Fund has been a bored coastguard staring across a calm sea. The past 12 months have seen it back in action, rescuing a series of boats from the unprecedented economic storm. Now, as that tempest appears to be subsiding, can it expand that role into controlling the shipping lanes?

October 2, 2009
IMF Chief Renews Call For Currency Reform
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, on Friday reiterated his criticism of China’s “undervalued” currency, but said reforms to exchange rate policies were part of wider moves to create more balanced global growth.

October 2, 2009
Surplus Nations Urged To Take Baton
Growth has returned to the world economy, the International Monetary Fund announced yesterday, but the coming recovery will be weak unless countries with large trade surpluses pick up the baton as the motors of demand.

October 1, 2009
IMF Warns Countries to Sustain Stimulus
The global economy is staging so modest a recovery that additional fiscal stimulus may be needed to prevent another slump, the International Monetary Fund said.

September 30, 2009
IMF Says Estimated Crisis Losses Down By $600 Bln
Likely losses from the financial crisis in the three years to 2010 have been reduced by $600 billion to $3.4 trillion as the world economy grows faster than previously expected, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.

September 30, 2009
Many Support $100 Billion A Year On Climate Change
Many world leaders have expressed support for a proposal that would earmark $100 billion a year for the next decade for concrete actions to curb greenhouse gases and help countries cope with the impact of climate change, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

September 29, 2009
World Bank Chief Leery Of More Fed Power
The head of the World Bank said Monday that the U.S. Treasury Department should be given more authority for financial regulation as he waded into the debate over how the federal government should oversee the banking system.

September 28, 2009
Nations Agree to Vet Each Others' Policies
The Group of 20 nations agreed to establish an elaborate structure to coordinate economic policies, but without any enforcement mechanism to make countries live up to their word, critics warned the plan could be toothless.

September 25, 2009
Tensions Over IMF Threaten To Mar G20
European differences with the Obama administration threaten to overshadow Friday’s G20 summit in Pittsburgh, with Britain and France resisting US plans to overhaul the International Monetary Fund .

September 24, 2009
China Bank Urges Fund for Poorer Countries
The Group of 20 industrial and developing economies should consider setting up an international wealth fund that would invest a portion of its members' current-account surpluses in developing economies, People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Hu Xiaolian said in a paper released Tuesday.

September 24, 2009
IMF Is Poised to Be Policy Watchdog
The International Monetary Fund was the surprise winner at the last summit of the Group of 20 leaders, which agreed to quadruple the organization's resources to $1 trillion. This time it may earn a nod as best supporting actor.

September 23, 2009
For G-20 Summit, Old Issues Give Way to New
Having moved with unprecedented speed and coordination five months ago to head off what many feared might be another Great Depression, the leaders of the world's 20 largest economies are set to gather Thursday in Pittsburgh to discuss whether it is time to wind down stimulus efforts and talk about what can be done to prevent a repeat of the crisis.

September 22, 2009
Global Growth Policy Will Lack Penalties
The framework for sustainable economic growth that the Group of 20 leaders are poised to agree on Friday will lack a powerful enforcement mechanism, officials conceded yesterday.

September 21, 2009
IMF Defends Securitisation Markets
Restarting securitisation markets is “critical” to a wider economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund claimed on Monday as it warned new regulatory proposals might kill the market.

September 21, 2009
US Focus On Health Threatens To Derail Doha
The US's all-consuming debate over healthcare reform is threatening to snuff out efforts to conclude the Doha round of world trade negotiations, Europe's senior trade chief has warned.

September 18, 2009
Russia's Putin Hails U.S. Shield Move, Calls For More
Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday hailed as "correct and brave" a decision by the United States to roll back a missile shield plan but called on President Barack Obama to make further gestures to Moscow.

September 18, 2009
IMF Approves Sale Of Some Of Its Gold
The International Monetary Fund approved on Friday the sale of a limited amount of its gold to help provide loans to poor countries and shore up its finances.

September 17, 2009
IMF Issues Guidelines For Ending Bank Relief
The International Monetary Fund, reinforcing its role in remaking the global economy, laid out detailed principles for scaling back government support of the financial industry over coming years.

September 16, 2009
World Bank: Poor Face Long Recovery
The global recession is expected to push 89 million more people into extreme poverty by the end of 2010, the World Bank said Wednesday as it called on the leaders of the 20 largest economies to engage in "responsible globalization."

September 15, 2009
G20 Uses Aid To Beat Pledge On Protection
The world's leading economies have continued to break their pledge of no protectionism with a raft of restrictions on trade and investment, say two authoritative reports.

September 14, 2009
U.S. May Invite Singapore, Thailand To G20: Report
The United States is considering inviting Singapore and Thailand to a Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh this month to reflect broader views from developing countries, Japan's Nikkei business daily reported without citing sources.

September 14, 2009
China Wants Support On IMF Voting At G20
China wants the G20 summit next week to throw its support behind an increased role for Beijing and other developing countries in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, two officials said on Tuesday.

September 13, 2009
US Tire Duties Spark Clash
A full-blown trade row erupted on Sunday night between the US and China after Beijing accused Washington of “rampant protectionism” for imposing heavy duties on imported Chinese tyres and threatened action against imports of US poultry and vehicles.

September 12, 2009
IMF Chief: Economic Crisis Not Over Yet
The global economic crisis isn't over yet, despite positive signals from Europe's biggest economies, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned in comments published Saturday.

September 10, 2009
EU Steps Up Efforts For New Global Climate Pact
Fearing that a possible global deal on climate change is in danger, European foreign ministers announced Thursday they were stepping up efforts to make sure that nations around the world face up to global warming.

September 10, 2009
U.S. Must Lead At G20 On Climate, Says Group
The United States should show decisive leadership at the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh this month and rally heads of state to prepare for the next global crisis -- climate change.

September 9, 2009
US Drops Down Competitiveness League Table
The US government's sweeping intervention in the private sector has taken its toll on the country's competitiveness, according to an annual survey by the World Economic Forum.

September 9, 2009
World Bank's IFC Duspends Palm Oil Investments
The International Finance Corp (IFC), the World Bank's private sector lender, said on Wednesday it had suspended investments in palm oil businesses until after a review of its practices in the sector.

September 8, 2009
Trichet Warns Of Dangers Of Bad Policy
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Monday warned policy makers and banks on the price of mishandling the world's fragile economic recovery.

September 7, 2009
Doha Deal Possible, Needs Political Shove
A new global commerce deal is within reach if World Trade Organization members are willing to compromise to close the remaining gaps, trade ministers say. But agreement in the WTO's stalled Doha round will require a sustained political push from presidents and prime ministers if the long-running talks are not to stall yet again, they say.

September 5, 2009
Group Of 20 Seeks Curbs On Bonuses, But Not Caps
Top finance officials from rich and developing countries agreed Saturday to curb hefty bonuses for bankers, but the proposed crackdown on high payouts fell short of European demands after the United States and Britain shied away from imposing a cap.

September 4, 2009
Washington Aims To Shuffle IMF Seats
The U.S. is pressing Europe in behind-the-scenes negotiations to sharply reduce its clout at the International Monetary Fund in favor of developing countries such as China and Brazil.

September 3, 2009
Obama Picks Punke To Be U.S. Ambassador To WTO
President Barack Obama intends to nominate Michael Punke to be U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization, the White House said on Thursday.

September 2, 2009
Factbox-What Is Likely To Emerge From London G20 Meeting
Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 developed and developing economies meet in London this week to assess how far the world economy and banking system is recovering from two years of crisis.

September 1, 2009
Lamy Says Job Losses Will Hit Free Trade
Growing job losses will fuel protectionist pressures “for years to come” despite signs that the collapse in world trade may be bottoming out, warned Pascal Lamy, head of the World Trade Organisation.

August 31, 2009
UK Ready To Commit Extra $11bn To IMF
The UK is ready to provide an additional $11bn as part of a drive to bolster the International Monetary Fund’s finances, Alistair Darling, chancellor of the exchequer, pledged on Monday.

August 28, 2009
Chinese Tire-Import Spat Puts Obama In Trade-Policy Pickle
A politically charged case involving Chinese tire imports will soon force the hand of an Obama administration that has yet to articulate a clear trade policy to anxious global trading partners.

August 27, 2009
Official Who Helped To Resolve IMF Crisis
Sir Derek Mitchell, who has died at the age of 87, was a Treasury knight at a time that inspired books such as Goodbye Great Britain and Britain in Agony, which captured a sense of decline and crisis in Whitehall.

August 27, 2009
Is China Ready To Play Ball On Global Warming?
China is finally tackling climate change head on. Sort of. The Chinese parliament passed a resolution today calling for the country to “control” greenhouse-gas emissions and promote energy efficiency, lower energy consumption, and more renewable energy, Reuters reports. That’s the culmination of a spate of Chinese reports from government and academia warning about the environmental impacts of the country’s current growth path.

August 26, 2009
G20 Not Expected To "Cap And Tax" Bank Bonuses
G20 finance ministers will discuss next week how to curb excessive bankers' pay but the group of leading nations is not expected to heed a French call to "cap and tax" bonuses, officials and analysts said.

August 25, 2009
U.S. Needs Climate Law Before Copenhagen: Officials
The United States needs to have a climate change law in place before international talks on a climate pact begin in December, two top Obama administration officials said on Monday.

August 24, 2009
Policymakers Cautious As They Take Credit For 'Breaking The Fall'
Economic catastrophe has been averted, but the road to recovery is likely to be long and bumpy in spite of a surprisingly brisk start in recent weeks, according to policymakers and economists at the Fed conference.

August 22, 2009
Doha Breakthrough Possible With More Focus: Official
An early agreement on a global trade deal is possible with more cooperation and negotiators are working overtime for the success of the Doha round of talks, a World Trade Organization (WTO) official said on Saturday.

August 21, 2009
WTO To Adopt Dumping Report, Retaliation On U.S. Looms
The World Trade Organization is due on August 31 to adopt a ruling by its top court condemning U.S. anti-dumping measures, allowing Japan to seek retaliation against Washington, a WTO agenda showed on Friday.

August 20, 2009
Agency Warns Current Climate Proposals Won't Work
Reversing global warming will cost up to $185 billion (euro130 billion) a year before 2020 and require more action by world governments than currently pledged, an international environmental analysis group said Thursday.

August 19, 2009
WTO Supports Japan On 'Zeroing' Tariffs
A World Trade Organisation court yesterday reaffirmed a ruling against the US for the way it calculates emergency tariffs on imports it deems unfairly priced, the latest stage in a long-running case brought by Japan.

August 19, 2009
How The World Bank Let 'Deal Making' Torch the Rainforests
The World Bank ignored its own environmental and social protection standards when it approved nearly $200 million in loan guarantees for palm oil production in Indonesia, a stinging internal audit has found.

August 18, 2009
Asia Is Urged To Increase Irrigation Spending
Asian governments need to spend billions of dollars modernising their irrigation systems to boost food output or take the politically difficult choice of relying more on imports, a United Nations-backed report says.

August 17, 2009
Lessons From the Developing World
The developing world is home to some of the most challenging markets for any business: Urban slums. Rural backwaters. Lawless regions and battle zones. But hundreds of millions of potential customers live in these places, and a few pioneering companies are thriving there. Their success offers lessons on how to tap these complex environments for profits and growth.

August 16, 2009
Doha Deal Could Boost World GDP $300-700 Billion: Study
A successful Doha round trade deal could boost the global economy by $300-700 billion a year, a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics said.

August 14, 2009
IMF Eyes Future Of China’s Export Jobs
In a new pair of working papers for the International Monetary Fund, Kai Guo and Papa N’Diaye tackle two of the biggest questions for China’s economic future: what will happen to the export manufacturing base that has driven so much of its recent growth? And what other options are there to create more new jobs for poor farmers eager to better their lot?

August 13, 2009
W.T.O. Rules Against China’s Limits on Imports
The World Trade Organization gave the United States a victory on Wednesday in its trade battle with China, ruling that Beijing had violated international rules by limiting imports of books, songs and movies.

August 12, 2009
Not Clear If QE Aiding Economy, IMF Study Says
Long-term UK government bond yields appear to have been suppressed by about 40 to 100 basis points by the Bank of England as a result of its unorthodox monetary policies, an International Monetary Fund study has calculated.

August 11, 2009
Will Trade Lead Or Lag The Recovery?
As signs grow that the worst of the global slowdown is passing, fears are being voiced that world trade could hold back the recovery. The answer depends on whether trade is seen as a reflection of the broader economy or a transmission belt for the downturn. The links between finance and trade are still little understood.

August 10, 2009
Progress Seen On China-DR Congo Deal - World Bank
World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Monday cited signs of progress in talks to adjust a $9 billion infrastructure-for-minerals deal between China and Democratic Republic of Congo that has raised IMF concerns.

August 10, 2009
Tokyo Frets Over 'Murky Protectionism'
Japan is seriously concerned about the rising use of anti-dumping charges and other forms of "murky protectionism" being taken by trading partners amid the global economic slowdown, according to a senior trade official.

August 7, 2009
World Food Prices Stabilise, No Drop In Sight -WFP
World food prices have stabilised but will not return to levels seen before 2008 when commodity prices skyrocketed pushing up inflation in many emerging markets, the U.N. food agency said on Friday.

August 6, 2009
China, Others Shove U.S. in Scramble for Africa
A presidential visit followed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's African tour cannot conceal a stark reality: China has overtaken the United States as Africa's top trading partner.

August 5, 2009
Emerging Nations Stand Firm on IMF Vote Reform
Emerging economies have dug in their heels over power sharing in the International Monetary Fund, insisting realigning voting shares must come before any other governance reforms are tackled.

August 4, 2009
US Car Aid Plan Irks Trading Partners
The US House of Representatives has inserted an amendment into a $33bn (€23bn, £19bn) spending bill that would stop any of the money being spent on cars not made by the US "big three", prompting alarm from its trading partners in Europe and Japan.

August 3, 2009
Emerging-Market Stock Rally Recoups Loss Since Lehman Collapse
Developing-nation stocks recouped their losses since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. as the benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed above its closing level on Sept. 12.

August 2, 2009
IFC To Boost Agricultural Lending By 30%
The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private sector arm, will boost lending to agribusiness by up to 30 per cent in the next three years, as it promotes the role of the private sector in the fight against hunger.

July 31,2009
Rich Nations Fall Short on Bank Recovery Spending
Wealthy industrialized nations have provided less than half of the support they pledged to prop up their financial sectors, according to new data from the International Monetary Fund.

July 31, 2009
IMF: Worst Over for U.S. but Recovery to be Slow
The sharp contraction in the U.S. economy "seems to be ending" but recovery will be slow with risks still looming from the weak labor and housing markets, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.

July 30,2009
Flu Threat to Economy Mostly in the Mind for Now
One of the few certainties about the H1N1 swine flu virus is that it would have to turn much deadlier than it seems right now to cause a major drop in global economic output.

July 29, 2009
EU Trade Officials Approve Penalties on Chinese Steel Pipes
European Union trade officials approved preemptive penalties on steel pipe imports from China, a precedent-setting move that suggests the trading bloc is growing more protectionist in the face of the economic downturn.

July 29,2009
US and China Display United Economic Stance
The US and China sought to present a common front on Tuesday on economic co-operation but remained at odds over climate change at the end of two days of top-level consultations that highlighted Beijing’s growing confidence and assertiveness.

July 29,2009
IMF Boosts Lending to Poor States
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it will take "unprecedented" measures to help poor countries cope with the economic downturn.

July 28, 2009
World Bank Warns of Growing Risks in Poor Countries
The global economic crisis could have a "disastrous" impact on health and school projects in the developing world unless rich nations spend a tiny fraction of stimulus measures to help the poor, a World Bank official said.

July 27, 2009
Fundamentals Drive the 'BRIC' Rebound
Acronyms can often clutter business-speak with clunky jargon. But some distill something unwieldy into a marketer's dream. So it has been with the "BRIC" acronym, created in 2001 by a team led by Jim O'Neill, Goldman Sachs Group's chief economist to mean Brazil, Russia, India and China. The bank fashioned the acronym while making a prediction about the speed of growth of the four biggest emerging markets.

July 27,2009
The Carbon-Capture Challenge
Like a giant in winter, Schwarze Pumpe, a 160-metre-tall power plant near Berlin, breathes out a steady fog of steam and carbon dioxide, making a modest but visible contribution to global warming.

July 26, 2009
Protectionism: The Dog That Barked But Didn't Bite?
The sharp trade contraction during the economic crisis, closely matching the trend in the 1930s, has triggered widespread fears that the world could suffer a re-run of the destructive protectionism of that era.

July 24,2009
Japan Sends U.S. Letter on "Buy American" Worries
Japan has sent a letter of concern to the United States on a bill recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, which contains a provision similar to "Buy American," an official at Japan's foreign ministry said.

July 24, 2009
Germany Calls Carbon Tariffs "Eco-Imperialism"
Germany called a French idea to slap "carbon tariffs" on products from countries that are not trying to cut greenhouse gases a form of "eco-imperialism" and a direct violation of WTO rules.

July 24,2009
China Will Allow More Foreign Firms to Sell Yuan Debt
China’s central bank said it will allow more foreign institutions to sell debt in the country, seeking to boost trade in its bond market and increase the use of the yuan in global finance.

July 23, 2009
ADB Sees Asian Growth Doubling in 2010
The Asian Development Bank released an upbeat report on the region’s emerging economies on Thursday, predicting growth in 2010 would be double that of 2009.

July 23, 2009
IMF Membership Divided on China Currency -Official
IMF member countries generally agree that a stronger Chinese currency would boost consumption but are divided over the extent such a move would contribute to a rebalancing of growth, a senior IMF official said on Thursday.

July 22,2009
Too Early to See Trade Finance Measures Working: WTO
World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy said on Wednesday that it is too early to see if measures to improve trade financing are working.

July 21,2009
Asia’s Export-Reliant Nations May See Economic Recovery ‘Fade’
Asia’s export-dependent nations may see their recoveries falter in the second half of the year as overseas demand remains subdued, economists said.

July 20,2009
Unlikely SDR Allocation Will Affect Inflation -IMF
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday a planned allocation of $250 billion in IMF Special Drawing Rights to the fund's 186 member countries is unlikely to have an inflationary impact.

July 20,2009
IMF Plans to Inject $250 Billion Into Global Economy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is planning to inject $250 billion into the global economy to bolster countries’ reserves as part of measures to combat the world economic crisis.

July 17,2009
Doha Trade Negotiators Wait for America
Leaders of the major economies have called for a new global trade pact next year, but in Geneva negotiators say there is little prospect of a Doha deal until the United States signals clearly it is ready to move.

July 16,2009
U.S. to Get Tough on Trade, Labor Infractions: Kirk
The U.S. government will get tough with governments that don't live up to trade deals, including those with substandard labor practices, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk was set to announce on Thursday.

July 15,2009
Unchecked Global Warming Would ‘Redraw Planet,’ Stern Says
Global warming left unmanaged would “redraw the planet,” and the resulting damage may cost as much as one-fifth of production, Nicholas Stern, the U.K. government’s former chief economist, said in an interview.

July 15,2009
World Trade 'Continues to Fall'
Trade in developed countries continued to fall in the first three months of this year but the rate of decline moderated, the OECD has said.

July 14,2009
OECD Countries Seen Losing 30 Million Jobs 2007-2010
Developed countries are expected to lose nearly 30 million jobs from the end of 2007 through the end of 2010, the Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Tuesday.

July 14,2009
Geithner Promises to Defend Dollar
Tim Geithner, US treasury secretary, sought to assure Gulf nations on Tuesday about their holdings of treasury bills when he told Saudi business leaders that his country “has a special responsibility to play” in defending the value of the dollar.

July 13, 2009
Economic Crisis Far From Over, WTO Chief Says
The global economic downturn is far from over, and few countries have dismantled the dangerous protectionist barriers they imposed in response to it, World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy said on Monday.

July 13, 2009
Trade's Cogs Turn More Smoothly
As global trade shows hints of life, there are increasing signs that strains in trade finance -- the flows of credit that grease the wheels of global commerce -- have eased significantly in recent months.

July 10, 2009
G8 to Commit $20bn for Food Security
The G8 summit will pledge $20bn over three years, $5bn more than initially expected, to boost agricultural investment and fight hunger.

July 9, 2009
Markets Mayhem Puts Spin on Statistics
International trade is the greatest casualty of this economic crisis, and nowhere is this more visible than in the large Asian exporting nations. As consumers stopped buying durable manufactured goods last year, some countries’ exports were cut in half.

July 8,2009
IMF More Upbeat on 2010 Recovery
Worldwide economic growth is expected to recover to 2.5% in 2010, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

July 8, 2009
G8 Plus G5 Agree to Conclude Doha in 2010
G8 leaders plus Brazil, India, China, Mexico and South Africa will agree at a summit on Thursday to conclude the Doha round of world trade talks successfully in 2010, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters.

July 8,2009
White House Unhappy with IMF Limits in US Spending Bill
The Obama administration on Wednesday said it strongly opposed legislation in the U.S. Congress that would restrict its ability to respond to future financial crises through the International Monetary Fund.

July 7,2009
US Wants G8 to Pledge $15 Bln on Food Aid-Draft Text
The United States wants a G8 summit this week to commit $15 billion over a multi-year period for agricultural development in poor countries to fight food insecurity, according to a draft declaration seen by Reuters.

July 7,2009
'Time to Ditch Climate Policies'
An international group of academics is urging world leaders to abandon their current policies on climate change.

July 07, 2009
Economic Downturn Makes Trade Talks a Priority
The economic downturn, along with new leadership in the U.S. and India, is spurring G-8 nations to repair trade talks at their coming summit but Washington remains an obstacle, trade experts say.

July 6,2009
G8 Shifts Focus From Food Aid to Farming
The G8 countries will this week announce a “food security initiative”, committing more than $12bn for agricultural development over the next three years, in a move that signals a further shift from food aid to long-term investments in farming in the developing world.

July 6,2009
Zoellick Plea Over Stimulus Cuts
Now is not the time for rich countries to start pulling back on economic stimulus, Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, has told leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised nations. He warned this could have devastating consequences for the developing world.

July 6,2009
Trade Assistance Could Reignite Growth, Help the Poor
International trade could ignite and propel a global economic recovery, top United Nations and multilateral lending officials said on Monday.

July 06, 2009
Robert McNamara Dies at Age 93
Robert McNamara, architect of the Vietnam war, died on Monday morning in his home at the age of 93, his wife Diana McNamara told the Associated Press.

July 3,2009
Emerging Markets Take Record Share of World Equity
Developing countries’ share of worldwide equity value climbed to a record as the fastest- growing economies lured investors amid the first global recession since World War II.

July 2, 2009
China to Boost Ties With IMF
China will next week take an important step towards reconciliation with the International Monetary Fund, agreeing to disagree about its controversial currency policy in order to return to good standing in an organization it hopes to influence.

July 2, 2009
Exporters Struggle to Get Trade Loans - WTO's Lamy
Exporters are struggling to get the loans they need to ship their goods, the head of the World Trade Organisation said ahead of a high-level meeting on poor countries' aid-for-trade needs.

June 30, 2009
Emerging Markets Outlook Is ‘Optimistic,’ Faber Says
The outlook for emerging markets is “far more optimistic” than for developed economies as growth picks up, said investor Marc Faber, who advised investors to buy gold before its eight-year rally.

June 28,2009
G8 Set to Push For a Return to ‘Ethics’
Flawed markets and fundamental weaknesses in the world economic system demand adoption of a “global standard” of norms and principles and a return to ethics in business, according to finance ministers from the Group of Eight club of rich countries.

June 26, 2009
Global Free Trade Accord Seen Helping Environment
A new global free trade accord could help fight climate change by making clean-energy products more widely available, the World Trade Organization and United Nations Environment Program said on Friday.

June 25,2009
World Economy Limps One Step Forward, One Back
The global economy served up a mixture of green shoots and bitter herbs on Thursday, matching comments overnight from the U.S. Federal Reserve that the recession there appeared to be easing, but at no great pace.

June 25, 2009
Major economies Consider Halving World CO2
Major economies including the United States and China are considering setting a goal of halving world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 when they hold a summit in Italy next month, a draft document showed.

June 24,2009
U.S., Europe File Trade Complaint Against China
The U.S. and the European Union filed separate complaints with the World Trade Organization on Tuesday alleging that China is unfairly benefiting domestic industries by restricting exports of certain raw materials.

June 23, 2009
Rich and Poor Nations Divided Before U.N. Finance Meeting
Rich and poor nations edged closer to a deal on proposals for reforming the global financial system, but diplomats said there would have to be changes if a U.N. conference this week is to adopt them.

June 23, 2009
Tug-of-War over ‘Buy American’
Business groups, trade unions and the US’s trading partners are fighting a tug-of-war over “Buy American” rules as the Obama administration ponders whether to toughen up or neuter the controversial provisions.

June 22,2009
World Bank Warns on Emerging Markets
Leading developed nations are misguided in focusing efforts on restoring demand in their own economies, the World Bank will say on Monday.

June 22,2009
A Recipe for Reviving Doha
With this week's meeting of the trade ministers of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and next month's G-8 summit, skeptics are already saying we are jumping back on the World Trade Organization "merry-go-round" for another futile run at a world trade deal. Some point to what they see as irreconcilable differences on the substance of the negotiations, saying that if a deal were in the offing it would have been achieved by now. The elements of the package already agreed offer everyone substantial gains. To re-ignite the Doha round, we need to give an idea of what a final deal might look like, and create a shared, solid perception by all WTO members that this is not an open-ended process.

June 19,2009
We Need Greater Global Governance
Fingering the villain in the banking crisis of 2008 turns out to be tougher than it looks. Was it the banker with the skewed incentives and the poor grasp of risk? Was it the over-indebted consumer with the 125% mortgage? Was it the politicians and regulators who failed to see the risks in both?

June 19,2009
Decline in World Economy Moderating- IMF's Lipsky
The International Monetary Fund is likely to revise up its 2010 growth forecast for the world economy with signs that the rate of decline in global output has moderated, a senior IMF official said on Friday.

June 18,2009
U.S. Congress Vote Marks Big Step For IMF Reform, Funding
Approval by the U.S. Congress of a package of measures related to the IMF gives a big boost to international funding to combat the global economic crisis and marks a significant step forward in reforming the 185-member intergovernmental institution that has taken a central role in channeling assistance to countries hit by the financial turmoil.

June 18,2009
World Bank Raises China GDP Forecast
A sustainable recovery is not yet assured in China despite the government’s large fiscal stimulus package and Beijing may have little room for additional measures this year, the World Bank said yesterday.

June 17, 2009
WTO Chief Hopes to Conclude Doha Round in 2010
The head of the World Trade Organization is hopeful long-running trade talks can be wrapped up next year.

June 16,2009
U.S. House Clears $106 Billion War Funding, Senate Next
The House of Representatives on Tuesday narrowly backed a $106 billion bill to pay for the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and extend billions in new credit to the International Monetary Fund.

June 15,2009
Obama's IMF Boost Exacts Heavy Toll
Congress is this week expected to approve Barack Obama's request for an extra $108bn for the International Monetary Fund, but it will come at a political price after weeks of grandstanding, messy compromise and horse-trading.

June 15,2009
Leaders Gather for Shanghai Talks
Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders are gathering in Russia for the ninth Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit.

June 15,2009
Citi in $1.25bn tie-up With IFC to Unblock World Trade Flows
Attempts to unblock world trade flows still jammed by the credit crunch have been backed by Citigroup, which today unveils a $1.25bn (£760m) funding tie-up with the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank.

June 13,2009
IMF Asked to Aid G-8 With Exit Strategies For Crisis Policies
Amid signs that the global economic crisis is stabilizing, the Group of Eight (G-8) advanced economies has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to do the necessary analytical work to help governments prepare “exit strategies” to unwind the huge stimulus packages that have been deployed to combat the crisis.

June 12,2009
China Faces WTO Action on Raw Materials
The European Union and the US are preparing to take China to the World Trade Organisation over allegations that Beijing grants raw materials to domestic manufacturers at below-market prices, according to people familiar with the matter.

June 12,2009
G-8 Finance Official Discuss Banking Rules
Finance officials from the Group of Eight countries face rifts at their summit Friday over the scope of global banking rules and how to exit massive government-stimulus efforts, even as they acknowledge fledgling signs of an improving economy.

June 11,2009
IIF Says Domestic Bailouts Hurt Capital Markets
An international financial industry group warned that concerted international action to fight the global financial crisis, rather than separate rescue plans undertaken by different governments, is urgently needed to protect the global financial system and ensure it can run smoothly.

June 11,2009
As Global Slump is Set to Continue, Poor Countries Need More Help
The world economy is set to contract this year by more than previously estimated, and poor countries will continue to be hit hard by multiple waves of economic stress, said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick today.

June 10,2009
U.S. Trade Gap Widens on Softening Exports
The U.S. trade gap widened to $29.2 billion in April as exports weakened again in a reflection of waning global demand, a U.S. government report on Wednesday showed.

June 10,2009
Russia Changes Its WTO Strategy
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Moscow will pull its long-delayed application to join the World Trade Organization and reapply as part of a bloc with neighbors Kazakhstan and Belarus.

June 9,2009
EU Ministers Seek Financial Overhaul
European Union finance ministers sought agreement Tuesday on a major overhaul of their financial system to avoid another banking crisis like the one that has plunged the 27-country bloc into recession.

June 8,2009
Major Economies Are ‘Close to Low Point’
Most of the world’s major economies are now close to the low point of their slowdowns, in a sign that the global recession is easing, according to data published on Monday.

June 8,2009
World Bank: Protectionism Could Kill Green Shoots
World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned on Monday that protectionism could stifle economic recovery.

June 5,2009
Russia Accelerates Push to Join OECD and WTO
Russia on Thursday promised to accelerate its membership bids for two major Western economic institutions, at a time when the global downturn has starved its economy of capital.

June 4,2009
IMF Strengthens Actions to Help Resolve Global Economic Crisis
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will build upon ongoing efforts to respond rapidly and boldly to the needs of its membership during the current global crisis and will continue to mobilize commitments for increased resources, complete the overhaul of the Fund’s lending framework, further strengthen the quality of its surveillance, and consider reforms in the key area of the Fund’s own governance.

June 3,2009
Banks' Powers in Spotlight as IMF Readies Report
Top financial institutions could be held more accountable for the power they wield over world economies in possible new rules to prevent meltdowns like the one that triggered the global recession.

June 2,2009
Geithner Urges Role for China in Recovery
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, in a speech here Monday, touched on a contentious subject, urging China to move toward a more flexible exchange-rate regime.

May 31,2009
Global Crisis Forces African Governments to Turn to IMF
Years after graduating from dependence on the International Monetary Fund, many African countries are having to call upon the fund for assistance to cope with a global economic crisis that is not their fault.

May 28,2009
World Income Seen To Decline By 3.7%
World income is likely to decline by 3.7 per cent this year on a per capita basis as a result of a global financial crisis that had disproportionately affected livelihoods in the developing world, a team of United Nations economists said on Wednesday.

May 28,2009
US To Host Next G20 World Meeting
The US will host the next G20 summit of world leaders in September, the White House has confirmed.

May 27,2009
EU Outlines Overhaul of Financial Regulation
Legislation to overhaul Europe’s patchy system for supervising banks and insurers, and introduce a new system to help warn against future financial crises will be put forward in the early autumn, top EU officials said on Wednesday.

May 26,2009
UN Postpones Financial Summit Until Late June
The United Nations rescheduled a summit focused on the financial crisis which will attempt to lay down proposals for a new international financial architecture to June 24-26, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

May 21,2009
World Economies Plummet
Steep declines in the economies of three of the U.S.'s biggest trading partners -- Mexico, Japan and Germany -- underscored the severity of the global recession and put pressure on major industrialized nations to revive moribund global trade talks.

May 21,2009
Senate Rejects Move to Cut IMF Contributions
The Senate Thursday decisively rejected an attempt to eliminate $108 billion in U.S. contributions to the International Monetary Fund, but the fate of the funding remains uncertain despite the strong backing of the White House.

May 19,2009
Big-Hitters Side With Obama Over IMF
The Obama administration turned to a group of Republican and Democrat big-hitters on Monday to bolster its attempt to win Congressional approval for more money for the International Monetary Fund.

May 14,2009
New Finance Rules Have Potential to Alter the Path of Global Trade
If this proves to be the moment when the march toward ever-greater globalization and trade ends or slows significantly, look not only to tariffs or buy-American rules or street protests as the causes. Look also to changes now being contemplated in rules for global finance.

May 13,2009
US Backs New Approach to Doha Negotiations
Ron Kirk, the new US trade representative, on Wednesday reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to a successful and speedy conclusion to the Doha global trade talks, but said this might require a change in the negotiating approach.

May 5,2009
Don't Forget About Foreign Aid
President Barack Obama's inaugural address included a ringing endorsement of U.S. engagement with the developing world: "To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds."

May 3,2009
ADB Plans $3 Billion Crisis Fund
The Asian Development Bank is planning to launch a $3 billion loan facility to help its "developing member countries cope with the crisis," ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said Saturday, amid lingering uncertainty over when and how the financial crisis will end.

April 30, 2009
China's Stimulus Spurs U.S. Business
China's efforts to quickly pump up its economy are providing a much-needed boost for U.S. businesses as well.

April 29,2009
Food Scare Sparks Developing World Land Rush: Think Tank
High food prices fueled a land-buying spree in developing nations, particularly in Africa, by countries and private investors wanting to assure food supplies for themselves, a think tank said on Wednesday.

April 28, 2009
World Bank Demands Poverty Action
The head of the World Bank has warned of a "human catastrophe" in the world's poorest countries unless more is done to tackle the global economic crisis.

April 28,2009
Free Trade: Not So Bad
The economy is as bad as it’s been since the Great Depression, the International Monetary Fund tells us. Protectionism is on the rise, the World Trade Organization warns.

April 26,2009
IMF Says Existing Stimulus Could Suffice
The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Saturday that if countries are successful in cleansing their financial systems, the fiscal stimulus already implemented for 2009 “may be enough”.

April 22,2009
Lagarde to Push EU to Give IMF More Than $100 Billion
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is lobbying her European Union counterparts to increase the region’s extra contribution to the International Monetary Fund beyond the $100 billion initially pledged, an aide to Lagarde said.

April 21,2009
Asian EMs See Glimmer Of Hope
The outlook for share, currency and bond markets in emerging Asia is “less bleak” than for those in other regions, the Asian Development Bank said on Tuesday.