G20: LAUDABLE, YET GENUINE TRANSPARENCY REQUIRED
BERLIN (IDN) - The decision of the Group of 20 (G20) leading industrial and emerging economies to prioritise transparency as a means to curb systemic risks in the global financial and economic system and to provide a stimulus that also extends to the developing world is welcome, says Transparency International (TI). Read more

PROSPERITY IS INDIVISIBLE
London Summit – Leaders’ Statement, 2 April 2009
We start from the belief that prosperity is indivisible; that growth, to be sustained, has to be shared; and that our global plan for recovery must have at its heart the needs and jobs of hard-working families, not just in developed countries but in emerging markets and the poorest countries of the world too; and must reflect the interests, not just of today’s population, but of future generations too. We believe that the only sure foundation for sustainable globalisation and rising prosperity for all is an open world economy based on market principles, effective regulation, and strong global institutions.

The agreements we have reached today, to treble resources available to the IMF to $750 billion, to support a new SDR allocation of $250 billion, to support at least $100 billion of additional lending by the MDBs, to ensure $250 billion of support for trade finance, and to use the additional resources from agreed IMF gold sales for concessional finance for the poorest countries, constitute an additional $1.1 trillion programme of support to restore credit, growth and jobs in the world economy. Together with the measures we have each taken nationally, this constitutes a global plan for recovery on an unprecedented scale. Read more

DECLARATION ON STRENGTHENING THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
LONDON, 2 APRIL 2009
We, the Leaders of the G20, have taken, and will continue to take, action to strengthen regulation and supervision in line with the commitments we made in Washington to reform the regulation of the financial sector. Our principles are strengthening transparency and accountability, enhancing sound regulation, promoting integrity in financial markets and reinforcing international cooperation. The material in this declaration expands and provides further detail on the commitments in our statement. We published today a full progress report against each of the 47 actions set out in the Washington Action Plan. In particular, we have agreed the following major reforms. Read more

DECLARATION ON DELIVERING RESOURCES THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS – LONDON, 2 APRIL 2009
We, the leaders of the Group of Twenty, are committed to ensuring that capital continues to flow to emerging market and developing countries to protect their economies and support world growth. To this end, we have agreed to increase very substantially the resources available through the international financial institutions and to ensure that the institutions have the facilities needed to address the crisis in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.

We have agreed to make available an additional $850 billion of resources through the IMF and the multilateral development banks to support growth in emerging market and developing countries by helping to finance counter-cyclical spending, bank recapitalisation, infrastructure, trade finance, balance of payments support, debt rollover, and social support. Read more

G20: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL
LONDON - There is on the face of it a fairness in the language hanging over the G20 summit that is quite seductive. "A global crisis requires a global solution," everyone who matters seems to be saying, at least towards the richer end of the G20 spectrum. Such talk is getting louder by the day as heads of state and government head for a meeting in London Thursday to address the global economic crisis. Read more

 

G20: 'USE CRISIS AS OPPORTUNITY TO FIX INEQUITY'

ADDIS ABABA - The daunting task of making Africa the centre of attention awaits Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi when the Group of 20 (G20) rich and emerging economies meet in London April 1. Read more

 

G20: NEXT TIME, PERHAPS ...

LONDON - If the draft declaration of the G20 meeting in London is anything to go by, the most specific outcome of this summit is that there will be another one later in the year. Several governments have begun to lobby already to host the next G20, in apparent confidence that this one is not going to take care of the problems that the leaders are gathering to address, if not resolve. Read more

 

G20: JAPAN CARRIES AFRICAN CONCERNS TO LONDON

BERLIN (IDN) - Japan, the world's second largest economy, is calling for global initiatives to reactivate financial flows to Africa, including government grants, concessional loans and lines of credit. Read more

 

G20: POOR COUNTRIES IN DIRE NEED OF FUNDS

BERLIN (IDN) - There is no longer a question that developing countries are being hit severely by the global crisis. Instead, there is the very distinct possibility that they end up as the worst-hit victims, while already being the most vulnerable, said Eckhard Deutscher, Chair of OECDs Development Assistance Committee (DAC) March 30. Read more

 

CONSENSUS GROWING OVER NEED FOR ACTION, DECLARES BROWN IN NEW YORK

The communiqué from the London Summit of world leaders on 2 April will show a 'determination to do what is necessary' to restore economic growth, mend the financial markets and tighten regulation, Gordon Brown said in New York. He was speaking on the second day of a global tour to meet world leaders ahead of the Summit that takes in Brazil and Chile.

 

THE LONDON SUMMIT 2009 > Visit http://www.londonsummit.gov.uk/en/ for news and background.

 

ECONOMIC CRISIS THREATENS CHINA’S RURAL STRATEGY

China should speed up investment in rural services and infrastructure and create jobs in non-agricultural sectors for returning migrants, according to a new OECD report. This will help offset the fast-rising impact of the economic slowdown on the rural economy. OECD Rural Policy Review: China says that the country’s rural development strategy is on the right track and the impact on rural areas of broader economic reforms positive. But the recent increase in return migration and subsequent fall in remittances could threaten the important progress made in raising rural living standards. Read more

 

PRISON OF NATIONS

The EU “government" is exposed as worse than useless, a rubber stamp for this Thatcherite mania, fooling Europeans into thinking there was someone controlling the private chaos. Riots swept across Eastern Europe this winter. In Latvia 100 were arrested when they attacked the Finance Ministry with cobblestones from the quaintly restored tourist area protesting unemployment, budget and wage cuts. In Lithuania, riot police fired rubber-bullets and tear gas on a trade union march. A demonstration in the Bulgarian capital turned violent leading to the arrest of 150 protesters. These three states are all members of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM2), the euro’s pre-detention cell. They must join. Read more

 

MIDDLDE EAST: A CONVENIENT WAR

This modest attempt to quickly analyze the first apparent consequences of the Israeli war on Gaza departs from a personal sad conclusion that human kind is walking too speedily, too steadily, and too far away from all known principles of rationality. Rather, it seems that such principles have never been rooted nor were they born from natural-instinctive conviction. Otherwise no war would ever take place; no weapons would be produced, nor sold or used. And half of the world would become war crimes judges to sentence the other half, starting with States-Corporations. The last –- for now -- war in the Middle East (from 27 December 2008 to 17 January 2009), began actually on 4 November 2008, the same day the U.S. presidential elections took place. It began with an under-reported Israeli raid on Gaza, which broke de facto the six-month truce indirectly reached between Israel and HAMAS on 19 June, and this was to expire on 19 December with sound chances of renewal – at least until 10 February 2009 general elections in Israel. Read more