Bretton Woods Update
Bretton Woods Project Aug/Sep 2001
IFI criticism intensifies ahead of meetings; World Bank assesses globalisation facts and fears; Plans for Bank, Fund contested; World Bank lending to poorest countries examined; Will grants kill IDA?; Positive signals on IMF evaluation; New official review of PRSPs; Argentina to be sacrificed on free-market altar?; Conditionality review exposes divergent opinions; Bank unveils new environment strategy; MIGA attacked by NGOs and Congress.
Who’s Minding the Bank?
Stephen Fidler (Foreign Policy) Sep 2001
The World Bank is in crisis, struggling to devise a new formula for development as critics slam it for incompetence, inefficiency, and irrelevance. Who's to blame? Try bank President Jim Wolfensohn, whose personal failings and misguided policies have muddled the bank's mission and pushed its best staff out the door. But the bank's travails also underscore the hypocrisy of its rich shareholder nations. An exclusive investigative report.
Update on work on the New Basel Capital Accord
Basel Committee newsletter No. 2 Sep 2001
The purpose of this update is to inform the banking industry, the supervisory community and other interested parties about the work under way on the New Basel Capital Accord by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision's Capital Group.
Finance & Development Volume 38, Number 3
IMF Sep 2001
Social sector reform, globalisation, transition countries, and others.
The World Bank's Mission Creep
Jessica Einhorn (Foreign Affairs) Sep/Oct 2001
The World Bank is seemingly everywhere nowadays, from aiding economic transition in Eastern Europe to fighting AIDS in Africa.
Supply Chain Hinders Euro Conversion
Computerworld Sep 1, 2001
With only four months left before 12 European Union member nations must begin using a single currency, IT managers are worried their companies' supply chains are unprepared for the euro.
Argentina Has an Offer Bondholders Can't Refuse
David DeRosa (Bloomberg) Sep 2, 2001
Every time I hear Argentine Finance Secretary Daniel Marx talk about searching for a ``market friendly'' solution to his country's debt problem I recall Mario Puzo's Mafia Boss Vito Corleone making someone an offer he can't refuse.
China’s economic worries
Economist Sep 3, 2001
China’s economy has withstood the global slowdown to achieve growth in the first half of this year of just under 8%. But while the outside world gasps at this resilience, China’s own policymakers seem to be biting their nails.
The Global Effects of Japanese Job Cuts
William Pesek Jr. (Bloomberg) Sep 3, 2001
Japanese companies are doing the unthinkable: firing workers. Faced with recession, plunging stocks and deflation, executives are rethinking lifetime employment. Or are they?
Nielsen NetRatings: Global Net population at least 459m
Nua Sep 3, 2001
There were 459 million people with Internet access in the 30 countries studied byNielsen NetRatings at the end of Q2 this year.
Power problems
Economist Sep 3, 2001
The slower pace of economic growth worldwide has probably saved much of the Americas from a severe energy crunch. However, the reprieve may be only temporary. So far, there are few signs that the governments of the region are doing enough to tackle the problem for the long term
Is that study really necessary? Economics helps decide if we should put our money where researchers' mouths are
CheckBiotech Sep 3, 2001
It's assumed that repetition will bring confirmation or refutation. Often it just brings confusion, as we struggle for criteria to compare competing claims and policy recommendations. There's also the danger that follow-up studies are attempts to confirm, rather than test, existing beliefs.
Greenspan Keeps Faith in the New Economy
IHT Sep 4, 2001
The U.S. economic boom has collapsed despite the faith of Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman, that the ever-greater efficiencies of the information age would keep on raising profits, incomes and employment at a healthy pace.
IMF to Tokyo: Drop the Files, It's a Raid!
William Pesek Jr. (Bloomberg) Sep 4, 2001
If Tom Cruise is looking for a plot for the third installment of his 'Mission: Impossible' series, he might consider coming to Japan.
Close to chaos
Economist Sep 4, 2001
Outraged by attempts to label Israel the world's most racist state, American and Israeli delegations have withdrawn from the UN World Conference Against Racism. Can anything be salvaged from the mess?
Tobin Wants His Tax Back
WSJE Sep 4, 2001
The economist tells the anti-global movement to buzz off.
Trade Helps More Than Handouts
Keith Marsden (WSJE) Sep 4, 2001
Criticism that the U.S. is doing less to help the Third World is off base.
Future Shock: Forecasting a Grim Fate for the Earth
CheckBiotech Sep 4, 2001
In recent years, much attention has focused on the potential environmental effects of global climate change, but other anthropogenic impacts might be even more important. A new study by Tilman et al. highlights the threat posed to natural ecosystems worldwide by increasing agricultural development. Over the next 50 years, model projections suggest that rates of habitat destruction, water consumption and emission of agricultural pollutants will increase drastically. Such changes will be greatest in developing nations, which sustain a disproportionately large fraction of the Earth's biological diversity.
Euro Trips on U.S. Data
IHT Sep 5, 2001
Hopes of an economic recovery in the United States sent the euro plummeting against the dollar Tuesday after a key U.S. manufacturing index posted its biggest gain in five years.
WTO Sets Approval Date for China's Application
IHT Sep 5, 2001
China will clear the final hurdle for admission into the World Trade Organization late next week, with Taiwan receiving approval for membership the following day, sources close to the negotiations said Tuesday.
Don't Count on It
Paul Krugman (NYT) Sep 5, 2001
History has repeatedly made fools of people who try to predict future technological developments, let alone the implications of those developments for long-term economic growth.
Northward, ho!
Economist Sep 5, 2001
America and Mexico are fast developing a "special relationship". It will have to be very special if George Bush and Vicente Fox are to reach a new arrangement on immigration.
Euro Shows Lack of Identity and Self-Confidence
David DeRosa (Bloomberg) Sep 5, 2001
Yesterday's surge in the dollar of more than two cents against the euro shows yet again that it's the U.S. economy that drives the European unit.
CSFB's Lesson: Do as the Dragons Do
Patrick Smith (Bloomberg) Sep 5, 2001
Another horror story from the Western merchant banks operating in Asia. This time the protagonist -- or do I mean antagonist? -- is Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., which has run afoul of the Chinese authorities for picking up the wrong piece of business in Taiwan.
BOA's Flint on Performance of Asian Currencies, Dollar: Comment
Bloomberg Sep 5, 2001
Simon Flint, a currency strategist at Bank of America in Singapore, comments on the performance of Asian currencies against the U.S. dollar.
Harnessing Biotechnology for the Poor: challenges ahead for capacity, safety and public investment
CheckBiotech Sep 5, 2001
The opportunities available through international collaboration in agri-food biotechnology are many, and can contribute to developing-country objectives for agricultural and social development. Hands-on experience gained through collaborative research, training programmes, and international technology transfer projects are critical. However, the ultimate success of the activities presented in this chapter will often be judged on the basis of tangible products in farmers’ fields. This is not a short-term process and will require strong national partners, from the public as well as the private sectors. In addition, collaborating countries will have to review, and possibly adapt, their systems for biosafety review and IPR regulation. Such capacity building implies costs that must be weighed against the expected benefits.
Is Bush's America to Be Absent in World Affairs?
Jim Hoagland (IHT) Sep 6, 2001
There must be a better way to win friends and influence nations than walking out of conferences, denouncing treaties or sitting on your hands while the Middle East burns. The Bush administration seems unable or unwilling to demonstrate to the world that it can find that way.
Apec finance summit short on optimism
SCMP Sep 6, 2001
With the Pacific century fast losing its lustre, consensus must be reached on addressing the local and global slowdowns.
Europe's Softening Core
Charles Grant (WSJE) Sep 6, 2001
State of the Union: The Franco-German heart of the EU is losing importance, but a two-speed Europe is no answer.
Make Way for Australia
Alan Oxley and Bruce C. Wolpe (AWSJ) Sep 6, 2001
A free-trade agreement with the United States would be to the benefit of both nations.
The IMF blows the whistle on Japan
Adam Posen (FT) Sep 6, 2001
You know that time is running out in Japan when the International Monetary Fund feels obliged to ask for a special analysis of the country's banking system. Yet in making this request - to which the Japanese government has just acquiesced, fortunately - the IMF has lived up to its fundamental mission to support the world financial system and responded to calls to replace post-crisis bailouts with crisis prevention.
Europe's high-tech economies
Economist Sep 6, 2001
Finland, Ireland and Sweden have been differently affected by the tech bust.
Driven to the same depths?
Economist Sep 6, 2001
Fears are growing that the Japanese stockmarket may foretell what lies ahead for American equities.
The Tobin tax
Economist Sep 6, 2001
Unexpected support for a tax on cross-border capital flows.
Is opposition to GM crops science or politics? An investigation into the arguments that GM crops pose a particular threat to the environment
CheckBiotech Sep 6, 2001
As with many new technologies, people are keen to embrace the benefits but reluctant to accept potential risks. The manner of introduction of GM crops onto the market has led to widespread loss of public confidence, which has been exploited by non-representative groups and activists for their own political ends. Some hypothesised threats of GM crops to the environment are elevated as being more important than the security of mankind. And the future that the critics offer is bleak: hard-won knowledge is rejected in favour of ideology.
The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology Releases Harvest on the Horizon: Future Uses of Agricultural Biotechnology
CheckBiotech Sep 6, 2001
Harvest on the Horizon: Future Uses of Agricultural Biotechnology is intended to enrich both the knowledge and dialogue surrounding agricultural biotechnology by profiling some of the genetically engineered products being developed by industry and university scientists. The report reviews some of the current research on large-scale crops like corn and soybeans, but it also outlines ongoing research on a much broader range of plants, trees, grasses, animals, insects and fish. While not a comprehensive inventory, Harvest on the Horizon reveals the breadth and scope of current research activities and gives a snapshot of how industry and university researchers are thinking about potential future agricultural biotechnology products.
Trade chief restates WTO vow
SCMP Sep 7, 2001
Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng has repeated Beijing's promise to give European insurers equal treatment with their United States peers after China joins the World Trade Organisation.
After European now Asian Monetary Union?
AT Sep 7, 2001
We listened - closely - when Nobel economics laureate Robert A Mundell spoke in Bangkok the other day on an Asia Monetary Union. What he said seemed at best premature, and in part went entirely against the grain of editorial opinion expressed in these pages over the past few years - in other words, it was precisely what one needs to hear every once in a while to jog one's mind and not get complacent in one's views.
The IMF in Argentina: Bailouts for Investors
Mary Anastasia O'Grady (WSJ) Sep 7, 2001
Creditors must face their losses when a nation cannot pay.
No White House Invitation for Venezuela's Chavez
David DeRosa (Bloomberg) Sep 7, 2001
Can you imagine what Venezuelans who oppose their radical president, Hugo Chavez, were thinking when they saw Mexican President Vicente Fox's reception in Washington D.C.?
European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy to meet Asian leaders
EU DGT Sep 8, 2001
European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will meet political leaders and representatives of the business communities of several Asian countries during his visit to Vietnam and Singapore from 10 to 14 September 2001. The main purpose of Commissioner Lamy's visit is the 3rd Asia Europe Meeting of Economic Ministers to be held in Hanoi (Vietnam) on 10 and 11 September. Bilateral and multilateral meetings will address how the economic relationships between the two regions and with each country can be enhanced. Furthermore Commissioner Lamy will continue to canvass support for the launch of a new round of trade negotiations later this year in Doha (Qatar). He will also examine prospects for WTO accession of certain Asian partners. Looking forward to this trip, Commissioner Lamy said: 'The active support of the Asian countries will be essential if we are to launch a new Round at WTO negotiations in Qatar. I look forward to meeting with my ASEM and ASEAN counterparts in order to bring us closer to this objective. I also look forward to bilateral visits in both Vietnam and Singapore, both of whom are important partners for the EU.'
Argentine Debt Buyback Would Be Coup for Cavallo
David DeRosa (Bloomberg) Sep 9, 2001
Argentina is making noises that it wants to buy back a chunk of its own debt as part of efforts to reduce its staggering $130 billion of liabilities. The country's bonds are selling at prices greatly discounted from original issuance prices. Nice work if you can get it, Minister Cavallo.
Apec challenges barriers
SCMP Sep 10, 2001
Asia-Pacific financial officials wound up four days of meetings in Suzhou yesterday, calling for the dismantling of trade barriers and a co-ordinated effort to tackle a global economic slowdown.
Ministers seek new trade round
SCMP Sep 10, 2001
Southeast Asian economic ministers today gather in Hanoi for week-long talks with their international trade partners amid mounting calls for a new world trade round to counter protectionist pressures stimulated by a worsening global slowdown.
Memo From Wall Street: Even Harder Path Ahead
IHT Sep 10, 2001
With unemployment rising, stock prices retreating, corporate profits in free fall and consumers showing signs of pulling back on spending, a number of economists now say the U.S. economy has stopped growing and that prospects for an autumn rebound are rapidly disappearing.
Where There Was a Boom There Is Now Going to Be a Bust
James Grant (IHT) Sep 10, 2001
The weak economy and the multi-trillion-dollar drop in the value of stocks have raised a rash of recrimination. Never a people to suffer the loss of money in silence, Americans are demanding to know what happened to them. The truth is simple: There was a boom.
The Slump Is Here, but a Rebound Is in the Cards
David Ignatius (IHT) Sep 10, 2001
The economic version of the Perfect Storm continued to gather force last week with Friday's news of a sharp fall in the Japanese economy and a big jump in U.S. unemployment. Reading these gloomy stories, you sense that the global economic mess is going to get a good deal worse before it gets better.
The War on Tax Havens
Ilana Mercer (Mises Daily) Sep 10, 2001
Despite a din of protests from The New York Times and the Washington Post, the Bush administration refused to support an attempt by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to clamp down on tax havens. Fronting for about thirty high-tax governments, the Paris-based organization has been leaning on jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the Isle of Man.
US treasury chief says economy will revive this year
FT Sep 10, 2001
After a week in which equity markets around the world were battered by signs that the US slowdown would last longer than expected, US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said that America was in a 'cyclical downturn' and would revive later this year.
G-10's George Says World Economy May be Close to Growth Turning Point
Bloomberg Sep 10, 2001
The Group of 10 nations see world economic growth 'close to a turning point' after the sharp slowdown at the end of 2000 and the beginning of this year, Bank of England Governor Edward George said.
UBS's Fand, Top Strategist, Sees Euro Rally Faltering: Outlook
Bloomberg Sep 10, 2001
UBS Warburg strategist Jeremy Fand says sell the euro and buy the dollar.
Deflating bubbles
Economist Sep 10, 2001
Stockmarkets around the world are jittery, as concern mounts that the long-awaited recovery in the American economy may be further delayed. Some analysts now fear a lengthy global bear market.
Australia Dollar May Decline as Global Risk Appetite Wanes
Bloomberg Sep 11, 2001
The Australian dollar, little changed, may fall on concern slower regional growth will curb demand for Australian exports and as investors prefer to put money into U.S. dollar-denominated assets.
Geneva talks key to WTO
SCMP Sep 11, 2001
China's negotiators have arrived in Geneva for a critical meeting at the World Trade Organisation's lakeside headquarters.
IMF Lowers Its Outlook on Global Economy
IHT Sep 11, 2001
The International Monetary Fund is lowering its prediction of global economic growth for this year, its managing director, Horst Koehler, said Monday amid increasing signs of a simultaneous slowing in the world's major regions.
Avoid a Trans-Atlantic Trade War
David L. Aaron (IHT) Sep 11, 2001
In the midst of an economic slowdown, the last thing the world needs is a trade war between the United States and Europe. Yet that danger loomed larger with the recent ruling by the World Trade Organization that tax breaks for U.S. exporters are illegal. The European Union will soon be able to put prohibitive tariffs on as much as $4 billion in U.S. exports if the United States fails to comply. The U.S. trade representative, Robert Zoellick, has likened this to dropping a "nuclear bomb" in the trade world.
New move to calm market jitters
FT Sep 11, 2001
World stock markets have recovered following steep falls in morning trading amid attempts by leading central bankers to reassure investors about the outlook for the world economy.
Köhler says IMF may look again at 'Tobin tax'
FT Sep 11, 2001
Horst Köhler, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, has acknowledged recent calls by political leaders in Germany and France for more detailed discussions on how better to control international capital markets.
An idea that gained currency but lost clarity
James Tobin (FT) Sep 11, 2001
More than 30 years after I first explored the idea of a levy on cross-border currency speculation, the "Tobin tax" is gaining popularity.
A Not-So-Bold Prediction for 2026
Hugo Restall (AWSJ) Sep 11, 2001
Examining Asia: Changing ideas about corporate governance will transform Asia.
China to the rescue?
Asia Times Sep 11, 2001
Nine of the world's 10 largest economies have a severe sinking feeling. The odd one out is number six, China, and Asian nations are pinning their hopes on that country tossing them a lifeline. But their calls for China to revalue its currency constitute an admission that domestic reforms are going nowhere and exports as usual are their only hope. China should stay the course, and East Asia must find its own ways to meet the challenge.
Deflating bubbles
Economist Sep 11, 2001
European stockmarkets have plunged on news of the terrorist onslaught on America. Even before this disaster, markets around the world were languishing, in part because of concerns that the long-awaited recovery in the American economy may be further delayed. Some analysts now fear a lengthy global bear market.
Biotechnology: Giving a voice to the developing world
CheckBiotech Sep 11, 2001
The conference, 'Biotechnology and Sustainable Development: Voices of the South and North,' in Alexandria, Egypt from October 15 to 17, aims at giving developing countries a voice in what will certainly affect their abilities to feed their growing populations. The conference will give governments, scientists, and members of civil society from both the developing and the industrialized worlds a chance to interact and share their concerns about biotechnology.
WTO marathon nears end
SCMP Sep 12, 2001
Trade diplomats in Geneva began a final 48-hour-long push to clear the last hurdles to China's entry into the World Trade Organisation.
IMF mission signals mending of strained ties
SCMP Sep 12, 2001
The International Monetary Fund is likely to send a high-level mission to assess the country's progress on a recently agreed batch of economic reforms.
Support grows for fresh trade round
SCMP Sep 12, 2001
European and Asian ministers have expressed political will to create conditions for the launch of a new global trade round at a World Trade Organisation meeting in Qatar in November.
Dollar Drops Sharply
IHT Sep 12, 2001
The dollar fell against other major currencies Tuesday after terrorists hijacked commercial airliners, crashing one into the Pentagon and destroying the World Trade Center building in the biggest terrorist attack in U.S. history.
Terrorist Attacks Send the World's Markets Plunging
IHT Sep 12, 2001
A series of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington reverberated through global financial markets Tuesday, shutting down trading on all financial exchanges across the Americas and sending stock indexes in Europe tumbling. The dollar fell sharply against major currencies, while oil and gold - considered safe investments in times of turmoil - soared.
Markets closed as they count the cost
FT Sep 12, 2001
US financial markets were closed on Tuesday after the devastating terrorist attacks at the heart of the world's financial capital.
Insurers face most costly disaster in history
FT Sep 12, 2001
The huge loss of life in the attacks in the US could turn out to be the most costly disaster in the history of the insurance industry. "It is safe to assume claims will be in billions," said Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute.
Venezuela bid to take heat off currency
FT Sep 12, 2001
Venezuela's central bank has begun issuing high-interest, short-term domestic debt, for the first time in three years, in an effort to contain mounting speculative pressure on the national currency, the bolivar.
Experts debate economic effects
Daily Pennsylvanian Sep 12, 2001
From consumer spending to the financial markets, most predict a significant drop.
Markets to Get Back to the Business of Business
Caroline Baum (Bloomberg) Sep 12, 2001
After the shock and horror, disbelief and anger subside; after the death and destruction are assessed and assimilated; and once U.S. financial markets reopen for business presumably on Thursday, America will get back to the business of America, which, after all, is business.
Treasury's O'Neill Rebukes Calls for Intervention
David DeRosa (Bloomberg) Sep 12, 2001
U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is a man who speaks his mind. He doesn't like the concept of supranational institutions, such as the International Monetary Authority, extending emergency credits to nations under financial duress.
Dollar Holds Gains, as G-7 May Cooperate to Support Currency
Bloomberg Sep 12, 2001
The dollar, little changed, may hold yesterday's gains on expectations the Group of Seven nations will act to prevent Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the U.S. from sending the world economy into recession.
Mizoguchi Says Japan to Act If Yen Rises `Excessively': Comment
Bloomberg Sep 12, 2001
Zembei Mizoguchi, director- general of the Ministry of Finance's international bureau, made following comments on the currency market.
IMF, World Bank Meetings Might be Cancelled After U.S. Terrorist Attacks
Bloomberg Sep 12, 2001
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are looking at postponing or canceling their annual meetings because the terrorist attacks in the U.S. have heightened security risks at the largest global gathering of financial officials.
Central Banks Worldwide Likely to Cut Rates After Terrorism, Futures Show
Bloomberg Sep 12, 2001
Central banks will need to cut interest rates more than previously expected to revive consumer confidence after terrorist attacks in the U.S. destroyed the World Trade Center, investors said.
Lamy Offers Condolences, Cuts Short Visit to Asia
EC DGT Sep 12, 2001
Reacting to the tragic events in the US, European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said on Wednesday: "We all have uppermost in our minds the tragic events that occurred in the United States yesterday. This is a time for sympathy, condolences and solidarity with the families of the victims in the United States. It is a time for reflection." Mr Lamy, who cut short his mission to Vietnam and Singapore to return to Brussels Wednesday, said he had sent a personal message expressing these sentiments to his US counterpart and friend, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. Reacting to a question on the impact of the terrorist attack on financial markets, Mr Lamy said: "This is not a time to talk dollars and cents. We are dealing with life and death and nothing is more important than that. If the intention of the perpetrators of this barbarous act is to bring the world to a halt, I don't think we should give them that satisfaction."
Economic Terrorism and the View From Abroad
William Pesek Jr. (Bloomberg) Sep 12, 2001
As an American, a New Yorker by birth and a resident of Washington D.C. until a month ago, yesterday's terrorist attacks were especially surreal for me.
The market fallout
The Economist Sep 12, 2001
Calm seems to have returned to European stockmarkets after they, and Asian markets, plunged in the immediate wake of the terrorist onslaught on America. The initial panic was unsurprising. But even before this disaster, markets around the world were languishing. The disaster has heightened fears that the world is entering a prolonged bear market.
Little Progress In Doha Preparations
BRIDGES Weekly Sep 12, 2001
A number of recent trade meetings, including a brief informal session of the WTO General Council (GC) on 4 September, has shown that much ground remains to be covered if WTO Members are to find convergence in views in the leadup to the WTO's Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar on 9-13 November. Most positions remain unchanged since Members last convened on Doha preparations on 30-31 July, and meetings in Mexico and Uruguay last week showed little rapprochement between Members' traditional demands.
Civil Society In Doha: Few Into The Glass Building, None Outside It
BRIDGES Weekly Sep 12, 2001
On 10 August, WTO Director General Mike Moore sent a letter to 647 applicants eligible for representing the community of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) at the Forth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, on 9-13 November. Despite the warm welcoming words of the Director General, many civil society representatives expressed frustration and dissapointment about the limitations for participation and the allocation of slots.
A Tribute to Trade
Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. (Mises Daily) Sep 12, 2001
The sight of New York City’s twin World Trade Center towers falling to the ground, the result of an act of deliberate aggression, seems to symbolize two points that seem entirely forgotten today: the magnificent contribution that commerce makes to civilization and just how vulnerable it is to its enemies. If the enemies of capitalist commerce are hell-bent on the destruction of the source of wealth, there are few means available to prevent it.
17 popular myths about GM which were busted by the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification
CheckBiotech Sep 12, 2001
We have produced a document setting out the common myths about GM and the treatment they were given by the Royal Commission. Thanks very much to James Ryan of Federated Farmers for his stirling effort.
Focusing on U.S., Stocks Dive in Asia but Recover in Europe
IHT Sep 13, 2001
World financial markets staggered through a confusing session Wednesday, still reeling in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the United States.
Antitrust Law: Trade Carefully
FEER Sep 13, 2001
There are several pitfalls in applying century-old notions of competition and monopoly to today's industries—especially in the New Economy.
European Union and ECB move to reassure markets
FT Sep 13, 2001
The European Union moved swiftly on Wednesday to reassure financial markets that it would do everything necessary to support their operations in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the US.
When the economy held its breath
Economist Sep 13, 2001
The world was already moving dangerously close to recession—and this week’s terrorist attacks in America have increased the risks.
War is not necessarily bad for markets
Economist Sep 13, 2001
The centre of global finance has been blasted, but business goes on.
The oil market is unpredictable
Economist Sep 13, 2001
The oil market is unpredictable. It was last week, and it still is.
The biggest bill of all
Economist Sep 13, 2001
For insurers, the terrorist attacks in America are the biggest man-made disaster ever.
Global food chain poses stiff challenge for WTO talks
CheckBiotech Sep 13, 2001
Food safety issues remain clouded by whose science one believes. From bovine growth hormones to GMO foods, culture and science have clashed from the U.S. to Europe to Asia.
A Pillar of Wall Street Is Struck by Tragedy
IHT Sep 14, 2001
Until Tuesday, few people beyond the rarefied world of the government bond market had ever heard of the firm Cantor Fitzgerald LP, a 57-year-old institution that is an important piece of the backstage machinery of the Treasury market.
The economic aftershock
Economist Sep 14, 2001
With American markets now scheduled to re-open on September 17th, attention is beginning to focus on the impact of the terrorist attacks on the world economy. Do the events of September 11th mean America and the rest of the world are heading for recession?
Global interest rates expected to fall
FT Sep 14, 2001
Analysts and traders are confident interest rates will be cut in coming weeks - perhaps in the next few days. But they do not expect the world's central banks to make a simultaneous cut.
Of maize and men: Is the endorsement of GM crops science or politics?
CheckBiotech Sep 14, 2001
The political arguments opposing GM crops are manifold and range from corporate control versus food sovereignty, the freedom of choice when even organically grown food is threatened to be contaminated, the transparency and democratic level of decision making in genetic engineering politics and the preference of locally adapted developments over global ‘one size fits all’ solutions.
IMF to Shelve Annual Talks
IHT Sep 17, 2001
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank will call off annual meetings scheduled for later this month because of security concerns over the events, officials said.
Anxious eyes on Wall St
SCMP Sep 17, 2001
Investors around the world are braced for a rocky week ahead as Wall Street opens for the first time since last Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the United States.
Mainland stands at end of WTO struggle
SCMP Sep 17, 2001
China's 15-year marathon bid to join the World Trade Organisation looks set to end in success today.
EU welcomes conclusion of work in Geneva to ensure China's accession to the WTO
EU DGT Sep 17, 2001
On Monday, the EU welcomed the fact that the Working Party charged with preparing China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) concluded its task successfully. Welcoming the consensus reached, Commissioner Lamy said "It is very satisfying to see over 15 years of hard work bear fruit. China’s accession will make the WTO a truly global organisation. The WTO is about binding countries peacefully together through close trading links in a multilateral system. At this difficult time, the important work concluded on Monday in Geneva provides this system and us all with a much-needed boost of confidence and hope for the future. Mr Lamy payed tribute to Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng for their 'unwavering commitment to the huge challenge of bringing China into the WTO which they demonstrated to me on numerous occasions'. He also praised his predecessor Sir Leon Brittan 'who expended so much energy on behalf of the EU to get China into the WTO'.
The Economy, Too, Will Recover
Stephen S. Roach (NYT) Sep 18, 2001
Just as the business cycle proved to be alive and well in the economic downturn this year, now it is only a matter of when and under what conditions an upswing will occur.
Central Banks Coordinate Moves, but Dow Slides 7% in First Day Since Attacks
IHT Sep 18, 2001
The terrorist attacks that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center finally hit Wall Street on Monday, battering the stock markets despite extraordinary efforts by government and industry to shore up confidence.
Newsbytes: PC markets shrinking around the world
Nua Sep 18, 2001
Both the business and consumer PC markets will continue to fall this year, reports Newsbytes.
China, US and the new world order
AT Sep 18, 2001
The terrorist attacks on the US have revealed a new dimension of international affairs that changes all geopolitical standards, writes Francesco Sisci. The gigantic scale and ruthlessness of the attacks make irrelevant any friction the US may have had with other countries. The main issue now is a conflict between accountable and non-accountable states, and in this conflict China has much to offer the US.
EC Shows Improved Understanding Of Asian Developing Countries' Concerns
BRIDGES Weekly Sep 18, 2001
At an 11 September meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, trade ministers from 10 Asian countries and their EU counterparts agreed to promote the launching of a new round of free trade talks at the forthcoming WTO Ministerial to be held in Qatar. But most developing country delegations expressed concerns -- and Malaysia even doubts -- over whether a new round should take place this year.
Speculation Emerges On Possible Trade Repercussions Of US Attacks
BRIDGES Weekly Sep 18, 2001
In response to speculations that the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, currently scheduled for 9-13 November, might be postponed following the terrorist attacks on the US, the WTO announced that preparations for the meeting would continue as planned. Speculation also abounds regarding possible impacts of the attacks on the global economy; the meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) later this month; and the approval of 'trade promotion authority' for the US President.
UNCTAD Report Calls For Dramatic Increase In African Aid And Trade
BRIDGES Weekly Sep 18, 2001
A UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) study entitled "Economic Development in Africa: Performance, Prospects and Policy Issues" released on 11 September 2001 reviews the recent economic performance of Africa in terms of output growth and sectoral developments, examines factors affecting growth prospects, and produces policy recommendations for bolstering the continent's projected growth rate of only three percent over the next decade.
Eurozone inflation rate expected to drop further
FT Sep 18, 2001
Annual inflation in the eurozone should continue to fall in coming months in spite of the risk of higher energy prices after last week's terrorist attacks in the US, economists say.
Welcome to the family, China
FT Sep 18, 2001
The agreement to admit China into the World Trade Organisation is good news for a sombre world.
Biggest drop in foreign investment in 30 years
AT Sep 19, 2001
Even before the terror attacks of last week, a leading United Nations publication predicted that overall foreign investment flows across the world will drop by 40 percent in 2001 compared to last year's record of US$1.3 trillion. This would represent the steepest drop in 30 years.
Chinese Taipei's membership deal struck
WTO Sep 19, 2001
Chinese Taipei has reached agreement with WTO members on its membership application on 18 September, paving the way for formal adoption at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha in November and full membership 30 days after the deal has been ratified in the customs territory.
WTO reviews US trade policies
WTO Sep 19, 2001
The Chairperson, at the conclusion of the sixth review of US' trade policies and practices on 17 September 2001, said that world trade cooperation as condition for the well-being of, and peaceful relations among nations is an "important consideration at a time when global economic difficulties and the recent terrorist attacks loom large in our minds".
Global Stock Markets Stabilize After Falloff
IHT Sep 19, 2001
Financial markets around the world stabilized Tuesday, but a rally on Wall Street fizzled late in the day, weighing on hopes that the biggest point decline ever on Wall Street had brought stock prices into line with reduced expectations for growth.
A Coming Age for Mutual Funds
FEER Sep 20, 2001
Despite the sharp decline in the region's stockmarkets, investors are pouring money into equity-based mutual funds. The reason being that investors believe that by investing across a wide range of shares they can spread risk, increase returns and, in the process, beat the index. Plus: China's launch of open-ended funds, managed accounts and Asia's introduction to hedge funds.
Recession fears hit markets
FT Sep 20, 2001
Fears that a drawn-out international conflict will drive the global economy into recession undermined world financial markets again on Thursday, driving US stocks down in morning trading following falls in Asia and Europe.
Permanent technology revolution
FT Sep 20, 2001
Only last year, it seemed self-evident that we were witnessing an economic miracle - an information technology revolution powered by innovation in computers, software and telecommunications.
Economists Urge Political Prudence
IHT Sep 21, 2001
Economists of various ideological stripes have similar advice for Washington officials debating what they should do quickly to bolster the struggling U.S. economy: Don't do much.
Greenspan outlook bullish
SCMP Sep 21, 2001
The terrorist attacks on the United States have caused a significant drop in activity in an already weak economy, but the country's long-term prospects remain strong, according to Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.
Soros calls for strength
SCMP Sep 21, 2001
Enhancing the financial sector is China's biggest challenge before its admission to the World Trade Organisation, according to billionaire financier George Soros.
Doubts gnaw at world food trade
CheckBiotech Sep 21, 2001
The United States and European Union have clashed over bananas and beef imports -- both rows have led to trade sanctions worth millions of dollars -- and Europe's reluctance to embrace U.S. grown genetically-modified crops continues to be a major irritant.
Free Markets Would Be OPEC's Undoing
George Reisman (Mises Daily) Sep 21, 2001
Middle Eastern terrorism rests on a foundation of financial support in the form of revenues derived from the sale of oil by the members of the OPEC cartel. Sometimes, as in the case of Iraq and Libya, the connection is simple and direct—oil revenues go straight to terrorist governments, either because the terrorist governments themselves own the oil deposits or because they collect taxes based on oil revenues. Such revenues are then used to finance terrorist operations.
Simple questions, tricky answers
Nick Leonard (FT) Sep 21, 2001
The international crisis has undermined confidence when trends were already worrying.
Majority of economists see US recession
FT Sep 23, 2001
The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington will cut economic growth sharply across the world, according to a wide range of new and revised forecasts published over the weekend.
Currency fall increases fears over Brazil debt
FT Sep 23, 2001
Brazil's currency has reached a record low as its economic malaise has intensified in the wake of the attacks in the US and increased pressure on already fragile public finances.
Opec's dilemma
FT Sep 23, 2001
Laurent Fabius, France's finance minister, declared on Friday that the determining element of the shock that has hit the world is oil. "So far the reaction has been measured," he said, implying that if the oil markets had not panicked, the rest of the world had no reason to.
The naughty are rewarded in US's foreign policy shift
AT Sep 24, 2001
It appears that the United States will now reward or punish foreign governments depending on their support for the war against terrorism. The implications of this sudden shift in US foreign policy priorities are enormous, because of the unrivalled US economic and military power and its influence in international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Nations that are suddenly in the US's good books range from Uzbekistan to Indonesia to Sudan.
Non-performing loans return to haunt region
SCMP Sep 24, 2001
Asian banks still hurting from the crash of 1997 are again being burdened with non-performing loans (NPLs) amid an economic slowdown and a global security crisis that is compounding the situation.
Spending Is Urged for Euro Zone
IHT Sep 24, 2001
As Europe braces for the economic aftershocks of the terrorist attacks on the United States, the chief economist at the World Bank is calling for a coordinated campaign of public spending aimed at preventing the Continent's slowdown from worsening
With Competition Comes Opportunity
Rodolfo C. Severino (AWSJ) Sep 24, 2001
China's WTO entry isn't a challenge to be feared, but an opportunity to be seized.
Advice to the Taliban and Saddam
Jude Wanniski (Polyconomics) Sep 24, 2001
A few hours after the terrorists struck Sept. 11, I called a friend in Washington to discuss the situation, but he immediately burst out: I know, I know, we’ve been waiting for this and now it’s come, but I don’t want to hear anything from you except we have to kill them.
'New Economy' Is a Thing of the Past
LA Times Sep 24, 2001
For a little over a decade following the fall of the Berlin Wall, America lived without serious threat. The result was a U.S. economy that could devote itself single-mindedly to churning out better video games, bigger houses, wild start-ups and improved lives.
For First Time Since Attacks, Global Stocks Rally
IHT Sep 25, 2001
Stocks rebounded Monday in Europe and on Wall Street as the weekend passed without U.S. retaliation for the terrorist attacks this month, and investors concluded that stocks had fallen too far, too fast.
Pakistan on course for further IMF funds
FT Sep 25, 2001
The International Monetary Fund has said Pakistan was on track for a fresh lending package, but played down its size and denied it was connected to the campaign against terrorism.
Asia's Economy
AWSJ Sep 25, 2001
The outlook in Asia isn't as bad as some might think.
IMF Loan Agreement Good for Argentina
Thomas C. Dawson (IMF) Sep 25, 2001
We differ strongly with Mr. Weisbrot's characterization of Argentina's latest loan agreement with the IMF as "helping Argentina dig itself into a deeper hole"("Community `Helpers' Such as IMF Make a Junkie of Argentina," Sept. 5). It is his prescription of default and devaluation that would see Argentina digging itself deeper.
WTO Pursues Discussion On IPRs And Access To Medicines
BRIDGES Weekly Sep 25, 2001
Repeating the scenario of their June meeting on access to essential medicines, WTO Members again set aside one full day of the 19-21 September Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Council for discussions on the TRIPs Agreement and access to medicines.
Developing Countries Advocate New Negotiating Areas At WTO
BRIDGES Weekly Sep 25, 2001
Twelve developing countries from the Like Minded Group (LMG) circulated on 18 September a set of 'non-trade related' initiatives they are pushing to have included on the agenda for the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, currently scheduled for 9-13 November.
Opportunities and risks of genetically modified food
Check Biotech Sep 25, 2001
In its new publication, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Gentechnik und Lebensmittel - Genetic Engineering and Food Senate commission deals with issues concerning the objectives, application and legal framework of green genetic engineering. It comments on conceivable risks resulting from the cultivation and consumption of genetically modified plants or food and refers to safety precautions to protect the consumer.
Slide in Oil Prices Spells a Dilemma for OPEC
IHT Sep 26, 2001
As OPEC ministers headed to Vienna on Tuesday amid the latest crisis in the Middle East, they found themselves in an unusual position: seemingly powerless to control the plummeting price of oil.
G7 to seek stiffer controls on financial centres
FT Sep 26, 2001
The Group of Seven leading industrial nations on Tuesday pledged to pursue a comprehensive strategy to disrupt terrorist funding around the world in the aftermath of the attacks on the US.
The economic failure of Islam
Martin Wolf (FT) Sep 26, 2001
Why do they hate us so much? Along with the shock, anger and grief comes this question. What makes men plan and execute an atrocity on the scale of September 11? To these questions, many offer two answers: their poverty and our policies.
Editorial: Science must win the GM argument
Check Biotech Sep 26, 2001
Concerns are mounting in some quarters of the country that the Government is going to over-ride the recommendations of its own royal commission and continue a moratorium on the conditional release of genetically modified organisms. When the commission produced its report in July, suggesting releases should be allowed to "proceed with caution", the Prime Minister hailed the report as "thorough, balanced and measured." The Government gave itself three months to decide what to do.
IMF even gloomier in outlook
SCMP Sep 27, 2001
The global economy was on the brink of recession before the September 11 attacks on the United States and now faces an even worse prognosis, according to the International Monetary Fund.
S&P says US recession to hit in second half
SCMP Sep 27, 2001
The attacks in New York and Washington will push the United States into recession in the latter half of this year and grind global economic growth to a near standstill, Standard & Poor's (S&P) has warned.
OPEC Decides Against Cuts
IHT Sep 27, 2001
OPEC producers on Wednesday decided to keep their oil output limits unchanged, ruling out bigger curbs that might have risked deepening the world's economic downturn by raising the cost of energy.
Call for a new, 'ethical' G8
FT Sep 27, 2001
The existing Group of Eight industrial nations must be replaced by a new G8 bringing together all regions of the world, to ensure that the process of globalisation takes on a more ethical character, Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian prime minister, has said.
Ecuador set to get IMF $100m
FT Sep 27, 2001
The International Monetary Fund is likely to give Ecuador the remaining $100m of a standby loan accord after a mission completed its review of the Andean nation's economy.
Editorial comment: Opec's dilemma
FT Sep 27, 2001
As the war against terrorism moves towards a military phase, the western powers and the oil producing countries should agree on one thing. Both need a stable price for crude.
Trade and Terror
WSJ Sep 27, 2001
Commerce can be an effective weapon in the new war.
EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy to rally support among ACP countries for launch of new WTO Round
EU DGT Sep 27, 2001
EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will meet trade ministers from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries in Kenya next week.
As Options Run Out, Japan Drives Down Yen
IHT Sep 28, 2001
With its economic policy options nearly exhausted, the Japanese government is seeking to weaken the yen against the dollar to soften the impact of a possibly long and severe recession.
Asia Fears an Economic Crisis That Has Roots Far From Home
IHT Sep 28, 2001
Mark Lettenbichler expected a flood of canceled bookings in the days after the terror attacks on New York and Washington. What worries Mr. Lettenbichler, the general manager of the Ritz-Carlton hotel here, is that his guests have not yet returned.
Vietnam braces for a Chinese trade onslaught
AT Sep 28, 2001
China's entry into the World Trade Organization is sure to hurt Vietnamese exports and affect the country's ability to lure foreign investment, but stiffer competition may be just what Hanoi needs in order to accelerate economic reforms, and what businesses need to help them hone their skills.
Committee settles three implementation issues
WTO Sep 28, 2001
The WTO Agriculture Committee on 27 September 2001 agreed on three "implementation" issues that are part of the preparation for the Doha Ministerial Conference: export credits and insurance; the decision on net food-importing developing countries; and tariff quotas. This is part of the response to concerns raised by developing countries about difficulties in implementing the present WTO agreements.
Growth in eurozone money supply accelerates
FT Sep 28, 2001
Money supply growth in the eurozone has accelerated still further away from the European Central Bank's target, making it potentially harder for the ECB to justify future cuts in interest rates.
Editorial comment: Getting back to normal
FT Sep 28, 2001
The good news this week is all negative. The US economy did not contract in the second quarter. The equity markets have not plunged out of control. Ditto the dollar. The disturbing rise in long bond rates did not continue. Oil producers decided not to cut production. The International Monetary Fund says the world economy is not heading for recession.