Publications

SOME USD 5 TRILLION ON FINANCIAL SUPPORT SINCE THE CRISIS BEGAN, BUT ALMOST NOTHING HAS REACHED THE MOST VULNERABLE COUNTRIES

by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

22 July 2009

Supachai Panitchpakdi, head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that Capital flows to poorer states and export earnings have together collapsed by USD $2 trillion since the credit crunch began. "This is an alarming trend, and it’s not a result of their own doing." More

US CONGRESS DIVIDED ON THE NEED OF A NEW STIMULUS PACKAGE

by Bill Laforme

9 July 2009

A debt has started to develop in Washington on the and the viability or not of second federal stimulus package as, despite the massive deficits piling up in recent months, the economy is not reacting. More

BAIL-OUT OR BLOW-OUT? IMF POLICY ADVICE AND CONDITIONS FOR LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES AT A TIME OF CRISIS

by Eurodad

26 June 2009

Eurodad’s new research "Bail-out or blow-out? IMF policy advice and conditions for low-income countries at a time of crisis" shows that the IMF is still advising stringent fiscal and monetary policies to low income countries as well as controversial structural reforms. More

STAGES IN THE NEW DEBT DEFLATION FISHER-MINSKY CRISIS

by Arturo Guillén R.

19 June 2009

The global crisis is the most important capitalist crisis since World War II. It is a new type of debt-deflation crisis, highlighting the limits of the finance-dominated regime of accumulation in place since the 1980s and characterized, among other things, by securitization, that is, a financing regime based on issuing securities and derivatives. More

BALTIC ECONOMIC INSTABILITY THREATENS TO SPREAD TO SWEDEN

by Jordan Shilton

17 June 2009

The uncertainty over Latvia’s economic future has provoked concerns in ruling circles throughout Europe. Concerns are particularly acute in Sweden. Estimates suggest that Swedish-based banks have outstanding credits totalling 500 billion kronor (nearly €50 billion) to the Baltic countries. More

NAFTA’S SERFS: FROM WAGE SLAVERY TO DEBT SLAVERY

by Kent Paterson

17 June 2009

The growing indebtedness of Mexican credit card users has actually created a new opportunity for the shadowy, high-interest lender. To pay off high-interest credit cards, some debtors look again to the agiotistas. Meanwhile, delinquency rates on U.S. credit card accounts topped 5% at the end of the last year, with default rates continuing to climb upward during the first few months of 2009. More

RUSSIA: FINANCE MINISTER STATES CONFIDENCE IN THE US DOLLAR.

by News Agencies

15 June 2009

Russian Finance Minister Kudrin said over the weekend it was too early to think of a reserve- currency alternative to the dollar, More

ARE EASTERN EUROPE PROBLEMS GOING TO SPILLOVER?

by Nouriel Roubini

11 June 2009

The collapse of the Thai baht in July 1997 helped spark the Asian financial crisis. Could events in Latvia spawn a similar contagion? Eyes are focused on this small Baltic economy—amid growing talk of a devaluation—because of the potential for spillover effects into its fellow Baltic states, Sweden and the broader Eastern European region. More

SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE AND CURRENCY VOLATILITY

by Tony Phillips

9 June 2009

Latin America is rich in real terms, however its financial infrastructure is primitive. This means that many national and international transactions pass unnecessarily via northern financial centers, sometimes requiring two hard currency conversions from buyer currency to dollar to seller currency. More

LATVIA’S CRISIS DEEPENS

by Kathleen Moore

7 June 2009

Not so long ago it was the fastest growing economy in the European Union. But boom turned to spectacular bust last year as the global financial crisis swept across Eastern Europe, popping Latvia’s real-estate bubble. More