31 January 2008
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• Author: Louise Egan and Randall Palmer
• Source: Reuters News

OTTAWA - Canada is better placed than other members of the Group of Seven industrialized nations to withstand the difficulties likely to confront the global economy this year, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Thursday.

Flaherty told reporters that this year’s difficulties would constrain the budget he is expected to bring down in February or early March, but said “there is more to be done” to help manufacturers buy machinery and equipment to boost productivity. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Macroeconomic Policy

30 January 2008
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• Source: Agence France Presse

THE HAGUE -The Netherlands is the country best prepared to weather the US subprime home loan crisis and will be least affected by the resulting global slowdown, the OECD said on Thursday.

“The Netherlands will be less affected, less impacted than other European countries (as) they are the best prepared,” head of the OECD Angel Gurria said on the sideliness of the presentation of a report on the country’s economy. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Global Financial Crises

30 January 2008
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• Source: Kyodo News

ADDIS ABABA - Visiting former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori called on African leaders Thursday to take part in the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama in May.

‘’This year will be an extremely significant year for Japanese diplomacy toward Africa,'’ Mori said, making a speech as Japanese representative at the opening ceremony for the 10th Ordinary Session of the African Union’s Assembly. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Development

30 January 2008
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• Source: Xinhua News Agency

ADDIS ABABA - Japan has decided to send peacekeepers to Africa to help build the continent’s peacekeeping capacity, a Japanese envoy said here Thursday.

Japan’s former prime minister Yoshiro Mori, who is here to represent Japan at the 10th African Union (AU) Summit, did not mention which African country Japan would send peacekeeping troops to.

Observers here said this is the first time that Japan has pledged to send peacekeepers to Africa. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Conflict Prevention and Human Security

30 January 2008
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• Source: Agence France Presse

TOKYO - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon will visit Japan in April for talks on issues including civilian nuclear cooperation, a French embassy spokesman said Thursday.

During the visit, Fillon will meet Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and visit the northern town of Rokkasho, hub of the country’s nuclear industry, the spokesman said. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD

30 January 2008
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• Author: Deborah Zabarenko
• Source: Reuters News

HONOLULU - The world’s biggest emitters of global-warming greenhouse gases met behind closed doors on Wednesday for a U.S.-sponsored conference, as protesters pointed up Hawaii’s vulnerability to climate change.

The two-day meeting is meant to spur U.N. negotiations for an international climate agreement by 2009 so a pact will be ready when the carbon-capping Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Climate Change

30 January 2008
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• Author: TONY BARBER, BERTRAND BENOIT and GEORGE PARKER
• Source: Financial Times

European leaders meeting in London were warned yesterday not to succumb to the temptations of protectionism or the irresponsible pump-priming of their economies in response to global financial market turbulence.

Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, made the appeal ahead of a “credit crunch summit” last night in Downing Street of the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Multilateral Trade

30 January 2008
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• Author: Alistair MacDonald
• Source: The Wall Street Journal

LONDON - The leaders of Europe’s four largest economies agreed to push for a tougher, more-global way of regulating the world’s markets and banks.

Led by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the leaders are banking that, by joining together, they will be able to convince the U.S. and others to sign up. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Global Financial Crises, International Financial Architecture Reform

29 January 2008
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• Source: Jiji Press English News Service

WASHINGTON -The United States, Japan and Britain will jointly propose setting up a new fund as early as this year to help developing countries reduce greenhouse gases at a meeting next week, a senior U.S. Treasury official said Tuesday.

The fund aims to help developing countries introduce clean energy technologies. It targets emerging nations such as China and India that are major emitters of greenhouse gases but facing financial difficulty in introducing such technologies. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Climate Change

29 January 2008
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• Author: Paul Hannon and Laurence Norman
• Source: Dow Jones International News

LONDON - The leaders of Europe’s largest economies called for greater transparency in financial markets to tackle the impact of the global credit crunch but said Europe’s economies remain sound.

The leaders said that if participants in the financial markets, including rating agencies, don’t improve transparency, authorities will resort to regulation. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under International Financial Architecture Reform

29 January 2008
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• Author: Chietigj Bajpaee
• Source: Global Insight Daily Analysis

French president Nicolas Sarkozy concluded his visit to India on Saturday (26 January) by signing five bilateral agreements on defence, nuclear research and consular and development cooperation. His 300 member delegation also concluded 10 business deals and over 20 agreements with educational institutions. Both states announced a target for tripling bilateral trade to 10 million euro (US$17.6 million) by 2012, while France committed to investing 10 billion euro in India over the next four years. Sarkozy also reiterated France’s support for India’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and the G-8. He was also the guest of honour at India’s Republic Day parade. Meanwhile, French company Dassault Aviation was awarded a contract for 1.5 million euro to upgrade 51 Mirage-2000 aircraft that were purchased by the Indian Air Force in 1985. The company has also proposed selling its Rafale fighter to India. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Development, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD

29 January 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: AFX International Focus

LONDON - UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said governments and central banks must work closely together to put in place a robust supervisory regime to help ensure stability in the global economy. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Macroeconomic Policy

29 January 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

TOKYO - The Japan Patent Office said Tuesday that it will set up a 110 million yen fund later this year to enhance its efforts to help African countries protect and make better use of intellectual property.

The fund will be created at the World Intellectual Property Organization in the form of increasing the current amount of Japan’s voluntary contribution by 1.1 million Swiss francs, or about 110 million yen, in fiscal 2008, the JPO said. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Other

29 January 2008
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• Source: Agence France Presse

TOKYO -Japan should look at cutting greenhouse emissions by even more than the 50 percent by 2050 sought by the last Group of Eight summit, the environment minister said Tuesday.

Japan, home of the landmark Kyoto Protocol, is hoping to play a major role in the fight against global warming when it hosts the next summit of the Group of Eight major economies in July. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Climate Change

29 January 2008
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• Author: Patrick Wintour
• Source: The Guardian

Leaders of the four biggest European economies will today appeal for calm in the markets by stating that Europe’s position remains strong, and by calling for more transparency from banks and credit rating agencies. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under International Financial Architecture Reform

28 January 2008
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• Source: Nikkei Weekly

The stock market jitters emanating from the U.S. subprime loan turmoil are now spreading even to China, India and other emerging economies.

“Shipments from Asia to North America have leveled off since summer, although we expected a year-on-year increase of 5-6%,” said Makoto Igarashi, director of Nippon Yusen KK, Japan’s largest shipping company. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Investment and Competition Policy

28 January 2008
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• Source: Agence France Presse

TOKYO -Japan, Britain and the United States are looking to jointly propose the creation of a special fund designed to fight climate change, Jiji Press said Monday.

The three plan to make the proposal during a meeting of financial chiefs from the Group of Seven industrialised nations on February 9 in Tokyo, the news agency said. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Climate Change

28 January 2008
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• Author: Larry Elliott
• Source: The Guardian

Finance ministers and central bankers from the G7 industrial nations will discuss the possibility of coordinated action to combat the threat of a global recession when they meet in Tokyo next month.

Amid growing pessimism about the risk of recession from the US spreading to the rest of the world, the meeting will look at the scope for lower interest rates to be accompanied by tax cuts. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Global Financial Crises

27 January 2008
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• Author: Takeshi Takeuchi
• Source: Dow Jones International News

TOKYO -Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said Monday he wants to find areas where the Group of Seven industrialized countries can work together to deal with recent global market turbulence at the group’s meeting next week.

“As chairman of the meeting, I want to discuss where policy coordination is possible among the G7 members (in response to recent instability global financial markets) at the meeting, and I want to issue a message,” Nukaga told a budget committee at the Lower House of Parliament. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under International Financial Architecture Reform

27 January 2008
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• Source: Xinhua News Agency

DAVOS, Switzerland - Global economic uncertainties and development issues have dominated the five-day World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting, with political and business leaders divided over the prospects for a slowdown in the U.S. economy.

U.S. ECONOMY

The Davos forum, which concluded Sunday, was clouded by mounting concerns over the U.S. economic outlook in the aftermath of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Some economists even warned that the biggest economy is heading for a recession. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Global Financial Crises, Development, Terrorism, Conflict Prevention and Human Security

26 January 2008
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• Source: Agence France Presse

DAVOS, Switzerland -The head of the IMF hammered home the problems facing the world economy in Davos on Saturday, sounding a final gloomy note as the annual gathering of the world’s elite wrapped up.

International Monetary Fund director-general Dominique Strauss-Kahn said a “serious” response was required to counter the risk of slowing global growth, including both interest rate cuts and increased government spending. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Global Financial Crises

26 January 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

DAVOS, Switzerland - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda held talks Saturday with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on climate change and the Middle East peace process on the sidelines of an international forum here in Switzerland.

Blair, prime minister from 1997 to 2007, is now the official envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East for the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Conflict Prevention and Human Security

26 January 2008
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• Source: Agence France Presse

DAVOS, Switzerland -WTO members are hoping to agree on the most difficult parts of the stalled Doha round of trade talks in April, the Swiss economy minister said Saturday, raising new hopes of a breakthrough.

Doris Leuthard, who has invited negotiators from 20 countries for talks on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, said ministers were working towards a ministerial meeting in April to agree on trade in farm and industrial products. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Multilateral Trade

26 January 2008
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• Author: Natsuko Waki
• Source: Reuters News

DAVOS, Switzerland - Japan, one of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, presented a $10 billion package on Saturday to help emerging countries tackle climate change without risking growth.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who hosts the Group of Eight leaders’ summit in northern Japan in July, also said Japan would cut its carbon emissions beyond the 2012 expiry of the Kyoto Protocol and proposed a global target to improve energy efficiency by 2020. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Climate Change

26 January 2008
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• Author: Bradley S. Klapper
• Source: Associated Press Newswires

DAVOS - Denmark’s prime minister said Saturday that the United States, China and India must agree to cut their carbon emissions in any successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Japan’s leader offered them a bold strategy for doing it.

Climate change returned to the fore at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, where Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda proposed a 2020 deadline for countries to boost their energy efficiency by 30 percent, and said his country would try to spread its high-quality environmental technology around the world. (more…)

Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Climate Change