20 November 2008
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• Author: Anthony Rowley
• Source: Business Times Singapore

WORLD leaders keep insisting that their first priority in dealing with the economic and financial crisis is to ‘restore growth’ - whether by monetary or fiscal means, or both. Yet, it will need stimulus on a truly massive scale to compensate for the colossal loss of real and paper wealth unleashed by the financial implosion which is now destroying spending power, consumption and economic activity around the world. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy, Investment and Competition Policy

20 November 2008
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• Author: Charmaine Noronha
• Source: Associated Press Newswires

TORONTO (AP) - Canada’s Conservative government said Thursday that it will boost spending to help the economy recover from one of its biggest downturns since the Great Depression.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper also told Parliament that Canada would join in any major international spending effort to stimulate the economy on the heels of last weekend’s G-20 meeting. The summit in Washington drew leaders from the world’s biggest industrialized and developing economies. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy

20 November 2008
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• Author: Marta Dassu
• Source: Financial Times

When Italy takes up the chair of the Group of Eight leading nations in January the context will be very different to that of its 2001 presidency. Back then, the G8 was dealing with the consequences of a unipolar international system. Come 2009, near the top of the agenda will be the enlargement of the club to new powers, starting with China and India. But it is still not clear whether Italy will preside over the reform of the G8 or its burial; which, in a way, is the same thing. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy

22 September 2008
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• Author: Heather Scoffield
• Source: The Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — The Group of Seven economic powers issued a joint statement of mutual support early Monday, but most of the G7 countries seemed content to let the United States do the heavy lifting in resolving the global financial crisis.

“We reaffirm our strong and shared commitment to protect the integrity of the international financial system and facilitate liquid, smooth functioning markets, which are essential for supporting the health of the world economy,” the G7 said in their joint statement. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy

22 September 2008
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• Author: Glenn Somerville and David Milliken
• Source: Reuters News

WASHINGTON/FRANKFURT, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. allies on Monday spurned entreaties from Washington that they enact large-scale financial bailouts, saying their banks were not exposed to the same level of reckless lending that put the American economy at risk of a deep recession.

While some European central banks offered more funding for stressed financial markets and Japan said it would offer dollar liquidity, finance ministers from the Group of Seven rich nations, who consulted by phone, issued only guarded promises to cooperate in efforts to keep market turmoil in check. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Global Financial Crises, International Financial Architecture Reform, Financial Supervision, Corporate and Public Governance, Exchange Rate Management and Monetary Policy, Macroeconomic Policy, Investment and Competition Policy

9 September 2008
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• Source: Reuters News

Trade officials are toying with the idea of resuming talks on the Doha Round in the coming weeks, though some say negotiating fatigue and the U.S. election mean it is too early for another push.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has not said what lies ahead for the global trade accord its 153 member states have been trying for nearly seven years to grasp. (more…)

Filed by Ozlem Yucel under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy, Multilateral Trade

11 July 2008
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• Source: Omaha World-Herald

Leaders of the world’s largest industrial countries have completed their annual get-together known as the G-8 summit. It’s notable that the leaders showed little interest in putting together any coordinated plan to boost the value of the U.S. dollar

The dramatic decline in the dollar is, of course, one of the most important developments in the world economy in the last few years. Since 2002, the dollar has fallen by an average of nearly 30 percent (more…)

Filed by Marianne Madeline Lau under Exchange Rate Management and Monetary Policy, Macroeconomic Policy

6 July 2008
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• Source: Dow Jones International News

TOYAKO, Japan (Dow Jones)–U.S. President George W. Bush said Sunday his administration is sticking to a strong-dollar policy and believes the currency will mirror the strength of the U.S. economy.

“The United States strongly believes in … strong-dollar policy and believe … the relative strength of our economy will be reflected in the currency,” Bush said at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda following a two-party meeting. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy

6 July 2008
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• Author: Erin Fitzgerald
• Source: G8 Newswire

Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda for approximately forty-five minutes, in their first meeting of the 2008 Hokkaido G8 Summit. Prime Minister Stephen Harper admired the natural beauty of Lake Toya and introduced Prime Minister Fukuda to the Honourable Beverley Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, the first Japanese-Canadian elected to Parliament. (more…)

Filed by Cliff Vanderlinden under Macroeconomic Policy, Investment and Competition Policy, Development

4 July 2008
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• Author: Anna Smolchenko
• Source: The Moscow Times

The Group of Eight summit in Japan next week will be a global coming out party of sorts for Dmitry Medvedev, as the new president is expected to offer his take on global economic problems and their possible solutions. (more…)

Filed by Sarah Cale under Other, Macroeconomic Policy

30 June 2008
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• Source: ENP Newswire

Any successful program of action on climate change must support two objectives-stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs) and maintaining economic growth. Reconciling these two objectives means that ‘carbon productivity,’ the amount of GDP produced per ton of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions must increase by ten times over the coming decades. (more…)

Filed by Vanmala Subramaniam under Macroeconomic Policy, Development, Climate Change

29 June 2008
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• Author: Lisa Wright
• Source: Toronto Star

Robin Rotenberg is not exactly thrilled that her customers have to pay more these days to make the products that everyone takes for granted, from cosmetics to plastic cups and cookware.

The skyrocketing price of oil translates into added costs to manufacture and transport everyday goods, which you’ve probably noticed are being dumped on you, the consumer, lately.

“It’s driven up our raw materials prices and that isn’t helpful to us,” says Rotenberg, president of Mississauga chemical conglomerate BASF Canada. (more…)

Filed by Aleksandra Susak under Macroeconomic Policy

29 June 2008
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• Author: William L. Watts
• Source: MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Once again, it’s open season on speculators.

The popular tale holds that with the rise of long-only commodity index funds and increased interest in commodities from pension funds and other players, speculators must be to blame for surging oil prices and have probably been the prime culprit in the steep rice in prices for food and other commodities as well. (more…)

Filed by Aleksandra Susak under Macroeconomic Policy

18 June 2008
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• Author: David Winning
• Source: Dow Jones News Service

As the blame game for record-high oil futures reaches fever pitch, it is easy to see China’s system of controlling the price of gasoline and diesel as an engine for global oil demand growth. (more…)

Filed by Nicole Cargill under Exchange Rate Management and Monetary Policy, Macroeconomic Policy, Energy and Nuclear Safety

16 June 2008
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• Source: Agence Europe

At a meeting in Osaka in Japan, G8 finance ministers (Germany, Canada, US, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Russia) have called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) to examine “the real and financial factors behind the recent surge in oil and commodity prices, their volatility, and the effects on the global economy”. This is an explicit invitation to examine more closely the impact of speculation on oil prices, which are now fluctuating between $130-140 a barrel. A final declaration from the G8 indicated that “elevated commodity prices, especially of oil and food, pose a serious challenge to stable growth worldwide”. The text adopted on Saturday 14 June explained that these prices “have serious implications for the most vulnerable, and may increase global inflationary pressure”. (more…)

Filed by Ozlem Yucel under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy

16 June 2008
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• Source: Irish Independent

The world’s most powerful governments are looking for ways to boost economic growth to compensate for record oil prices, just ascentral bankers gird themselves for an inflation fight.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy wants to cap value-added taxes on fuel, the UK is cutting taxes for energy producers and Japan is helping truckers. Italy is threatening a levy on oil companies, while in the US, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is calling for a second economic stimulus package. (more…)

Filed by Marianne Madeline Lau under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy

16 June 2008
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• Author: Chris Giles and David Pilling
• Source: Financial Times

Hank Paulson, the US Treasury secretary, talked up the dollar in Osaka at the weekend as Group of Eight finance ministers warned of the increasing threat inflation posed to their economies. (more…)

Filed by Marianne Madeline Lau under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy

15 June 2008
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• Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The global economy faces a one-two punch from slowing growth and soaring fuel and food prices, finance ministers from the world’s richest nations warned yesterday, though they stopped short of offering concrete solutions.

Finance ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations wrapped up a two-day meeting in Japan that was dominated by talk of rising petroleum prices, which have set off street protests across the world. In a statement, the ministers said higher prices of oil and other commodities threatened the world economy at a time when it was still reeling from the collapse of the housing market in the United States. (more…)

Filed by Aleksandra Susak under Macroeconomic Policy

14 June 2008
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• Source: The International Herald Tribune (Herald Asahi)

Sky-high crude oil and grain prices will top the agenda at the weekend talks ahead of the G-8 summit in Hokkaido July 7 to 9. Rising prices threaten to fuel inflation and hamper economic growth, two risks that require conflicting policy responses

Another pending issue is the weak dollar, which has contributed to higher international commodity prices worldwide. It will likely be discussed despite the absence of central bankers responsible for monetary policies. The finance ministers are also expected to discuss climate change and African development (more…)

Filed by Marina Garbutt under Global Financial Crises, Macroeconomic Policy

13 June 2008
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• Author: William L. Watts
• Source: MarketWatch

LONDON - Don’t look to this weekend’s meeting of G8 finance ministers to come up with a solution to runaway commodity prices and surging inflation. But don’t be surprised if there’s some tough, but limited, talk about the desirability of a stronger U.S. dollar, economists said.

With oil not far off its recently established record near $140 a barrel and corn prices surging to new all-time highs, officials have signaled they will focus on the toll inflation pressures are taking on consumers and the economy. (more…)

Filed by Vanmala Subramaniam under Global Financial Crises, Financial Supervision, Corporate and Public Governance, Exchange Rate Management and Monetary Policy, Macroeconomic Policy

13 June 2008
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• Source: Kyodo News

TOKYO, June 12 — Finance ministers from the Group of Eight major countries will hold ‘’outreach'’ sessions on Friday and Saturday in Osaka with five emerging economies and Australia, to weigh the impact of surging oil and food prices on the global economy, the Japanese Finance Ministry said Thursday. (more…)

Filed by Vanmala Subramaniam under Macroeconomic Policy, Development, East-West Relations and Russia

12 June 2008
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• Author: Geraldine Amiel
• Source: Dow Jones Chinese Financial Wire

PARIS -French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Thursday that she hopes European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet would change his restrictive monetary policy stance, after the meeting of finance ministers and central banks governors from the Group of eight leading nations in Osaka, Japan, Friday. (more…)

Filed by Vanmala Subramaniam under Exchange Rate Management and Monetary Policy, Macroeconomic Policy

12 June 2008
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• Author: Yuri Kageyama
• Source: The Associated Press

Runaway oil prices are high on the minds of finance ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations meeting this week in Japan who are seeking to calm global jitters about a series of looming economic problems.

Soaring crude oil costs and rising food prices have created inflationary risks not seen in years. (more…)

Filed by Vanmala Subramaniam under Exchange Rate Management and Monetary Policy, Macroeconomic Policy, Multilateral Trade

12 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Reuters News

MILAN, June 12 (Reuters) - Italy will propose measures to curb speculation in oil prices at a meeting of the G8 economic powers in Japan at the end of this week, its economy minister told the Wall Street Journal in an interview on Thursday. (more…)

Filed by Vanmala Subramaniam under Macroeconomic Policy

1 June 2008
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• Author: Julius DeAnne
• Source: World Today

The global economy is teetering, just as the G8 leaders meet next month in Japan. In the west, the decade-long boom in readily-available money to borrow has turned into a credit bust, with an unexpectedly sharp vengeance. In poorer countries, rising food and fuel prices have produced riots and undone most of the benefits of increased aid to Africa. Even in China, concerns about inflation are rivalling those over Olympic protests. Will the G8 summit rise to the economic challenge?

sUMMIT MEETINGS HAVE A STRONG economic pedigree. The first, held in 1975 in France, grew out of relationships forged by the French and German heads of state, Valery Giscard d’Estaing and Helmut Schmidt, while both were finance ministers. The aim of the then-G5 - the United Stares, Japan, Germany, France and Britain - was to discuss and coordinate policies among the world’s five largest economies.

The backdrop to that first meeting bears an eerie resemblance to this year’s summit. It took place in the wake of the 1973 oil price shock which, itself, was partly a repercussion of a war in the Middle East. Not only oil, but many commodities and food prices were soaring and inflation was rising rapidly, putting pressure on central banks. In particular, the US was urging other countries to follow its lead in cutting interest rates to ward off recession, while the German Bundesbank was strongly resisting because of its belief that inflation was the greater evil. (more…)

Filed by Aleksandra Susak under Macroeconomic Policy