Maroc Blog Awards 2008 : la première compétition dédiée aux blogs marocains !

"We are around 40.000 bloggers." as indicated by Lalla Mira’s Multilingual Blog
Wao

G-7 Communique

These are the calls by the G-7 on the IMF:

"
- We ask the IMF and the FSF to report at our next meeting on identifying potential vulnerabilities and enhancing early warning capabilities.

- We asked the IMF to conduct further research on the real and financial factors behind the recent surge in oil prices, and its effects on the global economy.

- We look forward to the outcome of the work under way at the IMF to identify best practices for sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in such areas as institutional structure, risk management, transparency and accountability.

- We discussed IMF reforms. We reaffirm our support for the recent IMF surveillance decision on exchange rate, financial sector, fiscal and monetary policy, and urge its rigorous and even-handed implementation. We support the recent proposal by the Managing Director to re-focus the IMF's operations on core priorities and to cut spending by US$100 million over three years. To fill the remaining gap, we are prepared to take measures to augment income, considering proposals in the Crockett report. We emphasised the importance of better aligning quota share of member countries with their relative position in the world economy based on a simpler and more transparent formula. We reaffirmed our commitment to concluding the quota and voice reform by the Spring IMFC meeting. A successful conclusion is a critical step in enhancing legitimacy and effectiveness of the IMF.

- We encourage the IMF and World Bank to continue their important work in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing."

This is the full text of the Communique:

We, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G7 countries, met today to discuss issues facing the world economy. The world confronts a more challenging and uncertain environment than when we met in last October, though its fundamentals as a whole remain solid. In the United States, output and employment growth have slowed considerably and risks have become more skewed to the downside, but long-term fundamentals remain sound and we expect growth to continue in 2008. In all our economies, to varying degrees, growth is expected to slow somewhat in the short-term, reflecting wider global economic and financial developments. Emerging market economies (EMEs) are forecast to continue robust, if slower, growth. We note that downside risks still persist, which include further deterioration of the U.S. residential housing markets; tighter credit conditions from prolonged difficulties in the financial markets; high oil and commodity prices; and heightened inflation expectations in some countries. Each of us has taken actions, appropriate to our domestic circumstances, in the areas of liquidity provision, monetary policy, and fiscal policy. We also remain committed to strengthening our efforts to enhance growth through necessary reforms. Going forward, we will continue to watch developments closely and will continue to take appropriate actions, individually and collectively, in order to secure stability and growth in our economies. We are deeply engaged in working together to strengthen financial stability, limit the impact of the financial turmoil and address the factors that contributed to it. Co-ordinated liquidity provision by Central Banks has helped mitigate short-term pressures in the money markets. Financial institutions' recognition and full and prompt disclosure of their losses, based on appropriate valuation, accompanied, where necessary, by measures to reinforce their capital base, play an important role in reducing uncertainty, improving confidence, and restoring the normal functioning of the markets. We urge this process to continue. Authorities should encourage market-led improvements in transparency and disclosure practices in this area, and, where needed, provide clear and consistent guidance. In October, we asked the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) to analyse the underlying causes of the recent turbulence and put forward relevant actions and initiatives in a number of areas. We welcome its interim report and the good progress that has been made, and look forward to its final report in April. We will act expeditiously on its recommendations. Among the issues that have to be addressed, we emphasise, in particular, i) the importance of promoting prompt and full disclosure by financial institutions of their losses and of valuation of structured products; ii) strengthening management of liquidity risks at financial institutions by accelerating the development of an internationally consistent approach by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision; iii) improving the understanding and disclosure of banks' and other financial institutions' exposure to off-balance sheet vehicles; iv) enhancing underpinnings of the originate-to-distribute model by ensuring an appropriate incentive structure comes into play; v) addressing potential conflicts of interest at credit rating agencies, and improving the information content of ratings to increase investors' awareness of the risks associated with structured products; and vi) implementing the Basel II capital adequacy framework to enhance transparency and risk management. In addition, authorities should review, as necessary, their mandates, coordination mechanisms, and instruments to ensure measured and flexible responses to market stress, including arrangements for dealing with weak and failing financial institutions, both domestically and cross-border. We ask the IMF and the FSF to report at our next meeting on identifying potential vulnerabilities and enhancing early warning capabilities. We stand ready to take any further action necessary to enhance stability in the financial market and to ensure that international integration of financial markets and financial innovation continue to bring about benefits to the world economy. We reaffirm that exchange rates should reflect economic fundamentals. Excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates are undesirable for economic growth. We continue to monitor exchange markets closely, and cooperate as appropriate. We welcome China's decision to increase the flexibility of its currency, but in view of its rising current account surplus and domestic inflation, we encourage accelerated appreciation of its effective exchange rate. Elevated oil prices largely reflect rising world demand, but other elements such as geopolitical concerns also play the role. We encourage OPEC and other oil-producing countries to raise production, and reiterate the need to enhance refinery capacity and improve energy efficiency. It should be avoided to artificially lower domestic energy prices through fiscal measures, as it works against market-based adjustment of energy demand, and raises gas emissions. We asked the IMF to conduct further research on the real and financial factors behind the recent surge in oil prices, and its effects on the global economy. Upholding open trade and investment regimes is critical to realising global prosperity and fighting protectionism. We highlight the urgent need for a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round that will substantially lower tariffs and other barriers to trade, including in the financial and other services sectors. We look forward to the outcome of the work under way at the IMF to identify best practices for sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in such areas as institutional structure, risk management, transparency and accountability. We also encourage the OECD to build on its important work by identifying investment policy best practices for countries that receive cross-border investment from SWFs. We welcome the work by private sector representatives to develop strengthened voluntary best practices for Highly Leveraged Institutions in line with the FSF recommendations. We will continue to explore the issue of mutual recognition of comparable securities regimes, and how this can enhance international investment flows. We discussed IMF reforms. We reaffirm our support for the recent IMF surveillance decision on exchange rate, financial sector, fiscal and monetary policy, and urge its rigorous and even-handed implementation. We support the recent proposal by the Managing Director to re-focus the IMF's operations on core priorities and to cut spending by US100 million over three years. To fill the remaining gap, we are prepared to take measures to augment income, considering proposals in the Crockett report. We emphasised the importance of better aligning quota share of member countries with their relative position in the world economy based on a simpler and more transparent formula. We reaffirmed our commitment to concluding the quota and voice reform by the Spring IMFC meeting. A successful conclusion is a critical step in enhancing legitimacy and effectiveness of the IMF. We discussed the importance of the unified action to address global climate change while supporting growth and economic development, based on the Bali Action Plan of December 2007. We will seek to enhance the critical roles played by international financial institutions and the private sector in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Market based policies, which could include taxes and emission trading, will become increasingly important in combating climate change. They should be designed to meet specific conditions in each country. We also acknowledged the need to scale up investment in developing countries to support them in joining international efforts to address climate change. The deployment of clean technologies would be further enhanced through the reduction or elimination of trade barriers for key environmental goods and services. We also discussed the initiative by Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States to create, in collaboration with the World Bank and others, a strategic multilateral investment framework to address climate change. This would include, among other things, a fund that complements existing bilateral and multilateral efforts in providing financial support for the deployment of clean technologies in developing countries. We welcome the recent robust growth experienced by many African economies and are committed to working together with African countries to maintain and strengthen this favorable momentum. We reiterated the need to foster private-sector led growth in developing countries in order to achieve the MDGs. To that end, we agreed that it is important to continue supporting African countries in improving investment climate, fostering private enterprises, strengthening financial systems, and building reliable infrastructure. We reaffirmed that enhanced actions to ensure debt sustainability should be carried forward. We reviewed actions to tackle aggressive litigation against Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs). We support improvements to the World Bank's Debt Reduction Facility, including through the earlier provisions of technical assistance. We took note of proposals for establishing a legal support facility for HIPCs. We welcome the agreement reached by the OECD Export Credit Group on the Principles and Guidelines on sustainable lending to low-income countries and the interest shown by non-OECD members in this agreement. Building on our existing commitment on development and debt relief, we welcome agreement on the financing of debt relief for Liberia. We encourage the IMF and World Bank to continue their important work in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. We look forward to meeting with other FATF Ministers in April to renew the mandate of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to address threats posed by weapons of mass destruction proliferation finance, enhance its surveillance of global threats, and deepen its dialogue with the private sector. We call upon FATF to continue to take measures to protect the international financial system from the risk of illicit finance including ensuring enhanced scrutiny of transactions involving Iran.

[Source:G8]

Sovereign wealth funds resist IMF attempt to draft code of conduct

WASHINGTON: Last year, as governments in Asia and the Middle East started to buy major stakes in financial institutions in the West, the U.S. government called for an international code of conduct by sovereign wealth funds, hoping the funds would commit to disclosing more of their activities and not play politics with their investments.

Now the push-back has begun.

Officials involved in the drafting of a code, which the International Monetary Fund is overseeing, say that the leaders of these funds are resisting the pressure to embrace even a voluntary set of "best practices" that disavows politics, arguing that it is unnecessary because their investments are already strictly commercial in nature.

In addition, according to various officials, new tensions are surfacing as the leaders of funds in China, Russia, the Middle East and other parts of Asia charge that it is hypocritical of the West to demand regulations when the failure to regulate European and American banks and hedge funds has led to a global economic crisis.

"These funds do not think of themselves as political, and so far they haven't been," said an International Monetary Fund official involved in the drafting of the code who would not speak on the record because he is not authorized to do so. "What we're hearing from them is, 'What are you so upset about?' But the concerns are there, and they need to be taken care of in a code of best practices."

The International Monetary Fund, an institution established after World War II to deal with global financial crises, began drafting a code after consulting with funds from more than a dozen countries.

The funds are controlled by large oil and natural gas producers - including Russia, Norway and countries in the Gulf - as well the exporting superpowers in Asia, particularly China. Experts say the funds control more than $2.5 trillion in investments, a figure that could grow to more than $15 trillion in 10 years.

As several of these funds move to acquire assets in Europe and the United States, concerns have grown about a potential backlash. But the rescues of Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and other big American financial institutions hit by the subprime mortgage crisis has been warmly welcomed by U.S. officials.

In part to ward off a protectionist backlash, the administration of President George W. Bush last October joined with Europe and Japan in seeking a list of "best practices" to which sovereign wealth funds would voluntarily subscribe. They would also include governance structures run by nonpolitical experts and more disclosure of portfolio activities.

Administration officials say they hope the IMF can get a set of "best practices" adopted by autumn.

"I think we've made progress with sovereign wealth funds in convincing them of the need for this effort," said David McCormick, under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs. One reason for his optimism, he said, is that the funds' track record had so far been good and that there was "no evidence of them making investments for anything but economic reasons."

Nevertheless, there is a fear among many experts that without a code, the funds' financial clout could lead them to try to exercise political leverage.

A major advocate of regulation, or at least a voluntary code of conduct, is Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury secretary and former president of Harvard, who two years ago stirred up a furor when he suggested that big exporters sitting on trillions in dollar-denominated reserves move toward diversifying their portfolios.

In an interview, Summers said that in some cases, the funds were "not wrong" to be concerned about Western xenophobia over foreign investments, but that the solution was to agree to more transparency and to disavow politics in their activities.

"I'm inclined to think that if the funds don't agree to some effort to regulate, they're asking for a lot more xenophobia," he said. He added that what he had in mind was a "relatively modest" set of standards. "The general drift should be, we're going to function like regular investors, and not seek to pursue any objective other than value added maximization," he said.

Various public instances of irritation by leaders of sovereign funds have surfaced in recent weeks.

Lou Jiwei, head of China's $200 billion fund, said last week that the IMF's failure so far to get a consensus on the problem was not a cause for concern.

"It seems there wasn't any agreement on that, because nobody wants to accept the fact that anybody's better than themselves," Lou said in Washington in a talk at the World Bank. He added that the discussion was "useful" however, and that "eventually we may reach some common ground."

But another official involved in the discussion said that the more likely outcome would be an agreement on vague generalities - "something that is effectively toothless and devoid of anything other than motherhood and apple pie."

Europe is especially fearful that Russia is investing to gain a foothold in Europe's transportation and energy infrastructure in order to exercise political influence.

The sovereign wealth representatives say this is a red herring, that they invest passively, in portfolios, or in small percentages in companies so that they do not try to control their policies.

Summers says that with these funds due to wield trillions of dollars in investments in the next decade, there could be no stopping them from playing politics - of trying to assert political pressure on a government to rescue a bank they have invested in, for example, or if a government fund started a "speculative attack" on another country's currency, as the investor George Soros did on the British pound in the early 1990s.

[Source:International Herald Tribune]

G7 approves IMF gold sales

By Gavin Jones

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Group of Seven rich nations on Saturday approved the sale of gold by the International Monetary Fund from April as part of a broad reform of its budget, Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said.

"There was an acceptance among the G7 that resources should be raised by selling gold," Padoa-Schioppa, who is also the head of the IMF's steering committee (IMFC), told reporters after a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Tokyo.

He said the agreement would be finalised in April and would complement spending cuts being drawn up by the IMF under its new managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

"The current gold price means a flow of income can be ensured," Padoa-Schioppa said.

Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Jen said the Fund held 103.4 million ounces of gold worth some $92 billion at current market prices. That was up from $23 billion just five years ago.

"The IMF is rich, if it wants to be," he wrote in a recent note to clients, issued before the G7's approval of the gold sales. "This is arguably a good time to consider selling some of these gold holdings and investing the proceeds in financial securities with positive yields."

A surge in oil prices has boosted gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.

The precious metal gained more than 30 percent in 2007 as safe-haven buying increased due to the credit market turmoil and worries about the health of the dollar as it fell to record lows against the euro.

Gold continued its upward march this year. Cash gold hit a record high of $936.50 an ounce on Feb. 1, up about 12 percent since the start of the year, and was quoted at $918.00/918.70 an ounce in late New York on Friday.

Padoa-Schioppa noted that in the case of the United States, approval for gold sales would be required by Congress, meaning "the administration must present a proposal and support it".

Padoa-Schioppa said he would step down as president of the IMFC because of the recent fall of the Italian government which meant he would soon lose his job as economy minister.

Asked if he would continue as IMFC head, he said: "I don't believe so, it has to be a minister in office, and soon I will no longer be a minister in office."

[Read More:Reuters]

The 53 Places to Go in 2008 - New York Times

Tunisia is among the 53 places to visit selected by the NY Times.
Out of the 53, I visited:

1. Lisbon
   
2. Prague
   
3. Munich
   
4. Iran
   
5. Toscany
   
6. Mozambique
   
7. San Francisco
   
8. Kilimanjaro
   
9. Algeria
   
10. San Diego
    
11. London
    
12. Las Vegas
    
13. New York
    
    

    
    Tunisia is undergoing a Morocco-like luxury makeover. A new wave of stylish boutique hotels, often in historic town houses, has cropped up alongside this North African country’s white-sand beaches and age-old medinas, drawing increasing numbers of well-heeled travelers. The Villa Didon in Carthage, for one, has a restaurant originally run by Alain Ducasse. Indeed, TripAdvisor ranks Jerba, a resort island off Tunisia’s southern coast, as the No. 1 emerging spot in 2008.
    
    

    
    [Source:The New York Times]

Esfahan, The Other Iran - Travel - New York Times

I visited Iran in 2003, including the beautiful Isphahan.

Leaving my hotel on the tree-shaded boulevard of Chahar Bagh Abbasi in Esfahan, Iran, I had ducked down a small lane just south of Takhti Junction, made a couple of turns, and gotten lost. I was trying to follow a seven-mile walking route recorded in my Lonely Planet guidebook — and nowhere else, it seemed, not on signs or on any local map — and wandered into a maze of alleys flanked by tawny walls.

[Source:New York Times]

G7 MEETING Ministers say IMF quota system should be reformed by spring

Sat, Feb 9 2008, 10:09 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - The world's seven richest nations reiterated their commitment to reform the structure of the


International Monetary Fund by this spring's meeting in Washington.


In their communique following a meeting here, the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers emphasised the importance of better aligning the quota share of member countries with their relative position in the world economy based on a simpler and more transparent formula.


"We reaffirmed our commitment to concluding the quota and voice reform by the spring IMF meeting," the G7 said.

A successful conclusion is a "critical step" in enhancing the legitimacy and effectiveness of the IMF, they said.

Elsewhere, the G7 reaffirmed their support for the recent IMF surveillance decision on exchange rate, financial sector, fiscal and monetary policy, and urged "rigorous and even-handed implementation".

They also supported the recent proposal by IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn to refocus the Fund's operations on core priorities and to cut spending by 100 mln usd over three years.

pan.pylas@thomson.com

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

[Source:Thomson Financial]