Critics Assail IMF Plan on Developing Nations' Voting Share

IMF Survey: Directors Back Reforms to Overhaul IMF Quotas and Voice

"Truman also said that the deal would need to be approved by Congress, where the response was likely to be skeptical. 'With leading experts very unimpressed by this reform, the U.S. administration will be quite lonely when they try to push this through Congress,' he said."

[Read More:Washingtonpost.com:]

"The board stopped short of major reforms that critics had demanded."

[Read More:New York Times]

"Elizabeth Stuart, représentante de l'ONG Oxfam International auprès du FMI, a pris sa calculette pour appliquer la nouvelle et fort complexe formule de calcul fixant le poids, et donc les voix, de chacun des Etats membres.

'Avec cette formule, les pays à bas revenus verront leurs droits de vote diminuer de 2,8 % et les pays émergents - à l'exclusion de la Chine, de l'Inde, du Mexique et de la Russie - subiront un recul de 6,9 %, dénonce-t-elle. En revanche, les pays du G7 augmenteront leurs droits de vote de 5,2 % ! En demandant le rejet de cette réforme, nous n'appelons pas à la révolution, mais nous demandons simplement que les membres du G7 tiennent leur promesse d'une vraie réforme de la gouvernance du FMI, et n'engage pas une réforme qui avantage peut-être quelques pays en développement mais qui défavorise le plus grand nombre.'"

Read More:Le Monde:]

"China, India, South Korea, Mexico and Brazil are among those that will see their voting power increase.

However, under the proposal the likes of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Russia, Iran and Argentina would lose influence and all five countries either voted against the plans or abstained from voting."

[Read More:BBC NEWS:]

IMF board to weigh controversial voting reform plan

"The package includes a series of 'other elements' clearly aimed at securing the support of the most influential emerging countries, such as China, India and Brazil, in boosting the voting rights accrued under the new quota formula.

The reform measures, however, remain largely inadequate, experts said.
'The proposed reforms fall far short in addressing the challenges facing the IMF in its evolution toward a truly global institution with more balanced and inclusive representation and voting power,' eight influential experts based in Washington said in a joint letter Wednesday to the IMF executive board.

They asked the board to reject the 'inadequate' package at its meeting Friday."

[Read More:AFP]

Foreign Wealth Funds Defend U.S. Investments

"Muhammad al-Jasser of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, which is forming a fund that may exceed $900 billion to become the world's largest, has said that 'it's like the sovereign wealth funds are guilty until proven innocent.' Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, head of Dubai World, which manages a $8 billion sovereign wealth fund, has warned critics in Western countries that if their money is not welcome, there are plenty of other places to invest."

Read More:washingtonpost.com:]

Academics urge countries to reject IMF vote formula

"WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - A group of influential Washington-based academics have urged IMF member countries in a letter to vote against a proposed new voting formula, arguing it falls far short of what is needed to give emerging and developing nations a bigger voice in the institution."

[Read More:Reuters]

Communiqué du Conseil d'Administration de la Banque Centrale de Tunisie, réuni le 25 mars 2008.

Communiqué du Conseil d'Administration de la Banque Centrale de Tunisie, réuni le 25 mars 2008.

La conjoncture internationale demeure marquée par la poursuite des fluctuations des marchés financiers et des changes, la hausse des prix des produits de base et la montée des inquiétudes liées aux retombées de ces facteurs sur l’activité économique dans le monde.

Ces évolutions ont poussé les autorités monétaires dans les principaux pays développés à intervenir d’urgence et de manière concertée pour injecter sur les marchés un volume sans précédent de liquidités afin de circonscrire les effets de ces évolutions et d’éviter la récession de l’économie mondiale.

Dans ce cadre, la Réserve fédérale américaine a décidé de baisser son principal taux d’intérêt directeur et d’offrir la possibilité d’échanger les titres de créances commerciales contre des bons du Trésor et ce, pour fournir des liquidités suffisantes aux places financières et leur permettre de surmonter la situation difficile dans laquelle elles se sont trouvées.

Sur le plan national, la progression de l’activité économique s’est poursuivie comme le montre l’accroissement des exportations de biens et services, mais la conjoncture internationale et ses répercussions éventuelles sont de nature à exercer des pressions accrues sur le rythme de l’activité et sur les équilibres globaux tant intérieurs qu’extérieurs.

Cette situation requiert l’intensification des efforts par l’exploitation optimale des capacités disponibles dans tous les secteurs, l’amélioration de la productivité et la maîtrise des coûts de production afin de renforcer la compétitivité de l’économie , de manière à atténuer les effets de la conjoncture mondiale.

Sur le plan monétaire, la masse monétaire a enregistré, au terme de février 2008, un rythme de progression similaire à celui de la même période de l’an passé, soit 1,4%, tandis que le taux d’intérêt moyen du marché monétaire a atteint 5,31% au cours du même mois.

Pour ce qui est de l’évolution des prix, le glissement enregistré depuis le début de 2008 est estimé à 0,4%, soit un rythme supérieur à celui de l’année précédente, sous l’effet, notamment, des tensions inflationnistes mondiales.

S’agissant de l’évolution de la valeur du dinar sur le marché des changes, depuis le début de l’année et jusqu’au 25 mars courant, elle a enregistré une appréciation de 4,2% par rapport au dollar américain et une baisse de 1,2% vis-à-vis de l’euro.

A la lumière de ces évolutions, le Conseil d’Administration a décidé de maintenir inchangé le taux d’intérêt directeur de la Banque Centrale, tout en insistant, de nouveau, sur la nécessité d’assurer un suivi continu de la conjoncture internationale et de ses éventuelles retombées sur l’évolution de l’économie nationale.

[Read More:BCT]

The rescue of Bear Stearns marks liberalisation’s limit

Martin Wolf on liberalisation’s limit:

"If the US itself has passed the high water mark of financial deregulation, this will have wide global implications. Until recently, it was possible to tell the Chinese, the Indians or those who suffered significant financial crises in the past two decades that there existed a financial system both free and robust. That is the case no longer. It will be hard, indeed, to persuade such countries that the market failures revealed in the US and other high-income countries are not a dire warning. If the US, with its vast experience and resources, was unable to avoid these traps, why, they will ask, should we expect to do better?"

[Read More:FT.com:]

Australian Company Calls WiMax a Disaster

Disaster. Miserable failure. Mired in opportunistic hype. Those were just a few of the descriptors Garth Freeman, the CEO of Australian company Buzz Broadband, recently used to characterize the next-generation wireless technology, WiMax.

[Read More:Wired.com]

2007 Youtube Video Awards

Very ceative and funny.



Check the other videos @ 2007 Youtube Video Awards

Article par Le Monde

Easter March 2008

It was breezy outside, but the kids had lots of fun.

World Water Day

About World Water Day
The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

The United Nations General Assembly designated 22 March of each year as the World Day for Water by adopting a resolution.This world day for water was to be observed starting in 1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development contained in chapter 18 (Fresh Water Resources) of Agenda 21.

States were invited to devote the Day to implement the UN recommendations and set up concrete activities as deemed appropriate in the national context.

[Read More:World Water Day]

Facts about water, drinking water, and water-related disease

Did you know...

1.1 billion people lack access to an improved water supply - approximately one in six people on earth.

2.6 billion people in the world lack access to improved sanitation.

Less than 1% of the world's fresh water (or about 0.007% of all water on earth) is readily accessible for direct human use.

A person can live weeks without food, but only days without water.

A person needs 4 to 5 gallons of water per day to survive.

The average American individual uses 100 to 176 gallons of water at home each day.

The average African family uses about 5 gallons of water each day.

Millions of women and children spend several hours a day collecting water from distant, often polluted sources.

Water systems fail at a rate of 50% or higher.

Every $1 spent on water and sanitation creates on average another $8 in costs averted and productivity gained.

Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water live on less $2 a day.

Poor people living in the slums often pay 5-10 times more for per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city.

[Read More:Water Facts]

Bottled water is one of the biggest scam, after Y2K

First San Francisco banned it. Then Chicago started taxing it. Now, the city of Seattle is taking action against bottled water; last week, Mayor Greg Nickels signed an executive order to stop the city from buying bottled water. That means no more bottled water at city facilities and events, which may sound like a small step, but it'll make a big difference; last year, the city spent $58,000 on the stuff (and that's not including the true cost and carbon footprint of bottled water). We're willing to bet that the city's taxpayers can probably think of about 58,000 ways to better spend that money.


[Read More:The Huffington Post]

First plastic bags, now bottled water; San Francisco is certainly setting an example. Mayor Gavin Newsom signed an order this week banning the use of City funds to purchase single-serving bottled water

[Read More:TreeHugger]

Hopefully in the near future:

IMF Approves Plan for Sovereign Wealth Fund Code - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON -- The International Monetary Fund's executive board gave the go-ahead Friday for the staff to develop a code of best practices for sovereign wealth funds by the IMF's autumn meeting in October.

[Read More:WSJ.com]

From the IMF web site and text of the background report discussed by the IMF Board

IMF Board Endorses Work Agenda on Sovereign Funds
By IMF Survey online



March 21, 2008

Board discusses IMF work on sovereign wealth funds
Work to be coordinated with SWFs and OECD
IMF staff to work with members and SWFs on development of voluntary best practices
The IMF's Executive Board gave the green light for further analysis on the role of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the global economy and endorsed a proposal for the IMF to work with SWFs and other relevant parties to prepare a set of best practices for the state investment institutions.

At a meeting on March 21, the Board discussed a proposed work agenda relating to SWFs, which have gained in importance in the international monetary and financial system. The Board discussion provided an opportunity for Directors to discuss these funds, and ways to facilitate the development of a set of voluntary best practices by SWFs. This work would be coordinated with the work of the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) on practices for recipient countries as appropriate.

SWFs have been around for a long time, at least since the 1950s. But their total size worldwide has grown dramatically over the past 10-15 years, with the IMF now estimating that they will rise from $2-3 trillion today to about $6-10 trillion within five years. At present, China, Kuwait, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates are among the countries that hold the world's largest SWFs. [see related story, "IMF Intensifies Work on Sovereign Wealth Funds."]

Impetus for growth

The main impetus for the growth of SWFs comes from high oil prices, financial globalization, and continued imbalances in the global financial system that have resulted in the rapid accumulation of foreign assets by some countries.

Many have welcomed the recent role of SWFs in providing capital to several large banks affected by the subprime mortgage crisis.

IMF staff will now start work with members and SWFs on the development of best practices, including the establishment of an international Working Group of SWFs to begin technical discussions and drafting work from April onwards.

The set of best practices would cover issues of public governance, transparency, and accountability principles—all of which should help enhance understanding of the operations of SWFs, the IMF says.

Evenhanded approach

"A better understanding of the role and practices of SWFs and the development of a set of best practices could help countries with SWFs benefit from the experience of other countries, strengthen their domestic policy frameworks and institutions, and further their macroeconomic and financial interests," said Jaime Caruana, Director of the IMF's Monetary and Capital Markets Department.

"Best practices and principles could also help ease concerns about SWFs in recipient countries and contribute to an open global monetary and financial system," he told a press briefing after the Board had concluded its session.

"In our view, the key to a successful result is one that is based on an inclusive, collaborative, and evenhanded effort," he added.

Amazon.com: Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War in Iraq: The Experts Speak: Christopher Cerf,Victor S. Navasky,Robert Grossman: Books

HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

"Now, it isn't gong to be over in 24 hours, but it isn't going to be months either."
- Richard Perle, Chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, 7/11/02

"The idea that it's going to be a long, long, long battle of some kind I think is belied by the fact of what happened in 1990. Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that."
- Donald H. Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 11/15/02

"I will bet you the best dinner in the gaslight district of San Diego that military action will not last more than a week. Are you willing to take that wager?"
- Bill O'Reilly, 1/29/03

"It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could be six days, six weeks. I doubt six months."
- Donald H. Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 2/7/03

"It won't take weeks... Our military machine will crush Iraq in a matter of days and there's no question that it will."
- Bill O'Reilly, 2/10/03

"There is zero question that this military campaign...will be reasonably short. ... Like World War II for about five days."
- General Barry R. McCaffrey, national security and terrorism analyst for NBC News, 2/18/03

"The Iraq fight itself is probably going to go very, very fast. The shooting should be over within just a very few days from when it starts."
- David Frum, former Bush White House speechwriter, 2/24/03

"Our military superiority is so great -- it's far greater than it was in the Gulf War, and the Gulf War was over in 100 hours after we bombed for 43 days... Now they can bomb for a couple of days and then just roll into Baghdad... The odds are there's going to be a war and it's going to be not for very long."
- Former President Bill Clinton, 3/6/03

"I think it will go relatively quickly...weeks rather than months."
- Vice President Dick Cheney, 3/16/

[Read More:Amazon.com: Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War in Iraq: The Experts Speak: Christopher Cerf,Victor S. Navasky,Robert Grossman: Books]

R we in a Recession?

Treasury Reaches Agreement on Principles for Sovereign Wealth Fund Investment with Singapore and Abu Dhabi

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration said Thursday it had reached agreement Abu Dhabi and Singapore that they will not use their huge government investment funds to further their political goals.

[Read More:Yahoo! Finance]

See US Treasury's Press Release:

March 20, 2008 hp-881 Treasury Reaches Agreement on Principles for Sovereign Wealth Fund Investment with Singapore and Abu Dhabi Washington, DC--Officials from the U.S. Treasury, the governments of Singapore and Abu Dhabi, and sovereign wealth funds ADIA and GIC met today in Washington, DC to discuss issues surrounding sovereign wealth funds, recipient country inward investment regimes, and efforts to develop best practices. Joining Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. and Deputy Secretary Robert M. Kimmitt were Government of Abu Dhabi Executive Council Member Hamad Al Hurr Al Suwaidi, ADIA Executive Director Hareb Masood Al-Darmaki, Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and GIC Deputy Chairman Tony Tan. "We had a good discussion today on the issues surrounding sovereign wealth funds. Singapore and UAE have long-established, well-respected funds and are showing real leadership by joining with us today. The U.S. welcomes sovereign wealth fund investment and looks forward to continuing to work with these two countries and others to support the initiatives underway at the IMF and OECD to develop best practices for sovereign wealth funds and recipient countries," said Paulson. "The principles we agreed to here today will further those efforts." Following today's meeting the three nations released the following joint statement and accompanying policy principles: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) represent government-owned investment vehicles, funded by foreign exchange assets and commodity export receipts, etc., which invest internationally for financial objectives such as stabilization and intergenerational savings. The United States, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore, being a group of nations with SWFs and a country receiving investments from SWFs, have a common interest in an open and stable international financial system. We support the processes underway in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to develop voluntary best practices for SWFs and inward investment regimes for government-controlled investment in recipient countries, respectively. International agreement on a set of voluntary best practices will create a strong incentive among SWFs and investment-recipient countries to hold themselves to high standards. We hope that the IMF and OECD's work can build upon these basic principles: Policy Principles for Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) SWF investment decisions should be based solely on commercial grounds, rather than to advance, directly or indirectly, the geopolitical goals of the controlling government. SWFs should make this statement formally as part of their basic investment management policies. 2. Greater information disclosure by SWFs, in areas such as purpose, investment objectives, institutional arrangements, and financial information – particularly asset allocation, benchmarks, and rates of return over appropriate historical periods – can help reduce uncertainty in financial markets and build trust in recipient countries. 3. SWFs should have in place strong governance structures, internal controls, and operational and risk management systems. 4. SWFs and the private sector should compete fairly. 5. SWFs should respect host-country rules by complying with all applicable regulatory and disclosure requirements of the countries in which they invest. Policy Principles for Countries Receiving SWF Investment 1. Countries receiving SWF investment should not erect protectionist barriers to portfolio or foreign direct investment. 2. Recipient countries should ensure predictable investment frameworks. Inward investment rules should be publicly available, clearly articulated, predictable, and supported by strong and consistent rule of law. 3. Recipient countries should not discriminate among investors. Inward investment policies should treat like-situated investors equally. 4. Recipient countries should respect investor decisions by being as unintrusive as possible, rather than seeking to direct SWF investment. Any restrictions imposed on investments for national security reasons should be proportional to genuine national security risks raised by the transaction.

British authorities try to quell damaging financial rumors - International Herald Tribune

LONDON: In a rare move to calm investors' nerves, British financial authorities stepped forward on Wednesday to quench a string of "unfounded rumors" that had sent some financial stocks in London into a tailspin.

The Financial Services Authority said it had started an investigation into whether some traders spread rumors about British financial institutions over the last few days and might have profited from the decline in the stocks' share prices. Separately, the Bank of England, which almost never makes public statements about specific lenders, denied rumors that it met or scheduled to meet with executives at a British bank to discuss potential liquidity problems.


[Read More:International Herald Tribune]

The FED's recent action on Bear Sterns

Paul Volcker's view:



Larry Summers's take:

The Inevitable Collapse of the $, a Documentary

Economics Blog : IMF: Moving Ahead on Sovereign Wealth Funds

The International Monetary Fund’s executive board is expected on Friday to bless the staff’s effort to create a voluntary code of “best practices” to guide sovereign wealth funds, giving a political boost to the efforts.

On a request from the Group of seven nations – U.S., Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, France and Canada — the IMF has been trying to put together a kind of voluntary code of conduct that would help sovereign wealth funds convince skeptical politicians in Europe and the U.S. that the funds are investing for commercial rather than political reasons

[Read More:WSJ Blogs]

Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke dies aged 90 - Times Online

He was the best science fiction writer. "2001: A Space Odyssey" is, in my view one the best movie ever, if not the best.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the science fiction writer, has died aged 90 in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, it was confirmed tonight.

[Read More:Times Online]

The Week That Shook Wall Street: Inside the Demise of Bear Stearns - WSJ.com

From : WSJ.com

The past six days have shaken American capitalism.

Between Tuesday, when financial markets began turning against Bear Stearns Cos., and Sunday night, when the bank disappeared into the arms of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Washington policy makers, federal regulators and Wall Street bankers struggled to keep the trouble from tanking financial markets and exacerbating the country's deep economic uncertainty.


The mood changed daily, as did the apparent scope of the problem. On Friday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson thought markets would be calmed by the announcement that the Federal Reserve had agreed to help bail out Bear Stearns. President Bush gave a reassuring speech that day about the fundamental soundness of the U.S. economy. By Saturday, however, Mr. Paulson had become convinced that a definitive agreement to sell Bear Stearns had to be inked before markets opened yesterday.

....

One theory began developing internally: Hedge funds with short positions on Bear -- bets that the company's stock would fall -- were trying to speed the decline by spreading negative rumors.