News

Lugar: No more money for development banks until reform

The staff of Senator Richard Lugar released a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations calling for reform of the IFIs before Congress approves upcoming capital replenishment requests for the institutions.

Submitted by ifitv-admin on Thu, 2010-03-11 15:46.

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EU derivatives regulation: Too little too late?

The huge volume of opaque derivatives transactions was a major cause of the financial crisis. Derivatives markets have made commodity and other prices more volatile, and have created huge losses, destabilising economies. The regulatory measures that the European Union and other powers are currently considering on certain types of derivatives are inadequate. They should be replaced by bolder measures to regulate finance for the benefit of citizens in Europe and across the world.Read the full briefing here.

Submitted by zoeyoung on Thu, 2010-03-11 13:45.

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Big push in Europe for the Financial Transaction Tax

Recently citizens and civil society organizations all over Europe have been stepping up the push for the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). The large support for the FTT is due to its triple benefit: it has huge potential as a new source of revenue for public budgets, it would contribute to the stabilisation of financial markets, and it would be an invaluable tool for the tax justice movement ─ all of which is badly needed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Submitted by zoeyoung on Thu, 2010-03-11 13:08.

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New analysis on debt in Latin America

The Latin American Network on Debt and Development (Latindadd) has produced a report analysing debt in Latin American countries between March 2009 and January 2010.

Submitted by zoeyoung on Thu, 2010-03-11 10:38.

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Rusty reasoning: groups challenge EIB to justify the latest ArcelorMittal public millions

In spite of some alarming headlines, ArcelorMittal seems to be navigating its way quite nicely through the economic downturn. The most recent results for the world's largest steel company – for the last quarter of 2009 – show sales of USD 18.6 billion and a profit of USD 1.1 billion. And Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of the company, has just been confirmed as the world's fifth richest man in 2010. On top of this, the UK-based NGO Sandbag has identified that ArcelorMittal is set to become the largest beneficiary of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme – by 2012 the steel giant will have received around 80 million permits which it does not need, and if it sells these permits it will make over GBP 1 billion in windfall profits.On 21 October 2009 the European Investment Bank’s board of directors approved a loan to ArcelorMittal worth EUR 250 million for a research and development programme said to be all about bringing environmental added value to the company's European operations. The company has a very chequered history over the last ten years in its implementation of environmental improvement schemes that have been financed by over half a billion dollars in public loans.Yet leaving the important environmental issues to one side, couldn't a company the size of ArcelorMittal be expected to either fund the project out of its own resources or be able to access commercial loans, leaving advantageous EIB funding to companies more in need? And isn't the EIB supposed to only give loans to finance those projects that cannot be entirely financed by the various means available in European member states?Frustrated by their dealings with the EIB on these matters, Bankwatch, ClientEarth and Global Action on ArcelorMittal have this week lodged a formal complaint with the Secretary General of the EIB that questions the rigour and ultimate validity of the bank's pre-loan assessment. Read it here and consider the magnetic pull ArcelorMittal seems to have towards public money.

Submitted by ifitv-admin on Thu, 2010-03-11 09:57.

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The European Parliament Condemns Tax Havens and Urges the European Union to Fight Capital Flight

Submitted by zoeyoung on Wed, 2010-03-10 16:35.

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The role of Parliaments in the changing aid architecture - focus on South-South Cooperation

In the context of the emerging debate on South-South Cooperation (SSC) and the nascent discussions around a new aid architecture, The Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) and the Spanish Senate hosted a seminar entitled 'Parliament and the MDGs in the context of the changing aid architecture, prioritising South-South Cooperation.” The Seminar facilitated an open discussion about the current state of the changing aid architecture, the important role of parliament therein, and the need to support and monitor positive developments in SSC.

Submitted by zoeyoung on Tue, 2010-03-09 16:51.

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Protect Indonesia's biodiversity by rejecting World Bank funding

A planned nickel and cobalt mine in Indonesia could destroy the fragile ecosystem of Halmahera island. Please take action and call on the world bank to halt their funding of the project.

Submitted by ifitv-admin on Tue, 2010-03-09 13:39.

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