Early evidence of the crisis in the developed world induced by the Covid-19 pandemic is trickling in. One set of numbers provide the first estimates of GDP growth in the first quarter of 2020, which includes the period when lockdowns…
The current globalization was always legitimized by the argument that capital today, unlike in colonial times, had become blind to racial and other such distinctions across countries in deciding upon its location; it would now flow wherever opportunities for profitable…
There is an exodus of finance from the third world at present, far exceeding in scale what had occurred in 2008 after the financial crisis. Even more important than the actual outflow is the desire on the part of finance…
At the recent G20 and IMF-WB Spring meetings held virtually in the third week of April 2020, a proposal for the IMF to issue an additional 500 billion of SDRs was blocked by the United States and – astonishingly –…
The cooperation between the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC oil exporters, including oil-major Russia, to limit production and supply of oil and help hold oil prices has collapsed. In a dramatic post-Coronavirus-pandemic turn, discussions to extend…
Even while the slow growth that followed the Great Recession endures, the world economy is staring at another recession. The OECD Secretariat has reduced its forecast of global GDP growth by half a percentage point to 2.4 per cent, which…
Discussions on the state of the world economy centre around the likely negative impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic and the potential positive effect of the truce reflected in the “phase 1” trade deal between China and India. Though most…
Unless the Trump administration’s views on the WTO change dramatically, December 11 could mark the end of an era in global trade. On that date two more members (of the three in position out of a mandated seven) of the…
In 2015, United Nations member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, which include an imperative to "ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all." Yet, in the last four years, matters have deteriorated significantly. Click here for…
The European Central Bank last month pushed its benchmark interest rate to minus 0.5 per cent, which means that if it gives a loan of 100 euros then it would be paid back only 99.5 euros at the expiry of…
