Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) nations have warned oil-producing countries that their group was prepared to release their emergency oil reserves into the market, unless the oil producers ensured that the market was well supplied.
“The current rise in oil prices reflects geopolitical concerns and certain supply disruptions,” said the G7 in a joint statement, cited by Reuters.
By 2040, the U.K.’s debt-to-GDP ratio is likely to reach over 400 percent if the government chooses to continue on its present path. But even as the present government attempts to scale back on a number of welfare benefits – particularly pension benefits – to reduce its debt, public opposition means that they must seek other alternatives; and try to strike a balance between the nation’s debt and public welfare.
The China Africa Development Fund and the China Development Bank could invest close to a billion dollars to further develop the spread of digital TVs across Africa, reported the China Daily on Monday, with over 1.4 million families in 13 African countries now said to be enjoying the benefits of digital TV after the project was first implemented in 2007.
Indian and Chinese commerce ministers meet in New Delhi today for the ninth instalment of the India-China Joint Economic Group. However, India is expected to raise concerns that China is benefitting more out of their trading relationship that reached $74 billion last year.
While the two countries remain upbeat on their $100 billion bilateral trade target for 2015, this year’s JEG is taking place against a backdrop of seven consecutive months of declining trade volumes.
The number of counterfeit notes detected by private banks in India grew by 23 percent from 2010-2011 to 2011-2012, reported the Reserve Bank of India on Sunday, with the Indian government set to introduce plastic notes across five cities by the end of this year in an effort to reduce forgery and thwart other illegal activities related to fake currency.
The Jackson Hole annual symposium of central bankers will the main economic highlight of the week. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to speak on Friday and any hints he may drop could set the tone for markets during the following months.
Monday, August 27
Indian and Chinese trade ministers meet in New Delhi and India is expected to raise the issue of widening trade deficit with China.
Either Hong Kong, Shanghai or Singapore will replace London as the world’s most dominant financial centres by 2022, claimed a survey of 450 U.K.-based bankers on Sunday, with nearly 31 percent of the respondents choosing Singapore as their most favoured location to work.
Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi has hinted that his government may renege on a deal to purchase bonds from their South Korean counterparts, reported the Wall Street Journal on Friday, after bilateral tensions erupted earlier this month following South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to a group of islands claimed by Japan.
The Chinese government has set aside up to 2.37 trillion yuan ($373 billion) for investment into energy conservation and anti-pollution projects over the next three-and-a-half years, claimed a report by Reuters on Wednesday, with $155 billion of the money already earmarked for energy efficient projects that could reduce the nation’s reliance on coal.
Our generation urgently needs to spur another era of great social change. This time, we must act to save the planet from a human-induced environmental catastrophe. Sustainable development is a generational challenge, not a short-term task, and governments, civil society, universities and even corporations have the potential to become agents of change.
