Diseases such as Ebola, Zika, and AIDS have long sent shivers down the spines of people around the world thanks to their virulence and capacity for contamination. Many popular television shows and movies have pondered the potential social consequences of such an outbreak, but few think about the potential financial consequences of these illnesses.
The next OPEC meeting on 2 June will act as little more than a forum for continued altercations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The 2 June 2016 OPEC meeting will be held amid a backdrop of oil prices near $50 per barrel, a sharp drop in Nigerian production due to sabotage, turmoil in Venezuela, Saudi Arabia operating with a new oil minister, and Iran aggressively pumping close to pre-sanction levels.
In 2016, Southeast Asia has found itself engaged in proactive regional initiatives led by major powers. The recently signed, but still to be ratified, US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is one attempt, while China’s land-based ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ and ‘21st Century Maritime Silk Road’ — which together make up its ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative — puts Beijing’s proactive engagement and growing confidence on display.
Later this month, Japan will host the 42nd G7 summit. One point of discussion will be Japan’s plan to increase its consumption tax in April 2017. Nobel laureates Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz have come out against this plan, arguing that Japan should hold off on the consumption tax increase. Eminent economists Dale Jorgenson and Jean Tirole have mirrored these concerns, suggesting that long-term structural reforms, not short-term fiscal fixes, are the answer to Japan’s economic woes.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is the parent organization for the International Energy Agency (IEA). The two bodies have apparently been locked in an internal feud for years, and this dispute has finally led the two bodies to consider a full and formal legal split. Of course, such a split could come with a complicated morass of funding and governance issues.
Concerned about protecting the rights of long ostracized groups that are, just now, beginning to gain legal and cultural recognition around the world, the World Bank Group announced plans to protect the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals.
ASEAN+3 (the ASEAN members plus China, South Korea and Japan) was born from the ashes of the Asian financial crisis and the IMF’s response to it. It’s no secret that displeasure — if not hostility — to the policy prescriptions suggested by the Washington-based institution was a key driver behind ASEAN+3.
Several of the world’s leading international economic organizations announced on Tuesday that they would join forces to confront the various tax issues illuminated by the recent Panama Papers scandal. These organizations include the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), among others.
They will develop new processes, tools, strategies, and standards designed to halt tax base erosion and prevent tax evasion by individuals and corporations.
Gaza has struggled socially and economically almost from its inception, but this has been particularly true following Israel’s war against the region in 2014. Following the devastation, a number of Arab nations led the way in pledging aid to the region for reconstruction. Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and many other Arab nations appeared poised to assist the region without the need for intervention by organizations like the World Bank or International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are conducting their spring meeting this week in Washington. Announcements of major new initiatives are always expected after these meetings, but one has many people around the world very excited. This week, the World Bank announced its plan to invest $2.5 billion in girls’ and young women’s education.
