Economy and Finance

New Report Sparks Anxiety About COVID-19 Wrecking UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi has stressed the need to address the frailties of globalization that led to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its uneven economic impacts, gravely wounding the world economy with serious consequences for everyone. He hopes that the situation would prove to be 'course-altering' and a catalyst for change. "We need to reshape global production networks and reset multilateral cooperation for the better," he says.

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 20 November 2020

Photo: Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Source:Twitter

U.S. Upsets Election of African Candidate for Top World Trade Post

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Backed by an overwhelming number of World Trade Organization (WTO) delegates, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was on a fast track to become the head of the global trade group.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was set to become the first woman and first African to lead the global trade watchdog. A selection panel of WTO trade ministers found she had far more support than a South Korean rival and it was expected that the Asian candidate would be withdrawn because the African candidate would be most likely to attract consensus among the members.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 02 November 2020

Mexico Has a UFO and It's Not an Unidentified Flying Object

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl*

QUERETARO, Mexico (IDN) – For the majority of people, the emotion engendered by a UFO landing on Earth is fear. For others, it is a confirmation of a hope – that there are alternative realities to the beliefs the majority currently hold. Confirming the reality of a UFO landing on Earth opens up vast possibilities that people had heretofore thought impossible.

Currently, Mexico has a UFO. It is not an Unidentified Flying Object. It is an Unequivocal Failing Organization. The name of the UFO is Pemex or Petróleos Mexicanos. Pemex is the largest taxpayer in Mexico, its largest company, and one of the largest companies in Latin America.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 October 2020

Photos (L to R): Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Ritesh Tandon. Credit: The authors.

California Needs Low Taxation to Boost Innovation

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Ritesh Tandon

Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. is an ex-diplomat and Ritesh Tandon is the Republican Party candidate for the US Congress from California’s 17th District. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

CALIFORNIA (IDN) – President Donald Trump is nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for the recent Peace Deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. In fact, his pursuit for peace as an official US policy found manifestation earlier in his efforts not to lead US into any war, and to bring reconciliation to North and South Korea.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 15 September 2020

Every Step the EU Takes Toward Financial Unity Sows New Seeds of Its Potential Collapse

Viewpoint by Marshall Auerback

The writer is a market analyst and commentator. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” is a play featuring two characters waiting for a character, Godot, who never arrives. As such, it is a useful metaphor for the goings-on of the European Union (EU). Observers of the EU’s evolution in the capital of Brussels have witnessed a Godot-like experience of the promised arrival of the long-awaited resolution of the group’s dysfunction and economic malaise that never happens.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 August 2020

Image source: Midas FinServe Private Limited

Even If Joe Biden Wins in a Blowout, the 'Global Economy' Is Not Coming Back

New economic imperatives are forcing nations to make a choice.

Viewpoint by Marshall Auerback

The writer is a market analyst and commentator. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW YORK (IDN) – COVID-19 has not only presented the global economy with its greatest public health challenge in over a century, but also likely killed off the notion of America’s “unipolar moment” for good. That doesn’t mean full-on autarky or isolationism but, rather, enlightened selfishness, which allows for some limited cooperation. Donald Trump’s ongoing threats to impose additional tariffs on a range of EU exports are exacerbating this trend as the old post-World War II ties between the two regions continue to fray.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 31 July 2020

Collage of Magic Money and Sebastian Mallaby (Twitter), inventor of magic money.

EU & The Other Developed Countries Should Spend Some Of The 'Magic Money' To Help Africa

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – There is "Magic Money" around in case you didn't know. Not quite made out of thin air, but getting on that way. This is a phrase invented by the economic writer, Sebastian Mallaby, in the new issue of Foreign Affairs, America's leading foreign policy bi-monthly journal. It is a usually important and well-researched article. All policymakers should read it.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 21 July 2020

Collage of the images of Van Guard, BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors.

The Spectre of the Big Three

Viewpoint by Glauco Benigni*

This article was originally published by Other News and is reproduced with permission.

ROME (IDN) – They are called Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors and they are the world's 3 largest mutual funds. They are also known as asset managers or investment funds, operated by professional experts who collect "fresh" money from an immense and varied number of investors and savers. With this "fresh money" they buy securities in the various stock exchanges of the planet and redistribute profits (when things go well) to those who have entrusted them with the surplus of their capital and/or savings. Investors can be of a commercial or institutional nature, but also simple private individuals who access the various investment plans attributable to and controlled by the Big 3.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 20 July 2020

Photo: Pemex Tower at Night. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Oh No! Mexico!

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl

Bill Dahl is an investigative journalist based in Queretaro, Mexico. You can find more of his work at https://www.BillDahl.net

QUERETARO, Mexico (IDN) – As the world moves ahead, Mexico lurches backward.

In June 2020, Mexico dropped out of the top 25 countries for foreign investment for the second time in over 20 years. For the second largest economy in Latin America, this is bad news. What has precipitated this decline in confidence by the global investment community? This article explores the central reasons for this reality.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 July 2020

Image credit: Caribbean News Global (CGN)

There's a Hidden Economic Trendline That Is Shattering the Global Trade System

Viewpoint by Marshall Auerback and Jan Ritch-Frel

Marshall Auerback is a market analyst and commentator and Jan Ritch-Frel the executive director of the Independent Media Institute. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has recently conceded: "In general, economic thinking has privileged efficiency over resilience, and it has been insufficiently concerned with the big downsides of efficiency." Policy across the globe is therefore moving in a more overtly nationalistic direction to rectify this shortcoming.