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15 years 10 months ago.   .   KAIROS Debt E-Bulletin January 2009 Ecuador Has Every Right to Refuse to Pay Illegitimate Debts President Rafael's Correa's decision to default on payments on a portion of Ecuador's external debts has received enthusiastic approval from social justice advocates amidst warnings of retribution from private financiers. London's /Financial Times/ accuses Correa of halting payments "on ideological grounds". In fact, Ecuador made this decision for solid moral, legal and financial reasons that have been ignored by media reports. The default followed an exhaustive audit of Ecuador's debts that uncovered extensive irregularities and illegalities in the way the debts in question were contracted. Moreover, the decision is based on a strong moral case for repudiating illegitimate debts as affirmed by many church and civil society organizations   Read more ...
15 years 11 months ago.   .   La crise financière, une aubaine pour les OCE Tandis que les opérations publiques de renflouement des industries automobiles et financières ont stimulé les débats sur le rôle des gouvernements dans les marchés commerciaux, l’une des formes d’aides gouvernementales n’est qu’un point sur l’écran du radar : les organismes de crédit à l’exportation. Confrontés à l’intensification de la très grave crise financière, les gouvernements occidentaux se servent de leurs organismes de crédit à l’exportation (OCE) pour stimuler les liquidités et porter main forte aux industries en déclin. Lors de l’assemblée extraordinaire de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce le mois dernier, les gouvernements participants ont rapporté une augmentation de 30 % des exportations ces douze derniers mois. L’OMC en a même appelé èa davantage de crédit public pour réduire le fardeau qui pèse sur les banques commerciales.   Read more ...
15 years 11 months ago.   Domestic legislation, Government accountability, Government of Canada policies and positions, Human rights, Transparency and disclosure.   December 22, 2008 The Honourable James Flaherty Minister of Finance Department of Finance Canada 140 O’Connor Street Ottawa, ON  K1A 0G5 Dear Minister Flaherty: Re: 2008 consultation with respect to the “Official Development Assistance Accountability Act”   Read more ...
15 years 11 months ago.   Domestic legislation, Human rights, Transparency and disclosure.   Financial crisis a boon for ECAs While hefty public bailouts of the financial and auto industries have stimulated debate on the role of governments in commercial markets, one form of government subsidy has flown beneath the proverbial radar: export credit. Confronted by an increasingly dire financial crisis, Western governments are using their export credit agencies (ECAs) to boost liquidity and rescue faltering industries. At an extraordinary World Trade Organization meeting last month, participating governments reported a 30% increase in ECA business over the previous 12 months. The WTO called for even greater reliance on public credit to lessen the burden on commercial banks. Shortly afterwards, the OECD announced an agreement with non-members, including Russia and Brazil, to provide markets with publicly-sourced export credit.   Read more ...
15 years 11 months ago.   .   What is the Bank of the South? On December 9th, 2007, representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela met in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to launch “el Banco del Sur” or the Bank of the South (BoS). With the creation of the Bank, the leaders of Latin America envisaged a new development institution to help promote growth and tackle poverty. The BoS was originally proposed in 2006 by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Chavez, along with other South American leaders, wanted a Bank that would allow them to assert their political and financial independence from traditional international financial institutions (IFIs), like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and put an end to decades of structural adjustment policies imposed by the IFIs on countries in Latin America.   Read more ...
15 years 11 months ago.   .   Déclaration de KAIROS à l’occasion de la Journée d’action mondiale contre la domination de la dette, le 8 décembre 2004   Read more ...
15 years 12 months ago.   Corporate accountability, Domestic legislation, Human rights, IFI accountability, IFI governance, Transparency and disclosure.   G-20 Summit – financial response to a development crisis With the global economy continuing its downward spiral, ambitions for the first Group of 20 (G-20) “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy” in Washington were sky high. In contrast, expectations in terms of concrete outcomes, with diverging opinions on key issues going into the meeting and a pretender at the throne in DC, couldn’t have been lower.   Read more ...
15 years 12 months ago.   .   Sommet du G20 - Réponse financière à la crise du développement Alors que l'économie mondiale continue à être aspirée dans une spirale descendante, les ambitions du premier « Sommet sur les marchés financiers et l'économie mondiale » du Groupe des 20 (G20) à Washington étaient au plus haut niveau. A l'opposé, entre les divergences d'opinions sur les questions clés circulant dans l'assemblée et la course à la Maison-Blanche, les attentes en termes de résultats concrets ne pouvaient pas être plus basses.   Read more ...
16 years 4 weeks ago.   .   Le FMI reprend du service, mais reste politiquement ruiné   Read more ...

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