

Despite well-documented evidence and countless testimonies to the destruction, displacement and dispossession their policies and operations have caused, these institutions persist in legitimizing their role. In recent years they have declared themselves to be champions of "poverty reduction" and "good governance."


WE CALL on all people's organizations, social movements, labor movements, women's movements, farmers groups, first peoples, religious and cultural groups, community organizations, NGOs, political forces, and all concerned citizens around the world to join us in mounting vigorous actions that will focus the world's attention on the destruction and human rights violations caused by the IMF and World Bank, the regional development banks, export credit agencies, and the neoliberal global system they enforce.



The inhuman and destructive consequences of debt domination which the international financial institutions play a major part in perpetuating are evidence against the outrageously deceitful claim of these institutions that they are working for "poverty reduction" and "financing for development."



And for immediate action, we highlight the especially urgent cases - most of Africa, Haiti, Nepal, Tsunami-hit countries and others recently devastated by natural calamities, countries ravaged by war, societies overwhelmed by HIV/AIDS, and others experiencing severe social, financial and economic crisis.

We reject the international financial institutions' "debt sustainability" framework. There is no level of debt that is "sustainable" in a global economic system that is founded on domination and exploitation of the peoples, economies and resources of the South. This framework is a means by which these institutions justify maintaining the "indebtedness" of Southern countries.



The IMF and the World Bank should bear the costs of writing off debts owed to them by using the World Bank's loan loss provisions (valued at US$3 billion as of June 30, 2005) and retained earnings (valued at US$27 billion as of June 30, 2005) and IMF gold stocks. With the market price of gold surpassing US$600 an ounce, the IMF's 103.4 million ounces of gold are worth more than US$60 billion, rather than the US$9 billion recorded on the IMF's books.






Through the conditions attached to their loans and programs, the IMF and World Bank have succeeded in restructuring the global economy. The widespread use of "structural adjustment programs" from the early 1980s in countries with significant debt, poverty, and financial problems has forced most of the South countries' economic policies to ape those of the industrialized countries, regardless of how inappropriate those policies may have been for the countries' development needs. Because of the imposition of neo-liberal policies on countries desperate for access to credit, peoples across the South now confront economies oriented to export production rather than providing for local markets, devastated manufacturing sectors, a large percentage of economic actors in foreign hands, valuable public assets privatized, health and other social sectors crippled by decades of de-funding, environmental resources devastated by over-exploitation, small farms and businesses wiped out by denial of credit and subsidies, and massive unemployment.





The continued emphasis on privatizing basic services such as water provision - or, when no company is interested in purchasing the utility, arranging leases and service contracts - and the "commercialization" of even life-saving agencies such as those managing food reserves reflects a fixation on markets as the only organizing principle for economies even in the face of overwhelming contradictory evidence. Failure after failure of water privatizations in the South has not deterred the IFIs from their mission to wrest assets from public ownership.





The World Bank's attempt to claim leadership on the issue of climate change with the application of its development of carbon credit trading is another tragic example of market fundamentalism. Entrusting the precarious future of the world's climate to the World Bank's clever market solutions distracts the major actors from focusing on the over-consumption that threaten to doom the planet and all who live on it. Meanwhile, the World Bank Group, which claims leadership in developing alternative energy, devotes much greater resources to developing conventional energy sources. Indeed, the World Bank is the world's leading financer of projects producing greenhouse gases.




UN Votes for Vital Debt Restructuring Guidelines

Whenever debt becomes unsustainable it causes chaos, businesses fail, people lose their homes and livelihoods. There are few winners amongst both debtors and creditors which is why most societies have laws and guidelines for dealing with these situations. Mostly they help minimize the effects and enable a fair resolution on all sides. Often these help people hold onto their homes, businesses keep trading – not always of course but there is at least some sort of protection.

This however has not been the case for sovereign or state debt, the lack of any fair principles has caused chaos, economic and political instability. The latest example is of course Greece, where the crisis has deepened while the arguments go on. The problem is that the lack of agreement hurts both sides – economic output falls due to uncertainty which of course means that the creditors are even less likely to see their money repaid.


However last week we saw what looks like a genuine improvement for nations trying to deal with unsustainable debt problems. The United Nations general assembly has approved a set of guidelines and principles which can be applied to resolve disputes between countries and their creditors. It was passed almost overwhelmingly with 136 voting for, 41 abstaining and only 6 against. The primary hope is that the process will help protect countries from having to make destabilising cuts in order to satisfy aggressive creditors.

The principles are as yet non-binding but perhaps signal a watershed in how bankrupt countries are plunged into disarray in order to meet creditor demands. Nation debt has caused misery to millions across the planet in numerous situations. From Argentina’s default more than a decade ago to ‘vulture funds’, countries like Iceland, Ireland, Greece and El Salvador have also suffered from financial crisis due to debt issues.

It is disappointing but probably not surprising that the few nations which voted against the proposals were the powerful and rich creditors such as the USA, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Even the European Union collectively abstained despite various please for it to join the pro-group.

Further Reading:

UK Media

Choosing A Fast VPN

Will Greece Start a Euro Collapse?

Well today is Sunday the 5th July, the day after the anniversary of US independance but certainly today was an event of much more importance to the future of a European Union.  The Greeks have voted no to the current offer from the EU of more money based on specific austerity measures.

It’s a difficult one to call, at the moment I’m watching the news on the BBC and there are pictures of Greeks dancing in the street at the result. I’m watching from a cafe in Western Paris known for it’s fast internet access even with a VPN to help watch BBC News live – available here.

Greek Exit From Euro

Greek Exit From Euro?

So what’s next? Does the Greek Government now have a mandate to negotiate real change in the debt restructure? Well the reality is probably not, Greece is unable to function for more than a few days without a serious cash injection. It is certainly not a position of strength, although many would argue that a democratic mandate from a few million Euro citizens should count for something.

There are many Euro officials, probably not easy to find now, that stated that a ‘No’ vote was basically a vote to leave the Euro and rejecting the terms of the creditors. The problem is that when the amounts are this large creditors are not really acting from a position of strength.

You can’t send in a firm of bailiffs to a country to recover a few billion euros, after all where will sell a few hundred thousand flat screen TVs with all the settings set to Greek. The reality is that a default and exit for Greece will be devastating for both sides, so I feel that a compromise will definitely happen. You can get really upset about someone not paying you back 50 billion euros, but losing another 200 billion euros as your currency and economy crashes is not going to cheer you up.

Time will tell on what happens, at the moment I’m treated myself to buy IP address, so that I could watch all the different News sites and listen to experts across the world. There seems to be little common consensus, but the reality is that the amount that will be wiped off Euro stocks, the economies of the Eurozone and many other areas, will be many times more that the Greek debts will mean that someone will give ground. My money says that Greece have played a very shrewd game and will benefit from this no vote, however I could be completely wrong.

Trade Figures Point to UK Recovery

At any given time, for most of the European economies you can find a positive economic story and a negative one.  It’s particularly valid for the United Kingdom where speculation and predictions veer widely from one extreme to another.


This week we’ve seen a lot of positive news around increasing trade and negative ones warning of credit problems caused by  the spectre of the European Referendum whenever that might occur.  However it’s best not to dwell on the fears of the market as they are largely overblown so far into the future.

So what about the trade news?  Well the positive signs are coming from the size of the UK’s trade deficit which finally seems to be heading downwards.  In fact it’s falling a significant amount with the March figures falling from 3.1 billion pounds to a little over 1 billion.  A huge fall in one of the UK’s problem areas – the trade deficit is estimated to knock nearly a percentage point from the quarterly economic growth forecast.  So it is expected that this good news should filter through to the economic growth indicators for the second quarter of 2015.

It is the April figures that outshone the rest, and some optimists have predicted that instead of net trade being a drag on economic growth, they might in fact contribute to them in the future.    This would be a huge surprise for most economists and perhaps point to a great increase in confidence particularly in manufacturing and their export markets.

UK growth will likely still be reliant on domestic demand, the improvement in most Eurozone economies over the last quarter will hopefully bring some positive benefits to the UK too.  There are many signs that export volumes are increasing at a pace, this will partly be fueled by the increase in confidence in British companies over the last couple of years and some would suggest the shock Conservative majority.

The overall figures suggest that imports are falling rapidly and the exports are climbing. The fall in imports was largely due to other factors though particularly the falling commodity prices particularly oil – this also helped cut manufacturers costs and make British exports more affordable.

For further information on the UK economy, see the UK press and media.


UK Proxy Service –


Are Prospects Improving for the Canadian Economy

Canada has had a rough few years, which might surprise a lot of people who don’t watch international movements of economies. It initially weathered the global 2008 crash better than most economies mainly because it wasn’t as heavily reliant on the banking sector and they weren’t required to bailout institutions to the extent of the US and European governments.


However they have been impacted by the global slump in economic prosperity partly because this has caused such a fall in oil prices. There are many countries across the world who’s economic success is currently linked directly to the oil price and Canada is definitely in that category.

However economists are particularly worried about the growth of private debt that has been occurring despite this economic slowdown. Some experts think that Canadians have continued to spend and borrow too much over the last few years. House prices and the levels of debt have grown consistently and Mark Warner the previous governor of the Bank of Canada consistently warned of this while he was in office.

The figures are worrying, in March a report stated that Canadians hold about $1.32 for every $1 of disposable income in 2014, this represents a record high for Canada. Some economists are not worried about these numbers arguing that net asset values and worth are also rising steadily to support these debts.

The standpoints vary depending on whether you think that you compare the level of debt to the level of income or net worth.

Further Reading

BBC Reports Canada Economic Development

Access via here –




Is the Eurozone Finally Recovering?

It seems like years since we had some genuinely positive news about the eurozone’s economic outlook.  So for many the news that the economy of the eurozone has grown by 0.4% in the first three months of the year was well over due.  The official figures show that the recovery is beginning to speed up slightly, although many forecasters had been predicting a slightly larger rise than this.


The trend is encouraging though with this fastest quarter growth results for a couple of years.  The growth is still slow but it’s looking sustainable and showing the possibility that it may increase.

There were other figures released before then which are of interest to eurozone economists.  Germany’s economic growth was actually below the average at 0.3%, which represents a significant slow down from the previous 0.7% growth figure for the last quarter of 2014.   The positive signs in the German economy in the areas of private consumption and investment in construction which both rose, were countered by a surprising fall in German exports.

Inflation in Germany is under control and is under the current ECB target of 2% or under.  Most European countries have fairly well controlled inflation in fact the concerns are usually around the level being too low.  An interesting economic documentary covered the risks of deflation, you can still catch the programme on the BBC iPlayer application although you’ll need to connect through a UK proxy to view it.

One of the bigger surprises was the long awaited improvement of the French recovery.  The economy also hit a two year high for growth with it rising an impressive 0.6%.  There are reports that confidence is returning to the economy with French consumer spending growing by 1.6%, although some of this will be due to the lower oil prices and the relatively weak euro rate.  Industrial production levels are also on the rise, with a four year high being recorded.

Other countries are also fairing better with Italy also recording growth figures, for the first time in several years.  Spain topped the Euro growth charts with a recorded 0.9% improvement in it’s economy, the fastest rate for eight years.

How much of this is a result of external factors like the fall in oil prices and the weak currency is difficult to tell.  There is no doubt that there are several factors which are helping plus the increased level of fiscal stimulus from the European Central Bank. There is little doubt that the majority of this growth is being fuelled by domestic demand which would be similar to the initial recover in the UK economy too.

John Usain


IMF States Economic Recovery at Risk











Jennie Calwood

The Bank of England Election Blackout









Joseph Benyon

Further Information

The European Economy



