Category Archives: The economic crunch

“Oops” – the IMF’s latest economic jargon

Posted on April 21, 2009 | 1 Comment

On the eve of the UK budget statement, the International Monetary Fund today estimated the cost to the British government and taxpayer of bailing out British banks to be £200 billion. That’s not how much we’re under-writing, guaranteeing or spinning. It’s money that we will have to actually pay out. Except, no it’s not. There’s no point giving you the link to the IMF web-site so you can see the fancy graph because they’ve, er, well, anyway it’s not there anymore. They took it down. It was wrong. Oops. Continue reading →

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Posted in G-20 London summit, The economic crunch

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Companies and conflict sensitivity in the recession

Posted on April 20, 2009 | 1 Comment

It’s a truism that the poor get the hardest by any economic problem, downturn, crunch or crisis. Likewise, the poor get left behind when the economic good times are rolling. It’s perhaps a faint hope, but might it be possible for those truisms to be at least a little less true for poor countries during this crisis and as recovery comes around? Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development, The economic crunch

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Obama in power (6):policies clarifying, pattern still hazy

Posted on April 16, 2009 | 3 Comments

By the time Obama was inaugurated, he had promised so much, there was a risk that he could only disappoint. Let’s not get too carried away in these tough times, but there is some much needed good news: perfect his administration is not, but the first signs in foreign policy are far from negative. This extended post surveys the key issues. Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate change, Conflict & peace, Power, The economic crunch

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G-20 tension doesn’t mount

Posted on April 2, 2009 | 1 Comment

Were it not for the death of a demonstrator and injuries to police and public, it would be possible to treat the whole G-20 summit with the humour that its theatricality demands. For putting events on the streets of London to one side, this is indeed an occasion for powerful actors to strut their stuff. Continue reading →

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G-20 and the bottle of expectation on economy, climate and conflict

Posted on March 31, 2009 | Leave a comment

Every significant political moment generates a bottle of expectation. As it looms up and unfolds, the news media and commentators start rushing to judge how far the bottle has been filled by actual achievement. The G-20 – the world’s 19 richest states, plus the EU, the IMF, World Bank and a couple of other financial institutions – meet on Thursday 2 April in London. In full anticipation that the half-full/half-empty metaphor will be used to excess over the next few days, what are reasonable expectations this time? Continue reading →

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Obama in power (4): challenges, doubts and the G-20

Posted on March 30, 2009 | 1 Comment

Barack Obama comes to London this week – the heads of 20 other governments do too because G-20 has suddenly grown into G-22 but of course it’s Obama who sets the pulse racing. Everybody knows his host, Gordon Brown, needs the G-20 to be an all-out success; anything less – mere solid achievement, for example – will be spun as failure by the UK government’s army of critics. But is Obama in a similar situation?

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Posted in G-20 London summit, Power, The economic crunch

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G-20 summit: Brown revives Blair’s old Euro-Atlantic dream

Posted on March 26, 2009 | Leave a comment

So Gordon Brown went to Strasbourg and told the European Parliament that the EU is uniquely placed to provide world leadership in the economic crisis. Is this the Gordon Brown who deliberately avoided EU ministerial meetings and designed impassable tests the UK economy had to pass if he was to let it join the Euro? Why the change? Continue reading →

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Four issues at (or not at) the G-20 London summit

Posted on March 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

It looks like there will be some serious demonstrations to welcome the G-20 summiteers to London on 2 April. Protests will reflect anger at the human costs of the recession and a conviction (or hope) that the system has not only failed many ordinary people but is failing full stop. And there will be a lot of sympathy for the protests because it is hard to see the G-20 straightforwardly addressing the big problems. There are four in particular that could do with high-level attention. Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate change, G-20 London summit, The economic crunch

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How green is our valley?

Posted on March 20, 2009 | Leave a comment

Not outstandingly green by international standards – more a sludgy grey brown. A comparison of  the green content of several governments’ bail-out and stimulus packages shows South Korea devoting 80 per cent of the extra finance to green investment and activity, while China notches up 37 and the UK is at a lowly 6 per cent. Continue reading →

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Rubik’s crisis

Posted on March 18, 2009 | 1 Comment

As the economic crunch continues to unfold, commentators, politicians and thoughtful citizens alike are trying to get a grip on its multiple dimensions. Pity the policy-makers and political leaders who are trying to find the way to solve a six-sided boxful of dilemmas because this is a real Rubik’s Cube of a crisis. Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate change, Conflict & peace, G-20 London summit, The economic crunch

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