Author Archive: Jeremy Parkinson
Nations pledge record $4.25bn for environment fund
Donor countries have pledged a record $4.25bn over the next four years for the Global Environment Facility, the world’s largest public green fund that helps developing countries tackle climate change. The commitments by 30 donor countries during a session in Paris is a 52 percent increase in new resources for the facility. GEF Chief Executive […]
Ghana April inflation falls to 11.66%
Annualised inflation in Ghana fell to 11.66 percent in April from 13.32 percent in March, the statistics office has announced, a greater than expected drop that offers hope for further rate cuts later this year. The drop is the 10th consecutive fall, takes inflation to its lowest level since December 2007 and is another step […]
SEC and exchanges agree to bolster circuit breakers
US market watchdogs and six major exchanges have agreed that new safeguards were needed to curb trading when markets are plunging, including circuit breakers for individual stocks, a source familiar with regulators’ talks said on May 10. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, the leaders of major stock and option exchanges, and broker-dealer watchdog, […]
ECB to buy eurozone bonds to fight crisis
The European Central Bank will buy eurozone government bonds to help support fractured markets, abandoning firm resistance to full-scale asset purchases in light of Greece’s debt crisis. The ECB said in a statement that the step, dubbed the ‘nuclear option’ by many economists, was justified because of government promises to meet strict budget targets and […]
Freddie Mac seeks more government funds
Freddie Mac, the second-largest provider of US residential mortgage funds, has asked for an additional $10.6bn in federal aid after it lost $8bn in the first quarter. The company warned it would continue to need billions more in government funds because the housing market remains fragile. The loss was $6.7bn before a $1.3bn dividend payment […]
Indonesia finance minister quits; could affect reform
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a key reformer in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, is leaving office in what could be a major blow to a crackdown on graft and tax evasion. Indrawati, 47, was named managing director of the World Bank Group, a sign of the growing clout of emerging economies but also reflecting […]
BOJ says to seek ways to support economy
The Bank of Japan has said it needs to do more to foster economic growth and renewed its commitment to ultra-loose monetary policy even as it forecast consumer prices would start rising again sooner than earlier thought. As expected, the central bank refrained from new action at its policy meeting and kept its benchmark rate […]
Goldman CEO says has board’s support
Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein told American television recently that he retains the support of the board as well as support from clients since the SEC accused the powerful but embattled bank of fraud earlier in April. Blankfein, after testifying for more than three hours before the Senate’s permanent investigations subcommittee, maintained […]
Impact of expected China-Taiwan trade deal
Taiwan and China aim to sign a landmark free trade-style agreement by June aimed at bringing the political rivals closer while opening the often-isolated island’s $390bn economy to trade pacts around the world. The economic cooperation framework (ECFA) agreement between economic powerhouse China and export-reliant Taiwan would conclude two years of trade and transit talks […]
China market access more critical to US firms
US firms working in China are more concerned about regulatory and policy issues than about pushing China to revalue its currency, the head of the American Chamber of Commerce said in Beijing recently. American businesses are encountering new obstacles to market access as China’s growing economy leads them to expand deeper into inland provinces, AmCham […]
