Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Committee rejected as “misleading” and flawed, proposals aimed at providing greater protection to consumers buying packaged financial products, and unanimously voted to send the proposals back to the European Commission for revision.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on August 31, 2016 completed the combined fourth and fifth reviews of Serbia’s economic performance under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The completion of the review will make available the cumulative amount of SDR 608.01 million (about €761.6 million). The Serbian authorities have indicated their intention to continue treating the arrangement as precautionary.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 31 August completed the eighth review of Albania’s economic performance under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The completion of the review enables an immediate disbursement of SDR 28.65 million (about €35.9 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 238.14 million (about €298.3 million). The decision was taken without a formal meeting.

Ghana received support from the World Bank to strengthen its institutional capacity in domestic revenue mobilization on 30 August, public investment management, debt management, and governance of State owned Enterprises (SOEs). Reforming the governance of SOEs and improving Government’s oversight will also help improve public service delivery and contribute to economy-wide competitiveness.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Ali Mansoor visited Dakar from August 17–30, 2016 to conduct Article IV consultations and discussions on the third review of the three-year arrangement under the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) approved in June 2015.

The EU's budget for next year will be decided over the coming months. Starting this week parliamentary committees adopt their opinion on the budget, while the budgets committee discusses the Council's position on Wednesday 31 August. The committee will then draft a recommendation to MEPs, which will be put to a plenary vote at the end of October.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched on August 29, 2016 a three-year capacity development project to improve the external sector statistics in Central and West Africa. Introduced at the African Training Institute (ATI) in Mauritius, this project has been made possible by the generous support of the Government of Japan. Its opening workshop at the ATI brought together mid– and senior–level central bank officials of 17 Francophone beneficiary countries.

On August 22, 2016, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Barbados.
The economy appears to have turned the corner with activity picking up. Real GDP grew by 0.8 percent in 2015, underpinned by an increase in private investment and surge in tourism arrivals, which increased by 14 percent, among the highest in the Caribbean.