Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

A new World Bank Economic Brief calls for public spending controls in Mongolia as the country’s budget deficit is widening rapidly due to a large revenue shortfall and rising expenditures.

Clothing exports could create more and better jobs in Bangladesh if the country makes improvements in productivity, product quality and reliability, and by enforcing better safety conditions and other compliance policies, a World Bank report said.

After an extended period of strong economic growth, sub-Saharan Africa is set to experience a second difficult year as the region is hit by multiple shocks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on May 3. According to its April 2016 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, Time for a Policy Reset, growth in the region as a whole is projected to fall to 3 percent in 2016, the lowest level in some 15 years, albeit with considerable differences across the region.

At a time when nearly one million people are expected to enter the workforce every month for the next three decades, export-oriented apparel production in India and other South Asian countries has the potential to create more and better jobs, says a new World Bank report.

Benchmark interest rates that are critical to financial market stability across Europe, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR), will become more reliable thanks to a new law voted in by Parliament on Thursday. This law aims to clean up the benchmark-setting process, improve transparency, and prevent conflicts of interest like those that led to the LIBOR rigging scandals of recent years.

Recession in Russia and low commodity prices have had a major impact on Belarus’s economy. The economy is expected to contract by 3 percent in 2016 and by 1 percent in 2017 as the external shocks have an enduring impact on the economy. While current account deficit is narrowing due to prudent macroeconomic adjustments made to overcome the recession, significant external financing will nevertheless be required to meet large foreign debt repayment needs, especially in the face of declining exports.

Rules designed to reduce the technical obstacles that differing national standards and procedures create for rail operators and rolling stock manufacturers were approved by the European Parliament on Thursday. The rules agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators on the “technical pillar” of the 4th railway package will cut time and cost of certifying that operators, locomotives and carriages meet safety and technical standards.

A new World Bank report recommends that Pacific Island countries supporting or considering deep sea mining activities proceed with a high degree of caution to avoid irreversible damage to the ecosystem, and ensure that appropriate social and environmental safeguards are in place as part of strong governance arrangements for this emerging industry.

A new World Bank report recommends that Pacific Island countries supporting or considering deep sea mining activities proceed with a high degree of caution to avoid irreversible damage to the ecosystem, and ensure that appropriate social and environmental safeguards are in place as part of strong governance arrangements for this emerging industry.