Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

Recent reforms have made pension systems more financially sustainable and pensioners have higher living standards than ever before. But future generations are likely to find their pension entitlements much less generous than the and many may face a serious risk of pensioner poverty, according to a new OECD report.

Africa faces a major housing crisis due to rapid urbanization and a growing slum population. New, targeted approaches to affordable housing are necessary if countries want to take advantage of the demographic shift to make cities inclusive, spur economic growth and expand job opportunities, according to a new report by the World Bank Group.

The World Bank Group Board of Executive Directors endorsed a new five-year Country Partnership Framework for Indonesia, expected to deliver more than $10 billion in support for infrastructure development and social programs to reduce poverty.

The EU Commission is asked to table measures to improve corporate tax transparency, coordination and EU-wide policy convergence in legislative recommendations voted by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Tuesday. These recommendations build on the work of Parliament’s Special Committee on Tax Rulings, set up in the wake of the “Luxleaks” revelations, whose recommendations were approved at the 26 November plenary session.

On November 30, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the quinquennial review of the method of valuation of the Special Drawing Right (SDR), approving the revised currency composition and currency weights for the value of the SDR. The Board discussion was based on the staff paper Review of the Method of Valuation of the SDR.

Consumer prices, selected areas

October 2015, percentage change on the same month of the previous year

Six heads of state and government and the leaders of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund Monday called on companies and countries to follow up on their ambitions for Paris by putting a price on carbon to drive investment for a cleaner, greener future.

Encouraging entrepreneurship among disadvantaged groups can help boost jobs and tackle social exclusion, according to a new joint report by the OECD and European Commission.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Monday completed the sixth and seventh reviews of Niger’s economic performance under the program supported by an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement. The completion of these reviews enables an immediate disbursement of SDR39.005 million, (about US$53.7 million), bringing total disbursements under the ECF arrangement to SDR 95.405 million (US$131.35million).