Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on July 1, 2015, adopted a set of proposals to enhance the access of developing countries to IMF financial support. These proposals, and the case for adopting them, are contained in the staff paper “Financing for Development: Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries.”

An EU-US trade deal must open up US market access for EU firms, but must not undermine EU standards, say MEPs in recommendations, voted Wednesday, to EU trade negotiators. To settle trade-related investor-state disputes, a new justice system, run by publicly-appointed judges and subject to scrutiny and transparency rules, should replace private arbitration under the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system, they add.

Ethiopia continued to see double digit growth in 2014, but 90 percent of GDP is driven by agriculture and other services. The country also faces several constraints slowing down its transformation into an industrialized economy. The importance of developing a skilled labor force and improving the investment climate are among the key areas that will help support the Government of Ethiopia’s plan of becoming a manufacturing powerhouse and increasing incomes by 2025, according to the World Bank’s latest Ethiopia Economic Update report.

A reform of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), informally agreed with the Latvian Presidency of the Council, was endorsed by Parliament on Wednesday. The reform is intended to reduce the surplus of carbon credits available for trading in order to support the price of the emission rights. The scheme will start operating in 2019.

Improved employment services would help laid-off workers in Canada find a new job more quickly, according to a new OECD report.

On June 10, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Panama.

On July, 1, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Italy.

Contributions to OECD real GDP growth
Percentage points

Bernd Lange

Level of disclosure and public availability of private interests across government branches in OECD countries, 2014