Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in New Delhi, urging India to drop its opposition to global trade reforms that economists say would stimulate the world economy.

Mr. Reza Moghadam, Director of the European Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has notified IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde of his intention to resign from the Fund to assume the position as Vice-Chairman in Global Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley starting in the fall of 2014.

Promoting Social Inclusion through the improvement of public services is the main goal of a US$ 400 million loan approved by the World Bank Board of Directors. The Strengthening Fiscal Management and Promoting Better and More Inclusive Service Delivery Project is focused on traditionally vulnerable populations in the State of Bahia. It will benefit more than 11 million who are either afro-descendants, indigenous people or quilombolas, descendants of Afro-Brazilian slaves who escaped from plantations.

On July 23, 2014, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation and second Post-Program Monitoring discussion with Sri Lanka and considered and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mauricio Villafuerte visited Bissau during July 23-29, 2014 to discuss recent economic developments. The mission met with the authorities of the newly-elected government, including President Jose Mario Vaz, Prime Minister Simoes Pereira, and Minister of Economy and Finance Geraldo Martins. The mission also met with the National Director of the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO) Joao Fadia and development partners.

China’s high speed rail network is the largest and fastest expanding in the world, bringing significant impacts on labor productivity, jobs, industrial growth and regional development. However, these impacts are not well captured by conventional cost benefit analyses. A new World Bank technical assistance report sought to support the China Railways Corporation in developing a standardized and operational approach to identify and quantify the regional economic impacts of China’s high speed rail projects.

Consumer prices, selected areas
June 2014 percentage change on the same month of the previous year

The World Bank Group announced the debarment of two Dutch firms and two of their executives involved in misconduct relating to two projects in Iraq as well as a Cambodian firm involved in misconduct relating to projects in Cambodia.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and four rural banks – Bantierra, Caja Rural de Granada, Caja Rural de Navarra and Caja Rural de Teruel – have signed an agreement for EUR 90 million to finance investment and working capital projects for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs – firms with up to 250 employees) and midcaps (up to 3 000 employees).

Existing and new businesses operating in Jamaica will benefit from streamlined regulations and processes, public-private partnerships, as well as training and access to financing as a result of a US$ 50 million loan for the Foundations for Competitiveness and Growth Project, approved by the World Bank’s Board of Directors.