Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

More than one million people will benefit from improvements in tourism services, appropriate solid waste management and disaster protection and prevention measures in the areas of Cusco, Calca and Urubamba, thanks to a US$35 million project approved by the World Bank Board of Directors that forms part of a broader Cusco Regional Government program.

A new report by the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) highlights the increase in enforcement actions to counter foreign bribery and the growing prevalence of settlements – that is, any resolution short of a full-scale trial – to conclude such cases and impose monetary sanctions.

Bread for the World released its annual analysis of hunger and poverty in the Latino community. The findings show that programs on the congressional chopping block, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), have prevented an increase in food insecurity in Latino households since the beginning of the recession in 2008.

Oil prices fell following the breakthrough accord in Geneva that limits or freezes parts of Iran's nuclear activities. In exchange for curbing Iran’s nuclear program, the deal will ease some of the crippling economic sanctions that have caused massive inflation in Iran and weakened its currency.

“Economic performance in 2013 has been satisfactory. Inflation, which reached 8.9 percent last year, has decelerated to 4.5 percent as of October thanks to fiscal consolidation and prudent monetary policy.

"Development financing must be centred on the mobilisation of national resources so as to promote endogenous development," said Patrice Tirolien (S&D, FR), Vice-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), at the opening ceremony of its 26th session on 25 November in Addis Ababa. He stressed that this must respect the fiscal arrangements of the countries concerned.

The Hunger Report 2014: Ending Hunger in America, Bread for the World Institute president Rev. David Beckmann warned that reducing funding for food stamps by $39 billion, as the House of Representatives is pushing to do, would increase hunger for six million Americans.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a new Development Policy Operation for the island nation of Tuvalu to help it rebuild its financial reserves and deliver more effective health and education services for its population of 11,000 people.

More than 11 million people living in Rio de Janeiro’s Metropolitan Area will benefit from new policies designed to better integrate different modes of the city’s transport system.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s East African Regional Technical Assistance Center (East AFRITAC) held a regional workshop on the implementation of the Basel II and III frameworks in Kigali, Rwanda, on November 18-22, 2013, to discuss practical issues and challenges in the implementation process of the Basel II and III frameworks. Twenty-nine officials from central banks’ supervisory and financial stability departments, representing eight countries (Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South-Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) participated.