Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

The “Goods package” contains two legislative proposals: one on compliance and enforcement and the other on mutual recognition. Together they aim to strengthen checks made by national authorities and customs officers to prevent unsafe products from being sold to EU consumers and to make it easier for companies, especially SMEs, to sell their products across Europe.

A new OECD report, the 2018 Business and Finance Outlook, highlights a number of major risks having the potential to disrupt global economic growth. It notes that the gradual normalisation of monetary policy in an environment of growing debt will be a major test of whether the Basel III regulatory reforms have achieved their goal of ensuring safety and soundness in the financial system.

A new benchmarking study released by the OECD, on September 1, ERIA and the ASEAN Secretariat reveals considerable progress in advancing policy frameworks for small and medium-size enterprise (SME) development in Southeast Asia.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team, led by Björn Rother, visited Tunisia from August 15–31 to discuss the authorities’ policy plans under the Fourth Review of Tunisia’s economic reform program supported by a four-year IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.

Moldovan citizens, local and foreign investors, government institutions and agencies will benefit from enhanced security of property rights and more developed real estate markets in the Republic of Moldova thanks to a US$ 35 million loan for the Land Registration and Property Valuation Project (LRIP), on August 30, approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.

The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD, Aaa/AAA) has priced a SEK 1 billion 7-year bond, the first in a series of Sustainable Development Bonds issued to raise awareness for the critical role that water and ocean resources play in development around the world. This follows an announcement made by the World Bank, on August 29, launching the initiative during World Water Week 2018. The focus for the new series is to highlight Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 14 (life below water).

The Trump administration told Russia on Thursday to stop what it said was harassment of international shipping vessels in the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait aimed at trying to weaken Ukraine's economy.

A workshop to support the implementation of the new World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) kicked off on Tuesday, August 28 in Jakarta. The workshop brought together Indonesian government representatives, civil society organizations and development partners, and aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the new environmental and social requirements the World Bank will be applying to the investment projects it finances starting October 2018.

Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) Federal Director Aaron Wudrick released the following statement in response to the Federal Court of Appeal's ruling on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion approval: