Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

On July 22, 2016, the Executive Board of the (IMF) concluded the Article IV Consultation with Chad.
Macroeconomic outcomes continue to underperform potential, due to the major impact of two exogenous shocks: the lower oil prices and the elevated regional insecurity.

Bangladesh signed a $10 million additional financing agreement with the World Bank to expand and improve the government’s procurement system to ensure the effective use of public money and increase transparency, on July 25.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Karen Ongley visited East Jerusalem and Ramallah from July 13–25, 2016, to assess recent economic developments in the West Bank and Gaza and the financial situation of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The mission met with Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, Finance Minister Shukry Bishara, Governor Azzam Shawwa, and other Palestinian officials.

The World Bank is beginning work on a new project, aimed at supporting the poorer regions of Poland by better utilizing European Union funds made available to the country through the European Union Financial Framework 2014-2020. Representatives from Podkarpackie and Świętokrzyskie, the two regions selected for this work, will cooperate with experts from the World Bank, the Ministry of Development, and the European Commission during this project.

The private sector can be an important driver for growth and rising prosperity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) if effective policies are put in place to address key challenges across the region, according to a report from three leading international development and financial institutions.

Some 331,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in the first half of 2016, 25% fewer than in the second half of 2015, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced on July 22. The number of counterfeits remains very low in comparison with the increasing number of genuine banknotes in circulation (over 18.5 billion during the first half of 2016).

With unemployment in the EU remaining above 8%, 77% of Europeans want the EU to do more to tackle the issue, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey. Reacting to the results of the Europe-wide study, Thomas Händel, the head of Parliament’s employment committee, urged EU leaders to “endeavour to ensure investment and high-quality, sustainable employment”. Read on to learn more about the EU’s role in the fight against unemployment.

At the end of the first quarter of 2016, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 91.7%, compared with 90.7% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015. In the EU28, the ratio decreased from 85.3% to 84.8%. Compared with the first quarter of 2015, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 93.0% to 91.7%) and the EU28 (from 88.1% to 84.8%).

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a two-year arrangement for Morocco under the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) for SDR 2.504 billion (about US$3.47 billion, or 280 percent of Morocco’s quota) on July 22. The access under the arrangement in the first year will be equivalent to SDR 1.252 billion (about US$1.73 billion, or 140 percent of quota).