In These New Times

A new paradigm for a post-imperial world

Posts Tagged ‘IMF’

Iceland should turn to the IMF, not Russia

Posted by seumasach on October 7, 2008

A E4bn loan from Russia might make financial sense – although Russians might think otherwise given Moscow’s shaky finances. But it would create strategic ructions. Iceland is a NATO member, but Russia would want something in return for a loan equal to almost a third of the tiny state’s GDP. The US would fret this could eventually mean a Russian military presence in the North Atlantic.

These Telegraph fuddie-duddies, like the  ensemble of British punditry, have yet to grasp that the game is up, that support is coming from the East and that it will come with a geopolitical price. Despite British and US pressure, Iceland rejected IMF “help”.

George Hay

Telegraph

7th October, 2008

It has pegged the krona to the euro at 131 – the rate had swooned towards 200 on Monday – and is searching for foreign reserves. That’s a good idea. Less good is the idea to pass the cap to Russia.

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Financial crisis: IMF chases its own tail

Posted by smeddum on September 30, 2008

Financial crisis: IMF chases its own tail
NEWS|BRETTON WOODS PROJECT|29 SEPTEMBER 2008|UPDATE 62|URL

As global finance dries up, economic markets crash and banks go bust, criticisms mount of the IMF and its inability to convince its largest members to better regulate the financial sector or curb speculation. Read the rest of this entry »

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Brown plans crackdown on world markets

Posted by seumasach on September 22, 2008

 

Brown plans to turn the crisis into a global crusade on behalf of  Atlanticist financial interests fronted by the IMF. But he is swimming against the tide: new power centres are emerging which are no longer vassals of London and Washington. Brown’s hegemonic agenda will falter in the face of the new, multipolar reality. More specifically, does he really expect the rest of the world to go buying up our junk bonds?

Patrick Wintour and Larry Elliot

Guardian

22nd September, 2008

Gordon Brown yesterday pinned hopes of reviving his premiership on a package of measures designed to tackle the economic crisis, including a drive for tighter international controls of the global money markets and a crackdown on the culture of irresponsible City bonuses.

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Hey U.S., welcome to the Third World!

Posted by smeddum on September 19, 2008


L.A Times

Hey U.S., welcome to the Third World!
It’s been a quick slide from economic superpower to economic basket case.
Rosa Brooks
September 18, 2008

Dear United States, Welcome to the Third World!

It’s not every day that a superpower makes a bid to transform itself into a Third World nation, and we here at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund want to be among the first to welcome you to the community of states in desperate need of international economic assistance. As you spiral into a catastrophic financial meltdown, we are delighted to respond to your Treasury Department’s request that we undertake a joint stability assessment of your financial sector. In these turbulent times, we can provide services ranging from subsidized loans to expert advisors willing to perform an emergency overhaul of your entire government.

As you know, some outside intervention in your economy is overdue. Last week — even before Wall Street’s latest collapse — 13 former finance ministers convened at the University of Virginia and agreed that you must fix your “broken financial system.” Australia’s Peter Costello noted that lately you’ve been “exporting instability” in world markets, and Yashwant Sinha, former finance minister of India, concluded, “The time has come. The U.S. should accept some monitoring by the IMF.” Read the rest of this entry »

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