Donald Tusk, the head of the European People's Party and the former president of the European Council, says the coronavirus crisis could spell the end for the EU. He urges Germany to show more solidarity with weaker countries and hopes to prevent Hungary from becoming a dictatorship.

The corona crisis is changing the global economy. Production security is growing more important than efficiency. Here is what that might look like.

A l'instar de tous les pays dans le monde affect�s par la pand�mie Covid-19, Madagascar conna�tra �galement une r�cession �conomique. ......

With the rapid growth of the digital economy, a number of competition authorities, as well as governments1 are in the process of assessing whether their competition enforcement tools are fit for the digital economy. In the UK, the Government commiss...

State recapitalisation aid to companies in the Covid 19 crisis 1. Overview | within a very short time, the German legislator passed a law to establish an Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) | the aim is to stabilize the companies in the real economy a...

(MENAFN - Jordan News Agency) Amman, May 9 (Petra) - The Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Ississ, said the only way out to address the consequences o... ......

The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), described as an integral part of its highly-ambitious development agenda, may be in deep trouble. Aimed at addressing some of the global challenges the world faces– including extreme poverty and hunger, inequalities in incomes and gender, climate change and environmental degradation– the SDGs now seem threatened by a […]

The post UN’s Development Goals Threatened by a World Economy Facing Recession appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Written by Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary-General, and Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Director, Division on International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD

The post COVID-19 requires gender-equal responses to save economies appeared first on Inter Press Service.

As the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow, concerns are simultaneously growing about the current and long-term effects this will have on certain demographics — specifically, women, the youth, migrant workers, and many employees around the world.  This week, the United Nations launched a report “Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts […]

The post U.N. Releases Report on Socio-economic Effects of Coronavirus appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Feminist responses to COVID-19 have been swift, insightful, and numerous. There have been webinars (so.many.webinars), twitter threads, illustrations, press releases and policy recommendations, and online house parties. Analysis pieces cover everything from the gendered impacts of COVID-19 to how to work remotely to the role of neoliberal capitalism. Most strikingly, feminists have mobilized on a […]

The post Autonomous Resourcing: the Engine Room of Feminist Work Amid a Global Pandemic appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The Hürriyet newspaper's jury of experts has created the "Pearly Gastronomy Guide" to rank Turkey's best restaurants. Click through for the top 20 restaurants in Istanbul, according to the 2018 guide...

The end of December 2019 saw the next step in the EU’s commitment to the adoption of a circular economy as the EU Commission published a road map on a new action plan which aims to speed up the transition to a circular economy. The new plan is...

Please note that this is a developing situation and we will update this note on a regular basis when further information is available. Across the budget on 11 March 2020 and the subsequent COVID-19 briefing meetings the Chancellor of the Exchequer h...

Background The ongoing coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic has quickly developed into a deep economic crisis of the like never experienced before. Many businesses, including those in the financial services sector, are facing a prolonged period of disrupti...

Please note that further information is expected and we will update this note when this is available. Set out below is a summary of measures that have been announced by governments in various jurisdictions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. ...

Sixteen are from Unguja while 13 are from Pemba, all Tanzanians.

Efforts include trimming of non-core expenditures such as travel and trainings.

EAC members have over time slowly digressed from commitments.

The rest of Japan is scheduled to get theirs by the end of the month — when the emergency is set to end.

Covid-19: In discussions about resuscitating the economy, the provision of cheap credit to the working poor has hardly featured. Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi explores some of the measures the government can employ to help out this class of businesses.

Economy Minister Silvio Schembri downplays Joseph Muscat's role in drawing up Malta's post-COVID strategy, insisting the government is consulting with several parties

Analysts differ over whether economy of Middle East’s top oil producer might ‘collapse’

FAISALABAD: Federal Secretary for Education and Professional Training Dr Sajid Yoosufani on Friday visited the National Textile University here. NTU Rector Prof Dr Tanveer Hussain gave briefing to him about the institution. The secretary also visited various departments of the varsity and showed...

PESHAWAR: CM Mahmood Khan has directed the officials concerned to finalise all arrangements for a formal groundbreaking of Rashakai Economic Zone.He was chairing a meeting held here on Friday to review progress on Rashakai and Hattar Economic Zones projects, said an official handout. Besides...

Beijing has kicked off a campaign to help graduates entering the labour market as the country faces growing pressure to reboot the sagging economy and tackle unemployment.Ten initiatives were announced to find jobs for this year’s 8.74 million new graduates in an online launch on Wednesday by officials from the labour, education, human resources, and industry and information technology ministries.The “100-day” campaign – highlighting the urgency for young people to find work – includes more…

In response to the global financial crisis in 2008, China rolled out a massive 4 trillion yuan (US$564 billion) stimulus package.With the coronavirus posing an even greater threat to the economy, the outbreak left the top leadership with a decision to make, as the efforts in 2008 also left the nation with a mountain of debt.Before the outbreak, China had already cut the top tier of the value-added tax (VAT) rate to 13 per cent from 16 per cent in April 2019, after a one percentage point cut in…

China’s will face an increasingly hostile world over the next five years, meaning its policy plan should be focused on its vast domestic market, home-grown technological innovation and improving its citizens’ welfare, according to recommendations in a new paper.The report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a think tank affiliated with the State Council, foresees the next five years presenting “major changes unseen in a century” for China, as “the strategic game between…

Calls for Australian businesses to diversify away from China as their main trading partner are nothing more than a “zombie economic idea” that is being used as a political tool to expedite the decoupling of the two countries, according to a report by the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney.The debate about Australia’s over-dependence on China for its livelihood has ramped up recently, triggered by the interruption of supply chains during China’s…

In Surat, a textile hub in India’s western state of Gujarat, losses are mounting for Bhagwandas Maloo, whose five garment factories producing traditional festive outfits have been shut for seven weeks due to the coronavirus lockdown.He was relieved when the government announced it would allow some businesses to resume production this week. But traumatised by the lockdown, Maloo’s group of about 250 migrant workers, who are skilled craftsmen from India’s northern and eastern regions, announced…

Disease, also known as Botrytis cinerea, turns fruits partially black to brown near the stalk

“Next year, the Cuban economy will continue to progress despite the blockade, external financial restrictions and the international situation,” asserted Minister of the Economy Marino Murillo Jorge, during a November 28 Council of Ministers meeting, presided by President Raúl Castro Ruz. The 2015 Economic Plan, Murillo reported, is fundamentally focused on maximizing efficiency...

CARICOM-CUBA SUMMIT Toward the indispensable political, economic and social integration of Latin America and the Caribbean Key remarks by President Raúl Castro opening the Fifth CARICOM-Cuba Summit in Havana, December 8, 2014

ISLAMABAD: Keeping in view the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s GDP is going to contract by 1.6 percent in the ongoing fiscal 2019-20 and will grow to 2.9 percent in the next financial year 2020-21 and the loans from IMF and other multilateral and bilateral donors will help to ease...

ISLAMABAD: Keeping in view the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s GDP is going to contract by 1.6 percent in the ongoing fiscal 2019-20 and will grow to 2.9 percent in the next financial year 2020-21 and the loans from IMF and other multilateral and bilateral donors will help to ease...

ISLAMABAD: Keeping in view the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s GDP is going to contract by 1.6 percent in the ongoing fiscal 2019-20 and will grow to 2.9 percent in the next financial year 2020-21 and the loans from IMF and other multilateral and bilateral donors will help to ease...

There are three key strategies that can help Viet Nam achieve its ambitious development targets in the coming years.

By some estimates, the digital economy now accounts for trillions of dollars. But policymakers and companies still lack the data needed to fully understand it.

Girls and women today have far more opportunities and role models than their mothers and grandmothers, but there is much more to be done.

For many of Indonesia’s urban poor who work in the informal sector, social distancing is nearly impossible if they want to maintain their income. Two key policies can help.

With timely and well-targeted programs, policy makers can prevent the health crisis from deepening into a wider economic and financial crisis. This could sow the seeds of economic recovery.  

Bold action is required by policymakers and central bankers to keep the region’s economies afloat and contain the pandemic.

Governments in Asia and the Pacific must think about two things when restarting their economies: when to do it and how.

Environmental monitoring reports describe the environmental issues or mitigation measures of a project. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 43319-022 in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Speaker Nabih Berri said it was necessary and urgent to implement measures to halt Lebanon’s economic collapse, local newspaper Al-Joumhouria reported Saturday.

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday allowed subsidised financing for setting up of new plants and expansion of existing units while the maximum amount for a single unit has been set at Rs5 billion to boost economic activities in the manufacturing sector.

The SBP on Friday said it has opened up its subsidised Temporary Economic Relief Facility (TERF) for Balancing, Modernization and Replacement (BMR) and expansion of existing projects.

Under this scheme, the SBP provides refinance to banks for their onward extension of financing at maximum end-user rate of seven per cent for 10 years.

“The maximum financing for a single project under the scheme is Rs5bn. The objective of this facility is to boost economic activity through investments in manufacturing units,” said the SBP.

While allowing the BMR and expansion of existing projects, the SBP has permitted financing for purchase of new-imported and locally-manufactured plant and machinery against foreign letter of credit (LC) and inland LC.

“The funding under the facility cannot be used for procurement of second-hand machinery, land or carrying out civil works,” said the SBP.

According to the circular issued by the central bank, in addition to new projects, existing projects and businesses are being allowed to avail financing under these facilities for BMR and expansion of their projects or businesses.

“This measure has been taken to provide further stimulus to the economy in the context of Covid-19’s impact on the economy, to support investment in the country for modernising or expanding manufacturing and production units, and in response from feedback from stakeholders,” said the SBP.

The central bank said that, it has taken several measures since the outbreak of Covid-19 to safeguard economic activity in the country. On Mar 17, the SBP introduced TERF and its shariah-compliant version to stimulate new investment in the manufacturing sector.

With expansion in scope of the facility, the SBP expects that existing businesses will avail subsidised funding to improve productivity leading to higher economic activity and employment generation.

The banks and development finance institutions will be required to make disbursements to their customers on the basis of certificates of their internal audit confirming that financing is within the terms and conditions laid down in the facilities.

Borrowers will be required to submit a report from the Pakistan Banks Association-approved surveyors with regard to confirmation that the newly-purchased plant and machinery has been installed as per their initial request or proposal for BMR and expansion. In case of installation and fixation in part, this report will be required at first and final installation of the plant and equipment.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020