World Bank finance chief gives up bonus to please staff

The World Bank chief financial officer is giving up part of his bonus after an uproar over cost-cutting measures at the lender.

China’s New Loans Top Estimates in Boost for Economy

China’s new yuan loans and money supply topped estimates in May as the government supports economic growth while reining in shadow banking.

Jamaica scraps bank withdrawal tax

The Jamaican government has announced it is scrapping controversial plans for a tax on bank withdrawals.

Hopes pinned on private sector as Libya economy slumps

Tripoli (AFP) - Small businesses are prospering in Libya's major cities even as the economy at large is being throttled because of security problems and industrial action which has shrunk lifeline oil revenues.

World Bank removes Iran from list of non-payers

The World Bank removed Iran from its list of deadbeat borrowers Friday, saying the Islamic Republic had paid outstanding loan amounts.

The Economist: “The Fed's have-it-both-ways policy”

R.A., regarding Bernanke’s Jackson Hole speech, your column notes that you “found the tone on monetary policy to be confusing and timid.” Expectations now turn to what President Obama will say next week and what the Fed will do (or not do) when they next meet. Uncertainty again prevails.

Alexander Mirtchev

Iran denies missing World Bank payments, blames sanctions

DUBAI: Iran denied on Sunday it had failed to make payments on its loans to the World Bank for the last six months, blaming Western sanctions for preventing an intermediary from forwarding funds to the global lender, Iran's IRNA state news agency said.

BRICS Bank can supplement infra funds provided by World Bank, says Jim Young Kim

WASHINGTON: World Bank alone cannot meet the huge infrastructure fund requirements of the emerging nations, its President Jim Young Kim has said while welcoming the decision of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to establish the BRICS Bank.

Special Report: Inside Putin's central bank surprise

MOSCOW (Reuters) - "It will be a surprise - you'll like it," President Vladimir Putin said with a smile when asked whether he had decided who should be next head of Russia's central bank.

World Bank Sees Long Crisis Effect

WASHINGTON—The European debt crisis could weigh on the world economy for years, forcing policy makers to rethink their approaches to restoring growth and boosting job creation, the World Bank's new chief economist said in an interview Monday.

UN official: Plight of Afghan poor may worsen

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghanistan's security situation has overshadowed the glaring humanitarian needs of the nation's poorest, and their plight may worsen as international assistance wanes, a top U.N. official said Wednesday.

Global food prices on the rise again: World Bank

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global food prices are rising again, pushed higher by costlier oil, strong demand from Asia and bad weather in parts of Europe, South America and the United States, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

World Bank says UN goal of halving poverty met

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Developing countries appear to have already met a United Nations goal to halve extreme poverty in the world's poorest countries by 2015, thanks mainly to China's economic boom, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

World Bank chief says U.S. should lead some global bodies

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A solid U.S. candidate to head the World Bank would be good for the United States and the bank because the world's largest economy should be represented in top international bodies, outgoing President Robert Zoellick said on Saturday, while emphasizing he has no role in the selection process.

EU says it may lend Egypt up to 500 mln euros

CAIRO (Reuters) - The European Union may be prepared to lend Egypt up to 500 million euros to help it finance a budget deficit provided it successfully concludes a financial assistance agreement with the IMF, an EU official said on Wednesday.

World Bank, China Advance Work on China Economy’s Future

The FINANCIAL -- BEIJING, September 5, 2011 – China and the World Bank are making significant progress on a joint report on how the world’s second largest economy can move to a path of sustainable growth in the face of today’s challenging global economic situation, said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.

Commenting in Beijing on a weekend workshop with senior Chinese officials and outside experts, Zoellick said there was agreement that China would have to rebalance its economy, improve the environment, reduce inequality and advance the quality of life for its people while at the same time maintaining rapid growth.

Global economic situation is far from easy: PM

India on Tuesday dubbed as "outmoded and under stress" the global institutions of governance in the face of new challenges like food and economic security and pitched for closer cooperation among developing countries.

"The current international economic political situation is far from easy, particularly for developing countries," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said addressing the Second Africa-India Forum Summit being attended by 15 African countries.

IMF, World Bank meetings mark host of global economic challenges

Leaders from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank this weekend outlined a number of global economic risks, chief among them surging food prices, inflation, an uneven worldwide recovery and overheating in Asia.

While the global economy has shown signs of improvement, it remains in a "fairly fragile" state, said IMFC Chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam at a press briefing on Saturday.

Keynes the key to maintaining Australia's economic health

The government's swift adoption of Keynsian policies protected the nation during the GFC. Now it is time to finish the job and bring in a surplus.

TWO and a half years ago, the fall of Lehman Brothers triggered the global financial crisis and sharemarket collapse that pushed the world economy to the brink of utter catastrophe. Australia's swift policy response saved tens of thousands of jobs, countless business failures, and a level of individual misery and hardship that can never be known. Today, despite the hammer blows of recent natural disasters, our economic outlook is strong and we are in a better position than almost any of our peers.

Skyrocketing Food Prices Threaten Global Security

As G-20 finance ministers met in Paris today, warnings that food riots could erupt in the face of steeply rising prices are resounding around the world. Members of the European Parliament called on the G-20 to take action. Many leaders are identifying extreme weather patterns and climate change as primary factors in poor crop yields.

"Global agricultural production is coming up against the increasingly apparent effects of climate change, increasingly severe climate disruptions which require more efficient production and which lead to instability in agricultural production," France's Agriculture Minister Bruno LeMaire told the United Nations General Assembly in a closed-door session Thursday.