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World Bank Commits over $1 Billion to Bangladesh

WASHINGTON – The World Bank today approved approximately $1.1 billion for three projects in Bangladesh that would benefit almost 36 million people by improving the quality of primary education, building coastal communities’ resilience to natural disaster, and increasing the nutrition and

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World Bank: International Food Prices Hit Four-Year Low

New World Bank Group tool focuses on preparedness for potential future crises. International prices of food decreased by 6 percent between April and August 2014, reaching a four-year low, according to the latest edition of Food Price Watch. This sharp decrease

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UN Reports Potential for Gradual Return to Global Growth, Foresees Risks, Uncertainties

Global economic growth is forecast to continue increasing over the next two years, the United Nations reported today, despite legacies from the financial crisis continuing to weigh on growth, and the emergence of new challenges, including geopolitical conflicts such as

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Trade Balance of Developing and Developed Countries Continues to Converge, UNCTAD Statistics Show

UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2014 shows that developing and transition economies run large trade surpluses for merchandise and services trade. Geneva, 9 December 2014 – Developing economies ran a combined merchandise and services trade surplus for 2013 of $177.6 billion,

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Temple Grandin: Autism Drives Academic Excellence

The lady thinks like a cow. In the case Temple Grandin (66), that is a compliment. Dr Grandin has singlehandedly changed and much improved the way livestock is handled in the US and across the globe. Her redesigned feedlots, stockyards

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Overall Tax Cost and Compliance Burden Lower for Businesses around the World

Paying taxes has become easier over the past year for medium-sized companies around the world, the latest report from the World Bank Group and PwC finds. The time it takes an average company to meet its tax obligations dropped by

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PJ O’Rourke: One of the Last of the Gonzo Journalists

A gonzo-style journalist par excellence, PJ O’Rourke will seldom fail to tackle serious societal issues with sarcastic humour and some well-placed digs at authority. Formerly managing-editor of National Lampoon, an avant-garde US satire magazine published from 1970 to 1998, Mr

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University of Chicago Booth School of Business: Questioning the Economic Effects of a Booming Real Estate Market

Strong house price growth fuels economic activity during expansions, and the ensuing slowdown in housing often precipitates severe crashes. Almost every severe economic downturn in advanced economies over the past 85 years was preceded by a real estate boom: Among

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World Investment Forum: Seeking Ways to Unlock the Idle Trillions

As the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, business and government leaders from across the world gathered this week in Geneva for the biennial World Investment Forum (WIF). The UNCTAD-sponsored four-day event brought together

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Sustainable Stock Exchanges: Urgent Need for Simple Metrics

The 4th biennial Global Dialogue on the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, concluded yesterday (10/14) at the United Nations Geneva headquarters, unveiled the urgent need for all stakeholders – stock exchanges, regulators, investors, and businesses – to adopt simple, yet

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