Tag "coronavirus"

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Inflation, Used Cars, Silicon Chips and Supply-Demand: Links in a Worrying Chain

Chips — no, not the potato or chocolate kind, the electronic ones – are a driving force behind a spike in inflation. Whether it’s cars or computers, we depend on silicon chips — and a global shortage is having some

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World Bank: Sustained Global Solidarity Needed to Achieve Global COVID-19 Recovery

The pandemic has affected virtually everyone in the world, but its impacts have been hardest on the poor and vulnerable, deepening inequalities and exacerbating underlying challenges. Now more than ever, global solidarity is needed to address the widening gaps between

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Glued to the Box, or Linked to a Laptop? Streaming is Up-ending Entertainment

Digital consumer habits are reshaping the entertainment industry. A recent report by consulting firm Deloitte found that UK residents are now more likely than ever to have multiple subscription-based, on-demand services for film, TV, and video games. That shift, and

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John Gandolfo, IFC’s Treasurer: Looking Towards Recovery from Covid-19 and a Green, Resilient, Inclusive Future

The Covid-19 crisis has impacted the health and livelihoods of many millions of people across the planet, and it continues to impose an enormous toll on the poor, threatening decades of progress towards raising living standards in the developing world.

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Sports United by a Common Goal: Getting Bums Safely Back on Seats

Sport has cultural and economic importance; every country celebrates stars and leagues and teams in some form. It’s one of the great unifiers. Sporting events are social events, and — as with some many other aspects of modern life —

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Global Imbalances and the Pandemic

The International Monetary Fund’s tenth annual External Sector Report (ESR, August 2021) shows how current account deficits in the global economy widened in 2020 during the pandemic. On the other hand, the ESR also argues that overall, the misalignment between

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Poland Closes the Gap and Calms Covid Jitters with a Bold Programme of Reform

The pandemic has brought an end to its 30 years of GDP growth for Poland — but this should be seen as an interruption rather than a break. Poland does it again. Since Solidarity brought the end of communist control,

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OECD: Blended Finance Institutional Role in Responding to COVD-19

COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on developing countries and undone years of progress on sustainable development, pushing back into poverty large sections of the population. World Bank analysis projects growth in Sub-Saharan Africa to decline to -3.3% in 2020,

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Bonds: Name of the Game for Cool (and Resilient) Operators

US corporate bonds certainly lack the thrill of that other famous Bond, James. But when it comes to strength and resilience, they can genuinely hold their own with Fleming’s cunning protagonist. By Efraim Benmelech Corporate bond markets have proven remarkably

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A COVID-19 Silver Lining: Precision Medicine for Brain & Mental Health

Did you know that nearly 17% of the Swiss population suffer from one or more mental disorders? And that more than 150’000 persons are currently living with dementia in Switzerland, with 30’000 more individuals who develop it every year? That’s

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