Saturday, January 9, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Jamestown Foundation | Ukraine Relying on International Monetary Fund (IMF) Payments for Russian Gas Purchase - IMF did NOT disburse funds ...
It was feared that Ukraine would be unable to pay even for October and the head of the European Commission (E.C.) –the European Union’s executive arm– Jose Barroso telephoned President Viktor Yushchenko and urged him to pay for the gas. Fearing that Ukraine’s failure to pay for the gas could affect gas transit to the E.U., Barroso said in clear terms that European consumers should not suffer because of Ukraine. Yushchenko assured Barroso that Ukraine would pay from the $2 billion that it received in accordance with its share in the IMF in August and September as a result of a one-off distribution of the IMF’s funds (UNIAN, November 5). Ukraine transferred to Gazprom $480 million from the IMF money on November 6, several hours before the deadline for payment (Channel 5, November 6).
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Hryhory Nemyrya admitted in his November 9 interview to Channel 5 that Ukraine may find it difficult to pay for December’s Russian gas deliveries in early January 2010 if the IMF does not release the fourth tranche in 2009. Nemyrya said he feared a repetition of the January 2009 crisis. He stated that Kyiv will most likely use the IMF’s funds received in September in early December to pay for November deliveries, but he admitted that it is uncertain how Ukraine would pay in January. President Yushchenko’s aide Oleksandr Shlapak shared Nemyrya's view point. Also speaking to Channel 5, he said that Ukraine cannot pay for gas in December and January without the IMF's assistance. FULL ARTICLE>>>>
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Founding and mission
The Jamestown Foundation was founded in 1984 after Arkady Shevchenko, the highest-ranking Soviet official ever to defect when he left his position as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, defected in 1978. Geimer had been working closely with Shevchenko, and established the foundation as a vehicle to promote the writings of the former Soviet diplomat and those of Ion Pacepa, a former top Romanian intelligence officer; with the help of the foundation, both defectors published bestselling books.[6] The CIA Director William J. Casey, a leading figure in national security organizations, helped back the formation of The Jamestown Foundation, agreeing with its complaints that the U.S. intelligence community did not provide sufficient funding of Soviet bloc defectors. The foundation, initially also dedicated to supporting Soviet dissidents, enabled the defectors from the Eastern Bloc to earn extra money by lecturing and writing.
According to its website: "The mission of the Jamestown Foundation is to inform and educate policy makers and the broader policy community about events and trends in those societies which are strategically or tactically important to the United States and which frequently restrict access to such information. Utilizing indigenous and primary sources, Jamestown’s material is delivered without political bias, filter or agenda. It is often the only source of information which should be, but is not always, available through official or intelligence channels, especially in regard to Eurasia and terrorism."[6] It claims to have "contributed directly to the spread of democracy and personal freedom in the former Communist Bloc countries."
Current activities
Currently, its primary focus is on China, Eurasia, Russia and global terrorism. As of 2008, its publications are Eurasia Daily Monitor, Global Terrorism Analysis, China Brief, North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly) and Recent From Turkey. Previous publications included Eurasia Security Trends, Fortnight in Review, North Korea Review, Russia and Eurasia Review, Russia’s Week, Spotlight on Terror, Terrorism Focus and Terrorism Monitor.
As of 2008, the foundation’s current board included James H. Burnley IV and Frank Keating,[7] while the Jamestown's fellows included David Satter, Michael Scheuer (let go in 2009, he claims he was fired because of his criticism of the U.S.-Israeli relations[8]) and Vladimir Socor.[9]
Criticism
It has been alleged that the Jamestown Foundation is a neoconservative agenda driven think-tank with ties to the CIA and United States government. Numerous publications have accused it of being an anti-Russian organization. An article by the Voltaire Network concludes that "...the Jamestown Foundation is only an element in a huge machine, which is controlled by Freedom House and linked to the CIA. In practice, it has become a specialized news agency in subjects such as the communist and post-communist states and terrorism. Although it publishes high quality information on issues that can be checked up, it does not hesitate to launch the most blatant imputations on the rest, thus providing neo-conservative think tanks with a world image that matches their ghosts and justifies their policy."[2] Philby Burgess writing for The eXile commented: "Most of the bitterly anti-Russian journalists who publish with these rightwing lobbies are from the small countries surrounding Russia, and they are animated by a deep hatred of their former conqueror."[3]
In 2007 Moscow accused the think tank of spreading anti-Russian propaganda by hosting a debate on violence in the Russia's turbulent Ingushetia region. According to a statement by the Foreign Ministry of Russia: "Organisers again and again resorted to deliberately spreading slander about the situation in Chechnya and other republics of the Russian North Caucasus using the services of supporters of terrorists and pseudo-experts. Speakers were given carte blanche to spread extremist propaganda, incite ethnic and inter-religious discord."[4] The Jamestown Foundation responded by saying that Russia felt threatened by it and was trying to intimidate it. Foundation president Glen Howard claimed that "they're intimidated by the power of the free word and this goes against the state manipulation of the media in Russia."[4]
References
- ^ Policy Recommendations for a Political Solution in Georgia's Region of South Ossetia
- ^ a b The Jamestown Foundation: A News Agency Made to Measure Voltaire Network
- ^ a b Vladimir Socor: Hound for Hire The Exile
- ^ a b c Moscow criticises US think-tank over debate Reuters
- ^ Wisdom or temptation in Central Asia? The Russia Journal
- ^ a b Origins
- ^ Board Members
- ^ Lobby? What Lobby?
- ^ Jamestown Fellows
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
New Report Finds International Monetary Fund (IMF) Agreements Have Included Policies That Could Worsen Economic Slowdown in 31 of 41 Countries
Source: Center for Economic and Policy Research
A new discussion paper from the Center for Economic and Policy Research finds that 31 of 41 countries with current International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreements have been subjected to pro-cyclical macroeconomic policies that, during the current global recession, would be expected to have exacerbated economic slowdowns. The pro-cyclical conditions noted in the report are either pro-cyclical fiscal or monetary policies.
“More than a decade after the Asian Economic Crisis brought world attention to major IMF policy mistakes, the IMF is still making similar mistakes in many countries,” CEPR Co-Director and lead author of the paper, economist Mark Weisbrot said. “The IMF supports fiscal stimulus and expansionary policies in the rich countries, but has a much different attitude toward low-and-middle income countries.”
The paper, “IMF-Supported Macroeconomic Policies and the World Recession: A Look at Forty-One Borrowing Countries,” shows that in some cases, the IMF had relied on overly optimistic growth forecasts – significantly underestimating the impact of the world recession on borrowing countries. The paper also notes that in some cases the Fund later loosened its policy conditions after the economic performance was much worse than anticipated.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 809 KB)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Hudson on Latvia and conditions by the IMF. Shocking revelation of how the IMF lends knowing that the country cannot pay - Sounds familiar??
Countries would be smart to tell the IMF to pound sand, that’s just me. Control via debt - get used to it fellow debt peon…
Michael Hudson Part I (6:50):
Michael Hudson Part II (4:41):
AFP | Bank of China VP Zhu Min resigns - speculation that he is taking senior post at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
BEIJING — October 20, 2009 - The Bank of China announced Tuesday vice president Zhu Min had resigned, amid speculation that he is set to take a senior position at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Zhu, 56, was leaving the state-run bank to join another organisation, the Chinese lender said in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange, without elaborating.
"Bank of China Co received the resignation from vice president Zhu Min on October 16. Mr Zhu resigned from the position of vice president because he will transfer to another post," the statement said.
State media has said Zhu -- who would first take up a position at the central People's Bank of China -- would be the first Chinese national to hold a major post within the Washington-based fund.
A spokesman for the Bank of China declined to comment on Zhu's resignation and no one at the IMF was immediately available to comment.
Dow Jones Newswires, citing an unnamed Communist Party official, reported over the weekend that China's cabinet had approved Zhu's appointment as a central bank vice governor and that it would be announced soon.
The report said the move was aimed at grooming Zhu for the IMF.
Zhu, a veteran in China's banking industry and a former economist with the World Bank, is considered a strong candidate to represent China's interests within the IMF, the 21st Century Business Herald said last week, citing unnamed sources.
It did not say when he could take up the post.
China and other developing countries have pressed the IMF to reform its governance structure to better reflect their growing global economic clout.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Reuters Mexico City | IMF may create program to discourage reserves buildup
MEXICO CITY, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund is considering creating a new program to dissuade member countries from building up currency reserves, John Lipsky, the IMF's first deputy managing director, said on Monday.
"We are exploring the possibility of improving our existing facilities or adding other insurance-like facilities that would give our members greater confidence that they don't need to self insure by building up reserves," Lipsky told reporters at a conference in Mexico.
People.con.cn | China expected to be second largest voting country in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - second only to US
Senior Resident Representative Daisuke Kotegawa of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) in Japan, expressed in Beijing on October 17 that IMF was implementing a new round of reform in which the proportion of China's voting power in IMF would be second only to U.S.
Kotegawa also believes that although signs the world's economy is turning around are emerging and Australia's central bank has announced an interest rate hike, it was still too early to discuss an exit mechanism for economic stimulus policies of different countries in the world. Maintaining a good momentum of development is the key issue, and it is not necessary to stress inflation in the short term.
At present, the voting power of U.S. in IMF accounts for 17.4 percent, however, China's voting power only takes up by 3.72 percent. After the new round of reform, the voting power of China will increase significantly. Daisuke Kotegawa thinks that China will overtake Japan in IMF voting power. This would mark a raise in China’s ranking from sixth to second place.
Recently, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, president of IMF, also stated that it was the right time to adjust the proportion of voting power for member states. However, China should see the biggest adjustment of position within the IMF.
Related:
Arab states ‘vital to recovery’
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=84325
| Published: 2009/10/19 06:24:29 AM |
MUSCAT — International Monetary Fund (IMF) MD Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Saturday the Gulf Arab states were underestimated by the global economy and their role should be re-evaluated.
Policy makers from the Group of 20 (G-20) advanced and emerging economies agreed to give China and other “underrepresented” countries more of a say at the IMF through a transfer of at least five percentage points of quotas, which determine voting shares and access to IMF loans. The G-20 will also replace the G-7 as the global forum for economic issues, giving Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, more say.
The Gulf Co-operation Council’s role “is very important in the recovery”, Strauss-Kahn said. “As the recovery will go on there is a risk of an increase in oil prices so the way the (council) will manage this question has a lot to do with the risk of a double-dip or the real recovery of the global economy.”
Monday, October 12, 2009
GoldCoinsAgain.com | The IMF is having a garage sale!
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is looking to unload 1/8 of its 3,217 tonnes of gold to increase its ability to lend to poor countries. After the US and Germany, the IMF is the largest official holder of gold bullion.
This is bullish for gold! Central banks like those of Russia and China will increase their store of gold to shore up their accounts and hedge against inflation. China has already expressed their interest in purchasing more gold, and Chinese bankers have even been quoted that they will “buy gold during any dips in price.” Look for a long post soon on China’s hunger for gold and what this means for your investment future.