Letter to Editor: Why free trade works
Jim Stanford’s contention that free-trade agreements caused a faster rise in Canadian imports than exports, and that they “pigeon-hole” Canada as a resource exporter (Canada-EU Trade Talks: Jumping From One Sinking Ship To Another – July 12),
The last thing we need is a G12 competing with a G8
Ottawa must ensure that a G12 competing with the G8 is not the follow-up or, worse, the result of the summits just held in Canada. That would be a major setback. The last thing the world needs is a rival G12. But if we persist in excluding China, India and other major developing countries, that’s the result we’ll face, writes CIGI Distinguished Fellow Gordon Smith
Germans, Chinese loosen purse strings, begin to import more goods
Signals from Germany and China offer hope that a key goal of G20 leaders – a better balance in global trade – is more achievable than it looks.
Divisions widen among G20 members
The G20 has had an impressive run at going big, in terms of collective action.
G20 challenged by rogue protesters and bankers alike
Compare a Black Bloc hooligan lobbing an incendiary bomb into police cruiser, during the Toronto summit, to a Wall Street investment banker tossing a collateralized debt instrument based on flimsy mortgages into the investment system. Both devices explode. But there’s no confusing the two people in a police line-up, writes CIGI Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Fred Kuntz.
G20’s plan for deficit cutting draws fire from Paul Krugman
For the economies whose leaders signed on to Sunday’s communiqué, the hard work is just beginning.
Do-little G20 summit leaves markets unperturbed
Stock markets perked up on Monday after world leaders failed to agree on a global bank levy and softened the timetable for new capital requirements at a do-little G20 summit in Canada which posed questions about the forum's effectiveness.
Deficits: You can go your own way
It is always easier to get unity in the early days of a crisis. Fear concentrates the minds of leaders.
Keep Eye on Local Debt, Experts Warn
The debts of local Chinese governments are not huge or risky enough to evolve into a crisis like the one sweeping Europe, but the situation does deserve attention, economists at home and abroad have said.
G20's rise questioned after G20 summit
Leaders from rich and poor nations hailed the G20 as the premier global forum for economic co-operation, but critics warned the Toronto summit showed it risks becoming just another talking shop.
G20 struggles for united front
Reflecting contrasting national priorities and differing views, world leaders at the G20 summit have pledged to halve budget deficits by 2013 – but agreed to take different paths towards lasting growth.
The art of summit communiques--part 2
I've decided to add a few terms to the communique glossary put out by Waterloo-based Centre for International Governance Innovation. Here's a few tongue-in-cheek translations for those trying to decipher some of the arcane financial terms and euphemisms being tossed around by the G20 leaders this weekend.