World Bank

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Bombed-Out US Economy Blasts Globe Into Recession

Developing nations hit especially hard in first world recession since World War II

(Newser) - The world economy is plunging into its first global recession since World War II, and sending 46 million people in developing countries back into poverty, warns a World Bank report. The global lender is urging leading nations to pledge a portion of their stimulus packages to stem the mounting crisis...

Bush Faithful Rewarded With Plum Jobs

No crony left behind in last-minute appointments

(Newser) - The Bush presidency lives on through more than 100 end-of-term appointments to a wide range of presidential panels, the Washington Post reports. The positions, many of which will outlast his successor's current term, have gone to George Bush's aides and political donors. Most are unpaid, although four top aides snagged...

Treasury May Require Matching Funds for Bailouts

Setting matching funds as a prerequisite for rescue cash puts investors back in the picture

(Newser) - Companies that take part in the second phase of the Treasury Department’s bailout plan could be required to raise private capital to match federal funds, reports the Wall Street Journal. The first phase of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which has been buying up stakes in banks, has no...

From Carnage of Crisis Rises Vast Opportunity
From Carnage
of Crisis Rises Vast Opportunity
OPINION
Oct 17, 2008 7:31 AM CDT

From Carnage of Crisis Rises Vast Opportunity

World must act to overhaul finance for next era: Gordon Brown

(Newser) - The British plan to recapitalize world banks helped calm global markets, but Gordon Brown isn't done yet. In an op-ed for the Washington Post, the prime minister declares that we face "a defining moment for the world economy" on par with the aftermath of World War II, and that...

World Bank Vows to Stand Behind Poor

Aid to developing nations must be maintained, bank president warns

(Newser) - The head of the World Bank cautioned yesterday that the economic crisis could hit developing countries the hardest, and pledged the bank’s support in helping those nations protect their poor, reports AP. Bank president Robert Zoellick warned that aid to impoverished regions must continue to flow even as the...

The Crisis Dwarfs $700B
 The Crisis Dwarfs $700B 
Oct 7, 2008 10:18 AM CDT

The Crisis Dwarfs $700B

A US-centric band aid can't quell global markets as confidence plunges

(Newser) - As the financial crisis continues to grow, the $700 billion bailout passed by Congress last week may be too little too late, the Washington Post reports. The plan may not begin relieving banks of toxic assets for another month, and, meanwhile, the crisis has gone global, making $700 billion seem...

Malaria Fight Gets $3B Booster Shot
Malaria Fight Gets $3B Booster Shot
Sep 27, 2008 12:05 PM CDT

Malaria Fight Gets $3B Booster Shot

Initiative will focus on Africa, stress the need for persistence

(Newser) - The global fight against malaria will get an unprecedented $3 billion push from a global alliance of nonprofits, financial institutions, and governments, the Wall Street Journal reports, with a focus on prolonging the effort beyond initial successes. The Global Malaria Action Plan aims for multibillion-dollar yearly funding through 2020, and...

China's Economy Will Dwarf US
 China's Economy Will Dwarf US 
Jul 9, 2008 7:33 AM CDT

China's Economy Will Dwarf US

Twice the size of the US economy by 2050: report

(Newser) - China is the world's economic superpower of the future and will dwarf the financial might of the US, according to a new study by an American research organization. China's economy will surpass the US economy by 2035—and be more than double its size by 2050, predicts the report by...

Biofuel Caused Food Crisis: Secret Report

Findings covered up to avoid US embarrassment

(Newser) - Biofuel production has been the driving force behind the growing food crisis, pushing prices up 75%, according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. The most detailed research ever conducted on the issue emphatically contradicts the US position that biofuels are responsible for a mere 3% price...

Celebs Earn Stripes Helping Save Tigers

Harrison Ford, Bo Derek on board with World Bank effort to preserve habitats

(Newser) - Actors Bo Derek, Harrison Ford, and Robert Duvall helped the World Bank kick off a tiger-preservation campaign yesterday in Washington, CNN reports, with efforts to save the endangered species' habitats atop the list. Derek, who works with the US State Department to fight trafficking, says the tiger initiative should stem...

World Bank Offers $1.2B in Food Aid

Millions at risk of starvation

(Newser) - The World Bank is offering an emergency $1.2 billion in aid to several nations in a desperate bid to stave off starvation for millions of people, reports the BBC. The money is being offered to Haiti, Liberia, Djibouti, Togo, Yemen and other nations identified as at immediate risk from...

World Bank Nixes Loan to Burmese Junta

Military government 'in arrears' on earlier debts; aid still scarce

(Newser) - As Burma looks for loans to cover an estimated for $10 billion worth of damage from Cyclone Nargis, the World Bank won't be among the lenders, the Telegraph reports. The junta has been in debt to the bank for more than a decade, and the bank is legally barred from...

G-7 Leaders Offer No Fix for Credit Crisis

Ministers endorse more transparency, but not coordinated action

(Newser) - Group of Seven finance ministers ended 3 days of meetings in Washington yesterday by endorsing a plan to create greater transparency and oversight in financial markets to avert future crises, but no emergency measures to stem the current one. Despite a downbeat report on the likelihood of worldwide recession, and...

Surging Energy Prices Drive Global Inflation

Food costs, up 83% in 3 years, also slap worldwide economies

(Newser) - Inflation in Europe and the US is projected to reach its highest point since 1995, the Wall Street Journal reports, with food prices up 83% in three years and rising energy and transportation costs. The International Monetary Fund predicts the US and Europe will see inflation of 2.6% this...

Bomb Threat Closes World Bank
Bomb Threat Closes World Bank
Jan 17, 2008 10:39 PM CST

Bomb Threat Closes World Bank

Phone call threatens bomb at noon today

(Newser) - The Washington headquarters of the World Bank will be closed for business Friday as it investigates a bomb threat, Reuters reports. "The bank is working with law enforcement officials to determine the validity of the threat," said a statement from the bank. Few other details were released. The...

World Bank Cuts China's Economy Down to Size

World Bank says the world's second-largest economy is poorer than thought

(Newser) - China's economy, predicted to become the world’s largest by 2012, actually is 40% smaller than previously estimated, the World Bank concludes, after updating the way it calculates GDP. Although China’s $5.33-trillion economy is still the second largest in the world behind the $12-trillion US, the new appraisal...

Gates Charity Creates New African Woes

AIDS dollars distort fragile health systems, undermining basic care

(Newser) - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given $8.5 billion to global health causes and is slowly defeating AIDS in Africa, but it’s creating unexpected new problems for the continent, the LA Times reports. By pouring money into the treatment of AIDS, TB and malaria, it has lured...

Britain Tops US in Funding for World Bank

Institution raises record $25.1B for globe's poorest countries

(Newser) - Great Britain has supplanted the United States as the largest contributor to the World Bank, pledging $4.2 billion of the total $25.1 billion raised for the world's poorest nations, a record high. The shift in power reflects both the dollar's waning dominance as well as an end to...

Aid Finally Reaches Bengalis
Aid Finally Reaches Bengalis
Nov 21, 2007 5:54 PM CST

Aid Finally Reaches Bengalis

After six days, relief starts flowing to victims of Cyclone Sidr

(Newser) - Bangladesh’s army has finally reached most parts of the southern coastline devastated by Cyclone Sidr six days ago, delivering small amounts of aid to most affected areas, the AFP reports. With relief efforts thus far stymied by the devastation, any aid was welcomed: "We spent the last six...

Africa: Let There Be Light
  Africa: Let There Be Light
Nov 16, 2007 2:50 AM CST

Africa: Let There Be Light

World Bank initiative aims to bring electric power to 250 million Africans

(Newser) - Even after decades of development, most African communities have no electrical power and still go dark when the sun goes down. Only 5% of Ugandans, 6% of the Congolese population and 15% of Kenyans have electricity. Now the World Bank has launched an initiative to light the homes of 250...

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