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Nuevos desafíos, nuevas alianzas

Jose Carlos Villena Perez's picture

Los Organismos Multilaterales y los países del Sur de Europa deben cooperar más intensamente para restablecer la competitividad global de sus economías.

Una de las lecciones aprendidas en los últimos años es que los procesos de desarrollo económico son reversibles. Las otrora economías estrellas del Sur de Europa languidecen hoy en día envueltas en un lento y doloroso proceso de reajuste encaminado a la restructuración de sus sectores productivos y a su defintiva entrada en el SXXI, en lo que a términos económicos se refiere.

Cada vez es más evidente que la recuperación de estos países no se logrará simplemente con la reforma de sus estructuras administrativas y normativas debido a la complejidad de los problemas que afrontan. Tal vez, uno de los más complejos sea la interrupción del flujo del crédito a la economía real, el cuál está afectando gravemente los países del sur de Europa. Esta escasez está dañando seriamente la competitividad de los mismos a nivel internacional y comprometiendo cualquier posible atisbo de mejoría, poniendo, en definitiva, en riesgo la recuperación de la economía mundial.

New challenges, new alliances

Jose Carlos Villena Perez's picture

Multilateral organizations and Southern Europe can do more to cooperate to restore these countries’ global competitiveness

One of the lessons learned from the past few years is that economic development processes are reversible. The once-bright southern Europe economies are languishing today, wrapped in a slow and painful process of adjustment aimed at restructuring their productive sectors and enter once and for all into the 21st century economy.

It’s clear that these countries’ recovery will not be achieved simply with reforming their administrative and regulatory frameworks. Perhaps one of the most complex issues that Italy, Portugal, and Spain are currently dealing with is the interruption of credit flows to the real economy. This interruption is doing considerable harm to the countries of southern Europe; the credit shortage is affecting their competitiveness and jeopardizing any possible hint of improvement, putting the overall global economic recovery at risk.

Prospects Daily: Euro Area services PMI rises; Brazil’s industrial production slows; Philippines’ 2012 inflation improved

Financial Markets…The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.1% in Friday morning trade and the dollar weakened 0.2% versus the euro after a U.S. Labor Department report showed a slightly slower than expected employment growth in December. The S&P500 has advanced 4.1% this week, gearing for its largest weekly gain in 13 months.

Prospects Daily: Australia and Uganda cut policy rate, Brazil’s industrial production accelerates

Financial Markets… The euro rose to a six-week high against the dollar, appreciating to $1.3077, and Europe’s benchmark stock index (Stoxx Europe 600) gained for a second day, as growing optimism over a successful Greek buyback program boosted investor sentiment. Greece started the €10 billion ($13 billion) repurchase of government bonds maturing between 2023 and 2042 on Monday.

Prospects Daily: Japan’s GDP contracts at annualized 3.5% (q/q) in third quarter

Financial Markets…Global stock markets fluctuated between gains and losses, following three consecutive days of losses last week, as strong Chinese exports data in October offset worries over a prospect of the so-called U.S. fiscal cliff and Greek woes. The benchmark MSCI global equity index just slipped 0.04% in afternoon trading.

Prospects Daily: Year-to-date global corporate bond sales rose to $3.43 trillion

Financial Markets…Year-to-date global corporate bond sales rose to $3.43 trillion, already surpassing 2011’s full year total of $3.29 trillion, as further stimulus from global central banks pushed yields to record lows. Funding costs for the riskiest to the most creditworthy corporates are plunging as the persistent low-yield environment spurred unprecedented investor demand.

Prospects Daily: US treasuries gained and the benchmark 10-year bond yield edged down

Financial Markets…US treasuries gained and the benchmark 10-year bond yield edged down 1 basis point to 1.66%, after rising as high as 1.7% earlier, while the 30-year bond yield slid by 2 bps to 2.83% in early Friday session after a government report on wholesale price in September showed domestic inflation remained muted.

Prospects Daily: European sovereign credit risk rises to eight-week high

Important developments today:

1. European sovereign credit risk rises to eight-week high following Greek debt swap insurance payouts

2. Italy in recession

Prospects Daily: Bank deposits are moving out of riskier European countries

Important developments today:

1. Bank deposits are moving out of riskier European countries.

Prospects Daily: Portuguese government bonds advance following successful short-term debt auction

Important developments today:

1. Portuguese government bonds advance following successful short-term debt auction.

2. Deceleration in Eurozone manufacturing activity slows.

Quote of the Week: Robert B. Zoellick

Uwimana Basaninyenzi's picture

“If we’re sitting here six months from now and the Italian public says enough’s enough, then what happens to Europe?”

Robert B. Zoellick

President, The World Bank

Quoted in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Davos, January 26, 2012

Prospects Weekly: Global financial markets are eager for policy action

Global financial markets are eager for policy action. Bond yields for high-spread Euro Area sovereigns remain high, but eased somewhat this week with successful bond issuances by France and Spain and optimism that EU leaders will reach agreement to resolve the debt crisis at the forthcoming December 9th EU summit.

Prospects Weekly: Financial market volatility remains sharply elevated

Financial market volatility remains sharply elevated this week as market attention shifted from Greece, to Italy and even France. Concern about counterparty risk kept European banking-sector spreads high, even as banks mark-down and sell-off distressed Euro Area sovereigns to repair their capital base. Continued turbulence and credit tightening could prompt sudden reversals in global capital markets. In 2012, developing country external financing requirements are estimated at $1trn (7.1% of GDP), of which two-thirds is accounted for by short-term debt. Developing Europe and Central Asia, with debts coming due equal to 7.6% of GDP, is the developing region most vulnerable to a tightening of financial conditions. Worries about faltering world demand, led by expectations of recession in Europe, have contributed to deep declines in international commodity prices.

Weekly Wire: the Global Forum

Kalliope Kokolis's picture

These are some of the views and reports relevant to our readers that caught our attention this week.

OpenAid
This is how aid transparency could look like

"People who argue for more transparency in development cooperation are often eager to point out all the merits of transparency. Unfortunately, often we are not very sure whether our claims are well founded. Even worse, there are very few examples who can illustrate how exactly, "more transparency" could look like. The International Aid Transparency Initiative which will be implemented by the first donors in 2011 is a concrete example of governmental and multilateral donors representing a large percentage of global ODA making aid information available and accessible.

Also, in non-governmental development cooperations efforts are underway to increase accountability and transparency. The UK-based NGO OneWorldTrust even created a website to map over 300 NGO accountability initiatives around the world. But there are few concrete examples of making the information about work of more than one NGO transparent and easily accessible."


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