Word: imf
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
During the 1970s, creditors like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were flush with “petrol dollars,” profits generated by the OPEC oil monopoly. In a display of remarkable unrestraint, these creditors pushed questionable loans on developing countries. Prominent among the loan recipients were a cast of unscrupulous dictators who used the easy cash to pad their Swiss bank accounts and repress their own citizens. Selfless leaders like Mubutu of Zaire, Marcos of the Philippines, Suharto of Indonesia, and Idi Amin of Uganda may no longer be in power, but thanks...
...primary motivation for the new Security Council resolution may be financial. The IMF and World Bank have calculated that Iraq's reconstruction over the next four years will require $55 billion in aid, and the Bush administration - having earmarked $20 billion of its latest $87 billion Iraq budget for reconstruction - has been looking to the Madrid donor conference scheduled to begin on October 23 for substantial pledges of support. So far, however, the picture looks mixed: Japan has pledged $5 billion and Britain almost $1 billion, but Canada and the EU, between them, are good for only half a billion...
...split along an unbreachable ideological fault-line. On one side stands the proponents of globalization and free trade. On the other stands the forces of the “anti-globalization” movement, chomping at the bit to tear down international institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the WTO. Needless to say such divisions do indeed exist. But it is becoming increasingly apparent that too often they misrepresent the numerous subtleties of today’s political landscape...
...Last September, I joined thousands of other protesters at the World Bank and IMF demonstrations in Washington, D.C. A colorful assemblage, the marchers represented a diverse spectrum of concerns and movements. Global health activists (including myself), environmentalists, labor rights activists and the ever-photogenic flag-burning anarchists all gathered to voice their criticisms of the World Bank and the IMF. While some of the protesters demanded outright abolition of these institutions, many others called for changes of a different sort. They were concerned about the pernicious effects of particular policies or the adverse consequences of specific institutional structures...
...same time, since a considerable portion of the total debt was owed to the IMF, it was hardly enthusiastic about what debt forgiveness would do to its balance sheet. Given all this, it was not too surprising that only three countries - Uganda, Bolivia and Guyana - met the hurdles and received debt relief. Those concerned with the plight of the poor in developing countries were frustrated by the slow pace of debt forgiveness. In 2000, the Jubilee movement mobilized sufficient public opinion to the point where debt forgiveness was greatly extended and the hurdles adjusted to a more reasonable level...