G20 leaders arrive in London ahead of summit

March 31,2009 - World leaders have begun arriving in London ahead of this week's G20 summit, where they will discuss ways of dealing with the global financial crisis.

But the summit is attracting much anger, with large protests expected.

Barbara Serra reports from London.

G20 protesters' anger amid global recession

March 28, 2009 - While politicians are set to discuss their solutions to the global recession at the G20 summit, hundreds of small groups have held demonstrations to have their say.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London in a peaceful march calling for changes to be made to the global financial system.

But events in Rome and Berlin were marred by some violence. Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri reports.

The Subprime Crisis of Credit Visualized - Part 2

The Short and Simple Story of how the subprime Credit Crisis exploded.




to recap Subprime Credit Crisis part 1

Geithner's Oligarchs

March 30, 2009 - William Engdahl : Obama must confront the oligarchical power of Wall Street to solve crisis

The People's Republic of Wall Street

Pepe Escobar: What's behind the "no banker left behind" bailout

Chomsky on Geithner

G20 protesters' anger amid global recession

Obama should save the banks, not the bankers

Tom Ferguson: Stimulus package is dangerously small; plan for toxic assets shovels money to bankers

U.S. Seeks Expanded Power to Seize Firms

By Binyamin Appelbaum and David ChoThe | Washington Post Staff Writers | Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document. The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.

The administration plans to send legislation to Capitol Hill this week. Sources cautioned that the details, including the Treasury's role, are still in flux.

China economy ‘has bottomed’, says central bank adviser

HONG KONG, March 25 – reported by malaysianinsider – source : Reuters

China’s economy has touched bottom but further interest rate cuts remain an option, a Chinese central bank adviser said on Wednesday.

Fan Gang, who sits on the Chinese central bank’s monetary policy advisory committee, said a 25 per cent rise in car sales and accelerating investment in China indicated the economy was showing signs of improvement.

“Before (the economy) bottoms out, it has to bottom. I believe it has bottomed, with the stimulus package and signs of recovery in some industries,” Fan said in an interview during the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.

Steel and energy consumption were declining at a slower rate and may have turned positive in March, while the transportation sector was warming up, he said.

However, high inventories and overcapacity in some industries remained the biggest short-term challenges for the economy, he said.

Further interest rate cuts remained an option.

“I don’t think anybody would rule it out. But it depends on China’s liquidity, how China’s recovery takes place and how the stimulus package works out,” he said.

As exports have collapsed in the face of sharply declining global demand in recent months, high inventories and overcapacity in some industries posed the biggest short-term challenges for the Chinese economy, Fan said.

The Chinese government has targeted 8 per cent growth this year, its lowest growth since 1999, but the World Bank forecasts only a 6.5 per cent expansion.

Fan said China’s sharp economic slowdown meant deflation was an issue in the short term, but he warned that inflopment of a diversified and competitive monetary system would be useful because competition between currencies can create more discipline.”

Subprime Credit Crisis

The Short and Simple Story of how the Credit Crisis started.

Najib: RM250b liquidity to help entrepreneurs

KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 - Reported by Malaysianinsider - source : Bernama

The government has a huge liquidity of RM250 billion in its coffers to help local entrepreneurs cope with the current global economic crisis, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the government would also provide incentives to encourage banks to issue loans to businessmen in need of financial aid such as providing repayment guarantees to banks to reduce the liability risk.

"One of the important elements in facing the global economic and financial crisis is to ensure the country's financial system is able to disburse loans to entrepreneurs who are in need of financial aid," said Najib, who is also Finance Minister, when opening the 2009 MIDF (Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd) Bumiputera Entrepreneurs' Symposium.

"So long the banking sector does not give out loans, until then efforts to stimulate the world economy will not succeed," he said. Among the incentives provided are credit guarantee scheme for small-time businessmen by the Credit Guarantee Corporation under the supervision of Bank Negara which will provide 80 per cent guarantees for loans approved under the scheme.

Zambia bans foreign currency use

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:13:24 GMT | PressTV

Zambia has banned the US dollar in domestic transaction, along with other foreign currencies to ensure the kwacha gains economic value.

In the last six months, Zambia's kwacha has plunged 30 percent against the US dollar, forcing a decline in export earnings and pushing foreign investment to almost zero.

The bank of Zambia has banned non-residents from borrowing kwacha in order to boost currency losses.

Zambian Trade, Commerce and Industry Minister Felix Mutati reiterated that there would be heavy penalties on business that uses foreign currencies especially the US dollar.

According to Mutati, introducing statutory instruments is aimed at ensuring business firms trade in Kwacha and that "the effects of dollarisation" are curbed.

Zambia's main industry comes from its copper resources which are the largest in Africa. However, the recent fall in world copper prices has taken a heavy toll on the Zambian economy.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says because of its dependence on copper, Zambia is "highly vulnerable to the adverse effects associated with the global recession."

Zambia now hopes to save its drowning economy with measures, such as using a $200-million loan from the IMF to boost its foreign currency reserves -- which have since August 2008 gone down by 40 percent -- and enforcing a one-year foreign currency ban.

California's unemployment level climbs to 10.5% in February

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:21:04 Ross Frasier, Press TV, Los Angeles

Financial crisis produces some winners

20 March, 2009

Prior to G20 summit, EU trying to jumpstart economy

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:34:54 Anna Moya, Press TV, Brussels

International conference on Islamic banking starts in Moscow

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:27:19 Svetlana Korkina, Press TV, Moscow

Obama outlines plan to help small businesses

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:59:42 Colin Campbell, Press TV, Washington

World big banks to meet in London

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 07:27:12 GMT    |     PressTV

Chief executives from leading banks in Europe, Japan and the US will discuss the financial crisis in an upcoming meeting in London.

The British government will host the talks on March 24, ahead of an April 2 summit of the Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging economies, Japan's Nikkei economic daily reported on Saturday.

Chief executives of the US-based JPMorgan Chase and Co. and the British bank HSBC have been invited to the meeting, the report adds.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group President Nobuo Kuroyanagi from Japan is also expected to attend the meeting.

The home mortgage meltdown in the American housing sector has resulted in big losses and massive write-downs among financial institutions in both the US and Europe.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in late February that the US banking sector lost a combined $26.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008.

JPMorgan Chase has announced that it expects 12,000 job cuts as part of its takeover of the failed Washington Mutual retail bank.

Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, has also been hit by losses in the US sub-prime mortgage market. In North America, it has reported a loss of $15.5 billion.

HSBC announced in March that it was seeking to raise 12.5 billion pounds ($17.7 billion) from shareholders through a rights issue in Britain. 

 

Ecotourism in Malaysia.

Malaysia in one of 12 mega biodiversity countries in the world.

Courtesy of Bernama TV