News Archives » international financial system
“Money Has to Serve, Not to Rule” July 10th, 2013
In his latest blog on Huffington Post, Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI looks at what the Pope and the SEC Chair have to say about the state of the money economy. “On the one hand, Pope Francis has been raising fundamental questions about the social purpose of the financial system and the ethical and moral policies and practices of the institutions and individuals that operate in that space. During her confirmation hearings, the new SEC chair [Mary Jo White] has reiterated the core mission of the commission and other regulators in supervision and analysis and in guaranteeing both the transparency and accountability that are the foundation for sound capital market operations….”
UNCTAD Meeting Overcomes Serious Disagreements April 27th, 2012
At a contentious meeting of the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ending Thursday in Doha, Qatar, the role of the UN organization in examining trade and development was confirmed, but not after a week of hard debate. The Doha Mandate, adopted by consensus by the member States, requests that UNCTAD continue its work along the three pillars of consensus-building, policy research and technical assistance. “UNCTAD remains the focal point in the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development, and interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development,” reads part of the agreed text.
Profound discord between industrialized nations and developing countries threatened to ruin the UNCTAD meeting in Doha, and endangered the survival of this United Nations body that defends the interests of the developing nations of the South. Disagreements between the blocs, broadly identified as countries of the North and of the South, have arisen mainly from differing views of UNCTAD’s mandate and different visions of development and how it relates to social, environmental, economic and financial variables. One important area under discussion involved giving UNCTAD a mandate to investigate the current global financial crisis and its effects on the real economy, something for which developing countries and NGOs pressed, but which industrialized countries rejected out of hand.
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Lift the Debt Burden on Poor Countries September 21st, 2009
Without debt relief, the developing world has little hope of economic progress, say the Rev. John Welch* and Ruth Messinger*.
The two members of Jubilee USA argue for debt cancellation in the poorest countries in a compelling article published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on the eve of the G-20, the international financial summit being hosted by President Obama.
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Civil Society Groups Urge President Obama to Press for Greater Financial Regulation September 21st, 2009
The Missionary Oblates joined with over 50 organizations representing some eight million Americans in sending a letter to President Obama urging him to advocate for strong regulation needed to prevent future financial crises.
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