IMF Sees An Even Deeper Recession

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is poised to reduce its global economic outlook for the fourth time since October.

Speaking in Lisbon Tuesday, Teresa Ter-Minassian, an adviser to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said the Fund now expects the world's gross domestic product to contract by 0.6 percent this year, compared with a January forecast for growth of 0.5 percent.

The eurozone economy was forecast to contract by 3.2 percent in 2009, she said. The US would shrink by 2.6 percent and Japan 5 percent, making it the worst-hit big economy. The IMF in Washington said the figures cited by Ter-Minassian were 'unofficial' and 'out of date'.

Until now, the IMF has only said it will cut its global 2009 growth forecast to 'below zero' after worse-than-expected fourth quarter data. Strauss-Kahn told Reuters last week that advanced economies were moving too slowly in ridding banks of problems assets, which could jeopardize a global recovery in 2010. "The scenario will be worse, but the managing director has already said this" Ter-Minassian said.

MARKETS ALONE CANNOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE HOUSING FOR ALL, SAYS UN EXPERT

MARKETS ALONE CANNOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE HOUSING FOR ALL, SAYS UN EXPERT
New York, Mar 9 2009 9:00PM

The over-reliance on private home ownership that contributed to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the subsequent global financial meltdown highlights the need to view housing through the lens of human rights and not just as a commodity, the United Nations independent expert on adequate housing said today.

"While political discussions are ongoing, I believe it is important to consider the linkage of the crisis with human rights, especially to look at the causes of the crisis and avoid repeating the same mistakes in any new national and global agenda," said Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik, who presented a report to the Human Rights Council on the financial crisis, its causes and its relation to the right to adequate housing.

"One of the fundamental errors has been to consider housing only as a commodity and an investment asset," she told the 47-member body in Geneva, underscoring that that the provision of adequate housing for all can not be left solely in the hands of private housing and financial capital markets.

As private loans and mortgages were the only option open to most people who needed a place to live, Ms. Rolnik noted that "credits were attributed by the private sector to households that – in normal circumstances – would not be eligible for loans."

As a result, not only did private companies' risk increase, but also "low-income households were made even more vulnerable to economic and financial changes," she added.

In her report, the expert also argued that the reduction in the amount of public housing made available by the State had a significant impact on people in need of affordable accommodation, especially those that could not afford market prices and mortgages.

She noted that rapid increases in the price of housing led to excessive borrowing and the ensuing expansion of the financial system.

"The 'biggest bubble in history' was foreseen, but little or nothing was done by Governments to prevent it," Ms. Rolnik, an architect and urban planner with extensive experience in the area of housing and urban policies, said in a press release.

Since the so-called bubble has burst, the financial crisis has resulted in housing becoming even less affordable for many people around the world, she noted.

"It is a blunt reminder that it is not just the poor, but also low- and increasingly middle-income groups, who find it difficult to raise enough money to buy or rent adequate housing," said Ms. Rolnik.

"I believe that the current crisis represents an opportunity for reflection, and to consider how to improve housing systems, policies and programmes so as to ensure adequate housing to all."
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FISCAL CRISIS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FIGHT CORRUPTION, HEAD OF UN BUSINESS ALLIANCE SAYS

FISCAL CRISIS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FIGHT CORRUPTION, HEAD OF UN BUSINESS ALLIANCE SAYS
New York, Feb 26 2009 6:00PM

During the world economic downtown, corporate engagement with ethics, trust and the fight against corruption is growing, the head of the United Nation's alliance for responsible business said today.

"In times of crisis and loss of confidence it is even more important to restore trust, and how do you do this from a corporate angle?" Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), said at a press conference that followed an anti-corruption meeting for the initiative, which was created by the world Organization in 2000.

"Clearly," he said, "the issue of values and principles in restoring trust and confidence is today more important than ever and the key component of this is indeed the work on anti-corruption, which is an integral part of our corporate citizenship agenda."

The Compact pledges participating businesses – now numbering some 5,000 in over 100 countries – to observe principles regarding human rights, labour rights, environmental sustainability as well as the fight against corruption.

Mr. Kell was joined at the press conference by Ntombifuthi Mtoba, Chair of the Board of Deloitte, South Africa; Jermyn Brooks, Director of Global Private Sector Programmes of Transparency International; and Eckart Sunner, Chief Compliance Officer of the corporation BASF AG.

Today's meeting was attended by international experts from all continents, leading institutional actors and corporate participants, said Ms. Mtoba, whose task team focused on anticorruption reporting.

Corruption education, business resources for the fight against corruption and media engagement on the issue were other components of the effort, she added.

From the corporate angle, Mr. Sunner said reporting on anti-corruption efforts was more difficult than most issues, so the comprehensive guidance being by the group was very valuable.

Mr. Brooks, whose organization focuses on the fight against corruption, said that another purpose of the meeting was to mobilize Global Compact participants as a lobby to get States to take the UN convention against corruption seriously.

So there would probably be some sort of signed outcome document from the meeting going to Member States, perhaps via the Secretary-General, he said.

There was some possibility that there was new, illegal financial activity because of the crisis, Mr. Brooks added, but there was also the phenomenon of various kinds of corruption, such as Ponzi schemes, collapsing because of the lack of cheap, ready credit.

In addition, he noted that a discussion had started on whether some practices were corrupt even if not strictly illegal, such as the insistence of senior bankers on their generous contractual payments, even when their banks were losing huge sums of money.

"That debate is now raging in full," he said.
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GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN IMPERILS HUMAN RIGHTS – UN

GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN IMPERILS HUMAN RIGHTS – UN
New York, Feb 23 2009 2:00PM
The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution today highlighting the threat posed by the global financial and economic crises on the realization of human rights and development goals.

Adopted by a vote of 31 for and 14 abstentions, the resolution <"http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/68B23EF8AD14281EC1257566004856F4?opendocument">stressed the need to set up an equitable, transparent and democratic international system to broaden developing nations' participation in decisions regarding the economy.

The 47-member body, meeting in its <"http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/specialsession/10/index.htm">10th Special Session, also expressed grave concern that the twin crises could jeopardize progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight ambitious anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

Stressing that the worldwide recession does not detract from Governments' responsibilities in promoting human rights, the Council appealed to the international community to establish and improve safety nets to protect the most vulnerable people.

An open, fair and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system could accelerate strides in development and contribute to the attainment of human rights for all, it added.

Last week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that the world's poor and disadvantaged are bearing the brunt of the suffering resulting from the current global financial crisis and ensuing economic turmoil.

Navi Pillay appealed to States and the corporate world to ensure that their policies and practices do not jeopardize people's human rights, in an address to the Council's Special Session.

She warned that the downturn in economies around the world is likely to "undermine access to work, affordability of food and housing, as well as of water, basic health care and education."

In a related development, over 100 top Government officials and representatives of workers' and employers' organizations will convene tomorrow at a meeting of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on the more than 20 million people working in the financial sector worldwide.

According to an ILO report prepared for the two-day gathering, some 325,000 people in the sector have lost their jobs between August 2007 and February 2009. Nearly 40 per cent of these losses – totalling 130,000 jobs – were cut since last October, showing how job losses have gathered speed in recent months.

"As the global economy sinks further into recession, and financial institutions' assets experience even greater impairment, the industry's job losses can be expected to rise even faster," said Elizabeth Tinoco, Chief of ILO's Sectoral Activities Brance.