FARANAAZ PARKER | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Jul 09 2009 10:37 
It is "nonsense" that inflation-targeting is necessary for strong and stable growth, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said in Johannesburg on Wednesday. And the "moral depravity" of financial institutions is partly the cause of the current global crisis.

Speaking in a packed auditorium at the University of the Witwatersrand, Stiglitz rejected the idea that the most appropriate way to cope with macroeconomic shock was through inflation-targeting.

He said he strongly opposed rigid inflation-targeting in all countries, and believed that th...

The US recession is probably over but the economy will remain weak for some time due to unemployment, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has said.
"From a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over," he told a Washington think tank. He said the consensus is the economy is growing.

But he added that the economy would still feel "very weak" to Americans concerned about job security.
Stocks on Wall Street fell marginally lower following his comments.

Mr Bernanke also said that he felt "quite confident" that Congress would approve comprehensive reform of US financial regulation.
The Obama administ...

Recovery threatened by toxic assets still hidden in key banks
• Governments too slow to act, warn central bankers
• CBI sounds warning over 'worrying' bad debt levels

Kathryn Hopkins and Heather Stewart
The Guardian, Monday 29 June 2009

Taxpayers around the world still face potentially large losses because governments have failed to act quickly enough to remove toxic assets from the balance sheets of key banks, the world's leading central bankers warn today.

Despite months of co-ordinated action around the globe to stabilise the banking system, hidden perils still lurk in the world's financial ins...

The unpalatable fact is that the Republic of Zimbabwe is virtually bankrupt. As at December 1, 2008, Zimbabwe's external debt stood at US$ 5,255 billion, with a current account balance of - US$597 million. As at May 31, 2009, Zimbabwe owed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) US$138 million and the World Bank US$676 million. As at April 30, 2009, Zimbabwe owed the African Development Bank US$438 million. These statistics are startling and there is, therefore, an urgent need to interrogate Zimbabwe's debt crisis and firstly ascertain how such a colossal debt was incurred and then strategise the way forward as to how this debt crisis is to ...

By John Waggoner, USA TODAY

Inflation is as dead as the Wicked Witch of the West in a waterfall. The consumer price index has actually fallen 1.3% in the past 12 months. So why is everyone so worried about soaring prices?
In a word: debt. The government owes the world $11.4 trillion — $37,000 for every person in the U.S. In the next fiscal year, the government will add $1.8 trillion to the deficit.

The government could simply print more dollars to pay off our debts with cheap currency — a tempting but inflationary solution. Politicians wouldn't have to ask citizens to pay for the government's services, and citizens would...

Zimbabwe's Hope

Tentative signs of progress in Zimbabwe could and should pave the way for private investment.

By JAMES A. HARMON | FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE
Zimbabwe is tentatively emerging from a decade of international isolation. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is currently on a tour of major capitals to drum up support for his fragile, yet promising, four-month-old unity government.
During his visits to Washington, Brussels, Berlin and London, Mr. Tsvangirai has been asking for more development assistance. The response has been variations on a theme: "We support you in your struggle for democracy...

Leading article: Mr Tsvangirai deserves our support
Tuesday, 23 June 2009

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change, was denouncing his country's presidential elections, which had delivered victory to Robert Mugabe, as a "violent sham" and his supporters were being attacked by Mr Mugabe's thugs.
But this weekend Mr Tsvangirai, having been sworn in as the prime minister of a coalition government with Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF in February, was in London calling for Zimbabwean exiles to return home. And yesterday he requested an increase in aid for...