Monthly Archives: April 2009

The BRICs work on lending to nations in distress

Posted on April 27, 2009 by Alan Alexandroff

Since January the IMF has been working on the issuing of a first bond issue.  The bonds would be denominated in SDRs, with a maturity of 1 year and offered to Central Banks. Speculation has been rife for some time … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Economy | 1 Comment

The Bad News Continues

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Alan Alexandroff

This week finance ministers are meeting at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).  In advance of the meeting the IMF release a Report yesterday that raised the total projected losses from the global financial crisis to … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Economy | 3 Comments

‘From Architects to Gardeners’ with Joshua Cooper Ramo

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Alan Alexandroff

I first encountered (not literally mind you) Joshua Cooper Ramo in his description and analysis of what Ramo called the ‘Beijing Consensus’.  Difficult to unearth the consensus part of the story, but that’s for another post, still I was intrigued … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Governance for G20/G8 | Leave a comment

Prevailing Winds and India

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Alan Alexandroff

I had the great pleasure of attending a presentation at the C.D. Howe Institute here in Toronto by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, currently the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of India.  Unfortunately these sessions, probably wisely, are undertaken as off-the-record discussions.  So, … Continue reading →

Posted in India | Leave a comment

N-11 and the Global Financial Crisis

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Alan Alexandroff

 Late in 2005, Goldman Sachs (GS) introduced the concept of the N-11. As described by Dominic Wilson and Anna Stupnytska in the GS Global Economics Paper, No. 153  (March 28, 2007), “The N-11: More than an Acronym.”* The N-11 appeared … Continue reading →

Posted in Beyond BRICSAM | Leave a comment

BRICSAM and the G20: A Week Later

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Evelyn Chan

The London G20 summit turned to be an unanticipated success. In the weeks and days before the event, signs were gloomy of any positive outcome. The French and Germans were saying ‘no’ to any major collective stimulus package. Gordon Brown as … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, China, Global Governance for G20/G8, Guest Blogger | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

So, Decoupling is not Dead

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Alan Alexandroff

Jim O’Neill, Head of Global Economic Research for Goldman Sachs, is not ready to declare decoupling dead – at least with regard to the BRICs.  O’Neill, the ‘inventor’ of the BRICs, recently sought to resuscitate the notion that the BRICs … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Cost of Support

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Alan Alexandroff

Today’s New York Times article by Andrew Kramer, “Russian Auto Bailout Protects Jobs (Efficiency Not So Much)” (Tuesday April 7, 2009) chronicles the Russian governments efforts to prop up employment in automobile manufacturing including the Lada (Avtovaz) factory in Tolyatti.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Russia | Leave a comment

Dueling Consensus on the G20

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Alan Alexandroff

I was struck  – indeed almost made dizzy – by the contrasting interpretations the media delivered following the London G20 meeting.   In the end I wasn’t sure whether the media was even covering the same event.  This confusion continued … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Governance for G20/G8 | Leave a comment