Toluu

open Democracy News Analysis - economics

Knotty independence: who guards the BBC, Tony Curzon PriceSeptember 3

When the editor-in-chief and Director General of the BBC goes to Downing Street and is apparently caught in flagrante with the government of the day, how can, and how does, the BBC report on the story? Mark Thompson, the DG, was photographed coming out of Downing Street with scribbles on his note-paper describing how the corporation was going to be covering the government's program of cuts.

Veena Radia [senior assistant at the Director General’s Office]

From: Helen Boaden [Director, BBC News]-PRIVATE

Sent:  01 September 2010 15:59

To: zzJohn Tate [BBC Director of Policy and Strategy]; Mark Thompson-and-PA; Janet Goggins [Senior Adviser to Director of  Policy & Strategy at BBC]

Cc:  Mark Byford [Deputy Director General of the BBC] & PA

Subject: Briefing for Steve Hilton [David Cameron’s Director of Strategy] meeting

For background which may help...I had lunch with Andy Coulson [...]
concerned that we give context to our Spending Review Season (I[...]
Birt...). I said that’s what we always try to do and part of the reaso[...]
inform the public about the whys and wherefores...though I did exp[...]
a range of voices on all the issues.
Over the summer, we have mostly been driven by news lines and [...]
leaked letter from the Justice dept. Ph

World Bank crisis-lending contravenes Eurodad responsible lending principles , Clare Birkett and Nora HonkaniemiAugust 31

Ghana, from riches to rags

This decade it appeared Ghana could be well on the way to becoming a development success story. Praised for its functioning multiparty democracy, fast economic growth and prosperous business environment, there were high expectations by Ghanaians and donors alike, that the country would graduate from low to middle income status in the mid 2000s.

However, Ghana felt the pinch, or more like the punch, of the global financial meltdown. In 2008 it suffered a fiscal gap of almost US$ 3,500 million- roughly 20% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),(1) as a consequence of domestic and external shocks, such as fuel, energy and food crisis, droughts and floods, and the wider effects of the crisis.

To address Ghana’s fiscal gap, the World Bank approved loans to Ghana to the tune of US$535 million in 2009 to support three credit facilities. In total, the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessional lending arm, plans to provide US$1.2 billion until 2011.

Chirac's Saudi scandal, Richard W. RahnAugust 25

Former French President Jacques Chirac is almost certain to be accused in a major court proceeding in Paris of being part of a scheme to overcharge the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for French military equipment during his presidential term. The allegation will be that he was doing this for the benefit of himself and his political party. A complaint has been filed in the French courts over commissions due from arms sales, which is likely to lead to a trial that will be highly embarrassing for the French and Saudi governments. Mr. Chirac is already under indictment and is preparing to stand trial on embezzlement and corruption charges for actions while he was mayor of Paris before being elected president. The new charges are the first concrete allegations of continued corrupt practices by Mr. Chirac and his cronies during his presidency (1995-2007).

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are directly or indirectly employed in the production of military arms, aircraft, ships and defense systems. A significant portion of this production is sold to foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia. If the Saudis and their French collaborators did, indeed, exclude the opportunity for American (and other) firms to bid on the military aircraft, training and systems in question, as the complaint charges, the Americans, who have very competitive products (primarily helicopters and tanker aircraft), have a legitimate grievance. The contacts in question amount to more than 13 billion euros, or a

How billionaires can help the world, Lorenzo FioramontiAugust 23

Forty of the richest individuals in the United States recently committed to returning the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. In order to ‘inspire’ people across the globe, they have established the Giving Pledge, a philanthropic initiative outlining the ambitions of this new generation of super-rich. Pioneered by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the Giving Pledge’s list of billionaires now includes – among others - eBay’s Jeff Skoll, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, old money such as the Rockfellers, and media tycoon Ted Turner. The breaking news has travelled across the globe and stirred debate also in Europe, where philanthropic initiatives of this scale are unheard of. To all intents and purposes, the Giving Pledge looks like the most far-reaching philanthropic initiative of all time. Furthermore, it occurs amid the most destructive economic crisis after the Great Depression and so carries a powerful symbolic message: big capital can help make the world a better place for all.

But is it really so? In the past three decades, financial wealth has become increasingly concentrated in a few multinational corporations, some controlled by close-knit families or other elites. Income gaps

CDC Group: a Case Study in Blinkered Development, Nic BentonAugust 19

Development Finance Institutions

Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) operate as specialised development banks, providing long-term financing for private sector enterprises in developing countries.In effect they link commercial investments with development aid.

In the UK, development financing is the responsibility of CDC Group (formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation), a private limited company owned by the Department for International Development (DfID). The mission of CDC is to contribute to poverty reduction in under-supplied markets through the provision of financing to commercially viable private businesses. This is achieved by investing risk capital with local private equity fund managers based in developing economies (as of June 2009 CDC was in possession of a portfolio worth £1,100 million).

For a DFI, this model is unique. By favouring this approach, DfID intends CDC to have a catalytic effect on developing economies by demonstrating that good returns can be made in poor countries. Fund managers invest in a range of businesses including agribusiness, consumer goods and services, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and industry, mining and engineering, property and retail, as well as telecommunications and information technology. It is estimated that the businesses supported by CDC employ approximately one