Debt repayments by low-income nations record high
By Nick Beams The genocide in Gaza, where bombs rain down every day killing thousands, destroying schools, hospitals and refugee centres and pulverising the facilities and resources necessary for life, leading to starvation and disease, is only the most egregious form of capitalist-imperialist violence against the world’s people, against life itself. Another
US financial system a “minefield of vulnerabilities”
By Nick Beams. Those pondering why the US Federal Reserve made a sudden and dramatic turn away from its previous insistence that monetary policy would need to remain restrictive, will find some of the answers in the latest annual report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). In its report, issued the
Question mark raised over the world’s most important financial market
By Nick Beams. The current edition of the Economist, one of the world’s leading financial magazines, carries an extraordinary headline. It poses the question: “Is the world’s most important asset market broken?” The article deals with significant problems in the $25 trillion US Treasury market where government debt is bought and sold, and which
Sri Lanka’s debt trap and the vultures
By Michael Roberts Last week a US district court granted Sri Lanka’s request for a six-month pause on a creditor lawsuit against the country. Hamilton Reserve Bank holds a big chunk of one of Sri Lanka’s now-defaulted bonds and had been suing it for immediate repayment. The court decided that
The bond market turmoil: The social implications
By Nick Beams The headline financial news this week, announced on Wednesday afternoon, was the US Federal Reserve decision to maintain interest rates on hold for the second meeting in a row. But a more significant decision came that morning with the move by the US Treasury to slow the pace
US Fed pauses interest rate hikes amid rising bond yields
By Nick Beams Interest rate payments on US debt will grow as yields rise and budget deficit increases. The US Federal Reserve has paused its interest rate hikes for the second meeting in a row and sent out some mixed signals about whether it will lift rates at its last meeting for
UN report says global economy could be heading for systemic crises
By Nick Beams One of the key features of the present situation is the increasing domination of the global economy by giant corporations and finance capital which has led to the reduction of the labour share of income from 57 percent in 2000 to 53 percent today. The latest UN Trade and
World Bank Sri Lanka Update: Revenues underperformed, interest bill absorbed the total government revenue
By Staff Writer The World Bank (WB) issued its Development Update on Sri Lanka on Tuesday (03) and stated the country's "macroeconomic outlook remains uncertain, contingent on successful debt restructuring and structural reforms." Sri Lanka's economic crisis in 2022 was exacerbated by structural weaknesses, leading to high fiscal deficits and risky commercial
Crypto Tycoon SBF of FTX faces trial in New York
By Staff Writer Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), now disgraced crypto tycoon of the collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was set to stand trial Tuesday (03) in New York for orchestrating a massive scheme to steal billions of dollars from FTX customer money. FTX was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. According to the New
Report to G20 summit glosses over problems in global financial system
By Nick Beams Sometimes it is hard to know whether statements issued by financial authorities are aimed at fooling themselves, the organisations to which they are being delivered or whether, they consider it best not to say too much in public documents lest this “frightens the horses.” This is the case regarding