Greece: here come the vulture funds by Nick Dearden May 18th 2012
Vultures "invest" in the sovereign debt of countries facing crisis – meaning they can buy debt cheap. They then "hold out" against any form of write-down on this debt. By doing this, they hope to get paid out in full. Given they paid a fraction of the value of the debt, getting full repayment represents an enormous profit.... More
International Citizen Debt Audit Network – ICAN is born by Auditoria 15 M May 3rd 2012
Coordinated efforts in Europe and North Africa to fight against Debt and Austerity.The International Citizen Debt Audit Network – ICAN, has been born under the slogan “We don’t owe! We won’t pay!”, bringing together movements and networks in different European and North African countries, fighting austerity measures through the implementation of Citizen Debt Audits... More
Debt and Dictators by Farooq Sulehria March 30th 2012
Blaming the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and holding President Zardari responsible for every ill in the country is fashionable. On the other hand, the performance of the fourth PPP government leaves hardly any room for its defense. While the incumbent government’s poor performance is used as a pretext by anti-democratic forces to backstab the democratic process, every criticism on the PPP government is also dismissed by Zardaristas as an attack on democracy.... More
The unfulfilled promises of microcredit: some new evidence by Stéphanie Jacquemont
January 31st 2012
Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the Grameen Bank, made the promise of a world without poverty thanks to the magic of microfinance and social business |1|. Since the main problem of poor people was, he said, that they are denied access to capital and markets, the way to release them from the grip of poverty was to lend them small amounts of money. The micro-borrowers would then become competitive micro-entrepreneurs in ultimately rewarding markets. Furthermore, the micro-loans, mostly granted to women, would serve as a springboard towards greater financial autonomy and influence in decision-making. ... More
For Greece, default is the only option by Costas Lapavitsas January 23rd 2012
Negotiations to reduce Greek debt have been suspended after no agreement could be reached last week. At some point in the near future Greece seems certain to default on its obligations. But the drama surrounding the talks in Athens, Berlin and Paris shows that there will be nothing co-operative about Greek default. It is a ruthless contest dominated by the so-called troika: the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
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