OECD Says Latin America Needs To Spend More On Poor

 “Governments in Latin America must do more to combat poverty, even as their economies boom on the back of surging commodities markets, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Wednesday. … 

[It] said economic growth and democratic stability were now the norm rather than the exception in the region, but that governments need to boost social spending and maintain citizens' trust in government. … 

Fairer tax systems, including the abolition of some exemptions, as well as more efficient public spending would be key, the report said. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

Dow Jones writes that “More efficient public spending and pension reforms are needed to increase savings and deepen financial markets, cementing macroeconomic stability in Latin America, the OECD said.  

The rapid development of telecommunications, a sector that has already received heavy international investment, will likely ‘raise the productivity and living standards of many people’ in the region, the OECD said in its first Latin American Economic Outlook, released Wednesday.  

It said trade with Asian nations, mainly China and India, should be seen as a ‘bonanza’ and not as a ‘competitive threat for the region as a whole.’…

 ‘Countries in Latin America have a very high degree of inequality...and the OECD is in a position to help, to contribute by highlighting best practices,’ [OECD Secretary General Angel] Gurria told reporters during the presentation [in Chile]. Efficient fiscal policy, according to the OECD report, will fortify ‘democratic governance’ in the region. …” [Dow Jones/Factiva]

Poor Countries Should Also Protect Climate

“Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group, advised against disregarding the worries of developing countries during the negotiations of a new climate agreement in Bali. The emerging countries must be taken on board, said Zoellick in Berlin on Tuesday, November 6. Otherwise the Kyoto follow-up treaty will not reach its target of reducing worldwide carbon emissions. …

‘The Bali conference has to become a forum for identifying the fears of the developing and emerging countries and for taking these seriously,’ said Zoellick who was in Berlin on the occasion of the inauguration of the Berlin World Bank office. This is why many Finance and Development Ministers should take part.

According to Zoellick, there is a fear among developing countries that the CO2 emission limit of the West will cut their growth. In Africa, there are worries that development aid for climate protection, such as aid for renewable energy or for higher energy efficiency, could lead to a reduction of foreign aid. ‘Climate policy has to be included in the recipe (of developing policy)  and should not only be the icing on the cake,’ said Zoellick at a meeting of the German Marshall Fund (GMF). …” [Financial Times Deutschland/Factiva]

Rising Food Prices To Hit Consumption

 “Poor developing countries will be forced to cut food consumption and risk an increase in malnutrition after an ‘alarming’ increase in their agricultural commodities bills, the UN’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Wednesday.

In its biannual Food Outlook report the FAO ­predicted that food prices, particularly cereals, would remain high in 2008 having hit record levels this year. …

Ali Arslan Gurkan, Chief of Commodity Markets and Policy Analysis at the FAO in Rome, said that sub Saharan countries were most at risk and added that high food prices meant it was increasingly difficult to meet the UN goals of hunger reduction. …

The world’s food import bill will rise in 2007 to $745billion, up 21 percent from last year. The cost for developing countries will increase by 25.5 percent, to almost $233 billion. The annual food expenditure of the most vulnerable countries has more than doubled since 2000, according to FAO estimates. …” [The Financial Times (UK)]

Reuters notes that “Shortages of basic foodstuffs and rising food price inflation will last for years because of growing demand for biofuels and meat and record energy prices…

The current tightness will last longer than previous periods of food supply shortages such as the 1974 oil crisis, said Gurkan…

In the report, the FAO said the global wheat market is extremely tight and ending stocks are forecast to drop 10.4 percent year-on-year to 142.6 million tons in 2007/08. …  

Gurkan told Reuters that global cereal prices were likely to remain firm but volatile from now into 2008/09. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

AP writes that “… Many countries are expected to pay more in 2008 for their cereal imports, causing a ripple effect through the food supply chain that will raise retail prices for animal feeds and basic foods…Dairy products have posted the largest gains on the year, in some instances climbing more than 200 percent, the agency said. …  

Rising oil prices have increased food shipping prices and the growing demand for biofuels has contributed to hikes for crops used to produce the environmentally friendly fuels, the report said. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva]

EU Proposes 'Alliance' With Developing World On Climate Change

 “The EU proposed a ‘global alliance’ with developing countries to tackle climate change Wednesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said. ‘Developing countries will be the most affected by climate change and have the least resources to fight its affects,’ Barroso said at the second European Development Days conference in Lisbon.  

The alliance will focus on financial support and technology transfers. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Xinhua notes that “… ‘This year's forum aims to focus on climate change issues and how to respond to the needs of already vulnerable countries hardest hit by the impacts of climate change,’ the European Commission said in a press release.  …” [Xinhua/Factiva]

Reuters reports that “The President of the Maldives on Wednesday called for urgent global action against climate change, saying rising sea levels are threatening the survival of his country's low-lying islands.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said 80 of his country's 1,200 islands had experienced tidal surges earlier this year, most of which are no more than one meter above sea level. ‘Never in our documented history have so many islands been affected to such an extent. These surges were a grim reminder of the devastating tsunami of 2004 and a clear warning of future disasters,’ Gayoom said at a conference on development and climate change in Lisbon. …

The three-day conference, known as European Development Days, comes ahead of what is set to be Europe's first summit with Africa in seven years, in December. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

IEA Outlook: Coal Resurges As Oil Prices Take Toll.

“The world energy outlook has worsened since last year with emissions-heavy coal set for resurgence and long-term oil prices heading higher than previously estimated, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday.  

In what it called a ‘marked departure’ from its previous annual reports, the Paris-based watchdog said in its latest World Energy Outlook to 2030 that coal was set for a resurgence as high oil and gas prices make it more competitive. Of all the fossil fuels, coal will see the biggest overall increase in demand with four-fifths of that driven by China and India seeking to feed their power sectors, it said. …” [Dow Jones/Factiva]

FT notes that “…The energy watchdog said rapid growth in China and India meant that without a radical change in policies, both countries would double their energy consumption by 2030, putting pressure on scarce resources such as oil and raising emissions of greenhouse gases.

To avert those threats, the IEA called for greater investment in nuclear power and renewables, and a drive to improve energy efficiency with policies such as tougher standards for cars and domestic appliances. [The Financial Times (UK)]

BBC adds that the study “… predicts that China will overtake the US in its energy use.

Demand for energy in China is expected to have doubled within 20 years, according to the report.

But this will come at a price, with China also on course to become the world's largest polluter, says the IEA. …” [BBC News (UK)]

IHT writes that “…Fatih Birol, the agency's Chief Economist and the lead author of its flagship publication… called on China to put standards and quotas in place that would allow it to grow while slowing energy consumption and carbon emissions. …

In its report, the energy agency recognized the legitimate aspirations of China and India to improve the lives of their people. It said, moreover, that solving energy problems was a global responsibility that demanded action by all countries. …

Birol said that while economic growth should be encouraged because it helped to meet increasing energy demand through fostering innovation, it needed to happen in tandem with policies for energy efficiency. …” [The International Herald Tribune]  

WSJ notes that “…The IEA bluntly says consumers and governments globally are doing too little to improve energy-supply security and to cut pollution. Even under the most optimistic assumptions, global carbon emissions - the main culprit blamed for global warming - will be 25 percent higher in 2030 from today's levels. …” [The Wall Street Journal/Factiva] 

Nigeria Eyes Banks For Oil Deal Funds and Briefly Noted...

NigeriaEyes Banks For Oil Deal Funds. “Nigeria will tackle a chronic lack of funding for its joint ventures with oil companies by raising billions of dollars a year from the country’s fast-growing banks.

The plan, revealed to the FT, forms part of an energy sector review by Umaru Yar’Adua, the President, at a time when oil prices are at record highs. …Odein Ajumogobia, Minister of State for Oil, on Wednesday said that the government had started talks with Nigerian banks …

Ajumogobia said he hoped to raise $4.3 billion from banks next year to add to the $4.5 billion the government has budgeted for joint ventures in 2008. Ultimately, the state wants to reduce its share of joint venture financing to zero but Ajumogobia declined to give a timeframe.

A lack of funding for the ventures is a serious problem for Nigeria’s oil industry, where attacks by militants have shut a fifth of production since early 2006. Resolving these issues could help the government achieve its aim to double production – at present about 2.2m barrels a day – by 2010. …” [The Financial Times (UK)]

Briefly Noted… Officials in Congo said Wednesday that they were investigating reports that 18 tons of highly radioactive minerals had been dumped into a river in Katanga Province, in the southeastern part of the country. [The New York Times]

G20 finance ministers and central bankers would discuss issues around rebalancing of global currencies emanating from world imbalances at an upcoming meeting, South Africa's Central Bank Governor Tito Mboweni told reports on Thursday ahead of a G20 meeting to be held in South Africa on Nov. 17-18. [Reuters/Factiva]  

Opening the Development of African Aviation Security Roadmap Conference Monday, Ethiopian President Girma Wolde Giorgis stressed that his country was committed to enhancing the safety of aircraft operations in Africa and the rest of the world. [Indo-Asian News Service (India)/Factiva] 

Trade union leaders from nine African countries Wednesday urged their governments to resist pressure to reach a new trade deal with the EU by the end of the year. The statement was signed by union leaders from Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Kenya. [Dow Jones/Factiva]

On Wednesday, the World Bank made $56 million available to the Dominican Republic to enable it to provide urgent assistance to those affected by tropical storm Noel that left more than 80 dead and 48 missing. Bank staff are on the ground assessing the damage in conjunction with the UN, governments and other organizations and will decide together with the authorities how best to support the recovery effort, said World Bank, Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean Pamela Cox. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The 17th Ibero-American Summit, from Thursday to Saturday in Chile's capital of Santiago, will focus on social cohesion and efforts to reduce poverty, organizers said Wednesday. The meeting is set to attract over 20 government and state leaders. [Xinhua/Factiva] 

Land clearances in Indonesia to meet the growing global demand for palm oil pose a serious threat to the environment, a report has warned. Forests are being burned and peat wetlands drained for plantations, causing huge releases of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Greenpeace said. [BBC News (UK)]

World Bank Country Director Joachim von Amsberg said Indonesia's economy is expected to expand by 6.4 percent in 2008, exceeding this year's target of 6.3 percent. The prediction is based on stronger inflows of foreign investment to the country. [Asia Pulse (Australia)/Factiva]

Asian economies have weathered the US sub prime mortgage crisis well and will experience only a mild slowdown next year, International Monetary Fund Assistant Director for the Asia-Pacific Jerald Schiff said Thursday. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Gulf Arab oil producers lack the transparency and legal and administrative systems needed to secure credit ratings that would fully reflect their wealth, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday. [Reuters/Factiva]

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), will carry out a study on the competitiveness of Romanian economy. The study will assess Romania's competitiveness as an environment for private investments; it will rate the major sectors where Romania holds an edge by comparison with others, suggesting also a development strategy based on these advantages. [ROMPRES (Romania)/Factiva]

Central banks must act in the short term to restore calm to credit markets but Europe must adopt a balanced approach to economic policy in the current environment, the head of the International Monetary Fund's Europe department said. [Reuters/Factiva]

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday appointed Angela Cropper of Trinidad and Tobago as Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Program. [Xinhua/Factiva]

Trade diplomats are near agreement on some nitty-gritty issues about food aid, but big questions remain in the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Doha round farm talks, a negotiating text circulated on Wednesday said. The working paper released by New Zealand Ambassador to the WTO Crawford Falconer, who chairs the body's agriculture negotiations, outlined gains made in the area of export competition over the past few months. [Reuters/Factiva]

The One Laptop Per Child Program, which hopes to spread under-$200 (under-euro135) computers to schoolchildren in developing countries, has reached a milestone with the start of mass production. [The Associated Press/Factiva]