By Hassan MohammadZaman
Mid East correspondent for crwenewswire.com

International Monetary Fund on Thursday released its latest review of global economy and created hopes by stating that global economy will recover faster than it was forecasted. On the other hand it also showed its concern as it is expected that growth will be slower again the following year.

IMF’s chief economist said in a statement that “While we predict the recovery will continue, it is clear that downside risks have risen sharply.” Chief economist Olivier Blanchard believed that growth of economy depends upon European Union’s plan to deal with fiscal and financial problems, developed countries fiscal consolidation strategy and how emerging countries maintain their economies.

IMF said in its report that globally growth rate has been rising more sharply than expected. Countries in Asia have shown considerable growth in the first half of the current year due to which IMF has raised the prior forecasted growth rate of 4.2 percent to 4.6 percent for the current year.

IMF still shows its concern over high debt level of many European countries which can trigger a severe financial crisis. IMF categorizes many small European countries such as Greece as lingering danger as it might not be able to control their sovereign debt level.

Euro has already plunged by 12 percent against US dollar and 16 percent against Japanese Currency Yen for the current year.

IMF stated that “In the near term, the main risk is an escalation of financial stress and contagion, prompted by rising concern over sovereign risk, and this could lead to additional increases in funding costs and weaker bank balance sheets, and hence to tighter lending conditions, declining business and consumer confidence, and abrupt changes in exchange rates.”

The Views and Opinions Expressed by the author are his or her opinions only and do not necessarily reflect those of this Web-Site or its agents, affiliates, officers, directors, staff, or contractors. The author at the time of this article did not own any shares or receive any consideration financial or otherwise from any company or person mentioned or referred to in the article.

By Hassan MohammadZaman

Mid East correspondent for crwenewswire.com

Greece was paralyzed by the second strike in a week against the pension reforms as part of austerity measures. Greek public service was closed down and major transport was disrupted, several domestic flights cancelled and train service severely reduced, however international flights remained unaffected. Local media, schools and municipal offices also remained closed.

Thousands of Greek workers will march towards the capital Athens to protest against the pension reforms. The reforms will increase the retirement age and make it easier for companies to fire workers. Struggling with a debt of 300 billion dollars country currently has a deficit of 12.7% four times more than the euro zones rules allow. The government has pledged to reduce the deficit to 8.7% by cutting salaries, raising average retirement age to 63 by 2015, increasing taxes on alcohol, petrol and tobacco.

On Monday, officials told that Greece will be returning to the international markets after receiving bail-out packages from the EU and IMF.It will be issuing treasury bills worth over 3.3 million euros in July.

The Views and Opinions Expressed by the author are his or her opinions only and do not necessarily reflect those of this Web-Site or its agents, affiliates, officers, directors, staff, or contractors. The author at the time of this article did not own any shares or receive any consideration financial or otherwise from any company or person mentioned or referred to in the article.

By Hassan MohammadZaman

Mid East correspondent for crwenewswire.com

As more than 300 political figures, business leaders and champions of civil society gather in Cape Town for a Global forum sponsored by TIME and corporate giants like Fortune and CNN, China’s role in Africa will be a key topic of the discussions.

From Egypt to Zambia, Congo to Sudan China’s huge presence can be easily felt. On the roadsides Chinese engineers can be seen with rolled-up sleeves directing the construction works.

Their country has been building schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, highways, railroads and presidential palaces all over Africa. In return they are getting access to the cobalt and copper at easy terms to fulfill the growing energy needs of industry back home. The main aim has actually been to secure energy resources for the future without meddling into any country’s internal affairs, no matter a democracy or a dictatorship.

This is something that has worried some westerners, which according to their standards, term the Chinese behavior illegal. China has been offering aid and loans to nations, negotiating with the IMF, at easy terms and conditions. Many IMF officials feel that the Chinese way of bringing economic development in China has some advantages as its quick. Chinese directly ask the governments what they need and how much they need. As opposed to the west where lengthy studies and analyses are carried out and then the aid is distributed through multilateral, bilateral or through self-funding religious groups and NGO`s. At the same time China refused to side with the International Court of Justice when it issued warrants of arrest of the Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir for war-crimes.

But now China is deviating from its longstanding policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign states. In Darfur it has been mediating between the conflicting groups. It has also been accused of helping Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to retain power.

At the same time China is facing growing criticism by the Africans for colonizing Africa. A populist opposition leader in Zambia Michael Sata accused the government of selling the country to Chinese, this stance helped him gain huge support during the 2006 and 2008 elections, many Chinese workers have been killed by Nigerian rebels and Chinese migrants had violent conflicts with the locals in Algiers, Algeria.

But despite these risks the Chinese long-term approach persuades them to look at the potential rather than the risks invoved. Which without any doubt is huge in Africa whose output grew from 5% to 7% in 2008 and 2009.

The Views and Opinions Expressed by the author are his or her opinions only and do not necessarily reflect those of this Web-Site or its agents, affiliates, officers, directors, staff, or contractors. The author at the time of this article did not own any shares or receive any consideration financial or otherwise from any company or person mentioned or referred to in the article.

Reported By Mike Zaman

Moody’s Investors Service on Monday downgraded Greece’s government bond ratings to “junk”, citing the risks in the rescue package for the debt-ridden country from the Eurozone and International Monetary Fund.

Moody’s cut the rating by four notches, to “Ba1″ from “A3,” and also downgraded Greece’s short-term issuer rating to “Not-Prime” from “Prime.”

The downgrades reflect concern that the country could fail to meet its obligations to cut its deficit and pay down its debt. While the support package does create a credible set of reforms, the lower rating is consistent with the risks associated with it, Moody’s said.

Greece’s Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou last week said any talk of his country defaulting on its debt was “ridiculous.” Yet ic came very close and if the IMP and the eurozone had not come up with a plan, Greece would have done just that Defaulted.

And it still may!

The Views and Opinions Expressed by the author are his or her opinions only and do not necessarily reflect those of this Web-Site or its agents, affiliates, officers, directors, staff, or contractors. The author at the time of this article did not own any shares or receive any consideration financial or otherwise from any company or person mentioned or referred to in the article.