The pace of the ratification of a global pact outlawing cluster bombs must be accelerated to relegate the deadly weapons “to the pages of history,” Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said Wednesday.
The World Bank estimates China's gross domestic product for 2009 will be 6.5%, falling short of China's own prediction of 8% growth for the year. Still, the World Bank says China's economy is holding up relatively well and it sees plenty of room for the government to implement effective stimulus measures.
Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali al-Naimi warned Wednesday of a possible catastrophic energy supply crunch without prompt investment. The minister said the ideal price for oil lies between 60 and 75 US dollars a barrel.
The boss of US insurer AIG has called the bonuses paid to executives distasteful and said he asked some recipients to return at least half. But Edward Liddy said the Federal Reserve knew in November of the 165 million US dollars bonus payments to executives that have caused such a furore in US.
After almost a decade of growth, remittances to Latinamerica and the Caribbean are likely to decline in 2009 for the first time since the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, started tracking these flows in the year 2000. Remittances have been decreasing since late 2008.
The US Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it will buy almost 1.2 trillion US dollars worth of debt to help boost lending and promote economic recovery. The US central bank said it would start buying long-term government debt and expand purchases of mortgage-related debt.