Full Coverage: Economy

31.10.2007 "Da un'Europa sconvolta dai recenti conflitti nei Balcani ad un Europa che, valorizzando etnie, lingue e religioni, sappia cogliere le tante opportunità anche attraverso l'allargamento dell'Unione". E' questo l'appello che è emerso dalle relatrici alla Conferenza internazionale promossa venerdì scorso a Bolzano dalla World Social Agenda nell'ambito della manifestazione "Libera Europa–Freies Europa". La conferenza ha concluso il ciclo di riflessione quadriennale sui continenti nei quali donne dell'Africa, America Latina, dell'Asia, dell’Europa dell’Est e dei Balcani hanno presentato le loro attività e la loro visione di un mondo "diverso, multiplo, mescolato". Dal prossimo anno, la World Social Agenda proporrà percorsi, dibattiti e eventi a Padova, Trento e Bolzano sugli "Obiettivi del Millennio" proposti dall'Onu.

31.10.2007 BangaloreIT.in 2007 - billed as AsiaÂ’s biggest ICT event - got on to a slow start on October 30, with few IT enthusiasts participating on the first day.

31.10.2007 Employers are practicing social favouritism by shunning dalits and Muslims with matching qualifications in favour of those with upper-caste Hindu names. A recent study provides sufficient evidence on the discriminatory character of the Indian job market.

30.10.2007 The Jatropha scrub weed can weather droughts, stop soil erosion, transform barren lands into lush greenery, while providing self-sufficient energy for rural communities – all at the same time. While India has plans to make the plant its chief biofuel source, there is little knowledge on the environmental impact of its cultivation.

29.10.2007 Recognising the huge potential of agriculture sector in raising income levels for people living in absolute poverty, the World Bank calls for increased investment in agriculture. If that happens, it will benefit 75% of the worldÂ’s poor living in rural areas of developing countries.

28.10.2007 A new report from UNDP uses the Oil Price Vulnerability Index (OPVI) to measure the brunt of rising oil prices on AsiaÂ’s poor. While India may fare better than its neighbours in its ability to absorb oil price shocks, a continued rise could have an adverse impact on the regionÂ’s gains on MDGs, the report warns.

25.10.2007 KPO Australia 2007 will bring together enterprise, government and outsourcing providers to promote the key benefits of Knowledge Process Outsourcing at Sydney, from 7 - 9 Nov 2007.

23.10.2007 ‘Agriculture for development’ is the new mantra of the World Bank. The latest WB Development Report calls for greater investment in agriculture in developing countries, claiming its GDP growth is four times more effective in reducing poverty than GDP growth originating outside the sector.

23.10.2007 African countries may have the world's highest growth in mobile phones but still lack basic access to the internet. Better connectivity can help unleash its true economic potential, say business leaders. The upcoming Connect Africa Summit will focus on making ICT capability available for economic development.

23.10.2007 Concerned intellectuals in Delhi during the launch of a book, Alternative Economic Survey 2006-07, held the government’s neo-liberal policies responsible for ever widening rich-poor divide. Obsessed with what they describe as “growth fundamentalism”, they blamed the government for the sufferings of majority of the people in this country.

23.10.2007 A power conservation drive has made villages in the northern Indian state of Haryana switch over to Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL). Binola in Gurgaon was the first village to be lit up by CFL this year, followed by Sirsa, IndiaÂ’s first and only 100% CFL-electrified district.

19.10.2007 As the Indian state of Orissa reels under poverty and chronic hunger, five billion Indian rupees from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme have been siphoned off by corrupt state officials. Parshuram Rai, Director, Centre for Environment and Food Security, exposes the rot in the state bureaucracy.

17.10.2007 NEW YORK, Oct 17 (OneWorld) - Independent economists and environmentalists are warning of dire consequences for the U.S. economy if policy makers fail to take urgent action on climate change.

16.10.2007 Irfan Mufti from Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) feels society has to be organised and mobilized to influence policy. The change may not be immediate, but political influence is bound to grow in future.

15.10.2007 The report, PeopleÂ’s Voices on MDGs 2007 highlights key policy areas, common obstacles, as well as MDG progress among countries in the South and Southeast Asia regions from the civil society perspective.

12.10.2007 The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)Â’s Trade and Development Report 2007 assesses the pros and cons of globalization and regional co-operation among developing nations. While it stresses on the extension of regional cooperation to areas of policy, it is silent on the impact of politics on South Asian trade agreements, developed countries' reaction to nuclear empowerment and growing economic ties among developing countries.

11.10.2007

10.10.2007 Over 3,000 labourers signed on a monster banner to remind the Pakistan government of its promises to eradicate poverty and other MDG goals. The 10 km banner, patched together from smaller bits of cloth, will carry 1.5 million signatures to be unfurled in Bahawalpur on October 17.

09.10.2007 As seven hundred million Indians still live without access to any modern energy source, eradicating poverty and empowering people through a steady economic growth may hold the key to India's energy efficiency.

09.10.2007 Reuters Market Light (RML), a mobile phone-based service launched by Reuters, will connect India's 250 million farmers with buyers and traders and offer updated pricing information, news and weather updates. So far, 7,500 farmers have signed up for the service.