UK inflation pressures hits three-year high; Nobel prize for economics awarded today – business live

UK inflation pressures hits three-year high; Nobel prize for economics awarded today – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news The Fight Inequality Alliance is calling on finance ministers attending the IMF/World Bank meeting in Bangkok to consider debt cancellation measures to help the Global South. They insist that “the era of austerity is over”, and demand an end to the lending rules that force governments to pay creditors before they pay for hospitals, schools and food. “The IMF and World Bank are legacy institutions still writing the economic rules for the rest of the world. Their austerity programmes force governments to cut funding from hospitals and schools while every dollar sent to creditors is a dollar taken from a classroom, a clinic or a family’s food budget. Cancel the debt, tax the super-rich, and stop making ordinary people pay for a crisis they didn’t create. “Bangkok will deliver more of the same. The era of the IMF and World Bank is over. Workers, teachers, nurses and young people from Nairobi to Jakarta are already building an economy for the 99% and they are not waiting for permission”. Cancel debt. Wipe out the debts crushing poorer countries, and make every lender take the hit, from banks and hedge funds to the IMF and World Bank. End austerity. No more cuts to schools and hospitals. Tax the richest instead. Tax the super-rich. Back a global tax on billionaires and the new UN tax treaty. Stop selling off public services. The World Bank should fund free public healthcare and education, not push their privatisation. Give poorer countries a real say. The IMF and World Bank are run by rich countries. Every country deserves a fair vote. “The consequences of conflict in the Middle East and Europe are hitting countries worldwide, leading to higher prices at the pumps and more expensive mortgages at home, but Britain and our allies can face up to these challenges together. “I will work with our international partners to keep trade moving, support families and businesses, and make Britain’s economy stronger and more resilient to deliver good growth in every postcode. Continue reading...