Economy articles archive

World trade: after Cancun, where next?
[October 2003 ]
"Globalisation is like a bicycle," say its supporters, "if it stops it falls over". Well at Cancun last month it got a puncture. An alliance of countries fed up with the bullying arrogance of the USA and the European Union (EU) refused to sign up to an agreement on agriculture: the alliance ranged from rich Australia to poor Bangladesh.

USA: economic recovery under threat
[September 2003 ]
Strong productivity and cheap capital has produced a jobless redcovery so far - and one critically dependent on tax fixes and defence spending. The pile up of debt and the measures taken to contain it may well choke off the recovery before it has had a chance to take hold.

A shock to an ailing system: do we face global recession?
[October 2001]
The world economy is facing a downturn in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks. A US recession is certain - but will it trigger a global slump? These questions now haunt the capitalist policymakers. 

Global economy: recession hits USA and Japan
[July 2001]

Russia: capitalism reigns once more
[April 2001]
Since the August 1998 currency crisis capitalist restoration in Russia has made huge and decisive advances. Here we publish for the first time an analysis of this process as agreed at the April meeting of the IEC of the LRCI.

USA: teetering on the brink of recession
[January 2001]
The Federal Reserve has been paniced into an emergency cut in interest rates. The feverish boom in stock markets is long over and the related downturn in consumer demand has exposed the mass of excess stocks and collapsed profits. What are the the prospects for recession in the USA?

World economy: recession fears dampen bosses' festivities
[December 2000]
The USA's central bank, the Federal Reserve, this week said it was now more focused on combating recession than on reining in an inflationary boom. It was the clearest signal yet that the longest-running period of economic growth since 1945 is coming to an end

Profits and shares slide
[November 2000]
The longest period of US economic expansion in history may be about to end. After nine years of growth and a huge surge in productivity in the last four years, US stock markets have fallen sharply since the spring and company profits are faltering.

Globalisation; a new stage of capitalism?
[1997]
"Globalisation" is a buzzword in the headquarters of the giant multinational corporations and on the financial markets as well as in university sociology departments. But what does it mean?

IMF: Enforcer of world misery
[1999]
Whenever there is a financial crisis the IMF gets called upon to "step in" or "intervene". But what is the IMF and whose interests does it serve?