Blogging time has been limited recently by political activities but here is an article I wrote for the Guardian's Comment is Free on Friday.We need a new world economic orderInstead of the G20 summit, we need a new, accountable architecture of global economic co-operationBarack Obama has decided not to attend the G20 summit convened by George Bush and the lack of involvement by India, China and the developing world in the G7 means that the best we can hope for is that this Saturday's talks are a preparatory session for a more inclusive and wider ranging summit in the New Year.The timing is just not right to secure anything more than limited agreement on coordinating measures to mitigate the recession – and to set an agenda for the post-inaugural economic summit it is hoped the new...

From Peter Schiff at Taki's Magazine. An altogether sterling article, in particular this illuminating part, vindicating a lot of what I've been saying on the economic crises, its roots, and the wrongness of the current proposed "solutions": "What nearly all politicians, on both sides of the aisle, fail to understand is that the current contraction and credit crunch is necessary to restore...

Ian Pearson MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, responding to the reports in the Evening Standard and today’s Guardian about George Osborne’s position, said: “If David Cameron thinks George Osborne is not fit to run the Tory party, what makes him think he’s fit to run the British economy? “George Osborne’s economic judgement has been wrong at every turn, from opposing the action to save Northern Rock to putting fuel duty up by 5p for ordinary families. “His policy on the economy is incoherent and unfair - spending less time at Central Office won’t change that.” Click here to read George Osborne’s Judgement Under Scrutiny document [pdf]. Click here to read Tory Economic Incoherence Under Scrutiny document...

here, commenting primarily on the erosion of economic...

Labour Councillors say that Westminster’s so-called £100 million ‘economic recovery programme’ is nothing more than a re-hash of existing programmes which have already been agreed and has nothing to do with helping businesses or families through the current economic difficulties. Labour say that the so-called ‘economic recovery programme’ includes £98.5m of existing approved schemes in the 2009/10 revenue budget and capital programme and around £8m out of the discretionary bids provisionally agreed by informal Cabinet on 25 September, making a total of £106.3m. In addition, the plan includes £250,000 for promoting the West End shops but this includes a £200,000 contribution towards the cost of the West End live event, which happened in the summer, and...

An Alternative People's Summit on the Economic Crisis. On 15 November the leaders of 20 nations will gather in Washington, United States, for a summit to set out a “global economic agenda”. London trade unionists will head up a protest in the capital on the eve of the summit. Angry that the Bush-Brown bail out of the banks is allowing the recession to continue to rip through the lives of...

David Cameron in the News of the World today had a pop at Brown/Darling and their international travel to discuss economic matters: People need help . . . and they need it fast. They want to know politicians are on their side—not the other side of the world. But on the very same day that David Cameron...

US President-elect Barack Obama is set to meet with his economic advisers to develop a strategy to tackle the economic...

For a decade and more, the Conservative Party has struggled to find popular support for its economic policies. Faced with the twin burdens of the early-1990s recession and public scepticism that their tax and spending plans were not savage cuts to public services in disguise, over the last three general elections the Conservatives failed to...

It is astonishing that until yesterday Parliament had had no debate on the current economic crisis. The House of Commons has failed in its duty to be the country's debating chamber. Instead, yesterday, it fell to the House of Lords to take up the cudgels. Their Lordships had a six hour debate and I highly recommend it to you to read - HERE.The participants read like a list of Who Was Who in British Politics, but that is no bad thing. We heard from Lords/Ladies Lawson, Haskel, Howe, Shephard, Powell, Lamont, Forsyth, Taverne, Peston, MacGregor, Skidelsky, Burns, Barnett, Higgins, Ryder and Tugendhat among many others. Think how many years at the Treasury many of them have served together and you will see why this is a debate well worth reading.What a shame it is that the House of Commons...

One of the two men George Osborne says are his key advisers on the economic framework he wants to put in place is Alan Budd. He was chief economic adviser at the Treasury when Britain was in deep recession in the early 1990s, including before and during Black Wednesday, when sterling crashed out of the...

Major airlines US Airways and Air France-KLM have reported severe losses as a result of the current economic...

Mr Boom (Brown) and Mr Bust (Darling) have achieved the recession that their Labour economic policies were always going to deliver - as Merv ‘the Swerve’ and Mr Boom admitted in the last few days. Now, having created a bad situation for the country’s economic and financial position, can they perhaps ease the pain? Alas, no. Their economic policies have very much been about government intervention - the bank bailouts, nationalisation, the ’spend our way out of the recession’, and Keynesian (a swear word if ever there were one) spending on public works. There is one way by which this gutless Government could ease the pain. It is quite simple. They should cut taxes. But unfortunately that is beyond the leftwing ideologues who run the country. Their socialism has...

Open thread: What are you doing to stay happy and healthy amid the economic doom and...

President Bush says Americans are feeling "more relaxed" about their economic prospects, after a bail-out of the financial...

An economic summit hosted by Alex Salmond and Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy is to discuss ways of avoiding a...

THE FTSE. Nah! LIBOR. Eh? The only index that matters is the Baltic Dry Index: An economic indicator few have heard of (I hadn’t heard of it until two weeks ago, when the madness started) is the Baltic Dry Index (BDI). Wikipedia describes the BDI as: The Baltic Dry Index is an index covering dry bulk shipping rates and managed by the Baltic Exchange in London.(…) More East Europeans in London… Most directly, the index measures the demand for shipping capacity versus the supply of dry bulk carriers. However, since the demand for shipping varies with the amount of cargo that is being traded in the market (supply and demand) and the supply of ships is much less elastic than the demand for them, the index indirectly measures global supply and demand for the...

An all-Wales economic summit to assess the impact of the credit crunch on the country's economy gets ready to...

A fair amount of press has been given to PMQs today, guest hosted by Harman/Hague. Hague predictably made an incisive attack over the government's economic record; entertaining to watch, but little more.Of course, PMQs are not the time for the Opposition to proffer solutions to the public. Instead we have new fandangled media such as the Web. So, along I trotted to the Conservatives website* to see whether the presently, terribly quiet Opposition to our Government had as yet decided to break its vow of silence on the increased economic trouble of the last couple of weeks?Again, predictably; not a dicky bird**.In all, an aesthetically pleasing yet terribly fatuous site, lacking in the most basic of policy regarding the most important of subjects. And these people are touted as the next...

A Labour Assembly Member has called on tomorrow’s economic summit in Cardiff to consider looking at cutting stamp duty on commercial property and reducing corporation tax in Wales, in a bid to help Welsh companies through current economic difficulties. Wrexham AM, Lesley Griffiths, made her call in advance of the all-Wales Economic Summit which is convening to discuss the present financial crisis and its impact on the Welsh economy. The Summit will be chaired by First Minister Rhodri Morgan. Also at the meeting will be Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones with responsibility for the Economy and Transport in the Welsh Assembly Government and Secretary of State for Wales Paul Murphy. The summit will also involve leaders of some of Wales’s top companies, trade unionists,...

Barack Obama unveils an economic rescue plan, as a new poll gives him a double-digit lead over John...

Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg has warned that the financial crisis could become an “economic 9/11”.During a speech to the IPPR think-tank at Canary Wharf, Mr Clegg said that the consequences of the banking crisis could breed conflict and instability and push democracies into narrow nationalism. He said: “In our world, economic strength is power. We do not yet know, when the dust settles from this crisis, where the power will lie. The financial collapse we are caught in may prove to be an economic 9/11. “9/11 was a security crisis, with security implications. This is an economic crisis, but its economic and social security implications are potentially no less profound.” Mr Clegg also welcomed the Government’s £37bn bail-out plan, and called for a...

As Gordon Brown single-handedly saves us from the global financial crisis, does he ever pause to reflect on whether his ten years of "consecutive economic growth" were nothing but a...

Another WMRO report is published this week, West Midlands Regional Economic Assessment: Economic Output and Structure (PDF). I’ve not had time to read it yet, but I did search it for the words “creative” and “cultural”. No...

The predictable calls for greater global control over banking and monetary matters continue apace. Quotes from a piece in today's Telegraph:"Electorates will expect more regulation, and politicians will push for it"-- Bob McKee, of the economic consultancy Independent Strategy"..the machinery of global economic governance barely exists ... It is time for a Bretton Woods for this century" -- Peter Mandelson"The BIS has been spot on throughout this ... The problem is that it has no teeth. The IMF tends to couch its warnings about economic problems in very diplomatic language, but the BIS is more independent and much better placed to deal with this if it is given the power to do so."-- Danny Gabay, a former Bank of England economist who now works for Fathom...

Gordon Brown's newly created National Economic Council is to hold its first meeting as MPs return to...

Measures in the Economic Recovery Plan include tax cuts for low and middle income households, stopping unnecessary repossessions, action to cut energy bills and moves to stop reckless banks jeopardising economic security.Click here to read the Liberal Democrat Economic Recovery Plan Introduction from Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown's response to the economic crisis has been too little, too late. For years I warned him of the oncoming economic problems. Unsustainable levels of personal debt, mostly secured against the illusory ‘wealth' of rising, vastly inflated property prices. An economy based so heavily on debt was never going to be in a fit state to deal with global shocks like the credit crunch. And so it has proved. Gordon Brown is now facing the...

Gordon Brown’s response to the economic crisis has been too little, too late. For years I warned him of the oncoming economic problems. Unsustainable levels of personal debt, mostly secured against the illusory ‘wealth’ of rising, vastly inflated property prices. An economy based so heavily on debt was never going to be in a fit state...

LAUGHING at Peter Schiff, economic advisor for Ron Paul: Good to have another point of...

I find emerging markets fascinating. There is usually an exciting debate about how established markets will compete and how workers and governments will have to adapt.Anyone who is curious about emerging markets can read about the rise of India and China in The Elephant and The Dragon, a riveting book I devoured over two evenings.Robyn Meredith examines in forensic yet readable detail what the rapid economic advances of two of the world's most populated countries means for the West, in particular the USA.She also draws direct comparisons between the two, explaining the reasons for their differing development and infrastructure.Robyn Meredith gives a revealing history of China's years of brutal communism under Chairman Mao, detailing how the economic reforms instated by Deng Xiaopeng led...