Finance

The financial enclosure of the commons September 2012
Finance capital is seeking to extend the privatisation of natural resources we hold in common, writes Antonio Tricarico

Time to pay up! October 2011
David Hillman explains why taxing the financial sector has never been so important - and why success may only be a few months away

Behind the bankers’ mask August 2011
In the context of another financial crisis, debt audits could offer a way to counter the power of big finance. Nick Dearden introduces a special Red Pepper dossier

Debt audits and a new economic vision May 2011
Nick Dearden reports from an activist conference on austerity and debt in Athens

Private debt, public pain: lessons for Ireland December 2010
Nick Dearden and Tim Jones from Jubilee Debt Campaign on standing up to global finance.

What a waste! June 2009
Politicians across Europe are hailing the European Investment Bank's (EIB) stimulus packages. But is the bank squandering billions bailing out unviable and environmentally-damaging industries? Tom Greenwood reports

Wanted: alternative banking system May 2009
Nationalising the banks is a a good first step - but then what? What would a genuine people's bank be like? Sargon Nissan of the New Economics Foundation looks at local, international and historical experience to find answers

Credit where credit’s due January 2009
Credit unions are more than ever the essential financial alternatives to traditional banks for the poor, says Mick Mcateer

The Beijing Declaration October 2008
{{{The global financial crisis: an historic opportunity for social transformation}}} {An initial response from individuals, social movements and non-governmental organisations in support of a transitional programme for radical economic transformation Beijing, 15 October 2008}

Don’t bank on it June 2006
With its poor track record on poverty, should the World Bank play a role in resolving the climate crisis?

G8 – Africa nil November 2005
Four months on and with the 'historic G8 deal for Africa' already in tatters, the Make Poverty History coalition is as silent as it was once ubiquitous. Ahead of December's World Trade Organisation summit in Hong Kong, Stuart Hodkinson investigates

The democratisation of aid February 2005
What is the best way to ensure disaster relief programmes achieve their stated goals instead of simply funding aid-agency bureaucracy, neo-liberal 'restructuring programmes' or even religious extremists? By giving to organisations rooted in the communities affected. The global alliance Via Campesina follows exactly that approach. Here, Peter Rosset and María Elena Martínez explain how Via Campesina works

Argentina and the IFIs: better off without them? February 2005
There is a popular saying in Argentina: más vale estar solo que mal acompañado (better to be alone than in bad company). Increasingly Argentines are wondering whether it isn't time to go it alone and leave the International Financial Institutions (IFIs, the IMF, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank) behind.

Off-message at the World Bank August 2004
A World Bank internal report has urged that the institution should cease investing in fossil-fuel projects. Sadly, the bank is unlikely to act accordingly.

They still don’t get it: the IMF and poor country debt September 2003
The International Monetary Fund says it wants to find a new framework for dealing with the debt burden of low-income countries that helps those countries meet international goals on poverty reduction. But recent proposals by the IMF for a new strategy on overseeing poor country borrowing that does just that have been given a damning verdict by leading development NGOs.

Workers strike over company pensions scheme July 2003
A new era in British industrial relations began on Friday 18 July 2003 as workers at the French-owned company Rhodia walked out in protest at the closure of the company's final salary pension scheme to new members.