G8/G20

Senior Fellow Debra Steger discusses the the growing challenges facing the new World Trade Organization Director-General Roberto Azevedo, as the gorwing number of bilateral agreements threatens the body's international clout.

"It's also very clear that central banks cannot be expected to provide the engine for growth indefinitely," says Director of CIGI's Global Economy Program, commenting on the G7 finance ministers summit in London.

The G20 should tackle the vastly important issue of Internet security and “articulate a vision for shaping the Internet economy for the next five to 10 years,” a new commentary issued by CIGI recommends.

Domenico Lombardi, director of CIGI's Global Economy program, comments on U.S. Treasury official Mark Sobel's role in pushing the G20 to "stimulate demand and refrain from imposing fiscal austerity too quickly."

CIGI President Rohinton Medhora says Roberto Azevedo, incoming head of the WTO, "should use whatever honeymoon period he is afforded by the member states to do the best impersonation he can of John Cleese in the Dead Parrot sketch and declare the Round deceased."

“How he navigates between understanding the needs of the corporate sector and the job of monetary policy is not going to be easy,” says CIGI Senior Fellow Pierre Siklos, commenting on the appointment of Stephen Poloz as the next governor of the Bank of Canada.

At the recent Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the IMF outlined what it called “Steps to Energize Global Recovery.” These were generally met with skepticism, as many observers pointed to a global “stalemate” that is preventing the implementation of the international policy framework needed to address the remaining challenges from the global financial crisis. To get a better understanding of the situation and of the related discussions at the IMF meetings, we talk to Domenico Lombardi, director of CIGI’s Global Economy Program and a former member of the IMF executive board.