The April 2020 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) assesses the financial stability challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Chapter 1 describes how financial conditions tightened abrubtly with the onset of the pandemic, with risk asset prices dropping sharply as investors rushed to safety and liquidity. It finds that a further tightening of financial conditions may expose vulnerabilities, including among nonbank financial institutions, and that bank resilience may be tested if economic and financial market stresses rise. Vulnerabilities in global risky corporate credit markets, including weakened credit quality of borrowers, looser underwriting standards, liquidity risks at investment funds, and increased interconnectedness, could generate losses at nonbank financial institutions in a severe adverse scenario, as discussed in Chapter 2. The pandemic led to an unprecedented and sharp reversal of portfolio flows, highlighting the challenges of managing flows in emerging and frontier markets. Chapter 3 shows that global financial conditions tend to influence portfolio flows more during surges than in normal times, that stronger domestic fundamentals can help mitigate outflows, and that greater foreign participation in local currency bond markets may increase price volatility where domestic markets lack depth. Beyond the immediate challenges of COVID-19, Chapter 4 explores the profitability pressures that banks are likely to face over the medium term in an environment where low interest rates are expected to persist. Chapter 5 takes a broader perspective on physical risks associated with climate change. It finds that these risks do not appear to be reflected in global equity valuations and that stress testing and better disclosure of exposures to climatic hazards are essential to better assess physical risk.
Извор: ММФ – 04.2020
Chapter 1 argues that fiscal policies are at the forefront of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fiscal measures can save lives, protect the most-affected people and firms from the economic impact of the pandemic, and prevent the health crisis from turning into a deep long-lasting slump. A key priority is to fully accommodate spending on health and emergency services. Global coordination is for a universally low-cost vaccine and to support countries with limited health capacity. Large, temporary and targeted support is urgently needed for affected workers and firms until the emergency abates. As the shutdowns end, broad-based, coordinated fiscal stimulus—where financing conditions permit—will become more effective in fostering the recovery.
https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/FM/Issues/2020/04/06/fiscal-monitor-april-2020
Извор: ММФ – 04.2020
Elena Sam Pec lives in Puente Viejo, Guatemala, a mostly agrarian indigenous community. The women of the village participate in a joint program empowering more than 1,600 rural women to become economically self-reliant. Image: Ryan Brown/UN Photo
By Leah Rodriguez – April 28, 2020
Education, female empowerment, and climate-smart solutions can stop climate change.
Women are more likely to live in poverty, be vulnerable to natural disasters, and experience the direct impacts of flooding and drought. But as activists Greta Thunberg, Naomi Klein, and Vanessa Nakate can attest, they also hold the keys to fighting the deep impact of climate change.
Evidence shows investing in girls and women is a promising climate solution. Women can use strong ties to their communities to advocate and gain trust for renewable energy technologies, for example.
And experts say educating girls, empowering women in leadership, and involving women in agricultural decisions are also hopeful routes, but they are often overlooked.
Educated Women Can Share Resources and Skills Needed to Tackle Climate Change.
CIVICUS Monitor rates the conditions for civil society or civic space. We provide ratings for civic space in 196 countries (all UN member states and Kosovo, Palestine and Taiwan).
At CIVICUS, we see civic space as the respect in policy and practice for the freedoms of assembly, association and expression which are underpinned by the state’s duty to protect civil society.
We view civic space as a set of universally-accepted rules, which allow people to organise, participate and communicate with each other freely and without hindrance, and in doing so, influence the political and social structures around them.
8 April 2020 - The Committee on t he Rights of the Child expresses concern about the situation of children globally, particularly those in situations of vulnerability, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many children are gravely affected physically, emotionally and psychologically, especially in countries that have declared states of emergencies and mandatory lockdowns.
In addition to the declaration of ten human rights treaty bodies, the Committee further urges States to respect the rights of the child in taking measures to tackle the public health threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the Committee calls on States to:
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Consider the health, social, educational, economic and recreational impacts of the pandemic on the rights of the child. Although initially declared for short terms, it becomes clear that declarations of States of emergencies and/or disaster may be maintained for longer periods, leading to longer periods of restrictions on the enjoyment of human rights. The Committee recognizes that in crisis situations, international human rights law exceptionally permits measures that may restrict the enjoyment of certain human rights in order to protect public health. However, such restrictions must be imposed only when necessary, be proportionate and kept to an absolute minimum. Additionally, while acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic may have a significant and adverse impact on the availability of financial resources, these difficulties should not be regarded as an impediment to the implementation of the Convention. Nevertheless, States should ensure that responses to the pandemic, including restrictions and decisions on allocation of resources, reflect the principle of the best interests of the child.
