Economics

Russia and China have already moved to create a shadow bank-transfer system in case the United States unplugs them from SWIFT. Germany, France and even the U.S. poodle Britain joined to create INSTEX — Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges. by MICHAEL HUDSON Originally published on… »

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has rejected an aid request by Venezuela’s self-proclaimed “interim president” Juan Guaidó, stressing that the body only cooperates with the country’s recognized government led by President Nicolas Maduro.   Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Guterres, conveyed the secretary general’s reply to the aid request in a public… »

By Vijay Prashad, Kambale Musavuli This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.   The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is both one of the richest countries in the world, and one of the poorest. It is one of the richest countries… »

American economic sanctions have been the worst crime against humanity since World War Two. America’s economic sanctions have killed more innocent people than all of the nuclear, biological and chemical weapons ever used in the history of mankind. The fact that for America the issue in Venezuela is oil, not… »

by Ellen Brown, originally posted on Truthdig   The “Green New Deal” endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D.-N.Y., and more than 40 other House members has been criticized as imposing a too-heavy burden on the rich and upper-middle-class taxpayers who will have to pay for it. However, taxing the… »

As of January 20, 2019, the United States government remains partially shutdown for one month due to President Donald J. Trump’s insistence of $5.7 billion from Congress to fund his racist and medieval border wall. When it comes to this ongoing debate, Trump, along with his Republican cronies,… »

By Howard Richards “The question is whether finance will promote economic growth and rising living standards or create unproductive credit and use government to enforce creditor claims by imposing austerity and reducing large swathes of the population to debt peonage.” This précis of the pickle that is our prison was… »

Saturday afternoon, the series of demonstrations against the… »

By Vijay Prashad 1 Source: Independent Media Institute This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.   Last Thursday—on January… »

“British overseas territories win reprieve after threatening legal action or secession”. The Guardian reports that “The government has been accused of defying parliament by delaying plans to require British tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands to bring in public registers that reveal the true identity of owners of companies… »