At the end of 2023, the total volume of sovereign and corporate bond debt stood at almost USD 100 trillion, similar in size to global GDP, says a new OECD report. The first OECD Global Debt Report 2024: Bond Markets in a High-Debt Environment released today shows the low interest rate environment post-2008 opened bond markets to a wider range of issuers, including lower rated governments and companies, expanding the riskier market segments and contributing to the rapid growth of the sustainable...

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Open, well-functioning, and integrated European capital markets are crucial to promote the single market and to attract the necessary investments, and thereby to boost the EU’s global competitiveness, innovation, sustainable growth, and job creation. It will provide better funding possibilities for growing companies, including small and medium-sized companies, and give EU citizens the opportunity to invest their savings more productively in Europe. Deep and liquid capital markets that can allocate capital efficiently and allow for cross-border private risk-sharing constitute, together...

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Article by Atif Mian in the IMF's Finance & Development Magazine |  Nature requires balance—between predator and prey in the jungle, between the push and pull of planets in orbit, and so on. The economic system is no different; it requires long-term balance between what people earn and what they spend. Loss of this balance has led to a massive debt supercycle that threatens the global economy. Breaking that cycle is one of the most pressing challenges of the...

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The European Commission was instrumental in brokering important outcomes at the 13th ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (MC13) that ended Friday in Abu Dhabi. After a week of intense engagement, EU negotiators secured important agreements on e-commerce, new rules to improve global services trade, environmental cooperation, and strengthening the position of developing countries in the global trading system. However, over the past months, the EU had worked for ambitious results to revitalise the WTO at a time of...

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It is my great pleasure to report to you ahead of your first meeting under the Brazilian G20 Presidency. Tax policy and tax administration efforts can help to move the dial in the fight against extreme poverty and hunger, while addressing rising inequality and closing the funding gaps on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thanks to the leadership of the G20, stronger international tax cooperation in recent year has delivered significant additional revenues and other important benefits for governments...

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G20 merchandise trade growth flattens while services trade rises moderately in Q4 2023. After several quarters of decline, G20 merchandise trade growth flattened in value terms in Q4 2023, as measured in current US dollars (Figure 1 and 2). There was little change in exports and imports compared to Q3 2023, as a robust recovery in East Asia was counterbalanced by a slowdown in Europe and North America. Export growth stagnated in the United States, with lower sales of automobiles...

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Blog post by Kristalina Georgieva | It’s fitting that G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will meet this week at Sao Paulo’s Biennale Pavilion, designed by famed architect Oscar Niemeyer. With its flowing lines and striking façade, it is a monument to the boldness of modern Brazil. I hope the G20 takes inspiration from this landmark to act boldly, too. With recent improvement to the global-near term outlook, G20 policymakers have an opportunity to rebuild policy momentum, setting their...

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The Commission welcomes the Council's adoption of a 13th package of sanctions against Russia. Two years since Russia brutally invaded Ukraine, EU's support for Ukraine and its people remains as strong as ever. Europe is united and determined to continue defending its values and founding principles. This package focuses on further limiting Russia's access to military technologies, such as for drones, and on listing additional companies and individuals involved in Russia's war effort. With this new package the number of...

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Blog post by Ulrich Bindseil, Piero Cipollone and Jürgen Schaaf | On 18 October 2023 the ECB’s Governing Council outlined the scope and key features of a digital euro. The ECB also decided to proceed with the “preparation phase” of the digital euro project. The actual decision on whether to issue a digital euro will be taken at a later stage, but not before the legal framework is in place and all functional features have been specified. Based on the specifications...

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