World trade falls by lowest 12 percent since economic crisis

World trade fell by 12 percent last year as the economic crisis caused the biggest drop since 1945, giving new urgency to the need to conclude trade talks, WTO chief Pascal Lamy said Wednesday.

Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his report on the state of play in the Doha Round to the General Council on 22 February 2010, said that “although some progress is taking place, gaps remain”. He suggested that the stocktaking at the end of March be undertaken by senior officials, adding that “the Geneva process remains ready to translate political movement into concrete and substantive progress”.

The unprecedented reduction in global commerce makes it "economically imperative to conclude" international trade negotiations, which are at a standstill, in 2010, Lamy said.

" World trade was reduced by 12 percent in 2009," he told the European Policy Centre, a Brussels think tank.

It was the "sharpest decline" since the end of the World War II, he said, and worse than the 10 percent fall that the WTO had forecast in December.

The Doha Round of trade negotiations began in 2001 with a focus on dismantling obstacles to trade for poor nations, by aiming for a deal that would cut agriculture subsidies and tariffs on industrial goods.

Deadlines to conclude the talks have been repeatedly missed.

Discussions have been dogged by disagreements, including on how much the United States and the European Union should reduce farm aid and the extent to which developing countries such as India and China should

Lamy said the worst contraction in more than 60 years made it "economically imperative to conclude" the Doha Round of global trade talks, which started in 2001 and remained deadlocked after nine years of negotiations due to lingering disagreements between developed and developing countries on market access for agricultural and industrial goods.

The WTO chief said on Monday that it was too early for trade ministers to meet at the end of March on a new push for the Doha Round, dampening hope that the trade talks could be concluded by the year end as promised by world leaders.

All about foreclosure - Avoid it Now

What happens during the Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure?

In this type of foreclosure, borrower simply has to give deed to the lender and his interests in the property securing the deed will be terminated. If lender accepts the deed, no deficiency judgments can be issued against the borrower afterwards.

How does a foreclosure effect your credit report is a perplexing question. This is because Fair-Isaac Company, who started the credit scoring system, will not share this information. What complicates the issue even further is that all the credit information reported is calculated into the individuals' credit score as it occurs. The credit score is updated instantly whenever there is an inquiry, otherwise it sits waiting for some person or institution to access it.

TAKE FOR EXAMPLE :ILLionois

What is the processing period for foreclosure Illinois?
Processing period is 210 days in Illinois.

Is there any right of redemption in Illinois for foreclosure?
No, Illinois does not offer right of redemption.

Are deficiency judgments permitted in Illinois?
Deficiency judgments are permitted in Illinois.

Which law provision governs foreclosure in Illinois?
It is found in 735 ILCS 5/Art XV.

Your credit score "before and after" the foreclosure is no conclusive answer as to how much the foreclosure has hurt your credit report, but it is an indication. Homeowners tend to believe that once they have had a foreclosure they can never buy a home again. This is absolutely untrue, as we see people buying homes within a year of losing their previous home. They will have to pay a higher interest rate unless their down payment is substantial, usually 15% to 20% of the purchase price. But this sizable down payment is often obtained from friends or family members and carried as a second lien on the property. Also the credit score reduction for the foreclosure is reduced as time goes on, until it settles at a minimal number after a few years.

Buying a foreclosed home relieves him of such tensions and worries and helps you posses a property within an affordable price. Before going into details, I would first like to explain what a foreclosed home actually is. Once a home is being bought by a buyer on mortgage or loan, there may be cases, when the buyer is unable to pay off his obligations due to some financial constraints. In such a case, the home is forfeited by the lender. Once it is taken over, the lender tries to sell it off in auctions and recover the money he had spent on loans

The foreclosure's immediate impact on an individual's credit report is estimated to be about 100 to 140 points. The bigger impact is from the late payments on other bills which quickly mount up. Doing a "deed in Lieu of Foreclosure" with the lender reports the same as a foreclosure. It is generally believed that a foreclosure stays on your credit report for seven years, but it can stay on longer because it is part of the public record, which could be open for 20 years. So make certain when you do your credit restoration you have it taken off, if it isn't removed automatically

What happens during the consent foreclosure?

In this type of foreclosure, court gives a judgment by which lender gets all rights related to title of the property. After this type of foreclosure, lender should not file for a deficiency judgment.
This is legal information; it should not be treated as legal advice.

BRIC economy and the Global stock markets

BRIC - The BRIC Countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China

In economics, BRIC (typically rendered as "the BRICs" or "the BRIC countries") is an acronym that refers to the fast-growing developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The acronym was first coined and prominently used by Goldman Sachs in 2001.[1][2] According to a paper published in 2005, Mexico and South Korea are the only other countries comparable to the BRICs, but their economies were excluded initially because they were considered already more developed

The BRIC are both the fastest growing and largest emerging markets economies. They account for almost three billion people, or just under half of the total population of the world. In recent times, the BRIC have also contributed to the majority of world GDP growth.

Goldman Sachs argues that the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China is such that they could become among the four most dominant economies by the year 2050. The thesis was proposed by Jim O'Neill, global economist at Goldman Sachs

According to various economists projections, it is only a matter of time before China becomes the biggest economy in the world - sometime between 2030 and 2050 seems the consensus. In fact, Goldman Sachs believe that by 2050 these will be the most important economies, relegating the US to fifth place.

By 2020, all of the BRIC should be in the top 10 largest economies of the world. The undisputed heavyweight, though, will be China, also the largest the creditor in the world.Apart from their growth characteristics, the BRIC countries frankly have little in common. They are primarily an investment category now, although there may some political and economic alliances that develop from that grouping. If they do, it is likely to be temporary - once China has assumed its rightful place, it may have no need for these alliances. A G2 of China and the US may be more important for it unless the 2050 predictions do come true.

The future is definitely in the BRIC nations and an investor who wants to supercharge his portfolio most figure out a way to participate and also be to navigate the wild swings that come from emerging markets which can double one year and fall in half the next.



US based investors have access to several BRIC focused exchange traded funds, such as the BIK S&P BRIC 40, which tracks a basket of blue chip stocks in Brazil, Russia, India, and China. There is also the Claymore/BNY BRIC, which holds 75 companies that trade in the US as American depository receipts.

There are several hundred BRIC companies that trade in the US stock exchanges as ADR's, that US investors can buy. They also can buy directly into BRIC countries through some brokerages, such as Etrade, which now allow their customers to invest in overseas stock exchanges, but for now ADR's are the simplest route to go, because more information on companies with dual listing is available, with full SEC filings.

The results are startling. If things go right, in less than 40 years, the BRICs economies together could be larger than the G6 in US dollar terms. By 2025 they could account for over half the size of the G6. Of the current G6, only the US and Japan may be among the six largest economies in US dollar terms in 2050.

In 2001 and 2002, real GDP growth in large emerging market economies will exceed that of the G7. At end-2000, GDP in US$ on a PPP basis in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) was about 23.3% of world GDP. On a current GDP basis, BRIC share of world GDP is 8%. Using current GDP, China’s GDP is bigger than that of Italy.
Over the next 10 years, the weight of the BRICs and especially China in world GDP will grow, raising important issues about the global economic impact of fiscal and monetary policy in the BRICs.

In line with these prospects, world policymaking forums should be re-organised and in particular, the G7 should be adjusted to incorporate BRIC representatives.

The list of the world's ten largest economies may look quite different in 2050. The largest economies in the world (by GDP) may no longer be the richest (by income per capita), making strategic choices for firms more complex.