STWR - Share The World's Resources

While it's hard to see it here in the U.S., "trickle-down" economics is beginning to be confronted by popular democratic movements, which are bubbling up in communities across the country as well as all over the world in countries like Ghana and Bolivia, where fierce resistance to the privatization of water not only pushed big water multinationals like Bechtel out of the country , but led the government of Bolivia to begin pushing the world's international financial institutions to exempt water from trade liberalization (i.e. corporate predation) agreements and bolster effots to reverse now widely-discredited structural adjustment programs that have forced debtor nations to privatize essential services like water in exchange for usurious loan packages.

Markets are often the best forecasters since their direction supposedly represents the collective wisdom of the smartest people moving them - the professionals, not the public that just goes along for the ride where they're taken.

Only radical solutions will overcome the energy and environmental crises while promoting equality

The last two years marked a vigorous economic recovery for Latin America following the long period of stagnation that began in 1998. However, a number of vulnerabilities remain despite the recent strong growth performance.

On 31 January, Alan Greenspan stepped down after 18½ years as Chairman of the Fedeal Reserve. This paper offers a Washington based assessment of his legacy, especially on the objectives of low inflation and transparency in central bank procedures.

The almighty American consumer had another banner year in 2005, helping sustain global economic growth, albeit at a slower pace than in 2004.

Has the United States transcended the laws of economics? As the New Year begins, the US continues to race ahead of its rich-country counterparts.