IMF

Rioting has broken out in Egypt, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Ethiopia and 33 more countries around the world may face instability due to rising food prices. During IMF/World Bank meetings last week, leaders cited the U.S. demand for bio fuels as a major reason for high grain prices. Throughout the weeklong meetings, World Bank President Robert Zoellick repeated the need for more food assistance to poor countries. To date, the United Nations has only received half of the $500 million it said it needed to sustain assistance through the World Food Program.

Snapshot asks, will cutting the U.S. demand for bio fuels sufficiently curb inflation in food prices?

World Bank - Rising food prices: policy options and World Bank Response
Wall Street Journal - Food Inflation, Riots Spark Worries for World Leaders
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - Fighting Food Inflation through Sustainable Investment
Time - The Clean Energy Scam

A guest post by Ian McAllister 

The International Monetary Fund recently released its assessment of world economies and its outlook for 2008 and 2009. In addition to its estimates of unprecedented potential losses--totaling almost a trillion dollars--the report offered a gloomy picture for recovery later this year. More influential may be the report's calls for improved regulation of our increasingly complex financial system.

Snapshot asks, does the IMF have any impact on the regulatory environment in the United States or EU?

IMF Report, Chapter 2 - Structured Finance, Executive Summary
Financial Times - A Risk Shared May Be More Risky
Economist - Fixing Finance
Deutsche Bank - Dr. Josef Ackermann Leads Debate on Globalized Regulation
Financial Stability Forum - Interim Report to G7 Finance Ministers