Many small vulnerable economies (SVEs) continue to face debt solvency and liquidity problems as only a few of these countries have benefitted from international debt relief initiatives, such as HIPC and MDRI. This is one of the issues that Commonwealth Finance Ministers will be addressing at their forthcoming October 2010 meetings. DFI was commissioned to prepare a background study on options for reducing the existing debt burden of SVEs which forms the basis for Section 2 of the FMM discussion document, which is available here

Credit ratings have inadvertently contributed to financial instability. This paper recommends that ratings of governments or companies should be seen as one of several tools to measure risk, and not as the sole and dominant one. Over-reliance leading particularly to abrupt downgrades, can lead to deleterious selloffs of securities with the potential for broader spillovers, triggering further sell-offs. Actions by ratings agencies to make changes in ratings less abrupt have been counter-productive: much market reaction occurs when warnings are released rather than when the actual rating changes. And sovereign ratings could have taken better account of debt composition and contingent liabilities. Investors must also be weaned off credit ratings too, and perform their own risk assessments according to their size, sophistication, and the instruments being rated. The main ratings agencies should be subjected to increased oversight

This new initiative compares FDI regulation around the world. It presents quantitative indicators on laws, regulations, and practices affecting how foreign companies invest across sectors, start businesses, access industrial land, and arbitrate commercial disputes. Data by country or topic, reports and other information are available here.

The 42 governments adhering to the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises have started work on an update. Background information is available here.

Transnational corporations are increasingly optimistic about the international investment environment and their own prospects for FDI this year and beyond, according to UNCTAD's World Investment Prospects Survey 2010-2012.

En respuesta a la crisis mundial, el FMI y la FSB han planteado varias recomendaciones para el seguimiento del riesgo en el sector financiero, los vínculos financieros entre instituciones financieras con importancia sistémica, los flujos bancarios transfronterizos, las posiciones de inversión y los niveles de exposición, la vulnerabilidad de las economías internas frente a los choques, y una efectiva comunicación de las estadísticas oficiales para fortalecer el conocimiento de los datos que están disponibles a los efectos de la formulación de políticas económicas. Véase más información aquí.

This review of current practices among the 100 largest institutional investors reveals: most large Transnational corporations (TNCs) recognise the importance of CSR yet their standard of communication varies widely. Responsible investment practices have become common features of the world's 100 largest pension funds. At least basic climate change related information is now reported by most large TNCs, but with significant inconsistencies and inadequacies. A number of voluntary initiatives are taking a leading role in designing and facilitating CSR and responsible investment instruments.

Uganda disseminated preliminary results for its Private Sector Investment Survey 2009 in July. This covered data for 2007-8, and tracked the impact of the global economic crisis. The preliminary report is now available online, along with reports for its earlier surveys.

In March 2010, the UK Department for International Development asked DFI to survey developing countries' views of multilateral institutions' performance, to inform its decisions on where to allocate its funding for the next five years. The full report is now being published. It could also be read in conjunction with developing country views on the IMF and World Bank, assembled for the G20 in Freetown and London.