Competition and financial markets: issues in the current financial crisis

The OECD’s Competition Committee debated competition issues in the currentfinancial crisis on 17-18 February 2009. Participants included senior competitionofficials, current and former financial markets regulators, leading academics andrepresentatives of the business community. This document presents two keydocuments from that event: an Executive Summary which draws on the debate andthe written materials and the Background Paper for

Western Balkans: Progress in the Implementation of the European Charter for Small Enterprises: 2009 SME Policy Index

Building on its 2007 edition, the 2009 SME Policy Index provides further comparative analysis along the policy dimensions of the European Charter for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, as well as a comprehensive assessment of country performances over the last two years.

New Challenges in the Use of Government Debt Issuance Procedures, Techniques and Policies in OECD Markets

Government debt issuance procedures and policies differ across OECD jurisdictions, in particular in terms of technical standards for selling techniques, primary dealer systems and other primary market arrangements. However, the increased integration of global financial markets (including the jump in the integration of European government debt markets since the introduction of the Euro) has been an important catalyst in the

OECD Sovereign Borrowing Outlook 2009

Many OECD governments are facing unprecedented challenges in the markets for bonds and bills, as a result of the explosive growth in their borrowing needs. Amidst an unusually uncertain economic outlook, the gross borrowing needs of OECD governments are expected to reach almost USD 12 trillion in 2009. The key policy issue is how to raise smoothly new funds at low cost, while also managing a rapidly growing debt stock. For the time

Dealing with the financial crisis and thinking about the exit strategy

This article looks at the stages of crisis management and some of the different degrees of transparency on losses and risks in the US and Europe. It also compares alternative approaches to dealing with impaired assets used in the USA and Europe. Exposure to off-balance losses remains a key issue. Europe, surprisingly, has been and remains the major issuer of collateralised synthetic obligations that have been so prominent in the

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• OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends

South East Europe tax policy and investment

Addressing the tax component of the Investment Reform Index (IRI) along the lines of tax reform priorities is the main focus of the Working Group on Tax Policy Analysis of the Investment Compact for South East Europe.

Sector Specific Sources of Competitiveness in the Western Balkans

This report examines the apparel, automotive components and business process/technology outsourcing sectors in the western Balkans, focusing on competitiveness factors and including policy recommendations.

Expanded Government Guarantees for Bank Liabilities: Selected Issues

Government provision of a safety net for financial institutions has been a key element of the policy response to the current crisis. In the process, existing guarantees have been expanded and new ones introduced, including, in particular, in relation to bank liabilities. Among other things, such guarantees create costs that arise as a result of potential distortions of incentives and competition. To limit such distortions it is

Security-Related Terms in International Investment Law and in National Security Strategies

Building a workable framework for international investment policy requires developing a mutually-understood vocabulary for key policy terms. This fact-finding study, prepared in support of discussions at a March 2009 “Freedom of Investment” Roundtable hosted at the OECD, explores the meaning of three terms – essential security interests, public order and national security – that are used frequently in international policy dialogue,