The World Bank is about to resume lending to Burma for the first time since 1987. Together with its investment branch the International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank has opened its first offices in the former capital, Rangoon (now Yangon). The ADB has also set up shop in the capital Naypyidaw, becoming the first international financial institution to do so. All lending was suspended almost 25 years ago when Burma stopped its repayments. Burma’s return to the borrowing market is reinforced by Japan’s plan to extend around $900m in bridging loans to the embattled South East Asia nation. Tokyo also announced in April that it would forgive about $3.7bn in bilateral debt. The Japanese plan will also provide Burma with a temporary loan that will enable it to repay around $500m owed to the ADB and over $397m in interest and principal owed to the World Bank on an outstanding debt of $700m. All the back-log of arrears will have to be cleared up before any lending from international institutions can recommence. Lending will also require a change in the American position toward Burma, as the World Bank’s biggest stakeholder. The US currently cited Burma’s lowest possible ranking in the state department’s index of human trafficking in its opposition of offering World Bank assistance. Pamela Cox, World Bank vice-president for East Asia and Pacific, has announced $85m in community development grants ahead of the arrears clearance, and praised the Japanese initiative as a possible solution […]

As Facebook shares dropped around four percent to a record low on Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune took a $423m hit. The 28-year-old is now worth only about $10.2bn, over $400m behind James Goodnight, co-founder of the SAS Institute, and tech’s tenth wealthiest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This Thursday Facebook shares were 47 percent lower than their initial public offering price of $38. Zuckerberg’s personal fortune comes from his 503.6 million Facebook shares, including 60 million options that currently have an exercise price of 6 cents a share. He also has over $150m in cash and other liquid assets. The most recent slide in share price comes a week after the social networking site announced a sharp slowdown in growth this quarter, and refused to set financial targets for the remainder of the year. In the week following the announcement shares dropped around 25 percent. Facebook stock currently lingers at 47 percent of the original IPO price of $38 a share, as of Thursday evening.  Zuckerberg is among few insiders who benefitted directly from the overambitious initial price, having cashed in $1.15bn of his personal stake. According to Facebook, this particular sale was only made to cover a tax bill Zuckerberg faces. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, remains the richest man in technology, with a net worth of $61.8bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

A sharp rise in grain prices is reverberating around the world as nations face food inflation. There has been a 30-50 percent gain in the benchmark price of corn, wheat and soyabeans, are echoing the 2007/8 food crisis. Countries likely to face the biggest repercussions are those dependant on agricultural imports. The Indonesian tofu industry is threatening to strike over the rise in soyabean prices and consumers in Iran took to the streets to protest the high cost of chicken. “For sure there is growing concern across the world from developing countries about what this may mean for them,” says Marc Sadler, head of agricultural risk management at the World Bank. A severe drought in the American Midwest has dramatically cut grain yield projections. Dry conditions in Russia, Ukraine and Kazhakastan, as well as inordinately wet weather in western Europe and a slow start to the Indian monsoon season are all contributing factors to the global crop worries. For the time being, there are few signs of a repeat of 2007/8, in fact some countries are even suspending grain imports in the hopes that prices will drop, according to traders; but it is unlikely that it will happen and countries will be forced back into the market. The strong dollar is adding to the worries as this can significantly raise the cost of grain for importers. Chicago corn futures are currently trading at around 6 percent over their highest value in 2008. The people most likely to be affected are […]