Issue No. 543 (16-30 Apr 2013)
Indian court ruling opens door to cheaper medicines

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A victory for access to medicines
The Indian Supreme Court’s 1 April decision which reaffirmed that only medicines that are genuinely new inventions should be granted patents has been hailed as a victory for the rights of patients to have affordable medicines
by Martin Khor

Current pace of work insufficient to deliver in Bali, warns Lamy
At the latest meeting of the WTO’s Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), the WTO chief said that member states had made little headway in formulating the decisions that are targeted for adoption by the WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali this December.  In the following two articles, Kanaga Raja reports on the views presented by the WTO Director-General as well as member countries at the TNC on 11 April.

Concerns over lack of progress on potential Bali deliverables
by Kanaga Raja

GC Chair reports on first-round outcome in WTO D-G selection
The first round of consultations to choose among the nine contenders for the WTO Director-General’s post has ended, with the candidates from Ghana, Costa Rica, Kenya and Jordan identified as the four least like to garner consensus.
by Kanaga Raja

Rising unemployment, “ill-conceived” austerity measures
Painting a grim picture of the employment situation in Europe, the International Labour Organization is advocating a job-friendly strategy that encompasses macroeconomic and structural policy measures to arrest the crisis in the region.
by Kanaga Raja

US banks too big to fail, or just too big?
The question of breaking up the big banks continues to be discussed in the US amid recognition of the threat these financial behemoths pose to economic stability.
by Katelyn Fossett

We are all Thatcherites now
Roberto Savio examines the ruinous legacy of Margaret Thatcher