Barclays up for ‘shame award’ for speculating on food prices
Jan
5
Written by:
05/01/2012 14:35
Bank nominated after damning research by the World Development Movement
Barclays Bank has been shortlisted for the 2012 Public Eye ‘shame award’ due to its financial speculation on food prices. Anti-poverty campaign group the World Development Movement which nominated the bank, says its activity is fueling hunger and poverty worldwide.
Barclays is estimated to make up to £340 million a year from speculating in food ‘futures’ markets, making it the biggest UK player. Research by the World Development Movement shows that a massive influx of speculative money in food markets is driving sharp price spikes, sending the cost of food soaring beyond the reach of the world’s poorest people. Financial speculation on food nearly doubled between 2006 and 2011.
Campaigners are calling for tough European regulation to curb excessive speculation on food by Barclays and other investment banks and hedge funds. The US has already moved to regulate food markets, and similar rules are under discussion in the EU. But the UK government is blocking attempts to introduce effective European legislation.
The Public Eye Awards are run by Greenpeace Switzerland and the Berne Declaration. The winners will be announced on 27 January 2012 in Davos, Switzerland, to coincide with the World Economic Forum.
You can vote for who wins the award here.
Look out for the next issue of Ethical Consumer which will feature an updated guide to current and savings accounts.
This story has been added to our corporate database. The database powers all our live buyers' guides, giving the score for each company on our rankings tables.