Barclays wins ‘shame award’
Feb
1
Written by:
01/02/2012 11:48
UK bank claims victory for speculating on food prices
Barclays Bank has won the 2012 Public Eye ‘shame award’ for its continued financial speculation on food prices. Anti-poverty campaign group the World Development Movement, which nominated the bank, says its activity is fuelling hunger and poverty worldwide.
The award was presented in Davos, Switzerland, to coincide with the World Economic Forum. Barclays scooped the Public Eye ‘global award’, selected by a panel of judges.
Barclays is estimated to make up to £340 million a year from speculating in food ‘futures’ markets, making it the biggest UK player in the markets. 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.
A second prize, the ‘people’s award’, decided by an online vote, went to Brazilian company Vale, for its involvement in the construction of the controversial Belo Monte dam in the Amazon. Forty thousand people are likely to be forced from their land if the dam goes ahead.
The Public Eye Awards are run by Greenpeace Switzerland and the Berne Declaration.
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