Barclays Bank wins ‘shame award’ at WEF for speculating on food prices
Barclays Bank has been adjudged the world’s worst company at the Public Eye ‘shame award’. They won the award for speculating global food prices in 2010.
Their speculations resulted in about 44 million people worldwide being pushed into extreme poverty in the second half of 2010.
The award, organised by Greenpeace and the Berne Declaration, took place this January on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.
The World Development Movement, which nominated the bank for the shame award says Barclays’ activity is fuelling hunger and poverty worldwide.
Barclays is gambling with the price of food, and therefore with people’s lives. Speculating food prices benefited a tiny minority in the financial sector, and at the same time fuelled food price spikes. This forced millions of people to go hungry.
Campaigner at the World Development Movement, Amy Horton said on its website that governments must take urgent action to curb this reckless practice.
It is estimated that the bank is making up to 340 million pounds a year from speculating on food ‘futures’ markets.
Brazilian construction giant Vale also won the People’s Award for its involvement in the construction of the controversial Belo Monte dam in the Amazon in which 40,000 people are likely to be forced from their land if the dam goes ahead. The awards are organised each year to shame global firms whose activities are seen as irresponsible.
Accra, May 17, 2012
Government’s management of revenue generated from the country’s oil and gas resources will today come under intense scrutiny ... 