Extreme poverty is set to rise this year for the first time in more than two decades, with coronavirus expected to push up to 115 million people into that category, the World Bank has said. The pandemic is compounding the forces of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing poverty reduction, the bank said. By 2021, this could rise to as many as 150 million, it added. Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than $1.90 (£1.50) a day. The projected increase would be the first since 1998, when the Asian financial crisis shook the global economy. Before the pandemic struck, the extreme poverty rate was expected to drop to 7.9% in 2020. But now it is likely to affect between 9.1% and 9.4% of the world’s population this year, according to the bank’s biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report.(BBC)…[+]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government has survived a key confidence vote. The Liberals survived the vote with the support of the opposition NDP, avoiding a possible snap election. Parliamentarians voted 177-152 on Tuesday in support of Mr Trudeau’s Throne Speech, which laid out a framework for pandemic recovery.

The NDP had secured an agreement on new Covid relief measures and had been expected to support the Liberals. The left-leaning New Democrats said they would support the speech after securing from the Liberals new sick leave benefits for Canadians and an extension on coronavirus support benefits. The Conservative Party, the Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party – under newly elected leader Annamie Paul – all voted against the speech. It is the second time the Liberals have faced a confidence vote since Parliament returned in late September. The first vote, on a package of new coronavirus relief measures, past unanimously in the House of Commons last week.(BBC)…[+]

Billionaires have seen their fortunes hit record highs during the pandemic, with top executives from technology and industry earning the most. The world’s richest saw their wealth climb 27.5% to $10.2trn (£7.9trn) from April to July this year, according to a report from Swiss bank UBS. That was up from the previous peak of $8.9trn at the end of 2017 and largely due to rising global share prices. UBS said billionaires had done “extremely well” in the Covid crisis.

It also said the number of billionaires had hit a new high of 2,189, up from 2,158 in 2017. It comes as a World Bank report on Wednesday showed extreme poverty is set to rise this year for the first time in more than two decades due to the pandemic. Among the billionaires, the biggest winners this year have been industrialists, whose wealth rose a staggering 44% in the three months to July. “Industrials benefited disproportionately as markets priced in a significant economic recovery [after lockdowns around the world],” UBS said.(BBC)…[+]