WTO: Sharp concerns over Secretariat's "activist" role at Public Forum (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
As the World Trade Organization's much-publicized Public Forum concluded on 17 September, several members are considering raising sharp concerns at the upcoming WTO's General Council (GC) meeting over the controversial and allegedly biased conduct of the Forum's sessions by the WTO Secretariat, said people familiar with the development.

Finance: Market sentiment holds firm despite geopolitical volatility (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Geopolitical flare-ups derailed the strong early year momentum, with tensions in the Strait of Hormuz triggering market volatility and raising uncertainty over inflation, monetary policy and fiscal sustainability, and while investors' risk appetite ebbed and flowed, it remained broadly resilient, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

UN: The connection between urbanization and poverty (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Urbanization can help concentrate jobs, services, and investments; however, it can also concentrate unaffordable housing, insecure employment, and unequal exposure to contamination and environmental threats.