Predatory capitalism has evolved to such level that it is more of a threat to itself than anyone from the outside can endanger or for that matter manage it. As World Bank and IMF meetings get under way, the symptoms of predatory capitalism's excesses are ever more evident, but what to do to get it back in the cage or at least on a leash and maybe choke collar? This could be a rather lengthy and made even more incomprehensible article if we attempted to tackle all the relevant issues. For the sake of brevity and sanity, we will look to address at least some of the relevant considerations in smaller bites. First though, to be fair, what are these symptoms of predatory capitalism prowling unrestrained - or are we just afraid of the natural order of free markets? • Commodity prices are again surging toward new highs and new bubbles – see from oil to copper. • Food prices are adding more than one person per second every minute, every hour, every day to the class of hungry (according to World Bank statistics). • Big banks and other financial institutions are only getting bigger in their capacity to effect dramatic declines and surges in financial markets – all talk about greater control and eliminating the “Too big to fail risk” has been ineffective as these biggest players continue to evolve in international context ahead of regulatory constraints that at most seem to have intra-border constraints. • Have new regulations post financial crisis had more impact on smaller to mid size institutions (which are generally less international and more effectively constrained by national laws/regulators) thus reducing their relative competitiveness, reducing access to capital for their client base (many small businesses) and even making it more likely that they would be swallowed up by the bigger players? • With profits rebounding handsomely on “Wall Street” (this includes most global financial players) and bonuses, there has been a less discernable impact on unemployment, wages and even retirement/savings accounts, which were decimated by the financial global crisis. • The “Housing Bubble” has been conveniently blamed as the cause, but was it more a following factor in the financial crisis? The financial size of housing and thus breadth and depth of impact made the collapse of housing prices most prominent, but did it precipitate the bubble formation in all real assets? Further, housing has not yet recovered, at least in the US, most impacting the middle class homeowner in terms of net worth and confidence. • At the beginning of the global financial crisis, there was a budding consensus that the event was transformative, but the behavior, (particularly predatory across the board in a range of markets) has returned evidencing more a transitory evolution? See/Read Report – “Financial Crisis-Transformative or Merely Transitional? diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/financial-crisis-transformative-or-merely-transitional-predatory-capitalisms-evolutionary-advantage-by-ambassador-mo/27018 • Capitalism inevitably has scavengers and hunters. Have the global financial institutions though evolved to meet the challenge of the new heightened predatory environment or is the hyena laughing? Yes, it is a jaw-full of considerations to chew on. We’ll try to provide relevant Film Reports and Articles/Blogs to at least give some perspective – do not expect answers on all. Reports Regularly Updated at www.internationalfinancialcrisis.org By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Face Book we’re at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – DiplomaticallyX