The strengthened HIPC II initiative would include more debt relief to a greater number of countries, faster debt relief, and retroactivity and closer linkage between debt relief and poverty reduction.

Nevertheless these alternative calculations have provided a clear picture: Yards, such as Hyundai (HHI), Hanjin (HHIC) and Samsung (SHI), which have not benefited from large scale debt restructuring and which operate comparatively "old" facilities show (slightly) higher production costs under the debt-based methodology, while yards, such as Daewoo (DSME) and Daedong, which benefited from debt reductions and moratoria but operate comparatively "new" facilities show (slightly) higher production costs when basing the investigations on th ...[+++]e depreciation approach.

``the House of Commons reject the Budget statement by the Minister of Finance because it denies Canadians debt and tax relief by spending away the federal budget surplus, thus killing opportunities for job creation and economic growth; it leaves Canadians saddled with the highest personal income tax rates in the G-7 countries, resulting in systematic brain drain to jurisdictions with lower taxation levels; it allows interest charges on the national debt to consume one third of every tax dollar collected by the federal government and to exceed spending on health care, education, and old age security combined; it continues the steady de ...[+++]crease in real disposable income for the average Canadian through tax hikes; and it does not keep the government's promise of committing 50 percent of the surplus to new spending and the remaining 50 percent to some combination of debt reduction and tax relief'.

Debt reduction would have to be significant if worthwhile effects on current payments are to be achieved ; debt service reduction seems potentially to offer more "bang for your buck" in the short term.

Without putting one penny directly on the debt, the debt-to-GDP ratio would fall from 74% to 59%. Ottawa could then simultaneously increase program spending by up to 4.5% a year and offer Canadians a substantial, multi-billion-dollar tax cut, or Ottawa could throw its energies into debt reduction, defer the tax cut, and watch the debt ratio fall one measly additional percentage point to 58%.

Negative credit flows to the private sector, signalling active debt repayment, were the main driver of the reduction in household debt over the last few years, with an acceleration in 2013 in Spain, Portugal and Ireland, and in corporate debt in Malta, Slovenia, UK and Spain.