‘Hidden’ defaults set to soar as recession squeezes firms worldwide
The COVID-19 outbreak and unprecedented lockdowns prompted the International Monetary Fund to predict that the recession would be the steepest in almost a century.
IMF chief lauds Japan's spending to combat pandemic, urging others to step up
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva praised on Thursday Japan's plans to spend about 20 percent of its gross domestic product in response to the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and to help the world's poorest countries, urging others to do their part. Japan, the world's ...
IMF and regional bodies agree to cofinance pandemic responses
The heads of the International Monetary Fund, European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and other regional financing arrangements on Tuesday agreed to work together to mitigate the economic and financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. In a joint statement issued after a teleconference, the officials said they ...
Economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region will likely slow to a standstill in 2020, something that hasn’t happened in the last 60 years, according to the International Monetary Fund. Changyong Rhee, director of the lender’s Asia and Pacific Department, urged governments in the region to ...
World economy to shrink 3% in 2020 in worst setback since Great Depression, IMF says
The global economy is projected to contract 3.0 percent in 2020 from a year before due to the coronavirus pandemic, which would mark the worst setback since the Great Depression in the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. The IMF slashed its projection by ...
Make-or-break moment in coronavirus fight could happen this week
The world’s ability to check the coronavirus contagion and fully recover from the worst peacetime recession since the Great Depression may depend on what international economic policy makers decide this week. With emerging markets and developing nations facing health emergencies, collapsing demand and cash crunches, ...
IMF sees coronavirus-induced global downturn 'way worse' than financial crisis
Speaking at a rare joint news conference with the leader of the WHO, the IMF managing director called on advanced economies to step up their efforts to help emerging markets and developing countries.
Climate change gets first mention in G20 finance communique of Trump era
Finance officials from the world's 20 biggest economies (G20) on Sunday referenced climate change in their final communique for the first time in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, but stopped short of calling it a major risk to the economy. The United States blocked including ...
Coronavirus poses risks to fragile recovery in global economy, says IMF
The outbreak of new coronavirus COVID-19 has already disrupted economic growth in China, and further spread to other countries could derail a "highly fragile" projected recovery in the global economy in 2020, the International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday. In a note for G20 finance ministers ...
Lebanon may not survive if its new government fails, the powerful Hezbollah warned on Sunday, urging the country's divided politicians not to obstruct the Cabinet as it seeks to address an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also said there was ...
IMF chief expects China to bounce back with quick, V-shaped recovery
The head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday she expects the Chinese economy to recover quickly from repercussions linked to the COVID-19 outbreak, although she noted many uncertainties remain. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement that the "most likely scenario we ...
IMF urges gradual consumption tax hike in rapidly graying Japan
The IMF said the tax would need to be lifted to 20 percent by 2050 to finance swelling costs due to an aging population.
