Institutional Investor (January 20)
“Once again, Chinese growth data takes center stage.” The International Monetary Fund cited China’s slowing growth as a major reason for its latest downward forecast revision. The IMF slashed expected global GDP growth from 3.8% to 3.5% during 2015. “With a global economy still attuned to demand from a rising China, the nation’s economy remains the central theme for macro and micro-focused investors alike.”
The Economist (October 26)
“The euro mess has morphed from an acute crisis into a chronic one.” In contrast with the progress made on sovereign debt, however, “the euro zone has made less headway than other places in reducing this private-debt burden…. If the euro zone’s recovery is to strengthen, this burden of private debt must be lightened. According to the IMF, private debt is a bigger drag on Europe’s growth than government debt.”
Tags: Burden, Crisis, Euro zone, Europe, Government, Growth, IMF, Private-debt, Progress, Recovery, Sovereign debt
Washington Post (October 24)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its World Economic Outlook. It predicts that during the next four years, the U.S. “will be the strongest of the world’s rich economies. U.S. growth is forecast to average 3 percent, much stronger than that of Germany or France (1.2 percent) or even Canada (2.3 percent). Increasingly, the evidence suggests that the United States has come out of the financial crisis of 2008 in better shape than its peers — because of the actions of its government.”
Tags: Canada, Financial Crisis, France, Germany, Government, Growth, IMF, U.S., World Economic Outlook
Financial Times (March 23)
The system which allows the U.S. to appoint the World Bank president and Europe to appoint the IMF head is “unfair.” That said, the Financial Times does, however, support President Obama’s surprise choice: Jim Yong Kim. “There is no indication that the White House will now allow an open contest for the World Bank…. But if Mr. Kim is indeed appointed, it will be a choice that the rest of the world can welcome.”
Tags: Europe, IMF, Jim Yong Kim, U.S., World Bank
Wall Street Journal (June 8)
The International Monetary Fund’s Acting Managing Director John Lipsky backs increasing the sales tax in Japan as early as next year. Lipsky believes not increasing taxes would be a “wasted opportunity.” The comments may “reflect international concerns that fiscal problems in the world’s third-largest economy would eventually hurt the global economy if left untreated–after debt crises in European economies of much smaller scale roiled the global market in recent years.”
The Economist (May 26)
Christine Lagarde is talented, but she should not be chosen to head the International Monetary Fund. “The stitch-up, whereby the head of the IMF is a European and the head of the World Bank is an American, is a disgrace. International posts should be filled according to merit…. Europe’s monopoly of the IMF’s leadership has long been an anomaly. It is time that it ended.”
Tags: Europe, IMF, Lagarde, U.S., World Bank
New York Times (May 20)
By a long-running understanding, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been headed by a European and the World Bank by an American. “That tradition…may have fairly reflected the economic geography of 1946. But it does not reflect today’s world, and powerful new players like China, India and Brazil rightly resent it.” In fact, the IMF has been led by French managing directors for 36 of its 65 years, with the remainder filled by other Europeans. The departure of Dominique Strauss-Kahn provides a chance to end the clubby understanding. Going forward, the posts should be filled “on merit alone.”
Tags: IMF, Managing Director, Nationality, Selection, Strauss-Kahn, World Bank
The Wall Street Journal (April 8)
Many have forgotten the “Lisbon Irony.” The 2000 EU summit was held in Portugal where European leaders unveiled the Lisbon Agenda “to transform the European economy into the world’s most ‘competitive and dynamic’ by 2010.” Instead, Portugal is now asking the EU and the IMF for a bailout. As the Journal notes, the Lisbon Agenda “didn’t turn out that way, least of all for Portugal.”
Many have forgotten the “Lisbon Irony.” The 2000 EU summit was held in Portugal where European leaders unveiled the Lisbon Agenda “to transform the European economy into the world’s most ‘competitive and dynamic’ by 2010.” Instead, Portugal is now asking the EU and the IMF for a bailout. As the Journal notes, the Lisbon Agenda “didn’t turn out that way, least of all for Portugal.”
Economist (October 7)
The International Monetary Fund’s latest forecast indicates global GDP expansion of 4.8%. The Economist points out averages are misleading. Emerging countries are racing along at rates closer to 10% while richer countries struggle with sluggish growth. For this reason, the Economist warns, “Emerging economies need to allow their currencies to rise more. The rich should tread carefully with fiscal consolidation: sensible budget repairs should be less about short-term deficit-slashing and more about lasting fiscal reforms, from raising pension ages to trimming health-care costs.”
Tags: Currencies, Fiscal reform, GDP, IMF
Telegraph (September 13)
“America and Europe face the worst jobs crisis since the 1930s.” Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that “the Great Recession has left behind a waste land of unemployment.” Approximately 30 million jobs were lost, 75% in developed economies. In the U.S., 50% of the unemployed have been seeking jobs for over 6 months, a situation last seen during the Great Depression.
Tags: Europe, Great Recession, IMF, U.S., Unemployment
