Tag: IMF

Global stocks mixed as markets eye US interest rates

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Global stocks finished mixed Tuesday following a meandering session amid lingering worries over higher interest rates as the IMF cut its global growth forecast. Investors have been nervous since the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds surged above 3.0 percent. The advance followed a stream of strong US economic data that was seen as boosting the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will persist in raising interest rates. Yields continued […]

IMF cuts global growth forecast to 3.7% for 2018, 2019 as risks rise

by Heather SCOTT Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An upswing in economic risks due to rising trade tensions and debt levels has prompted the International Monetary Fund to cut its forecast for world growth for this year and next. With trade growth set to slow sharply amid a trade war between the United States and China, the IMF cut its outlook for global GDP by two-tenths to 3.7 percent for 2018 and […]

Argentina on strike as central bank chief resigns amid IMF talks

by Nina NEGRON Agence France Presse BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Argentina was paralyzed by a general strike on Tuesday while the central bank chief resigned amid talks with the International Monetary Fund on a revised crisis loan package. As president Mauricio Macri negotiated accelerated funding from a $50 billion loan agreed with the IMF in June, the country’s beleaguered currency was hit by the news that Luis Caputo had been replaced by Guido Sandleris […]

Argentina paralyzed by anti-IMF deal strike

by Nina Negron Agence France-Presse BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina ground to a halt Monday as public service unions blocked road, rail and air transport with a nationwide 24-hour strike in protest at the government’s latest deal with the International Monetary Fund. In a massive show of force against the center-right government of President Mauricio Macri, organizers said at least one million workers were taking part in the industrial action which halted trains, subways, buses […]

US-China trade tension dominates IMF gathering

    by Heather Scott © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Trade tensions between the United States and China, which threaten to spill over into the global economy, are dominating a gathering of world finance officials even as the Group of 20 avoided the topic on Friday. Official after official has called for disputes to be resolved through dialogue rather than unilateral tariffs, and warned about the threat to the economic recovery. French Economy […]

IMF outlook for PHL economy remains “favorable despite external headwinds”

(Eagle News) — The International Monetary Fund’s outlook for the Philippine economy remains “favorable despite external headwinds.” In a statement, the IMF predicted the country’s Gross Domestic Product growth  at 6.6 percent for 2017 and 6.7 percent for 2018. It said this was “owing to continued robust domestic demand.” “Inflation is expected to stay near the center of the (Bangko Sentral ng Pilpinas’) target band due to stable commodity prices and well-anchored inflation expectations. The current […]

IMF tells Gulf states to speed up switch from oil

by Omar Hasan Agence France-Presse DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday advised energy-rich Gulf economies to speed up their diversification away from oil after projecting the worst growth for the region since the global financial crisis. Oil exporters in the Middle East, especially those in the Gulf Cooperation Council, have been hit hard by the collapse in crude prices which provided a major part of their finances. Following the […]

IMF sounds alert over debt in largest economies

 by Antonio Rodriguez Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — For the first time in years the International Monetary Fund is optimistic about global economic growth. But it sees a new problem: mounting debt in the world’s largest countries. “Debt levels are increasing in G20 economies,” Tobias Adrian, who heads the IMF’s monetary and capital markets division, said Wednesday. Among private businesses in those countries, leverage is higher than before the financial crisis. And the weight of […]

World must ‘seize the opportunity’ of global recovery: IMF’s Lagarde

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Thursday a worldwide economic recovery is taking hold, opening a window for countries to enact reforms aimed at attaining broader, lasting prosperity. “The long-awaited global recovery is taking root,” she said in an address Thursday evening at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Countries around the globe are seeing renewed or sustained economic expansion, coinciding with greater stability in banks and market confidence, she […]

IMF approves $1.8 billion loan for Greece ‘in principle,’ no funds released

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The International Monetary Fund late Thursday approved a new, $1.8 billion loan program for Greece but will not release any funds immediately, in a highly unusual compromise step. The IMF last month announced it would revive the seldom-used option of approving a loan “in principle,” in order to convince eurozone finance ministers to release desperately-needed new funds to Greece. The latest 8.5 billion euro disbursement from the eurozone loan program […]

Bailout deal thrusts burden back on Greece say analysts

by Catherine Boitard Agence France-Presse ATHENS, Greece  – As Greece’s government Friday welcomed a long-delayed bailout agreement, analysts warned the deal throws responsibility back on the struggling country to pull itself out of crisis. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the agreement — hammered out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and eurozone finance ministers — opens the way to a “final exit to the crisis.” Reached Thursday, the deal averted another summer of Greek […]

Eurozone fails to reach Greece debt deal amid IMF row

by Alex Pigman Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Eurozone finance ministers failed to reach a deal for fresh bailout cash for Greece on Monday, as a row with the International Monetary Fund over debt relief dragged on. After more than eight hours of talks in Brussels, ministers from the 19-member single currency bloc could not settle deep differences on debt relief pitting Germany, the eurozone’s most powerful member, against the IMF. “I think we […]