IMF slaps Germany with minimum wage warning July 21, 2014 The latest report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the German economy was just released, and as you might expect, it’s a fairly glowing report. But on at least one area, Germany’s new €8.50 (£6.73) minimum wage, the Fund is warning that the European powehouse could run into trouble. The staff give [...]
IMF sees no “brutal slowdown” in China – Christine Lagarde July 6, 2014 China's economic expansion isn't set to stutter, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). IMF managing director Christine Lagarde says that the fund sees "no brutal slowdown" and expects that China will achieve growth of seven to 7.5 per cent this year. Investors now see a possible slowdown in Chinese growth as a key risk, [...]
IMF biased towards its richer members says auditor July 1, 2014 The International Monetary Fund is failing to shrug off its reputation as a club for rich countries, with developing countries finding it hard to trust the lender's advice as unbiased, the body's auditor said in a report today. Looking at its reports into the IMF over the last ten years, the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) [...]
IMF lowers its American growth forecast June 16, 2014 The International Monetary Fund yesterday cut its growth forecast for the United States and said the economy would not reach full employment until the end of 2017, allowing interest rates to be held near zero for longer than expected. The IMF, led by Christine Lagarde, cut its 2014 forecast to two per cent from 2.8 [...]
IMF says Fed could keep rates at zero for much longer June 16, 2014 Fed chair Janet Yellen has suggested that the first US rate hike could come six months after the end of tapering quantitative easing (QE) – this would land in roughly April 2015. But the staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) say today that with a muted inflation outlook and full employment still some [...]
How the IMF got it wrong on austerity by ignoring psychology June 10, 2014 THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund: wrong again. At the end of last week, the IMF abandoned its criticism of the UK government’s economic strategy. Christine Lagarde, the IMF chief, said her organisation had “underestimated” the strength of the recovery in Britain, and the IMF now believes that the UK will be the fastest growing of any [...]
Christine Lagarde grovels to Osborne over IMF’s prediction June 9, 2014 IMF BOSS Christine Lagarde yesterday gave a pleading apology to chancellor George Osborne over claims a year ago that his economic policies were “playing with fire.” Since the International Monetary Fund made the claims the economy has recovered rapidly, with unemployment diving and GDP now thought to be back at its pre-crash peak. “I completely [...]
London house price danger flagged by IMF review June 6, 2014 The UK's government has this morning received a far more glowing appraisal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) than it has become used to. The supranational organisation has delivered its Article IV mission findings, noting that the UK's economy "has rebounded strongly and growth is becoming more balanced". Among its other points, the IMF lists [...]
IMF agrees $14-18bn rescue loan for Ukraine March 27, 2014 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced it’s agreed a $14-18bn (£11.6-14.9bn) stand-by deal with Ukraine, which’ll unlock further aid of up to $27bn from the international community over the next two years. "The mission has reached a staff-level agreement with the authorities of Ukraine on an economic reform programme that can be supported by [...]
IMF set to hand Ukraine $15bn aid deal March 26, 2014 THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund, led by Christine Lagarde, is expected to offer Ukraine an aid deal worth about $15bn (£9.05bn), the lower end of what the struggling interim government had asked for. The country’s state oil firm also announced plans to hike gas prices for consumers by 50 per cent in May.