The head of the International Monetary Fund today urged advanced countries to take bold, coordinated action to break a vicious cycle of weak growth and high debt that threatens the global economy and has been worsened by dysfunctional politics.
The International Monetary Fund hopes investments in European bonds by the fast-growing BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies are not limited to less risky government bonds such as German or British bonds, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in an Italian daily on Wednesday.
The Italian parliament gave final approval on Wednesday to a much-altered austerity plan aimed at stemming a debt crisis engulfing the euro zone's third largest economy.
Western and Middle Eastern governments pledged to help Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan make the transition to democracy, mobilizing 38 billion dollars of financing, mostly through international lending organizations.
Policymakers in advanced economies should use all available tools to boost growth, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday, calling for bold action to weather a dangerous new phase of recovery.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in an interview released that Europe and the United States should consider stimulating economic growth, if the situation permits, to offset a crisis of confidence hitting the global economy.
The IMF has slashed its growth forecasts for the United States and said the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank must be ready to ease policy.
The new head of the IMF urged global policymakers to pursue urgent coordinated action, including the mandatory recapitalization of European banks, or risk descent into renewed world recession.
French magistrates formally opened an investigation into IMF chief Christine Lagarde this week for possible misconduct in approving a huge payment to a friend of President Nicolas Sarkozy when she was Finance minister.
International Monetary Fund's external relations director Caroline Atkinson resigned Thursday after being appointed the as a White House special assistant to the president for international economic affairs.