MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

IMF: “world prospects improving”

International Monetary Fund Managing Director participating in the World Economic Forum in New York, forecasted recovery is underway for the global economy.

"I think the state of the global economy is still weak but we also can now hope that a recovery is under way", indicated Mr. Horst Koehler.

The Forum usually held in Davos, Switzerland, this year moved to New York in solidarity with the terrorist attacks of last September.

Over 2,700 business and political leaders were present at the gathering of one of the highlights of the global economic calendar.

Outside in the streets over two thousand anti globalisation protesters gathered to chant slogans asking for an end of "capitalism".

However, contrary to demonstrations that have marked other economic summits in recent years and ended in violent riots, activists this time limited their presence to challenging claims that globalisation is essential to the interests of developing nations.

During the conference there was strong lobbying to help Argentina overcome its current crisis and OPEC Secretary General anticipated that the oil's cartel output level will remain unchanged in the next March meeting.

United States Treasury Secretary, Paul O'neill, following recent growth and unemployment indicators and the Federal Reserve decision to leave interest rates unchanged, confirmed predictions that the US economy is beginning to recover