The International Monetary Fund expects Brazil's economy to contract by one percent this year, it said Tuesday, slashing its previous forecast of 0.3% growth. The world's seventh-largest economy is being hit by inflation, private-sector doldrums and a massive corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras, the IMF said in its latest forecast.
The credibility of the United States is at risk if Congress fails to approve International Monetary Fund quota and governance reforms, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned on Tuesday. For more than two years the US Congress has prevented the 2010 IMF reforms from taking effect.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that Argentina's economy will contract by 1.3% in 2015, a figure smaller than original estimates, as the organization revised its world projections to reflect tumbling oil prices.
The Swiss franc soared as much as 30% in chaotic trade after the central bank abandoned the cap on the currency's value against the Euro. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said the cap, introduced in September 2011, was no longer justified. It also cut a key interest rate from -0.25% to -0.75%, raising the amount investors pay to hold Swiss deposits.
Latin America faces a rocky road ahead despite social and economic achievements in recent years, according to the head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde. Among the achievements in the last two decades and in most nations, Ms Lagarde mentioned low inflation, fiscal discipline, and financial stability.
The International Monetary Fund has expressed conformity with the achievements made by the Argentine government regarding the updating of the country's statistics, and hoped to finish its evaluation in February, Director Christine Lagarde announced during a press conference in Santiago de Chile.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is monitoring the potential impact any changes to PetroCaribe, Venezuela’s oil alliance with several Caribbean islands will have on regional economies.
The world's policymakers must take economic reforms more seriously, or they could see their economies stuck in a muddle of mediocre growth with high debt and unemployment, the head of the International Monetary Fund said at the multilateral organization assembly.
Bankers' behavior still needs to change following the financial crisis, Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned. He added that top executives had “got away without sanction”.“Maybe they were not at the best tables in society after that, but they're still at the best golf courses. That has to change,” he said. Mr Carney was speaking at the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting in Washington.
Argentine Economy Minister Axel Kicillof has assured that the government of president Cristina Fernandez is not seeking international financing despite current economic problems, since it has foreign trade surpluses and all the foreign exchange needed to face debt maturities.