IMF news n matters

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IMF:Singapore Severely Hurt By Crisis;'09 GDP May Fall 8%

Nasdaq, 31 Aug 2009

SINGAPORE -(Dow Jones)- [COLOR="Red"]The International Monetary Fund Tuesday said that Singapore's economy is likely to shrink by about 8% this year[/COLOR] as the global economic crisis has pushed the export dependent nation into its worst economic downturn since the 1965.

In its report, after talks with Singapore authorities in May, the IMF said that Singapore's economy is expected to pick up modestly in 2010 as the global economy recovers and that Singapore's gross domestic product will rise by 2.5% that year.

[SIZE="4"][COLOR="Blue"]The IMF's assessment of Singapore's GDP for 2009 is worse than the government's estimate of a 4% to 6% contraction.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

The IMF said that Singapore's monetary policy remains "appropriate" and that it "should stay the course" until a recovery is well established.

The central bank uses the exchange rate rather than interest rates as its policy tool to maintain price stability and support growth due to the economy's big reliance on overseas demand for growth.

"There was agreement that, once a recovery is well established, a return to a trend appreciation for the nominal effective exchange rate would safeguard price stability as slack in the economy is taken up," the IMF said.

It also aid that "inflation would fall to about zero in 2009, on the back of lower food and energy prices and a widening output gap."

-By P.R. Venkat and Costas Paris, Dow Jones Newswires;

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Edit by DF: Removed external link

via : http://forums.vr-zone.com/newsroom/477390-imf-spore-2009-gdp-will-worse-than-what-govt-predicted.html

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http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/global-economic-growth-engine-starting-up-imf-chief-20090924-g2uv.html

Global economic growth engine 'starting up': IMF chief
September 24, 2009

International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Wednesday said the global economy appears to be recovering from recession but the crisis was not yet over.

"Financial conditions have improved and the growth engine seems to be starting up again," Strauss-Kahn said in a speech at an international leadership meeting in New York, according to prepared remarks.

"Not so long ago, the global economy stood at the edge of the abyss," he said, but he warned "the crisis is by no means over."

The IMF managing director noted the 186-nation institution has devoted much of its resources to fighting the global financial crisis and the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.

Recalling the "outright panic" that followed the collapse of Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008, Strauss-Kahn said that at the time "economic activity began a downward spiral."

Fears of another Great Depression "were not unfounded," he told the Global Creative Leadership Summit, a meeting of heads of state, business and international institution leaders and Nobel laureates.

"But today's world looks different. The crisis is not over, but I hope the worst is now behind us. We seem to have averted disaster."

The IMF chief underscored that the fund was projecting a global recovery in the "first part" of 2010.

"And as this crisis unfolded, I think we proved our worth with our realistic forecasts, both for growth and for credit losses," he said.

The IMF is scheduled to publish updated world economic forecasts on October 1.

"As we look at the current global financial crisis, the worst since the Great Depression, the risks were incredibly high," he said. "The global economy could have faced a meltdown. But we pulled back from the brink, and the IMF certainly played its role."

On the eve of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in the United States, Strauss-Kahn also underlined the role of the IMF "as a policy advisor, emphasizing in particular the need for common, coordinated, action."

"The IMF was among the first to pinpoint the policy responses that have now become part of conventional wisdom, especially the fiscal stimulus and the need to restructure the banking system," he said.

Strauss-Kahn highlighted his institution's promotion of economic stability and world peace.

"The stakes are particularly high in the low-income countries, where populations are especially vulnerable," he said.

He noted that the IMF was created in the aftermath of World War II to fight the economic roots of war.

"In many areas of the world, what is at stake is not only higher unemployment or lower purchasing power, but life and death itself," the former French Socialist finance minister said.

"Economic marginalization and destitution could lead to social unrest, political instability, or a breakdown of democracy. We could see war. This is what we must avoid," he insisted, calling for "sustained help" to countries in need.

"When the nations of the world come together to address common challenges in a spirit of solidarity, we can attain a virtuous cycle of peace and prosperity, and avoid a vicious cycle of conflict and stagnation. On first glance, this might seem incidental to the role of the IMF. But it is not. It underpins our mandate."

Strauss-Kahn's speech came on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and ahead of the two-day meeting of leaders of the G20 developed and developing countries that opens Thursday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Hosted by US President Barack Obama, the G20 leaders are expected to discuss their unprecedented efforts to stem the economic efforts, reform of the financial system and climate change.

© 2009 AFP

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heard on radio this morning.

IMF guys going over to Greece to advise on how to resolve their debt issue.

http://www.imf.org/external/country/GRC/index.htm

IMF would help Greece if asked *Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:09am EST
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BT1PG20091230

IMF mission to Athens will not discuss rescue loan, says official * 11 January 2010
http://www.france24.com/en/20100111-imf-mission-rescue-loan-athens-finance-ministry-greece-europe-debt

The IMF will send a team to Athens Wednesday to offer technical assistance to help the government address the Euro-area’s largest budget deficit. However, Greece's Ministry of Finance said there would be no talk of a loan for the moment.

question : wouldn't Greece have they own smart people to resolve this sort of problem?

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so, how much money would the IMF be issuing to Greece?

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so who's giving the money to Greece n the euro zone?

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A return to the Great Depression': IMF boss ramps up pressure on EU with gloomy new recession warning

Last updated at 12:02 AM on 16th December 2011

The world is heading for a new Great Depression, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday. In an apocalyptic assessment of the debt crisis, Christine La;garde said the disaster in the eurozone was escalating – despite last week’s treaty designed to prop up the currency. Delivering a clear warning that Europe has still not done enough to prevent the collapse of the euro, she insisted every country in the world would need to help boost growth.


Warning: International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde believes firm action by all countries is required to stave off the threat of a global depression

Mrs Lagarde warned that failure to solve the crisis would lead to ‘protectionism, isolation, and other elements reminiscent of the 1930s Depression’. She added: ‘This is exactly the description of what happened in the 30s and what followed is not something we are looking forward to.’

Significantly her attack on ‘isolation’ appeared to be an assault on David Cameron’s refusal to sign an EU treaty last week designed to save the euro. But her criticism was undermined last night when it emerged that Britain will have a seat at the table when details of the eurozone treaty are thrashed out. The revelation also undermines Labour’s criticism of Mr Cameron’s veto that it would leave Britain without a voice at Europe’s top table.

A senior government source said: ‘We will be there to ensure that the single market is protected and that the EU institutions are used in the right way.’ In a speech at the U.S. State Department in Washington, Mrs Lagarde said: ‘The world economic outlook at the moment is not particularly rosy. It is quite gloomy.

'There is no economy in the world, whether low-income countries, emerging markets, middle-income countries or super-advanced economies that will be immune to the crisis that we see not only unfolding but escalating.
‘It is not a crisis that will be resolved by one group of countries taking action. It is going to be hopefully resolved by all countries.’
via : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2074743/IMF-boss-Christine-Lagarde-ramps-pressure-EU-new-recession-warning.html