A messy and abrupt exit from the European Union would likely cause severe harm to the U.K. economy, the International Monetary Fund said Monday. In its regular healthcheck on the British economy, the fund said it expects the economy to expand around 1.5% this year and the next, provided London and Brussels can agree terms for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. The U.K. is scheduled to leave in March 2019. But the IMF said a transition period to bridge the gap between exit and the start of the U.K.’s ...

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said on Monday that London had to listen to the “clear warnings” from the International Monetary Fund about the risks of a no-deal Brexit to Britain’s economy. Hammond, speaking as the IMF said in a report that Britain faced a “significantly worse” economic outlook if it did not reach a Brexit deal, said he was confident an agreement would be reached in the autumn, but a no-deal outcome was not impossible. Hammond has been criticised by some Brexit supporters who say he wants to ...

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that Russia might benefit from further interest rate cuts if inflation stayed subdued. The Russian central bank is set to review interest rates on Friday and is widely expected to address risks stemming from recent sell-off in the rouble and government bonds. A day before the central bank board meeting, the IMF said “further monetary easing could be appropriate if headline inflation remains below the 4 percent target and underlying inflationary pressures stay low.” The view is in line with what Prime Minister ...

Italy’s economy is in such a fragile state that even a minor recession could be very dangerous, according to a former director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Italy’s coalition government is poised to present its 2019 budget next month, setting out its economic and financial plans for the coming year. The event is likely to be closely monitored by investors, with many concerned Italy’s euroskeptic leaders will stick to contentious spending plans — and exacerbate the country’s growing budget deficit and massive debt pile. “The problem with Italy is ...

The IMF said that it aimed to wrap up negotiations with Argentina to strengthen a $50 billion (38.65 billion pounds)financing deal as soon as possible, as markets showed some optimism on Argentine assets for a second day straight. Talks in Washington include Argentina’s standby financing deal as well as “the potential of other forms of financing” for Latin America’s third largest economy, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said, without offering specifics. “Progress is being made in those discussions, which are now continuing at the technical level, and again, on how to ...

Argentina’s government said it hoped the International Monetary Fund would agree in the second half of September to a deal giving the country more financial support as it seeks to escape a deepening economic crisis. Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne met IMF chief Christine Lagarde in Washington and both said they were working together to improve a $50 billion standby finance deal agreed with the IMF’s executive board in June. “We are trying to get it voted on by the (IMF) board …. in the second half of September,” Dujovne said ...

Argentine officials were in Washington on Tuesday for crunch talks with the International Monetary Fund about accelerating cash disbursements under a $50 billion standby deal aimed at shoring up confidence in the country’s ailing finances. On Monday, the government of Argentine President Mauricio Macri ended the inflation-racked country’s gradual approach to balancing the government’s budget, announcing new taxes on exports and steep spending cuts to eliminate Argentina’s primary fiscal deficit next year. “We are focused on generating total certainty about Argentina’s financing program next year,” Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne told ...

Germany welcomes a financing deal between Argentina and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and hopes the two sides will find solutions to stabilise the economic situation in the South American country, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Friday. “Argentina and the IMF are holding constructive talks. We assume that the IMF and Argentina will find good solutions,” the spokeswoman said during a regular government news conference. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Andrea Shalal, editing by Thomas Escritt)

G20 international merchandise trade, seasonally adjusted and expressed in current US dollars, contracted in the second quarter of 2018 following eight consecutive quarters of growth. G20 exports declined by 0.6% and imports by 0.9%. In the second quarter of 2018, exports grew in Saudi Arabia (9.7%), India (5.7%), the United States (4.4%), Canada (4.4%), Russia (1.2%) and Australia (1.2%), but contracted strongly in Argentina (minus 19.9%), Brazil (minus 9.0%) and the United Kingdom (minus 6.9%), with falls also recorded in China (minus 2.8%) and the European Union (minus 1.9%). Imports ...

The International Monetary Fund said it was studying a request from Argentina to speed up disbursement of a $50 billion (38.46 billion pounds)loan program after a collapse in investor confidence in President Mauricio Macri’s government sent the peso tumbling more than 7 percent on Wednesday. It was the biggest one-day decline in the peso since the currency was allowed to float in December 2015. It closed at a record low of 34.10 per U.S. dollar and is down more than 45.3 percent against the greenback this year, prompting massive central ...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged China to adopt further steps to open its market, disagreeing with Beijing’s assessment of the country’s progress in reforming state-owned enterprises, reducing trade and investment restrictions and its efforts to reduce government debt. “We are looking at China and comparing it with other G20 countries … in terms of service trade and investment, the Chinese economy is still very restrictive,” Alfred Schipke, IMF’s chief China representative, said at a symposium in Beijing. Fostering further openness was one of the policy recommendations made by ...

Saudi Arabia is moving ahead with economic reforms and growth in its non-oil economy will pick up this year despite any delay to a planned sale of shares in national oil giant Saudi Aramco, a senior International Monetary Fund official said. “Aramco was one part of the reform programme. Other parts are moving ahead pretty well,” Tim Callen, the IMF’s mission chief for Saudi Arabia, told reporters after annual consultations with the Saudi government. He said the IMF’s projections for Saudi economic growth to accelerate in coming years were based ...

This week marks a change of focus for the International Monetary Fund — and a new set of challenges. On Monday, Greece finally exited its IMF-led bailout program, albeit with an enormous amount of debt still weighing on its economic future. The wrangles over Greece haven’t just further damaged the IMF’s image; they helped spark a major reevaluation within the organization of the conditions attached to its lending. For years, developing countries have argued that the IMF — dominated by wealthy nations — is biased, reserving its harshest medicine for ...

Angola’s Finance Ministry said on Monday it has sought financial support from the International Monetary Fund due to poorer than expected economic growth this year. The statement on the ministry’s website did not say how much the requested Extended Fund Facility would be worth. It said the IMF has been invited to Luanda in October to negotiate the programme. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Ghana will continue to subject its public finances to the scrutiny of the International Monetary Fund after its bailout program with the lender ends in April, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said. While the government doesn’t intend to ask for a second bailout deal, it will seek other forms of cooperation with the IMF such as the Policy Support Instrument program, Ofori-Atta said in an emailed response to questions. Countries that sign up for the PSI program commit themselves to “close policy dialogs” and half-yearly assessments of economic and financial policies, ...