Taxing polluting sources of energy is an effective way to curb emissions that harm the planet and human health, and the income generated can be used to ease the low-carbon transition for vulnerable households. Yet 70% of energy-related CO2 emissions from advanced and emerging economies are entirely untaxed, offering little incentive to move to cleaner energy, according to a new OECD report. As world leaders gather for a UN Summit on climate change amid mounting public pressure for action, a preview of Taxing Energy Use 2019 shows that for 44 ...

The global economy has become increasingly fragile and uncertain, with growth slowing and downside risks continuing to mount, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook. Economic prospects are weakening for both advanced and emerging economies, and global growth could get stuck at persistently low levels without firm policy action from governments, according to the Outlook. Escalating trade conflicts are taking an increasing toll on confidence and investment, adding to policy uncertainty, aggravating risks in financial markets and endangering already weak growth prospects worldwide. The OECD projects that the global ...

Trade tensions are weighing on growth across the world, but the International Monetary Fund is “far” from forecasting a global recession, an IMF official told Reuters on Friday, as the fund prepares to release a new economic outlook next month. The IMF on Thursday said tariffs imposed or threatened by the United States and China could shave 0.8% off global economic output in 2020 and trigger losses in future years. “The trade tensions are weighing on growth. But we really don’t see recession in the current baseline. I think we’re ...

Growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) in the G20 area slowed to 0.7% in the second quarter of 2019, compared with 0.8% in the previous quarter, according to provisional estimates. GDP contracted in the United Kingdom and Germany (by 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, in the second quarter, compared with increases of 0.5% and 0.4% in the previous quarter). GDP growth also slowed in Turkey (to 1.2%, from 1.6%), India (to 1.0%, from 1.3%), the United States (to 0.5%, from 0.8%), Japan (to 0.3%, from 0.5%), Italy (to 0.0%, from ...

Tariffs imposed by the United States and China could lower the level of global economic output by 0.8% in 2020 and trigger additional losses in future years, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said global trade tensions were beginning to weigh down dynamism in the global economy that is already facing difficult challenges, including a weakening of manufacturing activity not seen since the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. Rice said a global recession was not in the fund’s baseline. The global lender will release new ...

Policy makers should step up their efforts to bolster public trust in finance to reduce the risks of contagion if economic growth and financial returns continue to fall, according to a new OECD report. The 2008 global financial crisis marked a turning point in the way governments considered the role and importance of trust in policymaking. The policy responses to the crisis – unprecedented in their scope and cost – had one underlying goal: to restore trust in the financial sector and the wider business community. Governments were largely successful ...

Composite leading indicators (CLIs), designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trend six to nine months ahead, continue to anticipate easing growth momentum in the United States and the euro area as a whole, particularly in Germany. The CLIs continue to signal stable growth momentum in the OECD area as a whole, France, and Canada. In the United Kingdom, for which large margins of error persist due to Brexit uncertainty, the assessment remains for stable growth momentum, albeit around historically low trend growth rates. In Japan and ...

Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva was expected to be the only candidate considered to lead the International Monetary Fund as a nomination deadline drew to a close on Friday, two people familiar with the process said. The World Bank chief executive’s only known potential challenger to be the next IMF managing director, former British finance minister George Osborne, has opted not to run, the sources said. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially sought backing for Osborne to lead the IMF. But a senior UK government source confirmed on Friday that Britain ...

Annual inflation in the OECD area picked up to 2.1% in July 2019, from 2.0% in June, as annual inflation excluding food and energy increased to 2.3%, compared with 2.2% in June. Energy prices were flat, following the (minus) 0.2% decrease in June, while food price inflation slowed slightly to 2.1%, compared with 2.2% in June. Source: OECD

In the face of rapid population ageing, governments must promote more and better job opportunities at an older age to protect living standards and the sustainability of public finances, according to a new OECD report. Working Better with Age projects that, based on current retirement patterns, the number of older people (50+) out of the labour force because of inactivity or retirement who will need to be supported by each worker could rise by around 40% from 42 per 100 workers in 2008 to 58 per 100 workers in 2050 ...

Argentina will negotiate with holders of its sovereign bonds and the International Monetary Fund to extend the maturities of its debt obligations as a way of ensuring the country’s ability to pay, Treasury Minister Hernan Lacunza said. At a news conference after meetings with an IMF team visiting Argentina, Lacunza said the government would “re-profile” the maturities of debt owed to the IMF under a $57 billion standby agreement. Interest and principal payments on bonds issued under international and local law will not be altered in the re-profiling. The changes ...

Growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area slowed to 0.5% in the second quarter of 2019, compared with 0.6% in the previous quarter, according to provisional estimates. Among the Major Seven economies, GDP growth slowed markedly in the United Kingdom (to minus 0.2% from 0.5% in the previous quarter) and in Germany (to minus 0.1% from 0.4%). GDP growth also decelerated, but more moderately, in the United States and Japan (to 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, from 0.8% and 0.7% in the previous quarter) and, marginally, in ...

The International Monetary Fund’s record loan to Argentina last year was supposed to turn the page on a troubled history. It’s looking more like a case of déjà vu. Less than two decades ago, Argentina crashed out of an IMF program, defaulted on debt and plunged into depression. As Fund officials arrived in Buenos Aires over the weekend to assess the country’s current $56 billion bailout –- and decide whether to keep doling out cash — some of the same warning signals are flashing. President Mauricio Macri just got trounced ...

The outlook for the global economy keeps getting bleaker, the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund said Friday. “As the year is progressing, it’s getting harder to find those bright spots,” Gita Gopinath told CNBC’s Steve Liesman. “There was the potential of recovery, and we’re still expecting that for many parts of the world … but I’ve got to admit it’s getting harder to see that.” Gopinath’s comments come as economic growth overseas has slowed down. In Germany, the manufacturing sector is contracting. Meanwhile, China’s economy grew at its ...

International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath said on Friday that U.S. monetary policy is being accommodative and data driven. “U.S. monetary policy is being accommodative and it is being data driven”, Gopinath told CNBC in an interview when asked if U.S. monetary policy is “too tight”. “If you look at the U.S. economy, if you look at the unemployment rate, if you look at consumer spending, they are quite healthy. So it would not be right to say it is too tight at this point”. She also added that ...