An International Monetary Fund monitoring mission started work on Monday on the second review of a $15.6 billion multi-year loan program for Ukraine. Vahram Stepanyan, IMF’s resident representative, said in a statement that the discussions with the Ukrainian government would be held on recent economic developments and fiscal, financial and structural policies. The IMF’s four-year programme for Kyiv is part of a $115-billion global package to support the economy as Ukraine battles Russia’s invasion. Ukraine’s economy has been hit by the 19-month-old war and the government has relied heavily on ...

The global economy was stronger than expected in the first half of 2023, but the growth outlook is weak, inflation is proving persistent and there are significant downside risks, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook. With monetary policy working its way through economies and a weaker-than-expected recovery in China, the Outlook projects global growth of 3.0% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2024. Headline inflation has been declining, as energy and food prices have dropped, but remains above central banks’ targets in many countries. Headline inflation is projected to ...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and Morocco on Monday announced the annual meetings of the two global institutions would proceed in October in Marrakech, despite a recent nearby earthquake that killed more than 2,900 people. The meeting will take place from Oct. 9-15 in Marrakech, just 45 miles (72 km) from the site of the 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Sept. 8, with some changes to adapt content “to the circumstances,” World Bank President Ajay Banga, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Morocco’s Economy Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui said ...

Britain remains on course to have the highest inflation of leading rich economies in 2023, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecasts which showed the country’s inflation problem widening compared with most of its peers. Britain’s headline inflation rate was set to average 7.2% over 2023, up from a previous forecast of 6.9% made by the OECD in June. The fresh estimate represented the biggest upwards revision for any Group of Seven economy – apart from Japan – in the latest set of projections by the Paris-based think ...

The International Monetary Fund plans to tell China to boost weak domestic consumption, address its troubled real estate sector and rein in local government debt, problems that are dragging down both Chinese and global growth, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told Reuters. Georgieva said in an exclusive interview the messages will be delivered to Chinese authorities in a forthcoming IMF “Article IV” review of China’s economic policies. The Fund will strongly urge Beijing to shift its growth model away from debt-fueled infrastructure investment and real estate, she said. “Our advice ...

Argentina and the International Monetary Fund share a rocky history spanning seven decades – and it looks as if things could get worse. Just five years ago, Argentina became the Washington-based global lender’s biggest single debtor, receiving a $57 billion bailout to help then-President Mauricio Macri’s market-friendly government steer out of an economic crisis marked by high inflation and a gaping budget deficit. But that programme failed to put South America’s second-largest economy back on its feet. Fast forward and Argentina is about to enter a recession, with inflation running ...

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the G20 area grew by 0.7% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2023 according to provisional estimates, down from 1.0% in the previous quarter (Figure 1). The slowdown in the G20 area in Q2 2023 mainly reflected a deceleration of the economy in China,[1] where GDP growth slowed to 0.8% compared with 2.2% in the previous quarter. A decline in G20 merchandise trade in Q2 2023[2] also contributed to the G20 economic slowdown. Growth also slowed in Brazil (to 0.9% in Q2, compared with 1.8% ...

Tax policy has played a central role as governments sought to shield households and businesses from the impact of decade-high inflation levels, according to a new OECD report. Tax Policy Reforms 2023 describes tax reforms announced and enacted in 2022 across 75 jurisdictions of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, including all OECD countries. It provides an overview of the macroeconomic environment and tax revenue context in which these tax reforms were made, highlighting how governments deployed tax policy to respond to historically high levels of ...

The OECD unemployment rate was broadly stable at 4.8% in July 2023, remaining below 5.0% for over a year (Figure 1.1). The unemployment rate rose in 15 OECD countries in July 2023, including Denmark, Lithuania, and Austria, was unchanged in 9 and declined in 9. Unemployment was at or close to its record low in only five countries in July, including Germany and the United States (Figure 2). The number of unemployed persons in the OECD increased to 32.9 million in July but remained close to its minimum reached in ...

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said that the global debt as a share of economic output fell significantly in 2022 for the second year in a row, but the decline may be ending as a post-COVID growth surge fades. The IMF said in an update to its Global Debt Database that the world’s total debt to-GDP ratio fell last year to 238% from 248% in 2021 and 258% in 2020. But the decline for the past two years, driven by strong growth and stronger-than-expected inflation, has recouped only about ...

Boosting access to vocational training will be critical to ensure more young people can meet increasing demands for skilled workers and adapt to and benefit from the profound changes spurred by the green and digital transformations. The OECD Education at a Glance 2023 says that 44% of all upper secondary students are enrolled in vocational education and training (VET) across the OECD. Despite this high share, vocational programmes are still seen as a last resort in too many countries. Vocational training can help bridge the divide between schooling and employment ...

The Biden-led rail-to-sea economic corridor linking India with Middle Eastern and European countries should not be exclusionary and should engage in the spirit of an integrated world economy, according to the International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. At a time when supply chains are aligning along shifting global geopolitical lines, U.S. President Joe Biden’s initiative appears to be aimed at not only countering China’s influence in the energy-rich Middle East, but also Beijing’s decade-old Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative. A more fragmented global economy though, has limited global ...

It is vital to increase quota resources for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before year-end, its chief, Kristalina Georgieva, said on Sunday, while urging members of the G20 bloc to deliver on a promise of $100 billion a year in climate funds. In a declaration at its summit in New Delhi this weekend, the grouping vowed to tackle debt vulnerabilities in low and middle-income countries “in an effective, comprehensive and systematic manner”, but offered no fresh plan of action.”G20 members must lead by example in delivering on the promises of ...

The U.S. Treasury will push for a general increase in International Monetary Fund quota resources this year that would maintain the IMF’s current voting power allocations for the time being, the department’s top economic diplomat said on Thursday. Jay Shambaugh, the Treasury’s undersecretary for international affairs, said ahead of a G20 leaders summit in India that the Treasury is also pressing for ways to shore up the IMF’s fund for the world’s poorest countries, the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, as it seeks to bolster the IMF’s lending resources to ...

Global financial regulators and the International Monetary Fund on Thursday set out a roadmap to coordinate measures that stop cryptoassets from undermining macroeconomic and financial stability. Such risks are exacerbated by noncompliance with existing laws in some instances, the G20’s risk watchdog, the Financial Stability Board, and the IMF said in a paper. Many of the claimed benefits from cryptoassets, such as cheaper and faster cross-border payments, and increased financial inclusion, have yet to materalise, it added. “Widespread adoption of crypto-assets could undermine the effectiveness of monetary policy, circumvent capital ...