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 Φεβ 23 τις 7:04 μ.μ.

A Digital-Savvy Indonesia February 22, 2018 With the third largest youth population in the world and 130 million active social media users, Indonesia is poised to become the biggest digital economy country in Southeast Asia. To fully embrace the digital opportunity, Indonesia must enhance its infrastructure and increase internet penetration to lift economic growth and productivity. Communications Can Help to Get Financial Stability Off the Ground February 22, 2018  When the capacity to communicate effectively on financial stability policies is not there, it is like trying to fly a plane with one wing missing. It takes more than sound policy making. Communications is an essential part of the job. Following the global financial crisis, many countries redoubled their efforts to build stronger financial stability frameworks. The Euro Area Needs a Fiscal Union February 21, 2018  The euro area is experiencing a robust recovery, but the architecture supporting Europe’s currency union remains incomplete and leaves the region vulnerable to future financial crises. While substantial progress has been made to address some architectural issues—conditional lending facilities and key elements of a banking union—we argue in our recent paper that the euro area needs to build elements of a common fiscal policy, including more fiscal risk sharing, to preserve financial and economic integration and stability.

Serbia Completes Successful IMF Program

February 22, 2018

Serbia exits a $1.32 billion three-year program with the IMF on February 22 boasting outperformance on several of its goals. Concluding the program with flying colors is, however, only the first step in building a strong and vibrant economy able to compete globally, a recent IMF report observes. 

IMF interesting news

 Φεβ 16 τις 6:25 μ.μ.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Diversifying for Tomorrow 02/16/2018 10:02 AM EST Countries in sub-Saharan Africa need to diversify their economies, and the region’s youth need to be at the heart of it, says Axel Schimmelpfennig. Game-Changers and Whistle-Blowers: Taxing Wealth 02/13/2018 08:00 AM EST By James Brumby and Michael Keen February 13, 2018   High and rising income inequality is a serious concern in many countries, as highlighted in the IMF’s recent Fiscal Monitor. Wealth, however, is distributed even more unequally than income, as in the picture below.

Chart of the Week: Crime, Joblessness, and Youth in the Caribbean

02/12/2018 07:55 AM EST

By IMFBlog February 12, 2018 Weak growth in the Caribbean reduces economic opportunities for young people, increasing their vulnerability to illegal activities and crime (photo: IMF) Youth unemployment in the Caribbean—among the highest in the […]

The Buzz of Populism and Its Pull on the Economy

02/09/2018 08:03 AM EST

By IMFBlog February 9, 2018 (photo: Berkeley Review) If you believe the economy can explain the rise of populism, political scientist Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser says it’s a bit more complicated than that. “If you think […]

Transcript of IMF Press Briefing

Transcript of IMF Press Briefing
Gerry Rice, Director, Communications Department


February 15, 2018

video http://brightcove04.brightcove.com/23/45228659001/201802/298/45228659001_5734569141001_5734555636001.mp4?playerId=621879285001&lineupId=&affiliateId=&pubId=45228659001&videoId=5734555636001

MR. RICE: Well, good morning, everyone and welcome to this briefing on behalf of the International Monetary Fund. I am Gerry Rice of the communication department and as usual this briefing will be embargoed until 10:30 a.m. and that’s Washington D.C. time. Let me begin with a few announcements and then I will take questions in the room and some things online as well.

I can tell you that tomorrow February the 16th, our Managing Director Christine Lagarde will participate in the Munich security conference. And there will be some public events related to that that you will be able to watch in real time open to the media. And you may actuallyhave seen that Madame Lagarde was speaking this morning in Paris at an event at the Bank de France with the finance minister of France, and you may have seen some news reports already on that.

I can tell you that Madame Lagarde will also be traveling to Indonesia at the end of this month and into the early part of next month. And this is part of the run up to the 2018 Annual Meetings to be held in Indonesia in October later this year. Among other things, she will give the key note address at the opening of a conference that the Bank of Indonesia is cohosting with the IMF, and that’s going to be on the topic of new growth models in a changing global landscape. That conference is on February 27th and again will be open to the media webcast and all of that.

In addition to the conference, Madame Lagarde will actually be traveling in Indonesia then for some days after the conference. She will visit the Annual Meetings’ site in Bali, and she will also be meeting with government officials, civil society, business, women and other leaders. So that’s for the Managing Director.

Also tomorrow, our Deputy Managing Director Tao Zhang will participate in a conference in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and part of his visit to countries in the region, which includes Kosovo and Albania, and that’s the visit he is making there.

ΙΜF:Transcript of IMF Press Briefing

Transcript of IMF Press Briefing

February 1, 2018

MR. MURRAY: Hi, good day. I’m William Murray from the communications department here at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. This is one of our regular press briefings.

As usual, we’re embargoed until 10:30 a.m. Washington time.

So, before I take questions from the journalists here in the room and those of you that are online, I’m going to just run through some management engagements, and then we’ll get to the Q&A.

Okay, Management Director Christine Lagarde will be visiting the Persian Gulf region in about 10 days. On February 10th, she’ll be in Dubai to deliver keynote remarks at the Arab Fiscal Forum. Later that same day, February 10th, the Managing Director will meet with women leaders in Dubai.

Then on February 11th, she will attend the World Government Summit in the Emirate. They’ll be some press-related activity during that summit.

Ms. Lagarde will then complete her visit to the region on February 12 th in Qatar, where she’ll have a series of meetings with the Qatari authorities.

On February 15th, Ms. Lagarde will be in Paris for the Banque De France Conference, where she will have a one-on-one conversation with Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. The conference, as I understand it is, is by invitation only. However, this conversation with Finance Minister Le Maire will be webcast, so it will be available to the general public and to the media.

On February 16th, the Managing Director will attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany. And that will be the sum total of her travel events between now and our next press briefing, which we’ll hold on February 15th.

Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa will be in New York City on February 7th to take part in the Japan Securities Summit. And then on January 15th and 16th, Deputy Managing Director Furusawa will visit Mauritania for meetings with the authorities there.

On February 12th through 16th, Deputy Managing Director Tao Zhang will be on a mission to Albania, Kosovo, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for meetings with the authorities. And I expect they’ll be various outreach events during this visit to the Balkans. Media Relations will advise you on more details.

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 Ιαν 26 τις 4:07 μ.μ.

01/26/2018 06:51 AM EST By IMFBlog January 26, 2018  Lesetja Kganyago, South Africa’s Central Bank Governor and Chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (photo: IMF staff). While central bankers are often seen as somewhat traditionalist, South Africa’s […] Latin America and the Caribbean in 2018: An Economic Recovery in the Making 01/25/2018 08:29 AM EST By Alejandro Werner January 25, 2018 Versions in Español (Spanish) and Português (Portuguese) Latin America’s economic recovery is expected to benefit from higher commodity prices (photo: iStock by Getty Images) Recent trends in the world economy and […]

A Dream Deferred: Inequality and Poverty Across Generations in Europe

01/24/2018 03:00 AM EST

By Christine Lagarde January 23, 2018 A young apprentice learns a trade in Palmela, Portugal: the right policies can help reduce inequality and poverty across generations in Europe (photo: Tim Brakemeier/DPA/Newscom). The poet Langston Hughes once […]

Ms. Christine Lagarde made the following statement

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde Meets Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Davos

January 25, 2018

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), made the following statement today in Davos, Switzerland:

“It was a pleasure to meet with Prime Minister Tsipras in Davos today. I congratulated him on the progress Greece has achieved, a sentiment that was also reflected in the recent Eurogroup statement, and assured the Prime Minister of the Fund’s continued support for Greece’s adjustment program. I also underscored that the completion of the reform agenda and provision of debt relief by Greece’s European partners are essential to support sustainable growth and a successful exit from official financing later this year. The Prime Minister and I agreed to work together toward these shared goals.”

IMF Communications Department

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 Ιαν 23 τις 4:52 μ.μ.

5 Things You Need to Know About Inequality 01/23/2018 08:01 AM EST By IMFBlog January 23, 2018 A man with donations from a food bank in Los Angeles, California: inequality within countries is on the rise, including in advanced economies like the United States (photo: Lucy Nicholson/Newscom). […] Egypt: Time to Entrench Growth and Make It More Inclusive January 23, 2018 Egypt’s economy is recovering, supported by prudent macroeconomic policies and initial bold reforms aimed at addressing the major challenges that have confronted the economy in recent years. The task now is to deepen reforms to raise economic growth further, make it last, and spread its benefits to Egypt’s rapidly growing population and its youth and women, the IMF says in its latest economic health check.   (photo: iStockPhoto/jcarillet)

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The Current Economic Sweet Spot Is Not the “New Normal” 01/22/2018 08:44 AM EST By Maurice Obstfeld January 22, 2017 Global growth continues to pick up and is broad based. But no matter how tempting it is to sit back and enjoy the sunshine, policy can and should move […] Economic Growth and Fairness in the Middle East and North Africa 01/18/2018 06:56 AM EST By Jihad Azour January 18, 2018 The people of the region are rightly demanding economic growth and fairness.  The IMF aims to help them in this effort (photo: Tunis, Tunisia, ZOUBEIR SOUISSI/REUTERS/Newscom). Rising social tensions and protests in several […]

Three German Economic Challenges with European Effect

01/17/2018 11:52 AM EST

By Christine Lagarde January 17, 2018 Berlin, Germany: The bright economic outlook offers a chance for policymakers to address the country’s economic challenges (photo: iStock/Andrey Danilovich). The economic outlook for Germany is bright. Optimism among […]

IMF Transcript of IMF Press Briefing

Transcript of IMF Press Briefing
Gerry Rice, Communications Director

January 18, 2018
video:
http://brightcove04.brightcove.com/23/45228659001/201801/3809/45228659001_5714440316001_5714424958001.mp4?playerId=625505131001&lineupId=&affiliateId=&pubId=45228659001&videoId=5714424958001

MR. RICE: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this press briefing on behalf of the International Monetary Fund. I'm Gerry Rice of the Communications Department. And, as usual, our briefing this morning will be under embargo until 10:30 a.m., Washington time.

Let me begin with a few announcements and then we'll turn to your questions in the room and online which I see is already fairly busy. Let me begin with the Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who is in Germany today, actually right now, participating in a joint conference that the IMF is organizing with the Bundesbank. I believe there will be plenty of media in the room, all those remarks are on the record. And just want to point you to a blog that the Managing Director published yesterday on Germany. And one more thing on Germany is that the Managing Director Christine Lagarde will be meeting with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel tomorrow.

After the visit to Germany, we have Davos which we were just talking about here in the room. One interesting thing for the IMF this year in Davos, and it's a new thing, is that we will be launching the World Economic Outlook, the WEO Update, in Davis for the first time. And that will be on Monday, that's January 22nd at 3:00 p.m. Switzerland time. That's 9:00 a.m. here in Washington. Our Chief Economist Maury Obstfeld will hold a press conference which Christine Lagarde will open, give brief opening remarks. And we will, as usual for journalist colleagues, we will get you that material under embargo early on, both the WEO update with the details and Maury Obstfeld's remarks.

There's a lot going on relating to the IMF in Davos. On Tuesday next week, Madame Lagarde will take part in the opening Davos press conference along with her six other co-chairs, all female co-chairs this year at Davos. In addition, our First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton will be there, and between the Managing Director and David they will be participating in many of the panel discussions and events throughout the week. And I believe that's all available on the WEF, the World Economic Forum website. Of course, Madame Lagarde will also be meeting with heads of state and other policymakers and leaders who are going to be in attendance at Davos next week.

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 Ιαν 12 τις 3:24 μ.μ.

No Roads? No Problem: The Leapfrogging Drones of Rwanda 01/12/2018 07:57 AM EST By IMFBlog January 12, 2018 Zipline drone on a launch pad at operations center in Muhanda, Rwanda. (photo: James Akena/Reuters/Newscom). What’s the best solution to a lack of infrastructure? Find a solution that doesn’t require […] The Art in Artificial Intelligence: Make the Robots Serve the Public Good 01/11/2018 07:58 AM EST By Brian McNeill January 11, 2018 Artificial intelligence can create a roadmap for future opportunities if utilized appropriately (photo: monsitj/iStock by Getty Images) Over the past few years, artificial intelligence has rapidly matured as a […] For Vietnam, Greener Growth Can Reduce Climate Change Risks January 9, 2018 Higher global temperatures, rising sea levels, and more frequent and more intense extreme weather events are taking its toll on the Vietnamese economy and its people, as seen by the recent November flooding caused by Tropical Cyclone Damrey. How the country adapts and develops innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change will be key. A man rides a boat along the overflowing Thu Bon river in Hoi An after typhoon Damrey hits Vietnam: the effects of climate change are intensifying extreme weather events in the country (photo: Kham/Reuters/Newscom)

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 Ιαν 8 τις 7:41 μ.μ.

Canada's Balancing Act January 8, 2018 When the Trudeau government took office in 2015, Canada’s growth was hovering at around 1 percent, largely because lower oil and commodity prices were hurting the country’s trade-dependent economy. Bill Morneau has been Canada's Minister of Finance since November 2015 (photo: IMF) Weak Productivity: The Role of Financial Factors and Policies 01/08/2018 08:01 AM EST By Romain Duval, Giuseppe Nicoletti, and Fabrizio Zampolli January 8, 2018 Auto worker in Mexico: weak productivity has been a problem even before the global financial crisis (photo: Henry Romero/Newscom). Almost ten years after the […] This email was sent to politikimx@yahoo.gr using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: International Monetary Fund · 1900 Pennsylvania Ave NW · Washington, DC · 20431

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 Ιαν 5 τις 3:22 μ.μ.

Gamechanger: The Digital Payment Boom in India 01/05/2018 07:58 AM EST By IMFBlog January 5, 2018 Madhur Deora, CFO of PayTM: Mobile payment platforms in India are providing small loans to people who’ve never had access to credit (IMF photo). What does a shoe shiner in […] Top Ten Charts of the Week: 2017 01/03/2018 08:00 AM EST The top 10 charts of the week of 2017 help illuminate the uncharted waters ahead for the global economy. (photo: Kotka, Finland-Newspix24/SipaUS/Newscom) By IMFBlog January 3, 2017 In the Spring of 2017, we began […]