High levels of national debt and a still-shaky financial sector threaten to derail the global economic recovery, the IMF warned on Friday.
Amid concerns about the health of European banks and of public finances in Europe, Japan and the US, the IMF warned that a stronger-than-expected recovery would now begin to slow.
“Downside risks to the recovery have intensified. The combination of sovereign risk and a still weak financial sector in many advanced economies poses significant risks to the recovery,” the IMF said. “Global growth has been somewhat stronger than expected during the first half of 2010, but is projected to slow temporarily during the second half of 2010 and the first half of 2011.”
The fund warned the recovery remained “fragile” in advanced economies, as private firms struggle to pick up the slack left by retreating government stimulus spending.
“In emerging economies, the growth outlook remains strong, although activity is moderating to more sustainable levels,” it said.
Chief among the longer-term risks is the fiscal situation in the world's advanced economies.
“Despite some improvements for 2010, the medium-term fiscal outlook in G20 advanced economies remains challenging,” it said.
The Washington-based body warned of a funding bottleneck as European nations try to extend their borrowing by rolling over bonds.
“Sovereign debt maturing in vulnerable euro area economies in the second half of 2010 and 2011 exceeds US$400 billion ... In refinancing this debt, these countries will face competition from the significant rollover needs of both other advanced economies,” it said.
That funding need is expected to reach about US$4 trillion.
Meanwhile, the IMF on Friday announced it would provide Greece with a further 2.57 billion euros (US$3.26 billion), the second installment of an economic rescue package.
The payment is part of a 110 billion euro IMF-EU package to help the country overcome a crushing debt crisis and backstop the finances of other European countries that are teetering.
Greece is eligible for up to 30 billion euros of the fund. Athens will have received 8.3 billion euros once the latest payment is completed.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
RSS