The IMF said on Wednesday that its profit for the current fiscal year would be better than expected at US$688 million, lifted by crisis lending and favorable exchange rates.
The IMF, which had been losing money before the global economic crisis, increased its forecast for the fiscal year to April 30 from a projection in June of US$453 million in net income.
The Fund’s midyear review said income from lending would be about US$180 million more than anticipated as a result of the vast expansion of its lending during the global crisis.
HELPED
The IMF said its financial position was also helped by the lower value of the dollar against the IMF unit known as a Special Drawing Right, based on a basket of currencies.
Because IMF business is conducted in SDRs, its administrative expenses would be lower than anticipated because of the weaker dollar.
The IMF said gold sales authorized this year to help diversify the fund’s asset base have yielded profits so far of around US$4.7 billion.
Some 212 metric tonnes were sold in October and last month of a total of 403.3 metric tonnes authorized for sale.
The IMF has been investing these profits in an endowment “to generate income on a sustainable long-term basis,” the IMF statement said.
INVESTMENTS
The Washington-based international organization said it expects to earn a total of US$150 million in the current fiscal year from its investments.
In the prior fiscal year the IMF closed its books with a profit of US$126 million, compared with a loss of US$89 million a year earlier.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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