Ukraine needs hard cash more than debt relief 21 Jul 2022 The war-torn country needs $9 bln a month to cover its costs. Its central bank is running out of reserves. A bond payment freeze will help, but only at the margin. Western allies need to launch a coordinated aid effort to keep the country afloat.
EU’s Ukraine budget support lacks long-term focus 27 May 2022 Kyiv will need at least $30 billion this year to plug the holes in its ravaged finances. Western allies have pledged enough money to keep it running in the short term. But as the country’s situation deteriorates, they should brace for a lasting effort to keep Ukraine afloat.
China takes new tack on emerging market debt 27 Apr 2022 Beijing has agreed to work with the Paris Club of official creditors to clear up Zambia’s $17.3 bln debt mess. That’s a major shift from the bilateral approach it usually adopts. An even bigger sign of progress would be accepting a haircut on the $5.8 bln that China is owed.
IMF’s search for Ukraine help should start at home 19 Apr 2022 The Washington-based institution expects Russia’s invasion to cut global growth to 3.6% this year, while keeping inflation higher for longer. It also wants international cooperation to bolster Kyiv’s war-torn economy. In that regard, the fund’s own assistance is falling short.
Guest view: Fed hikes spell emerging-market strain 4 Feb 2022 Poorer indebted economies face growing difficulties as the U.S. Federal Reserve signals its readiness to raise interest rates. William Rhodes, former president of Citibank, and economist Stuart Mackintosh lay out what creditors, borrowers and the IMF can do to avert a crisis.
IMF’s economic crystal ball is cracked 25 Jan 2022 The Washington-based lender slashed global growth forecasts and hiked inflation predictions. The IMF has been too late to admit that Fed policy tightening is needed. That’s damaging for an institution that doles out economic advice and monitors financial stability risks.
Viewsroom: IMF’s big brouhaha, European retailing 14 Oct 2021 The multilateral lender’s boss, Kristalina Georgieva, rode out data-rigging charges. Now she has got a lot to prove. Swaha Pattanaik ticks through how she can remake her legacy and reform the institution. Aimee Donnellan walks through the aisles of French supermarket finance.
IMF boss has new reason to push ambitious agenda 12 Oct 2021 Kristalina Georgieva has ridden out data-rigging allegations. Damaged trust may make it harder to forge a global consensus to fight inequality and climate change. But the fracas would motivate any leader with an eye on her legacy to aim for some big successes to bury its memory.
World Bank has a shareholder-engagement problem 17 Sep 2021 Leaders, including now-IMF head Kristalina Georgieva, pressured staff to boost China’s ease of doing business ranking, a probe said. This isn’t realpolitik mitigating inherent U.S. bias. Such tactics detract from the bank’s work, damage credibility and impair its future role.
South Africa is litmus test for climate solidarity 15 Sep 2021 Despite its relatively small size, the Rainbow Nation’s economy is a big CO2 emitter. Yet Pretoria can ill afford a switch from coal due to soaring public debt. A $10 bln aid plan could be the answer, if lenders can close their eyes to the financial and political risks.
Zambian sunlight could disperse Chinese debt fog 18 Aug 2021 The African state’s new leader, Hakainde Hichilema, has to forge a deal with creditors after last year’s default. Getting China to the table won’t be easy. Lifting Beijing’s veil of secrecy by revealing Lusaka’s loans would remove the biggest barrier, and set a good precedent.
IMF skims over non-viral risks to global economy 27 Jul 2021 The emergence of new highly infectious Covid-19 variants could wipe about $4.5 trln off global GDP by 2025, the international lender warned. Its economic update pays less attention to policy missteps, market ructions, or more bankruptcies. Yet these also pose a threat to growth.
Bretton Woods could use a green transition reboot 11 Jul 2021 Larry Fink wants the World Bank and IMF repurposed to tackle the climate crisis. The BlackRock boss has a point. To prevent further harmful warming, shock absorbers for private capital will be needed to help poorer nations decarbonise. These multilateral lenders fit the bill.
Guest view: A debt relief plan for green recovery 28 Jun 2021 Bond markets are buoyant but poorer economies’ fiscal problems are unresolved. Economists Shamshad Akhtar and Ulrich Volz suggest a way of offering more comprehensive debt relief while promoting an environmentally-friendly and inclusive rebound in economic activity.
Capital Calls: HSBC, MRNA scramble, Cable project 18 Jun 2021 Concise views on global finance: The UK bank’s France sale disappoints; Danaher snaps up Moderna supplier for $9.6 bln; geopolitics sinks internet cable.
Guest view: Making the most of a new SDR ration 7 Apr 2021 As advanced economies emerge from the pandemic downturn more quickly than poorer ones, Kevin Gallagher and Jose Antonio Ocampo call for a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights and suggest ways that this IMF quasi-currency can be channelled to the countries in direst need.
Rosier IMF forecasts are riddled with inequalities 6 Apr 2021 The international lender upgraded its global growth forecasts for this year and next. But there is a gulf between haves and have-nots, across countries and within them. Some of the sound advice it is doling out to mitigate the problem may be hard for governments to implement.
The Exchange: World Bank President David Malpass 9 Mar 2021 The Covid-19 crisis has exposed the economic and other inequities between the world’s richest and poorest countries. The World Bank’s boss discusses these challenges, ranging from vaccination drives and debt relief to the existential threat of climate change, with Rob Cox.
Corona Capital: Music deals 26 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Warner Music may take a stake in the music business owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
Corona Capital: KKR/music, IMF 11 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Private equity giant KKR buys a stake in hip OneRepublic music royalties; and the International Monetary Fund half-heartedly bumps up its target lending cushion.