This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
The World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund will meet in Washington, D.C. Saturday and Sunday. One subject for discussion will be falling
expectations for world economic growth.
A new report by the
I.M.F. estimates that the world economy will shrink by one and three-tenths
percent this year. That would be the
worst performance in more than sixty years.
Three months ago, the I.M.F. predicted a small growth for this year.
![I.M.F. Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard, left, speaking in Washington Wednesday I.M.F. Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard, left, speaking in Washington Wednesday](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090507090538im_/http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/images/AFP_IMF_Blanchard_22APR09_0.jpg) |
I.M.F. Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard, left, speaking in Washington Wednesday |
Major
industrialized economies are expected to see the biggest decreases, shrinking
by almost four percent. The I.M.F. predicts developing countries will continue
to grow for the year, but only by about one and one-half percent.
The
I.M.F. says the world will slowly return to growth of almost two percent next
year. But the lending organization warns
that strong policies to supervise and support the financial system are needed
if the world economy is to fully recovery.
Olivier
Blanchard is the chief economist for the I.M.F.
He has said that banks are still in the process of rebuilding their
financial positions. He added that
securities markets are still operating poorly.
Economic experts believe
the world financial industry is moving towards recovery but with more losses to
come. In all, the I.M.F. says worldwide
financial losses could be as high as four trillion dollars by the end of next
year. World trade is expected to drop
eleven percent this year, after expanding by three percent last year.
The
I.M.F. report says international lending may not fully recover until two
thousand eleven. The financial crisis has made the I.M.F. more important than
ever. The world's largest economies
promised to increase the size of the fund by about five hundred billion dollars. They did so at the G-Twenty meeting in London
earlier this month. This week, President
Obama proposed that the United States lend the I.M.F. one hundred billion
dollars as part of that promise.
Last week, Mexico became the first nation to borrow
from the I.M.F. under a new program to provide emergency credit to nations with
strong economies. Mexico received a
forty-seven billion dollar line of credit for one year. Poland and Colombia are also seeking loans
from the program.
And that's the VOA Special English
Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter.
You can find more financial news, plus transcripts and archives of our programs
at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.