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| Economy |
| IMF predicts fragile economy for Europe |
| 2010-07-17 |
| The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns of several years of weak economic growth as many countries are still struggling to emerge from the financial crisis. IMF Secretary General Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the current status of the European economy threatens to increase unemployment rates and weaken the spending power of citizens. Strauss-Khan told France 24 on Friday that despite the recovering growth in Asia, Africa and the United States, "the risk for Europe is several years of weak growth." "That means little spending power, problems in welfare systems for pensions and health and a rise in unemployment," he added. The remarks come as the tide of the global financial meltdown has gripped much of Europe, forcing many governments including those of Italy, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Britain to introduce fiscal austerity measures aimed at trimming their huge budget deficits. Such decisions have triggered widespread opposition as many people continue to go on strike and demonstrate against the high unemployment rates and living expenses. The IMF last week raised its 2010 global growth forecast by 4.6 percent. The figures reflected a glimmer of hope for several major regions, but the grim forecast for Europe has remained steady at 1.0 percent. |
| Posted by:Fred |