IMF ups forecast

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its forecast for global growth this year led by China and cautioned that a failure of nations to contain soaring public debt might have "severe" consequences for the world economy.

The IMF said the global economy will expand 4.2 percent in 2010, the fastest pace since 2007, compared with a January forecast of 3.9 percent. Emerging nations including China and India are leading the world out of its worst recession since World War II, with Europe and Japan trailing the United States among advanced economies, the fund said.

After governments spent trillions of dollars to revive growth, the IMF said the challenge facing policymakers is debt near postwar records.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 04/23/2010 page13)