High corporate valuations could pose a significant risk to financial stability as market optimism becomes untethered from fundamentals, the IMF's director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department said Tuesday. Financial markets have been on a tear for much of this year, buoyed by falling inflation and hopes of forthcoming...
Risk of a global recession is minimal, IMF economist says — would take ‘a lot to derail’
One of the International Monetary Fund's top economists signals little risk of a global recession, despite the ongoing rumblings of geopolitical uncertainty. The Washington DC-based institute this week nudged its global growth outlook slightly higher to 3.2% in 2024 and projects the same rate in 2025. "When we do...
IMF upgrades global growth forecast as economy proves ‘surprisingly resilient’ despite downside risks
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slightly raised its global growth forecast, saying the economy had proven "surprisingly resilient" despite inflationary pressures and monetary policy shifts. The IMF now expects global growth of 3.2% in 2024, up by a modest 0.1 percentage point from its earlier January forecast, and in...
Retail sales jumped 0.7% in March, much higher than expected
Rising inflation in March didn't deter consumers, who continued shopping at a more rapid pace than anticipated, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Retail sales increased 0.7% for the month, considerably faster than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for a 0.3% rise though below the upwardly revised 0.9% in February, according...