IMF fun

Well, not fun exactly.

But it is indeed fascinating to observe a normally staid and bureaucratic institution get all lathered up. But unprecedented and scary times tend to get even the most gray of organizations speaking forcefully. And speaking forcefully, and lathered up, the IMF indeed is.

They can be found here: http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm

Some recent and attention-getting missives from headquarters, emphases added:

1. World Faces Crisis Crossroads at G-20 Summit, Says IMF In a video conference with journalists based in London, Paris, and Washington, Strauss-Kahn outlined five key subjects on which the IMF wanted to see progress at the summit to combat the worst economic downturn in 60 years, in addition to considering how to improve regulation of the fractured global financial system.
2. IMF’s note for the G-20: “The prolonged financial crisis has battered global activity beyond what was previously anticipated. Global GDP is estimated to have fallen by an unprecedented 5% in the fourth quarter (annualized), led by the advanced economies, which contracted by 7%. GDP declined by around 6% in both the United States and Europe, while it plummeted at a post-war record of 13% in Japan. Growth also plunged across a broad swath of emerging economies … against this backdrop, global activity is expected to contract in 2009 for the first time in 60 years.”
3. Global Economic Slumps Challenges Policies A pernicious feedback loop between the real and financial sectors is taking its toll. The continuation of the financial crisis, as policies failed to dispel uncertainty, has caused asset values to fall sharply across advanced and emerging economies, decreasing household wealth and thereby putting downward pressure on consumer demand. In addition, the associated high level of uncertainty has prompted households and businesses to postpone expenditures, reducing demand for consumer and capital goods. At the same time, widespread disruptions in credit are constraining household spending and curtailing production and trade
4. Advanced Economies to Contract Sharply in 2009 Advanced economies will suffer deep recessions in 2009, the assessment said. Leading economies in the Group of Seven are expected to experience the sharpest contraction for these countries as a group in the post-war period by a significant margin (see table). The IMF said that in the fourth quarter of 2008 global GDP contracted by 5 percent at an annualized rate. The IMF is still working on its projections and will announce numbers for countries around the world on April 22.

Expect more colorful language in that April 22 report, as the writers at the IMF are seemingly only getting warmed up....