IMF director chairs meeting on global economic outlook
(4 Jun 2013) SHOTLIST 1. Wide of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde at podium at the Brookings Institute 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director: "Just about a month ago at the time of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, we described a fragile and uneven recovery around the world and I ventured the concept of the three-speed economy, which certainly I would reiterate today." 3. Cutaway of audience 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director: "We had forecast a global growth for 2013 at 3.3 (percent). We are still at that number. We don't revisit numbers on a monthly basis." 5. Pan from audience to Lagarde at podium 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director: "We're also seeing a trend that was anticipated back a month-and-a-half ago, which is that of upbeat financial markets sitting quite uncomfortably beside a much more downbeat real economy. We are also seeing a global job crisis and a recovery that is not doing enough to lift the prospect for all people." 7. Cutaway of audience 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director: "We're seeing some glimpses of more sombre trends. Recent data, for instance, suggests some slowdown in growth and at the same time, the downside risks to growth remain as prominent as ever. So, we could be entering a softer patch and this only reinforces my core message, which is making policies stronger to stop the global economy getting weaker." 9. Cutaway of audience 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director: "The US has come a long way in a short time. Just five years ago, it was triggering the most massive financial crisis that one could think of, essentially geared by excess in the financial markets. And thanks to good progress in fixing the financial system, we're now seeing a steady increase in private demand driven by a recovery in the housing sector but also in the automobile sector and easing financial conditions." 11. Wide of Lagarde at podium STORYLINE The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the world economy is in the midst of a "fragile and uneven recovery" and there are some signs it could be entering a "softer patch." Christine Lagarde gave her assessment of the state of the world economy at a speech on Tuesday at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, not long after the annual IMF-World Bank spring meeting. "Just about a month ago at the time of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, we described a fragile and uneven recovery around the world," said Lagarde. "We had forecast a global growth for 2013 at 3.3 (percent)," she said, adding that the financial crisis spurred a "three-speed" world economy in which some areas like the Eurozone and Japan were at the bottom with a long way to go in their recoveries. Lagarde said these nations needed more fiscal policy reform to spur growth. Countries such as the US, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, and Australia were in a middle tier of recovery because they were hurt in the downturn, but had since taken the necessary policy measures to move forward. "The US has come a long way in a short time," Lagarde said. "Just five years ago, it was triggering the most massive financial crisis that one could think of. Thanks to good progress in fixing the financial system, we're now seeing a steady increase in private demand driven by a recovery in the housing sector but also in the automobile sector," she went on. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
