IMF World Economic Outlook: it's bad.

Posted By Annie Lowrey Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - 9:06 AM Share

The complete IMF World Economic Outlook, the most detailed and exhaustive examination of the global effects of the Great Recession, is out. It's long, it's complicated, and it's important, so I'm going to take some time reading it this morning, but at first blush:

The IMF says the global economy will shrink 1.3 percent this year, and that recovery will be slow next year. "The outlook is exceptionally uncertain, with risks to the forecast still weighing to the
downside," the report says.

Unemployment's a lagging indicator, and the IMF doesn't expect unemployment to crest until the end of 2010. Bad news.

The report gestures to the political problems engendered by the crisis. The world economy's a global one, and the IMF has been pushing for massive, coordinated, synchronized action to aid the worst-hit countries -- or, more specifically, the emerging economies with the least resources to ride the crisis out.

EXPLORE:ECONOMICS, FINANCE, FINANCIAL CRISIS

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VJVALK

9:16 AM ET

April 22, 2009

I hate to be nitpicky....

'cause I really do love this blog, and I think you guys are usually very insightful. But "the world economy's a global one"? Come on! What else would the world economy be?

I understand this was probably one of those phrases that sounds better in your head - as someone who writes for a living, I know what that's like - but you may want to rework it.

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