Christine Lagarde tells Britain to step up recovery plan - IMF calls for drastic actions

The Telegraph ^ | 5/22/2012 | Philip Aldrick

[bruinbirdman]

The Bank of England should cut interest rates, print more money and ease the regulatory pressure on banks as part of a radical set of measures to return Britain to recovery, the International Monetary Fund has urged.

In an unusually alarmist annual assessment of the UK, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said that "growth
is too slow and unemployment too high, and policies to bolster demand before low growth becomes entrenched are needed"

Warning that weak growth was putting the country at risk of permanently high unemployment, the Bretton Woods institution called for swift and co-ordinated action between the Bank and the Treasury.

If the joint efforts had failed to have much effect by November, the Government should then consider cutting taxes and boosting infrastructure spending by as much as £30bn, said the IMF.

In an unusually alarmist annual assessment of the UK, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said that "growth is too slow and unemployment too high, and policies to bolster demand before low growth becomes entrenched are needed".

However, she stressed that austerity had been the right course for the UK, applauding George Osborne as "courageous" and insisting that fiscal stimulus should only be considered as a last resort.

"When trying to imagine what the situation would be like today if no such fiscal consolidation programme had been decided, I shiver," she said.

Last night Nick Clegg reacted to IMF comments, and said to the Financial Times that the UK coalition is preparing a “massive” increase in state-backed investment into housing and infrastructure.

IMF placed the Bank at the centre of the recommended UK policy response, saying "further monetary easing is required".

The Bank "should reassess the efficacy of cutting rates below 0.5pc" and conduct "further quantitative easing" (QE), above the current £325bn

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks bruinbirdman.

[yank in the UK]

“Ease regulatory pressure” LMAO!! Yes, certainly! Maybe the British Government will do that right after they lower taxes, make firearms legal, and Ban sharia... I wouldn’t hold my breath.

[Cowboy Bob]

If Christine Lagarde were Captain of the Titanic, she would have ordered the crew to knock a hole in the back of the ship so that the water would simply flow through... (and the Titanic would have been saved!)

[bruinbirdman]

Hollande got elected, so he doesn't need to give press conferences on economics anymore.

The Obammunist is in election mode so his press conferences are campaign speeches

What is with Lagarde making these public pronouncements?

Did the IMF go on international TV and tell Mugabe that Zimbabwe needed to put a stop to hyper-inflation?

yitbos

[21twelve]

“Ease regulatory pressure”

I was reading on a thread awhile ago on how Germany, during the Depression, got on the road to recovery by utilizing natural resources. Of course it was other country’s resources that they acquired.

But the same goes for the U.S.

Open up those coal lands that Clinton fenced off as national preserves. Open up ANWAR, the coastal waters, etc. ALL sorts of natural resources waiting to be used.

Reduce the EPA requirements for some things. Obviously it does no good to have our rivers so polluted you can’t use them for anything but sewage dumps, but reducing the levels of benzene in waste water from 1 part per billion to 10 parts per billion (or whatever) for 10 years probably isn’t going to hurt the environment much, and may be a big boon to industry. (Obviously I have no idea on the actual numbers - but you get the gist of it).

Let the emissions levels for cars, coal plants, EVERYTHING slip back to some previous level, and mandate that it STAYS that way for 5 or 10 years.

Etcetrea, Etcetera. But true, these things probably won’t happen, and we, along with the rest of the world will slide into a depression that will make the previous one indeed look “Great”. Boy, remember during the Great Depression where people helped each other, you didn’t live in fear from roaming bands of thugs, looting soldiers or getting ratted out by your neighbor for having an extra pair of shoes and then sent off to the re-education camp? Boy - those times were GREAT!

[Terry Mross]

All I know about economics is how to balance my checkbook. But apparently us little people are the only ones who have to balance their checkbooks. Therefore I’m convinced the governments will just keep printing money. It’s been working for decades so why not keep it up? I assume it’ll fall apart one day but apparently these policians are convinced it won’t be on their watch.

[Former Proud Canadian]

Sir, you are obviously cursed with an overabundance of common sense. Please do not try and apply it regarding the machinations of federal politicians and their minions in the public service. They are aiming at goals far higher than you can imagine.

Just remember: War is Peace. Black is White. Truth is what Obama says.

[Texas resident]

You are WAY ahead of our enlightened economic wizards of smart.
Economic reality applies to all budgets from our checkbooks to the national checkbook.
These idiots have wandered off into economic lala land where bills don’t have to be paid and money grows on trees, or they just steal more of it from us.

When your outflow exceeds your income, your upkeep becomes your downfall.
And that very reality is happening now in Europe, but our wizards just can’t see it.

I thing that there are actually some who do see but want the collapse to come anyway.
“Never let a crisis go to waste...”

[SunkenCiv]

Probably the other way around — France will soon be financing Mugabe’s hideous regime.

[TheOldLady]

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[Vanders9]

How can they cut interest rates any further? Can they go any lower?

I have to admit we could do with some work on infrastructure. If there HAS to be a big government led stimulus there are far worse things to throw the money into.