Christine Lagarde
Central Bank of Hungary moves to shut IMF's Budapest office
Central bank governor György Matolcsy says Hungary has almost completed its stand-by arrangement, so the IMF's work there is done; Hungary's relationship with the fund has been turbulent
IMF's Lagarde supports negative rates in eurozone
IMF Article IV for the eurozone backs Draghi promise to keep rates low and says negative rates would support demand and ward off deflation; ECB chief concerned that financial transactions tax will hurt monetary policy efficacy
IMF expects Fed to hold QE steady until 2014
IMF releases Article IV consultation with United States; praises impact of Federal Reserve's asset purchases but criticises ‘excessively rapid and ill-designed' deficit reduction
Lagarde says QE risks are real, but bubbles are not forming yet
IMF managing director says accommodative policy should remain in place in advanced economies, but clear articulation of an exit strategy will be needed to avoid a repeat of 1994's ‘brutal exit'
Central banks adopting social media at different paces, finds CBJ study
A new Central Banking journal study shows that institutions around the world are adopting very different approaches in their deployment of social media techniques
IMFC advocates ‘pragmatic’ approach to resisting capital flows
Committee of the IMF says easing by advanced economies is justified; emerging markets should use a variety of tools to lean against the resulting capital inflows
BoE lending figures add credence to FLS scepticism
Business lending continues to contract in the UK, but pressure still mounts on the ECB to take steps to address eurozone recession
Lagarde says ECB has ‘room to manoeuvre' on rates
IMF managing director says it up to ECB when to cut rates but calls for co-ordinated policies worldwide to shift ‘from three-speed to full speed' global recovery
Lagarde highlights emergence of ‘three-speed’ global economy
IMF managing director says differences between regions are ‘starker than ever’ as emerging markets leave many advanced economies behind
IMF strikes €1 billion funding deal with Cyprus
Staff team agrees Fund’s contribution to overall bail-out package; Christine Lagarde praises Cyprus’s ‘ambitious’ programme of reforms
Lagarde sets out case for ECB rate cut and wider use of OMT
IMF managing director says ECB has room to cut rates and a European recovery is constrained by a lack of demand; suggests OMT programme could help countries ‘regain market access'
Report slams IMF over Article IV ‘formalistic rituals’
Independent Evaluation Office finds IMF has been consistently failing in some areas, with the Fund paying little attention to the needs of individual countries
G-20 vows to resist entering currency wars
Commentators including Paul Krugman and Christine Lagarde reject concerns over possible currency war, as G-20 reaffirms commitment to exchange rate flexibility
Lagarde welcomes G-20 commitment to avoid currency wars
IMF managing director says a more resilient financial system is a priority for the G-20, which will work to avoid ‘persistent exchange rate misalignments'
IMF board split on quota reform options
Disagreement among IMF executive board members over whether more emphasis on emerging markets is needed, with ‘considerable support’ for increasing weight of GDP in quota formula
The ghost at the IMF’s Tokyo feast
Robert Pringle looks back at the main themes of the IMF’s annual meeting, which was held in October in Tokyo, and forward to prospects for 2013
Lagarde promotes deeper Asian economic integration
IMF managing director encourages wider trade and financial co-operation in South-east Asia; suggests switch of investment funds away from developed markets
Lagarde implores next US president to act fast on ‘fiscal cliff’
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde has challenged the next US president to urgently address Washington’s ‘policy uncertainty’ irrespective of who wins
Europeans round on IMF as rescue plan takes shape
European policy-makers take on critics at the IMF saying the Fund’s view that matters now are worse in Europe compared with six months ago is flawed; set out a roadmap to eurozone stability
Top policy-makers debate Japan’s challenging road to recovery
Policy-makers gathered in Tokyo this week warn that the eurozone crisis, domestic demographic changes and high levels of government debt may thwart Japan’s efforts to bolster economic growth
IMF meeting set to reinforce global pessimism
Governments need to take urgent policy action to capitalise on the ‘breathing space’ created by central banks. But few attending the IMF meeting in Tokyo believe law-makers are fit for the task
IMF develops flexible approach to funding to meet drawdowns, annual report says
Annual report says IMF has taken steps to improve the flexibility of funding instruments in face of ‘fragile recovery’; expects continued strong demand for funding
IMF-World Bank announces location for 2015 meeting
Annual meetings of central bankers and finance ministers to be held in Latin America; events to include discussions of global economic and financial developments and policies to reduce poverty
Tributes to the governor that never was (Andrew Crockett, 1943-2012)
Bank of England, BIS and IMF heads pay respects to policymaker Andrew Crockett, who died this week. Crockett described as the governor ‘that never was’ and the ‘midwife’ to the HKMA