Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) has urged policymakers to use the window of opportunity offered by recent policy decisions—and to take the actions needed to achieve a decisive turn in the global crisis.
“This time, we need a sustained rebound, not a bounce. If this time is to be different, we need certainty, not uncertainty, she said, adding we need decision makers to be real action takers. We need delivery,” she said in a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. She described recent initiatives by major central banks as “big policy signals in the right direction”—the European Central Bank’s OMT bond-purchasing program, QE3 by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the Bank of Japan’s expanded Asset Purchase Program. At the same time, Lagarde warned that the global economy is still fraught with risks and policy uncertainty is weighing growth down. The IMF continues to project a gradual recovery, but global growth will likely be a bit weaker than anticipated even in July, she said.
