IMF Lowers Global Growth Projections and Raises Concerns of Financial Crisis

The International Monetary Fund released the World Economic Outlook Report and lowered global growth projections to 3.7 percent for 2018 and 2019. The estimates falls .2 percent since the last IMF economic report released in April. The IMF issues the report ahead of the Annual IMF and World Bank meetings where world leaders, finance ministers and nongovernmental organizations gather this week in Bali, Indonesia.

"We are concerned about the downturn in economic growth," noted Jubilee USA Executive Director Eric LeCompte. As a finance expert, LeCompte has tracked IMF meetings for nearly 10 years and is attending the meetings in Bali. "The report reminds us that inequality remains a serious problem and we still are not safe from financial crisis."

Since April, the IMF warned that not enough has been done to prevent future financial crisis. LeCompte's organization, Jubilee USA organized a major event about preventing financial crisis during the Annual Meetings scheduled for October 12th in Bali. An African Finance Minister and senior staff from the IMF, the Vatican and the G-24 will discuss debt relief, disaster aid and crisis prevention.

“We are seeing a growing debt crisis in many developing economies," stated LeCompte who serves on United Nation expert groups that focus on economic issues. "At the same time, we see risky and speculative behavior on the rise. We know that risky behavior and unsustainable debt is a recipe for financial crisis."

Read the October 2018 World Economic Outlook Report

Read more about Jubilee USA's Panel at IMF Meetings