Financial Markets

Sounding the Alarm on Leveraged Lending

By Tobias Adrian, Fabio Natalucci, and Thomas Piontek

November 15, 2018

A drilling crew member raises a pipe on an oil rig in Texas: Energy is among the industries in which leveraged lending is most prevalent, along with telecommunications, health care, and technology (photo: Nick Oxford/Reuters/Newscom)

We warned in the most recent Global Financial Stability Report that speculative excesses in some financial markets may be approaching a threatening level. Continue reading “Sounding the Alarm on Leveraged Lending” »

By IMFBlog| November 15th, 2018|banking, credit, Finance, Financial markets, Interest Rates|

Chart of the Week: Financial Reform Report Card

By Tobias Adrian, Dirk Jan Grolleman, and Anastasiia Morozova

October 29, 2018

Countries have improved banking sector regulation considerably in the past decade, but areas of weakness remain (Steve Gottlieb/Newscom)

The many 10^th anniversary retrospectives of the global financial crisis mostly agree: the financial system is safer today than it was when US investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Financial Reform Report Card” »

By IMFBlog| October 29th, 2018|banking, capital markets, Corporate Risk, credit, Financial markets, Government|

Chart of the Week: Government Debt Is Not the Whole Story: Look at the Assets

By IMFBlog

October 23, 2018

The Millennium Bridge in London, England: governments often don’t include the value of their assets, like bridges and roads, as well as natural resources, when they measure public wealth (Ingram Publishing/Newscom)

Lost track of your personal finances? You are not alone. Your government has often lost track of its finances too. While it keeps close tabs on debt, it is less clear on how much it owns: the assets. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Government Debt Is Not the Whole Story: Look at the Assets” »

By IMFBlog| October 23rd, 2018|Finance, Financial markets, Globalization, Government, Investment, Public debt, U.S.|

The Wealth of Nations: Governments Can Better Manage What They Own and Owe

By Vitor Gaspar, Jason Harris, and Alexander Tieman

October 10, 2018

عربي,中文, Español, Français, Baˈhasa indoneˈsia, 日本語, Português, Русский

A firefighter in Auckland, New Zealand: when governments know what they own they can put their assets to better use and can earn about 3 percent of GDP more in revenues to spend on citizens’ well being (Photo: Rafael Ben-Ari/Newscom)

What is the state of your personal finances? You probably think first about your debts: your mortgage, your credit card balance, and your student loans. But you probably also think about how much cash is sitting in the bank, the value of your house, and the rest of your nest egg.

Surprisingly, most governments do not approach their finances this way. Continue reading “The Wealth of Nations: Governments Can Better Manage What They Own and Owe” »

By IMFBlog| October 9th, 2018|Advanced Economies, Africa, Annual Meetings, Asia, banking, China, commodities, developing countries, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, education, Emerging Markets, Employment, euro zone, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial markets, Financing, Fiscal, Fiscal discipline, Fiscal policy, Fiscal Stimulus, Government, growth, health, housing, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Jobs, labor force, Latin America, Politics, productivity, Public debt, taxation, trade, U.S., unemployment, wages|

The Financial System Is Stronger, but New Vulnerabilities Have Emerged in the Decade Since the Crisis

By Tobias Adrian

October 10, 2018

عربي , 中文 , Español, Français, Baˈhasa indoneˈsia, 日本語, Português, Русский

Debt owed by governments, companies and households in economies with globally systemically important financial sectors has risen since the global financial crisis (Photo: Richard B. Levine/Newscom)

Although the global expansion has plateaued, easy monetary policies continue to support growth. But we shouldn’t rest too easily. Chapter 1 of the latest Global Financial Stability Report finds that short-term risks to the financial system have increased somewhat over the past six months. Continue reading “The Financial System Is Stronger, but New Vulnerabilities Have Emerged in the Decade Since the Crisis” »

By IMFBlog| October 9th, 2018|Advanced Economies, Annual Meetings, Asia, banking, capital flows, capital markets, China, credit, currency, developing countries, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, euro zone, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial markets, financial policy, Financial regulation, Financing, Government, growth, IMF, Interest Rates, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Latin America, monetary policy, trade, U.S., wages|

A Decade After Lehman, the Financial System Is Safer. Now We Must Avoid Reform Fatigue

By Adolfo Barajas, Claudio Raddatz, and James P. Walsh

October 3, 2018

عربي, 中文, Español, Français , Baˈhasa indoneˈsia , 日本語, Português, Русский

A ticker in New York’s Times Square flashes the news of the collapse of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008: In the decade since, the financial sector has strengthened considerably, but the reform agenda remains incomplete (Photo: Joshua Lott/Reuters/Newscom)

In the decade since the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers sparked the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression, regulation and supervision of the financial sector have been strengthened considerably. This has reduced the risk of another crisis, with all its attendant woes—unemployment, foreclosures, bankruptcies. But a new risk has emerged: reform fatigue. Continue reading “A Decade After Lehman, the Financial System Is Safer. Now We Must Avoid Reform Fatigue” »

By IMFBlog| October 3rd, 2018|Advanced Economies, Annual Meetings, Asia, banking, capital flows, capital markets, commodities, Corporate Risk, correspondent banking, corruption, credit, currency, developing countries, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, euro zone, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial markets, financial policy, Financial regulation, Financing, Global Governance, growth, IMF, income, Interest Rates, International Monetary Fund, Investment, U.S., unemployment|

Give Today’s Children a Chance

By Christine Lagarde and Vitor Gaspar

September 24, 2018

عربي, 中文 , Español , Français, Baˈhasa indoneˈsia, 日本語, Português, Русский

Children in early childhood education in Indonesia: more money put into education helps countries achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (Photo: Ajun-Ally/Pacific Press/Newscom)

World leaders are gathering at the United Nations to discuss how to deliver on development for all that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable—“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Continue reading “Give Today’s Children a Chance” »

By IMFBlog| September 24th, 2018|Advanced Economies, Africa, Annual Meetings, Asia, capital markets, climate change, developing countries, Economic outlook, Economic research, education, Emerging Markets, Employment, Environment, Finance, Financial markets, financial policy, Financing, Fiscal, Fiscal policy, G-20, Gender issues, Globalization, Government, growth, health, housing, IMF, inclusive growth, income, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Jobs, labor force, LICs, Low-income countries, technology, Uncategorized, unemployment, wages, youth|

Women in Finance: An Economic Case for Gender Equality

By Martin Čihák and Ratna Sahay

September 19, 2018

عربي, 中文, Español, Français , 日本語, Português, Русский

A group of women attend an event in Sao Paolo to promote women’s participation in the financial sector: women account for 51% of borrowers in Brazil (Sebastio Mareira/Newscom)

Women are underrepresented at all levels of the global financial system, from depositors and borrowers to bank board members and regulators. Continue reading “Women in Finance: An Economic Case for Gender Equality” »

By IMFBlog| September 19th, 2018|banking, Finance, Financial markets, Gender issues, inclusive growth|

Top 5 Blogs on Finance

By IMFBlog

September 11, 2018

A guard stands outside former US investment bank Lehman brothers (photo: Frances M. Roberts/Newscom)

The tenth anniversary of the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers and the global crisis that followed is a sober reminder of what has changed, and what has not, in the world of economics and finance. Continue reading “Top 5 Blogs on Finance” »

By IMFBlog| September 11th, 2018|banking, credit, Finance, Financial markets|

Ten Years After Lehman—Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead

By Christine Lagarde

September 5, 2018

عربي , Baˈhasa indoneˈsia , Español, 中文, Français , 日本語, Português , Русский

A trader on the New York Stock Exchange the day US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy: the global crisis that followed is a defining moment of our time (Photo: Nancy-Kaszerman/ZUMA Press/Newscom)

The global financial crisis remains one of the defining events of our time. It will forever mark the generation that lived through it. Continue reading “Ten Years After Lehman—Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead” »

By IMFBlog| September 5th, 2018|Advanced Economies, banking, capital markets, commodities, Corporate Risk, developing countries, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial markets, financial policy, Financial regulation, G-20, Global Governance, Government, housing, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Jobs, monetary policy, U.S., unemployment, wages|

Categories