NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
IMF chief urges countries to swiftly resolve trade tensions
Foreign

IMF chief urges countries to swiftly resolve trade tensions

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International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday urged countries to swiftly resolve trade disputes that threaten global economic growth.

She said the unpredictability arising from President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign of taxes on foreign imports was causing companies to delay investments and consumers to hold off on spending.

“Uncertainty is bad for business,’’ she told reporters in a briefing during the spring meetings of the IMF and its sister agency, the World Bank.

Georgieva’s comments came two days after the IMF downgraded the outlook for world economic growth this year.

The 191-country lending organisations, which seek to promote global growth, financial stability and to reduce poverty, also sharply lowered its forecast for the United States.

It said the chances that the world’s biggest economy would fall into recession have risen from 25 per cent, to about 40 per cent.

Georgieva warned that the economic fallout from the trade conflict would fall most heavily on poor countries, which do not have the money to offset the damage.

She warned that the economic fallout from trade conflict would fall most heavily on poor countries, which did not have the money to offset the damage.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has aggressively imposed tariffs on American trading partners.

Among other things, he slapped 145 per cent import taxes on China and 10 per cent on almost every country in the world, raising U.S. tariffs to levels not seen in more than a century.

But he has repeatedly changed U.S. policy suddenly suspending or altering the tariffs.

This has left companies bewildered about what he is trying to accomplish and what his end game might be.

Trump’s tariffs culminated in a sharp reversal of decades of U.S. policy in favour of free trade and the resulting uncertainty around them have caused a week-long rout in financial markets.

But stocks rallied Wednesday after the Trump administration signaled that it was open to reducing the massive tariffs on China.

“There is an opportunity for a big deal here,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. (AP/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Cecilia Odey/Mark Longyen

IMF projects 3% economic growth for Nigeria
Foreign

IMF projects 3% economic growth for Nigeria

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By Nana Musa

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released it new economic outlook report, reversing Nigeria’s economic growth projections for 2025 and 2026.

 

The April report was released on Tuesday during World Economic Outlook (WEO) at a press briefing at the ongoing IMF/World Bank 2025 Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.

 

The report cut the forecast for Nigeria’s growth to 3.0 per cent for 2025 and 2.7 per cent for 2026, from the 3.2 per cent and 3.0 per cent projection earlier stated in the January WEO update.

 

The IMF report cited mounting global uncertainties and sustained weakness in oil prices.

 

According to the report, the IMF places the growing probability of a global recession at 40 per cent compared to previous 25 per cent estimation it released in October 2024.

 

The IMF attributed the downward revision of the the growth to a combination of domestic economic challenges and worsening global conditions.

 

It said this includes trade tensions, reduced demand from advanced economies, and a significant drop in crude oil prices.

 

In the report, the Fund warned that without strong policy responses, Nigeria might find it difficult to maintain macroeconomic stability amid external headwinds.

 

The IMF Economic Counsellor and Director of Research Department, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said that emerging economies like Nigeria were particularly vulnerable due to their integration into global supply chains.

 

“The uncertainty is discouraging investment and activity, and these countries are suffering from declining demand for their exports,” Gourinchas said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz

 AI transforms various sectors, improve worlds economy- IMF director
Economy/Business

 AI transforms various sectors, improve worlds economy- IMF director

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By Nana Musa

Ms Gita Gopinath, the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), says that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed various sectors, as well as security markets.

Gopinath, however, cautioned against inherent risks.

She said this on Monday, during the second IMF-International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) conference discussions on key trends in AI and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

“Focusing on the implications for financial stability, recent generative AI and related breakthroughs have the potential to dramatically change capital markets.

“Functioning through AI–assisted process automation and analysis of complex unstructured data as well as through the greater and more powerful use of algorithmic trading, novel trading and investment strategies.

“In addition, on one hand, generative AI can enhance market analysis, risk assessment, and customer engagement through sophisticated simulations and data generation.”

According to her, generative AI also raises concerns about financial stability, data integrity, potential misuse for market manipulation, and the ethical implications of AI-generated content.

The Secretary-General of IOSCO, Mr Rodrigo Buenaventura, said that the use of AI was common in financial institutions.

“Let’s just separate between traditional AI and generative AI, the report that was published last month shows that there has been more use of AI and machine learning in financial institutions.

“More automation for detection of anti-money laundering issues, as well as for simple analysis. So, we see the use of AI a lot more. But what else has changed?

“So you can see that some of the AIs are also starting to use large language models in the area of customer-facing operations, in terms of chatbots, and also in risk management functions.

“So basically, ChatGPT or large language models have changed a lot of the way humans interact with AI. Its very easy to use.”

He said this was where some of the risks could occur, adding that it gives us a false sense of security because its so easy to use.

Buenaventura said at the same time, we forget that there’s a lot of complex modeling and data that goes behind it.

He said that with large language models, all of us would have heard that the hallucination risk was one key factor that was associated with AI or generative AI.

Buenaventura said that experts should ensure that AI was not used against the market or to the disadvantage of the main purpose.

The Assistant Managing Director of the Capital Markets Group, Mr Lim Lee, said that AI was very easy to use but also creates risks.

He said that the market manipulation could also become very common with AI in terms of resilience and concentration of risks.

“We see the use of modelling, specialised models to make it look more efficient and less costly.

“About 75 per cent of institutions use AI. However, there has been more consciousness in using AI directly because the people are now more careful,” Lee said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

Nigeria delegation attends IMF Spring Meeting
Economy/Business

Nigeria delegation attends IMF Spring Meeting

220 total views today

By Nana Musa

Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy has led the Nigeria’s delegation to the 2025 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meeting holding in Washington DC.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting, holding from April 21 to April 26 in the US capital, is being attended by delegations from 190 countries.

 

In the Nigeria’s delegation are Chief Executive Officers of financial institutions, representatives of the private sector, Civil Society Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations and other stakeholders.

 

The meeting aimed at promoting global macroeconomics financial stability, along IMF’s long-standing mission would provide policy advice, surveillance of member countries’ economies, and financial assistance to countries facing balance-of-payments issues.

 

The meetings will focus on building a better balanced and more resilient world economy that can better withstand economic shocks and promote sustainable development.

 

The specific activities of the meeting also include analysing the world economy, holding bilateral consultations with member countries, and providing support to countries navigating economic challenges.

 

It will also discuss the global economic outlook, global financial stability, and poverty eradication

 

At the meeting, the IMF is also expected to release its World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report.

 

The World Economic Outlook will provide analysis and projections of the global economy, the global financial stability report, assess the global financial system and highlight systemic issues.

 

The meetings will also discuss the need for reforms to the global financial architecture to support developing countries as well as poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth

 

Other key area of discussion at the meeting is how to address the economic impacts of climate change on the nations.

 

NAN reports that IMF and the World Bank are two intergovernmental organisations, often referred to as the Bretton Woods Institutions that were established in 1944 to rebuild the global economy after World War II.

 

While the IMF focuses on maintaining the stability of the international monetary system, the World Bank aims to reduce poverty and promote development in developing countries..

 

The IMF also acts like a financial policeman, ensuring the global financial system functions smoothly, while the World Bank is like a development banker, helping countries invest in their future

 

Specifically, the IMF conducts economic surveillance, both at the national and global levels to monitor the health of its 190 member countries.

 

The IMF provides loan to member-countries struggling with a balance of payments crisis and offers advice on how to improve the their financial regulations

 

The World Bank on its part, focuses on reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development in developing countries.

 

It lends money to developing countries for development projects, provides policy advice and technical assistance, and promotes knowledge sharing and innovation to help countries tackle development challenges. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

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