Washington: The global economy is heading for the weakest period of growth since 1990 as higher interest rates set by the world’s top central banks drive up borrowing costs for households and businesses, the head of the International Monetary Fund has warned, a media outlet reported.
Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, said that a sharp slowdown in the world economy last year after the aftershocks of the Covid pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine would continue in 2023, and risked persisting for the next five years, The Guardian reported.
In a curtainraiser speech before the fund’s spring meetings in Washington DC next week, she said that the global growth would remain about 3 percent over the next five years – its lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990.
“This makes it even harder to reduce poverty, heal the economic scars of the Covid crisis and provide new and better opportunities for all,” Georgieva said.
In a downbeat assessment as the world grapples with the worst inflation shock in decades, she said economic activity was slowing across advanced economies in particular. While there was some momentum from developing nations – including China and India – low-income countries were also suffering from higher borrowing costs and falling demand for their exports, the media outlet reported.
Ahead of the IMF publishing revised economic forecasts next week, Georgieva said global growth in 2022 had collapsed by almost half since the initial rebound from the Covid pandemic in 2021, sliding from 6.1 percent to 3.4 percent. With high inflation, rising borrowing costs and mounting geopolitical tensions, she said global growth was on track to drop below 3 percent in 2023 and remain weak for years to come.
As many as 90 percent of advanced economies would experience a decline in their growth rate this year, she warned, with activity in the US and the eurozone hit by higher interest rates, it added.
Comparing the challenge to “climbing one ‘great hill’ after another”, Georgieva said there were still more problems to overcome: “First was Covid, then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation and a cost of living crisis that hit everyone.”
“So far, we have proven to be resilient climbers. But the path ahead – and especially the path back to robust growth – is rough and foggy, and the ropes that hold us together may be weaker now than they were just a few years ago,” she was quoted as saying by the media outlet.
His trip, however, comes in the wake of ongoing turmoil in Israel over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans for a judicial overhaul. Netanyahu announced a delay in those plans on Monday following a wave of protests and worker strikes. The unrest caused airlines to ground flights and businesses closed their doors.
The visit to Israel will come a few months after he met face-to-face in Tallahassee with Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., along with Yousef Al Otaiba, the ambassador from the United Arab Emirates and Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, the consul general of Israel in Miami.
The release about DeSantis’ visit said he will speak about the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship before a group of roughly 400 participants, including 120 U.S. Jewish philanthropists.
“At a time of unnecessarily strained relations between Jerusalem and Washington, Florida serves as a bridge between the American and Israeli people,” DeSantis said in a statement.
The governor’s decision to make a speech in Israel is sure to garner outsized attention given his rising prominence among Republicans and conservatives.
DeSantis’ positions on foreign policy have begun to draw more attention as his likely campaign for president become more likely. His statement that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a “territorial dispute” drew scorn from other Republicans, including Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio.
After those remarks were distributed on Fox News, DeSantis called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” in a subsequent interview.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Why she’ll be the choice: Few people in the president’s inner circle can match her experience or have earned his trust in the same way as Dunn has. A former White House communications director under President Barack Obama, Dunn’s specific areas of focus — messaging, politics and campaign management — line up with what the president wants as he begins the second half of his term and a likely reelection bid. Biden’s new reliance on her husband Bob Bauer as his outside counsel amid a classified documents probe only raises Dunn’s centrality to the president. And the opportunity to make history as the first female White House chief of staff could make the opportunity, should it be offered, hard to pass up.
Why she won’t be the choice: Dunn doesn’t need the chief of staff title to have an outsized impact on Biden’s next two years. In fact, overseeing all West Wing personnel and day-to-day operations at the White House would limit her ability to mold Biden’s campaign operation and serve as a key go-between linking the administration and the reelect. If she is viewed as a co-equal of whoever winds up in Klain’s job, she’s better positioned to influence and integrate both operations in her current role.
STEVE RICCHETTI
Why he’ll be the choice: One of Biden’s longest-serving advisers and now a counselor to the president, Ricchetti expressed interest in the job in 2020 before Klain was picked. He also has experience in the position: he served as chief of staff to Biden when he was vice president. Ricchetti earned the trust of Biden and is often one of the last people with whom the president speaks before making an important decision, and he has been empowered to steer some of the White House’s most significant legislative efforts. Ricchetti, who also worked in Bill Clinton’s White House, has deep ties to many establishment Democrats.
Why he won’t be the choice: Ricchetti has proven valuable in his current role and Biden may not want him shifting jobs. He also would be anything but a fresh voice for the West Wing, since he already has such a significant presence. Choosing him would also create fresh scrutiny on his ties to the lobbying world; in his many years as a lobbyist, his firms contracted with a long list of influential clients, including hospitals, drugmakers and telecom companies. His long Washington career has led to some accusations that he’s a corporate Democrat and no friend to progressives.
JEFF ZIENTS
Why he’ll be the choice: A former Obama administration official and close Biden confidant, Zients ran the White House’s Covid response, winning internal praise for his cross-government management skills and initial success in bringing the pandemic under control. He’s held a number of high-level positions across the Obama and Biden presidencies, giving him a broad understanding of the administration’s inner workings — experience that allies argue makes him among the most well-prepared Biden advisers for the all-encompassing chief of staff job. Zients also maintains close ties to Klain and other senior Biden aides dating back to the Obama administration, when he did stints atop the National Economic Council and Office of Management and Budget.
Why he won’t be the choice: While he’s cultivated a wide array of relationships within Democratic circles, Zients has also been the subject of rising criticism from the party’s progressive wing over his background in management consulting and handling of the pandemic, which has persisted well beyond his exit as Covid czar. He also doesn’t have extensive political experience which may be important for a chief of staff as the president they serve likely run for reelection.
MARTY WALSH
Why he’ll be the choice: Biden and the former mayor of Boston have strong personal ties, which is key to a chief of staff position. The president spoke at Walsh’s 2017 inauguration and both have ties and dedication to the labor movement. Indeed, union issues have brought the two together multiple times over the last two years. Walsh’s role in the negotiations between railroad unions and managers was lauded by Biden as successful and quick; keeping the administration from an embarrassing political moment before the midterms. Throughout the administration, Walsh is well liked and would be considered an approachable chief of staff.
Why he won’t be the choice: Walsh hasn’t been shy that he is interested in finding his way back home to Boston at some point, according to aides around him. His lack of ties to D.C. would make it hard for him to handle the day-to-day relationship building required for the job. And Walsh’s areas of focus — policy and labor — aren’t at the top of the list of requirements for a chief.
SUSAN RICE
Why she’ll be the choice: Rice, the domestic policy czar under Biden and U.N. ambassador under President Barack Obama, has seen her stock rise and portfolio grow in this White House. After a long career in foreign policy and stints in the Obama and Clinton White Houses, Rice has gotten much more experience on domestic policy as director of the Domestic Policy Council, working on issues like student loans and gun reform. Colleagues describe her as a savvy political operative who’s good at managing the White House policy process.
Why she won’t be the choice: She is a newcomer into Biden’s inner circle and doesn’t have a long-standing close relationship with Biden. She remains a bit of a lightning rod from her time in the Obama administration. But, most importantly, she also has told colleagues in recent months that she’s not interested in the job.
TOM VILSACK
Why he’ll be the choice: Vilsack, the current Agriculture Secretary, is a former presidential rival of Biden’s turned fiercely loyal ally. He’s now someone Biden leans on to bridge the divide with rural and conservative communities from his Cabinet perch — a skill set that could come in handy should Biden run for reelection.
Vilsack got behind Biden early in the 2020 race, and stuck by him even after a rough showing in Iowa ahead of the caucuses. He then returned to the administration to serve in the same role he held during Obama’s tenure, as a personal favor to Biden because he asked.
Vilsack has expressed an interest in the chief of staff role, according to a person familiar with the discussions. His allies tout his experience as a mayor and governor of the now bright-red Iowa, and describe other possible chief of staff picks, including Zients and Ricchetti, as “whisperers.”
“There’s a lot happening in the world right now,” said another person close to Biden. “Do you want a whisperer or do you want someone who can govern?”
Why he won’t be the choice: USDA officials have long expected Vilsack to step down before the end of Biden’s tenure. He had a bad back (which is much better after surgery this past year) and grandchildren back in Iowa he’d like to spend more time with. He has strong bipartisan ties, but has less sway in rural communities than he once did. He also spent 90 minutes with senior USDA staff this week talking through plans for upcoming farm bill negotiations, and didn’t give any indication he might leave his post. But rumors about his possible departure grew so hot in recent months that allies of Marcia Fudge, the current secretary of Housing and Urban Development, have put out feelers to USDA officials about her potentially succeeding Vilsack, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
Some progressives and civil rights groups have criticized Vilsack for pushing out a Black USDA official during Obama’s tenure, after right-wing media falsely accused her of being racist. Vilsack and the White House later apologized.
With reporting by Adam Cancryn, Chris Cadelago, Jonathan Lemire, Eli Stokols, Daniel Lippman and Meredith Lee Hill.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
