Global recession likely be unusually long and severe: IMF
By Washington correspondent Kim Landers
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting a prolonged and deep global recession.
The assessment comes from two chapters just released from the IMF's World Economic Outlook.
The IMF is warning that the current recession is likely to be "unusually long and severe and the recovery sluggish", and the director of the IMF's research department, Olivier Blanchard, is not ready to offer a date for recovery.
"This is not forecasts, this is looking past recessions and historical evidence. This recession is very different, we'll have to wait until next week to actually get our forecasts," Mr Blanchard said.
As the world's finance ministers, including Treasurer Wayne Swan, prepare to arrive in Washington next week, the IMF's assessment is a stark warning to those who claim to have spotted signs that the recession is bottoming out.
