IMF slashes US growth forecast

The International Monetary Fund has slashed its growth forecast from 2.5% two months ago to 1.6%, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

The agency said it has seen a draft of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, set to be published on 20 September. The draft report also shows the IMF has lowered the outlook for the US in 2012 from 2.7% to 2%. In view of growing risks to US growth, the Federal Reserve "should stand ready to adopt new non-conventional measures to sustain the economy," ANSA quoted the report as saying. The IMF has, however, made clear it does not foresee a global recession. In a speech on Saturday at the Fed's annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned the global econo...