OECD: Central banks must step in as recovery stalls

The OECD has urged global economies, particularly Europe, to take "credible steps" to curtail debt as it said the recovery has ground to a halt.

In its latest Interim Economic Assessment, chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan said although growth in emerging economies reamains strong, the recoveries in major industrialisd economies have come close to a halt despite the fiscal and structural reform measures already put in place. "Growth is turning out to be much slower than we thought three months ago, and the risk of hitting patches of negative growth has gone up," said Padoan. He recommended central banks keep rates at present low levels or reduce them further where there is scope. He also said the withdrawal of monetary tighteni...