International Monetary Fund

Bullish traders who insist that US economic fundamentals remain rock-solid despite tepid growth, inflation and other signs the postelection “Trump bump” in consumer confidence is already beginning to fade should take a look at the International Monetary Fund’s latest batch of quarterly forecasts for global growth.

The fund left its all-world forecasts for 2017 and 2018 unchanged from its previous quarterly update, which was released in April: It anticipates 3.5% and 3.6% growth, respectively.

Authored by Don Quijones via WolfStreet.com,

But the IMF has suggestions on how to win the War on Cash...

In January 2017 the European Commission announced it was exploring the option of imposing upper limits on cash payments, with a view to implementing cross-regional measures as soon as 2018. To give the proposal a veneer of respectability and accountability the Commission launched a public consultation on the issue. Now, the answers are in, but they are not what the Commission was expecting.

Shortly after yesterday's rate hike by the Bank of Canada, its first since 2010, we warned that as rates in Canada begin to rise, the local economy which has seen a striking decline in hourly earnings in the past year, which remains greatly reliant on a vibrant construction sector, and where households are the most levered on record, if there is anything that can burst the local housing bubble, it is tighter monetary conditions. And a bubble it is, as the chart below clearly demonstrates...

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com,

Authored by EconomicPrism's MN Gordon, annotated by Acting-Man's Pater Tenebrarum,

Disproportionate Rewards

The International Monetary Fund reported an unpleasant outlook for the U.S. economy on Wednesday.  The IMF, as part of its annual review, believes the U.S. economic model isn’t working as well as it could to generate shared income growth.

Supping with the IMF (we recommend trying to avoid invitations to structurally adjusted suppers if possible. Their air of finality is reportedly unbearable). [PT]