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<p>Christine Lagarde gave her first speech as the European Central Bank President. Lagarde specifically focused on the changing environment of the world economy and how Europe needs to consider its place and reset its ambitions.</p>


ECB President Lagarde addresses changing global economic environment

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<p>The International Monetary Fund is visiting the country to discuss economic development. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Fifi Peters attended a joint media pressing in collaboration with the South African Reserve Bank.</p>


Lagarde clears the air on IMF’s South Africa bailout

<p>IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday welcomed a commitment by Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stabilize the country’s economy and work to improve relations with the international community.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-291634 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Emmerson-Mnangagwa_-GettyImages-RZ.png" alt="" width="850" height="591" /></p>
<p>Lagarde met with Mnangagwa on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It was their first meeting since Mnangagwa took power in November when the military ousted Robert Mugabe, who ruled for 37 years.</p>
<p>“This was an opportunity to share views on ways to address the severe economic challenges that Zimbabwe is facing, and how the IMF can help,” Lagarde said on Twitter after the meeting.</p>
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<p>Afterward, the International Monetary Fund said Lagarde “welcomed President Mnangagwa’s commitment to stabilizing the Zimbabwean economy and working towards normalizing the country’s engagement with the international community.”</p>
<p>International donors withdrew support for Mugabe’s government after he imposed policies that included violent seizure of white-owned commercial farms.</p>
<p>The country has not been able to borrow from international lenders since 1999 when it started defaulting on its debt.</p>
<p>The country cleared its 15-year-old financial arrears to the IMF in 2016. It is, however, still in arrears to the World Bank and African Development Bank, which hampers its ability to tap development financing from the two institutions.</p>
<p>The IMF has told Zimbabwe not to clear its $1.75 billion foreign arrears by borrowing from lenders, which would worsen the country’s debts.</p>
<p>Instead it has suggested cuts to public sector wages, reducing farm subsidies, improving transparency in the mining sector and reaching an agreement on compensating farmers.</p>
<p>Addressing an audience in Davos on Monday, Mnangagwa promised to hold transparent elections by July and said he would respect the outcome of the vote even if the opposition wins.</p>
<p>The election will be the first big test of his legitimacy since he took power. [nL8N1PJ4GM]</p>
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<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw">Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by James Dalgleish</p>
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IMF’s Lagarde welcomes Mnangagwa’s promise to revive Zimbabwe economy

<p>IMF chief Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday she had met with South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos and agreed that structural challenges were a burden to economic growth in Africa’s largest economy.</p>
<div id="attachment_43627" style="width: 1510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-43627" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-43627 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/christine_lagarde_-_wikimedia.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1024" /><p id="caption-attachment-43627" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Wikimedia</p></div>
<p>Their meeting comes a day after the International Monetary Fund cut South Africa’s growth forecast for the next two years, citing political uncertainty.</p>
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<p>“We concurred that long-standing structural challenges continue to weigh on growth in South Africa,” Lagarde said in a statement, adding: “We consequently agreed that bold and timely reforms are needed to create an environment conducive to job creation and less inequality.”</p>
<p>Ramaphosa was elected president of the ruling African National Congress last month, making him likely to replace President Jacob Zuma in 2019, or even earlier.</p>
<p>He has signaled a departure in style and governance from Zuma’s scandal-plagued administration. The ANC is currently discussing whether to cut short Zuma’s tenure as head of state.</p>
<p>South African businesses have urged Ramaphosa and the ANC’s newly elected leaders to quickly introduce reforms that would restore investor confidence and reverse the economy’s decline.</p>
<p>The South African currency, the rand, has surged since Ramaphosa took the reins of the ANC.</p>
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<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw">Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by James Dalgleish</p>
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IMF chief meets S.Africa’s Ramaphosa in Davos to discuss economy

<p>(DAVOS) It appears International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde and South African president elect Cyril Ramaphosa have more in common than merely both being lawyers turned politicians &#8211; they both want to crack down on corruption and tax evasion.</p>
<p>On the first day of the World Economic Forum gathering in driving snow of the ski-resort in Switzerland Lagarde also showed she shared Ramaphosa&#8217;s penchant for the homespun turn of phrase as she launched a brighter than expected IMF Global Report on a worse than expected grey-sky day of heavy snow in Davos. It predicts global growth of 3.9% this year and next; growth of 0.2% higher than it expected thanks to tax cuts in the United States and improved performance from emerging economies like Russia and Brazil.</p>
<p><a href="http://cnbc.africa/category/insights/world-economic-forum/">FOR MORE STORIES ON WEF DAVOS CLICK HERE</a></p>
<p>&#8220;When the sun is shining it is time to fix the roof,&#8221; Lagarde told journalists at the first press briefing of Davos 2018 on Monday.</p>
<p>&#8220;Or when the snow stops it is time to clear the roads. That is how it seems to work here in Davos.&#8221;</p>
<p>Lagarde said the IMF was encouraged by the growth forecasts it was still worried about low interest rates hitting the viability of the financial sector and the increase in debt around the world.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will also be tackling corruption and tax evasion to come up with long lasting solutions,&#8221; Lagarde said.</p>
<p>Lagarde said economies should guard against complacency and provide training for women, the young and older workers whose jobs have been taken over by technology.</p>
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IMF’s Christine Lagarde and South African president-elect Cyril Ramaphosa have more in common than you think

<p>(DAVOS) This year, as ever, the well-meaning chatter about prosperity for all will flutter down as thickly as the snowflakes that are steadily burying the buildings that house the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.</p>
<p>Delegates will pay up to $60,000 just to be here and thousands more on flights and expensive accommodation, not to mention expensive food, in this ski-resort.</p>
<p><a href="http://cnbc.africa/category/insights/world-economic-forum/">FOR MORE STORIES ON WEF DAVOS CLICK HERE</a></p>
<p>WEF has been going on year-in, year-out since 1971 in this snowy corner of the Alps &#8211; at more than 5,000 feet above sea level one of the highest spots in Europe and one of the coldest places on earth &#8211; but only now is the embarrassment about the world&#8217;s growing army poor and dispossessed starting to bite.</p>
<p>Arguably the anger and despair of the world&#8217;s poor majority is a major factor behind the populism, extremism, lack of trust in leadership and disillusionment with capitalism that has led to this economic think-tank to theme this year&#8217;s gathering : &#8220;A shared future in a fractured world&#8221; a paradox if ever there was one.</p>
<p>Oxfam has been banging on about the inequalities of the world for decades. This year it released damning evidence ahead of Davos claiming a mere 42 people &#8211; enough to fill one bus &#8211; own more than 3.7 billion of the poorest people; compared with 61 last year and 380 in 2009.</p>
<p>Other highlights from its &#8216;Reward Work, Not Wealth’ report include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Billionaire wealth has risen by an annual average of 13 percent since 2010 – six times faster than the wages of ordinary workers, which have risen by a yearly average of just 2 percent. The number of billionaires rose at an unprecedented rate of one every two days between March 2016 and March 2017.</li>
<li>It takes just four days for a CEO from one of the top five global fashion brands to earn what a Bangladeshi garment worker will earn in her lifetime. In the US, it takes slightly over one working day for a CEO to earn what an ordinary worker makes in a year.</li>
<li>It would cost $2.2 billion a year to increase the wages of all 2.5 million Vietnamese garment workers to a living wage. This is about a third of the amount paid out to wealthy shareholders by the top 5 companies in the garment sector in 2016.</li>
</ul>
<p>Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International reckons: “The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system. The people who make our clothes, assemble our phones and grow our food are being exploited to ensure a steady supply of cheap goods, and swell the profits of corporations and billionaire investors.”</p>
<p>IMF head Christine Lagarde put her two pennyworth in when she announced much better than expected growth forecasts on the first day of the gathering on Monday.</p>
<p>&#8220;In one fifth of the world&#8217;s emerging economies &#8211; that is countries like Brazil Russia and South Africa &#8211; per capita income fell at a time when the rest of the world was growing.</p>
<p>Maybe Davos needs to up the action rather than more words if it is to avoid more of that most dangerous kind of person &#8211; man with nothing to lose.</p>
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The rich are getting rich, this is by how much…

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<p>South Korea&#8217;s economy will demonstrate &#8220;high resilience&#8221; this year despite geopolitical risks and other challenges, that&#8217;s according to Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund.</p>


South Korean economy resilient despite tensions – IMF Chief

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<p>CNBC spoke with IMF Chief Executive, Christine Lagarde on the state of the global economy, European interest rate regime as well as the US Federal Reserve Bank&#8217;s investments policy, and also touched on the possibility of another financial crisis.</p>


IMF’s Largade warns of another financial crisis

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<div class="inline-player"><a title="http://www.cnbc.com/brexit/" rel="2">Britain&#8217;s exit</a> from the <a title="http://www.cnbc.com/european-union/" rel="3">European Union</a> has not only revitalized current members but it has also inspired countries outside of the bloc to apply for membership, the International Monetary Fund&#8217;s managing director, Christine Lagarde told CNBC Tuesday.</div>
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<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s quite fascinating to see this sort of parallel track of those existing members of the EU suddenly being revitalized, rejuvenated and re-encouraged in the face of what they regarded as the adversity of one member wanting to jump ship,&#8221; Lagarde said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Britain narrowly voted to leave the EU in a referendum on June 23 last year, an event that shocked financial markets as well as commentators across the globe. Meanwhile, formal talks between the U.K. and EU&#8217;s negotiators kicked off in June this year shortly after British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to increase her parliamentary majority in a snap general election.</p>
<div id="inline_movable_ad"> British and EU leaders now have just over a year and a half to negotiate and agree a deal, which will then go to a vote before the European Parliament.</div>
<p>When asked whether countries such as Serbia and Montenegro – both of whom are hoping to become members of the EU – could endanger the future of the bloc, Lagarde stressed the EU had been reinvigorated by the Brexit vote.</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">&#8216;An aspiration and an inspiration&#8217;</h4>
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<p><span class="video-icon"><a class="" href="http://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/07/11/how-countries-in-europe-are-anchored-by-the-eu.html" data-videoid="3000634947" data-videotype=""><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" title="IMF's Lagarde: How countries in Europe are anchored by the EU" src="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/07/11/104579603-3ED2-REQ-0711-LagardeVid2.600x400.jpg?v=1499790809" alt="IMF’s Lagarde: How countries in Europe are anchored by the EU" width="600" height="400" /></a></span></p>
<div class="headline">IMF&#8217;s Lagarde: How countries in Europe are anchored by the EU  <time>19 Hours Ago | 02:17</time></div>
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<p>Speaking on the sidelines of an international banking conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Largade argued the European project was &#8220;clearly alive, kicking, an aspiration and an inspiration&#8221; for many countries in the EU.</p>
<p>&#8220;At the same time, some of these non-EU members aspiring to join (are) wanting to accelerate the process. I think that is a very strong sort of double positive message,&#8221; Lagarde told CNBC.</p>
<p><a class="inline_asset" title="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/16/imfs-lagarde-warns-the-uk-against-crash-brexit.html?view=story&amp;%24DEVICE%24=native-android-tablet" href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/16/imfs-lagarde-warns-the-uk-against-crash-brexit.html?view=story&amp;%24DEVICE%24=native-android-tablet">Last month</a>, Lagarde suggested it would be best for the U.K. economy to prioritize a predictable exit from the EU rather than a &#8220;crash situation&#8221;.</p>
<p>In April, the Fund warned that the unpredictability surrounding Brexit posed a risk to global financial stability. It forecast at the time, the U.K. economy would expand 2 percent in 2017, before gross domestic product (<a title="http://www.cnbc.com/gdp/" rel="1">GDP</a>) declines to 1.5 percent in 2018.</p>
<p>However, the institution is unable to calculate precisely how the British economy will suffer from Brexit because it has still to define its future arrangements with the EU.</p>
<ul>
<li>Article by <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/sam-meredith/" rel="author">Sam Meredith</a> | <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/karen-tso/" rel="author">Karen Tso</a></li>
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<p><em>— CNBC&#8217;s Silvia Amaro and Karen Gilchrist contributed to this report.</em></p>
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IMF’s Lagarde reveals the unintended consequences of Brexit

<p>French judges on Monday found IMF chief Christine Lagarde guilty of negligence for failing to challenge a 400 million euro ($417 million) state arbitration payout to a business tycoon in 2008 when she was French finance minister.</p>
<p>Despite the ruling the judges did not hand down any sentence in the case on her decision to allow the rare out-of-court arbitration payment. She has denied the negligence charges.</p>
<p>Her lawyer said immediately after the ruling that his team would look into appealing the decision.</p>
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<p>The ruling risks triggering a new leadership crisis at the International Monetary Fund after Lagarde&#8217;s predecessor Dominique Strauss Khan resigned in 2011 over a sex assault scandal.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Reporting by Chine Labbe; writing by Leigh Thomas; editing by Andrew Callus)﻿</p>
<p>﻿</p>


Christine Lagarde

ECB President Lagarde addresses changing global economic environment

Lagarde clears the air on IMF’s South Africa bailout

IMF’s Lagarde welcomes Mnangagwa’s promise to revive Zimbabwe economy

IMF chief meets S.Africa’s Ramaphosa in Davos to discuss economy

IMF’s Christine Lagarde and South African president-elect Cyril Ramaphosa have more in common than you think

The rich are getting rich, this is by how much…

South Korean economy resilient despite tensions – IMF Chief

IMF’s Largade warns of another financial crisis

IMF’s Lagarde reveals the unintended consequences of Brexit

IMF's Lagarde convicted over payout to businessman

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Christine Lagarde

ECB President Lagarde addresses changing global economic environment

Lagarde clears the air on IMF’s South Africa bailout

IMF’s Lagarde welcomes Mnangagwa’s promise to revive Zimbabwe economy

IMF chief meets S.Africa’s Ramaphosa in Davos to discuss economy

IMF’s Christine Lagarde and South African president-elect Cyril Ramaphosa have more in common than you think

The rich are getting rich, this is by how much…

South Korean economy resilient despite tensions – IMF Chief

IMF’s Largade warns of another financial crisis

IMF’s Lagarde reveals the unintended consequences of Brexit

IMF's Lagarde convicted over payout to businessman

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