Sponsored by International Monetary Fund

The United States lacks a credible plan to cut its deficit over the medium term, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist Olivier Blanchard told French daily Le Monde in an interview published on Wednesday.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has suggested he may prevent former Labour PM Gordon Brown from becoming the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The International Monetary Fund on Monday said the policy response by emerging market economies to deal with a surge in capital inflows was insufficient and warned it could lead to a hard landing.

China's yuan is close to being a freely usable currency, one of two key tests for it to be included in the International Monetary Fund's currency basket, the deputy governor of China's central bank said on Sunday.

International Monetary Fund member countries sought to bridge sharp differences over the global economy, acknowledging that rising inflation in emerging markets poses a risk to rich countries too.

The International Monetary Fund should offer recommendations for national policies that spur excessive flows of capital into other economies as well as policies that seek to temper them, the IMF's steering committee said on Saturday.

Greece has no plans to restructure its debt and the International Monetary Fund is not considering a plan, the country's finance minister, George Papaconstantinou, said on Saturday.

Greece has no plans to restructure its debt and the International Monetary Fund is not considering a plan, the country's finance minister, George Papaconstantinou, said on Saturday.

Following are highlights of comments by financial leaders attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings on Saturday.

Nearly a decade worth of work to reach a world trade deal is on the verge of failure, World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy said on Saturday in a plea for countries to rise above their own narrow interests for the good of the global economy.

IMF member nations, acknowledging resistance from emerging markets to limits on capital controls, said rich nations' policies that spur large capital outflows that could harm other economies also need oversight.

The German finance ministry on Saturday denied it was drawing up contingency plans for a Greek debt restructuring after the Financial Times reported the ministry was studying various options if Athens fails to meet its fiscal targets.

Germany is urging Athens to adopt contingency plans that would foresee a voluntary, market-friendly debt restructuring should Greece fail to meet its ambitious fiscal targets, the Financial Times reported.

A Moody's downgrade and growing speculation Greece may eventually restructure its debt took the shine off Ireland's thumbs-up from the EU and the IMF Friday for its efforts to claw its way back from crisis.

Japan's fragile post-disaster political truce unraveled on Thursday as the head of the main opposition party called on unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan to quit over his handling of the country's natural calamities and a nuclear crisis.

Greece will present new fiscal and privatization plans on Friday in an attempt to convince investors it can meet the terms of an EU/IMF bailout and avoid restructuring its debt.

Many European banks need bigger capital cushions to restore market confidence and help reduce the risk of another financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

The world's banks face a $3.6 trillion wall of maturing debt in the next two years and must compete with debt-laden governments to secure financing, the IMF warned on Wednesday.

Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers meeting in Washington later this week are expected to reach an agreement on guidelines to identify global economic imbalances, French government sources said on Tuesday.

US stocks are mixed on global worries ahead of the unofficial start of first quarter earnings season.

Emerging markets are likely to be increasingly prone to asset price bubbles in coming years due to capital inflows from advanced economies and strong domestic saving, a top Bank of England official said on Saturday.

A restructuring of Greek debt is out of the question, Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Saturday.

Several euro zone finance ministers told ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet in a conference call last week they have doubts Greece will meet its fiscal targets and suggested Athens restructure its debt, a magazine reported on Saturday.

Oil climbed to its highest level in 2- years on Friday as supply cuts stemming from attacks on Libyan oil fields offset demand concerns spurred by a major aftershock in Japan.

The International Monetary Fund is privately pushing Greece to restructure its debt soon, a German magazine said Saturday, but the Greek government and the European Commission insisted a restructuring would not be discussed.

European authorities and the International Monetary Fund believe Ireland and Greece can sustain their debts while it is up to Portugal whether it joins them in seeking help, the head of Europe's rescue fund said. Fears Ireland will not be able to shoulder the burden of one of the world's most costliest bank bailouts have overshadowed the government's pledge to recapitalize its financial system ...

Credit rating agency Fitch downgraded Portugal on Friday saying the debt-laden country needed a bailout, while rival agency S&P cut Ireland's rating after bank stress tests revealed another black hole.

Europe may offer Ireland concessions on its bailout if weak economic growth prevents Dublin from meeting its targets under an EU-IMF bailout, central bank governor Patrick Honohan said on Thursday.

Opposing views about how to reform the global monetary system were laid bare at a meeting of the top 20 economies on Thursday, with France setting out a bold agenda, China warning that change must be gradual and the United States saying the solution was simple.