IMF report says Global economic outlook has improved slightly

1. Wide of news conference for International Monetary Fund''s (IMF''s) world economic outlook 2. Wide of journalists in news conference 3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Olivier Blanchard, IMF chief economist: "For the last six months, the world economy has been on what is best described as a rollercoaster. In the fall, a simmering European crisis became acute, threatening another Lehmann-sized event and the end of a recovery." 4. Journalists in news conference pan to panel of speakers 5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Olivier Blanchard, IMF chief economist: "Strong policy measures were taken. New governments came to power in Italy and Spain. The European Union adopted a tough fiscal pact, and the European Central Bank injected badly needed liquidity. Things have quieted down since, but an uneasy calm remains. One has the feeling that at any moment, things could well get very bad again." 6. Wide of news conference 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Olivier Blanchard, IMF chief economist: "For the United States, the numbers are 2.1 percent for 2012 and 2.4 percent for 2013. Where things are worse is for the Euro area, where the numbers are minus 0.3 percent for 2012 and 0.9 percent for 2013." 8. Mid of journalists in room 9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Olivier Blanchard, IMF chief economist: "The building of the so-called firewalls, when it is completed, will represent major progress. But, by themselves, firewalls cannot solve the difficult fiscal, competitiveness and growth issues that some of the European countries face." 10. Audience in news conference 11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Olivier Blanchard, IMF chief economist: "While some immediate adjustment is needed for credibility - you cannot just say, ''I''ll do it tomorrow,'' - the search should be for credible long-term commitments. How do you do this? By passing measures that decrease trans-spending and by putting in place fiscal rules that reduce deficits over time, not right away necessarily." 12. Wide of panel speakers STORYLINE: The International Monetary Fund is more optimistic about the global economy after seeing faster growth in the United States and a coordinated effort in Europe to address its debt crisis. The global lending organisation said on Tuesday that the US economy should expand 2.1 percent this year. Europe will likely shrink 0.3 percent and the world economy should grow 3.5 percent. All three of the IMF''s estimates are slightly better than its January forecasts. The group praised European leaders for bulking up its bailout fund and taking other steps to address the crisis. The IMF said the crisis continues to loom as the biggest threat to the global economy. The IMF''s World Economic Outlook report comes as the 187-nation organisation and its sister lending institution, the World Bank, prepare to hold their spring meetings in Washington this week. The report represents improvement from January, when IMF officials warned that the global economic recovery was in danger of stalling. Since then, European leaders have worked together on a plan intended to restrain deficit spending. New governments in Spain and Italy have committed to reforms and spending cuts. And the European Central Bank has lent more than US one (t) trillion US dollars to the region''s banks. That has brought down borrowing costs in some of the most troubled countries. In the US, consumers are spending more, business investment has grown and the job market has shown "signs of life," the report says. Blanchard said that recent steps to boost Europe''s bailout fund to about one (t) trillion US dollars are important, but that alone cannot solve the crisis. One key challenge for Europe is balancing the need to cut government budget deficits without choking off growth, he added. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0fd0433587fd42d211bde024f9c0e83c Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork