[ti:IMF Lowers Its Outlook for World Economy] [ar:Bob Doughty] [al:Economics Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.15]this is the Economics Report. [00:05.08]The world economy is not growing as fast [00:08.62]as many experts had hoped. [00:10.97]The International Monetary Fund [00:14.25]recently announced it was changing [00:16.50]its prediction for future economic activity. [00:20.78]The IMF now says it expects the world economy [00:25.90]to grow only a little over 3 percent in 2013, [00:31.87]that is down from an earlier prediction of 3.3 percent. [00:38.39]The IMF blamed the slower growth in part on what it called [00:44.22]"continuing growth disappointments" [00:46.91]in developing countries, [00:48.41]and a deeper than expected recession in Europe. [00:53.45]Olivier Blanchard is the chief economist at the IMF. [00:58.98]"The main effect really comes from the slowdown [01:01.32]in emerging market economies, [01:03.06]but we are also revising down the euro area forecast." [01:07.70]International demand for goods and services [01:10.44]has decreased as people buy less, [01:14.75]that is especially true in Europe. [01:17.75]There a debt crisis and government cost-cutting measures [01:22.59]have produced the longest economic slowdown [01:25.57]in the history of the 17-nation eurozone. [01:29.80]Peter McGuire studies Asia markets [01:32.99]for the financial service company, Baxter FX. [01:37.37]"It is not surprising. [01:38.69]When you think about as far as global demand, [01:42.12]that seems to be softening, [01:43.42]and of course with Europe in the position that it's been in, [01:46.70]it's just protracted slowness to a point of [01:49.55]nearly negative growth across the whole zone." [01:53.00]Reduced demand has slowed growth in faster-growing economies, [01:57.03]especially in the countries known as BRIC [02:00.63]- Brazil, Russia, India, and China. [02:05.21]Olivier Blanchard says economic activity in the BRIC countries [02:10.49]has an affect on more developed economies. [02:13.83]"If, for example, growth in BRICs was to go down [02:18.21]by two percent relative to what we predict, [02:20.81]then the effect on the U.S., [02:23.45]for example, would be half a percent. [02:25.29]So it matters." [02:26.93]The IMF has lowered its expectations [02:30.29]for economic growth in the United State. [02:33.07]Yet recent reports on American housing and employment [02:37.86]have suggested slow but steady growth. [02:41.79]This growth has been strong enough [02:44.63]for America's central bank to change monetary policies [02:49.02]that have kept long-term interest rates at record-low level. [02:54.45]Olivier Blanchard says rising American interest rates [02:59.93]could create difficulties for some countries, [03:02.82]but he believes it would also be evidence of the stronger recovery [03:07.95]for the world's largest economy. [03:11.03]"Along the way, you may have quite a bit of volatility, [03:14.63]but on that, the bottom line remains the same, [03:18.23]which is - it's good news for the world." [03:20.02]The International Monetary Fund is predicting improvements [03:24.50]in the world economy next year. [03:27.00]But the IMF says the improving conditions are possible, [03:31.83]only if major economies cut long-term debt [03:36.61]and support policies that aid near-term growth. [03:41.64]And that's the Economics Report from VOA Learning English, [03:48.03]I'm Bob Doughty. [03:49.72]For more reports, visit us online at 51voa.com. [03:57.99]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com