"It is very likely that this year the global economy will experience its worst recession since the Great Depression, surpassing that seen during the global financial crisis a decade ago," the IMF said in its report. "The Great Lockdown, as one might call it, is projected to shrink global growth dramatically." Not 1932The IMF a decade ago estimated the global economy shrank 0.7% in 2009 but has since adjusted that contraction to 0.1%. Advanced economies now suffering the worst outbreaks of the virus will bear the brunt of the plunge in activity. The U.S. economy will contract 5.9% in 2020, with a rebound to 4.7% growth in 2021 under the Fund's best-case scenario.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 14, 2020 20:37 UTC