The IMF says macroprudential regulations, which aim to mitigate risk to the entire financial system, will help in avoiding major impact from financial shocks. AFP
The IMF says macroprudential regulations, which aim to mitigate risk to the entire financial system, will help in avoiding major impact from financial shocks. AFP
The IMF says macroprudential regulations, which aim to mitigate risk to the entire financial system, will help in avoiding major impact from financial shocks. AFP
The IMF says macroprudential regulations, which aim to mitigate risk to the entire financial system, will help in avoiding major impact from financial shocks. AFP

IMF says macroprudential regulations and rule-based fiscal stimulus can help global economy


Sarmad Khan
  • English
  • Arabic

Emerging markets economies can become more resilient to global financial shocks through macroprudential regulation that will also help them deal with economic shocks like the coronavirus pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The Covid-19 outbreak, which battered the global economy and upended trade, has hit emerging markets hard through an unprecedented combination of domestic and external shocks, Damiano Sandri, a deputy division chief at the IMF Research Department, wrote in a blogpost on Tuesday.

The pandemic has led to a sharp increase in global risk aversion to the emerging market economies and an abrupt retrenchment in foreign capital flows that have dented macroeconomic conditions even with flexible exchange rate in some markets. Portfolio capital flows to emerging markets securities have declined significantly in February. Non-resident portfolio outflows in March surpassed anything seen previously, including during the global financial crisis in 2008, according to the Institute of International Finance.

“Macroprudential regulation involves a broad range of measures aimed at buttressing financial stability,” Mr Sandri said. “These may include capital requirements to strengthen bank balance sheets; limits on loan-to-value ratios to curb risk taking and restrictions on foreign currency mismatches.”

Macroprudential regulations aim to mitigate risk to the entire financial system. The approach, used by the central bank and financial regulators around the globe, looks to avoid and reduce the macroeconomic costs of financial instability.

Negative effects arising from economic shocks become less pronounced in countries with tighter levels of macroprudential regulation, Mr Sandri noted. If the level of regulation is sufficiently stringent, global financial shocks do not seem to have a significant impact on gross domestic product growth in emerging markets, he said citing IMF analysis.

These dampening effects, however, are symmetric as they reduce the sensitivity of domestic activity to both positive and negative global financial shocks, he noted.

“This calls for more research on how to optimally adjust macroprudential regulation over time depending on both domestic and foreign developments.”

The global economy is set to slide into the deepest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Last month, the IMF projected the global output could shrink 3 per cent this year and the outlook of the economy is worse than 2008 financial crisis. The Washington-based lender expects recovery to start only in 2021.

In response, governments and central banks all over the world have introduced strong discretionary - one-off and specific - fiscal and monetary measures to counteract the economic fallout from the pandemic on their economies. An estimated $8 trillion (Dh29.4tn) has so far been poured into the global economy to help protect businesses and stem job losses.

Policymakers, however, have little room for more discretionary monetary policy action with debt levels reaching historic highs and interest rate dripping. But advanced economies could counter the shock through “rules-based fiscal stimulus” — where the stimulus is automatically triggered by deteriorating macroeconomic indicators — which can be highly effective in countering a downturn.

“With interest rates at or near zero in advanced economies, the scope for further conventional rate cuts is limited,” John Bluedorn, a deputy division chief on the World Economic Outlook and Wenjie Chen, an economist at IMF’s African department, said in a joint blogpost.

“But central banks may still use unconventional monetary policy tools more intensively — like large-scale asset purchases — to deliver additional support, as they have [done] recently in response to the pandemic,” they noted.

Relying on monetary policy alone to respond to shocks might not be enough, and it also raises questions about side effects on future financial stability and threats to central bank independence, they said.

Rules-based fiscal stimulus measures — such as temporary targeted cash transfers to liquidity-constrained, low-income households amid rising unemployment — could be highly effective in countering a downturn caused by a typical demand shortfall, the two executives said, citing an IMF study.

“Our analysis shows that adopting rules-based fiscal stimulus measures can be highly effective and more timely, particularly when central bank interest rates are close to or at their effective lower bound and monetary policy is constrained.”

Slow loris biog

From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore

Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets

Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation

Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night

Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans

Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Meydan race card

6pm Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m 

6.35Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
1,800m 

7.10pm Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m ,400m 

7.45pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB)  $180,000  (T) 1,800m 

8.20pm Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m 

8.55pm Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m 

9.30pm Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m  

Match info:

Portugal 1
Ronaldo (4')

Morocco 0

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Pad Man

Dir: R Balki

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte

Three-and-a-half stars

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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

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Barings Bank

 Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal. 

Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson. 

Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.  

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
The Details

Kabir Singh

Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series

Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa

Rating: 2.5/5 

GYAN’S ASIAN OUTPUT

2011-2015: Al Ain – 123 apps, 128 goals

2015-2017: Shanghai SIPG – 20 apps, 7 goals

2016-2017: Al Ahli (loan) – 25 apps, 11 goals

SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now

EU Russia

The EU imports 90 per cent  of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil. 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

While you're here
Company profile

Name: Tratok Portal

Founded: 2017

Based: UAE

Sector: Travel & tourism

Size: 36 employees

Funding: Privately funded

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.