Ahead of the November 2019 election, Sri Lankan presidential challenger Gotabaya Rajapaksa proposed sweeping tax cuts so reckless the incumbent government thought it must be a campaign gimmick.The finance minister at the time, Mangala Samaraweera, called a briefing to assail the “dangerous” pledge to reduce the value-added tax to eight percent from 15 percent and to scrap other levies.

With 124 million new COVID-19 cases worldwide since the start of 2022, and with the COVID-19 virus spreading, mutating, and stalking even the fully vaccinated, the world faces a grim truth: everyone will live in fear until no one lives in fear. That is why world leaders must resolve that 2022 will be the year when we finally bring the pandemic under control.

The global infrastructure plan announced by G7 leaders aims to offer developing nations a credible alternative to China's much-criticised Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – but it faces major hurdles on the ground, especially if Beijing's hiccups are any indication. United States (US) President Joe Biden was able to convince the G7 to sign onto the initiative, drawing allies into Washington's strategic rivalry with Beijing, under a plan titled, "Build Back Better Wo

The coronavirus pandemic has worsened long-standing inequalities around the world, which left unaddressed could undermine economic stability and lead to unrest, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday.Poorest families have been hit particularly hard, and the damage to education could last for years, the International Monetary Fund said in a report released ahead of next week's Spring meetings.The findings show that the warnings fund economists sounded last year have come

On 19 February, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a paper titled, “Tourism in the Post-Pandemic World: Economic Challenges and Opportunities for Asia-Pacific and the Western Hemisphere”.

On 6 January, when a mob of United States (US) President Donald Trump’s supporters breached the Capitol with shocking ease, the world’s already-low expectations of the US plummeted. And yet, when it comes to the global economy, there are immediate steps President-elect Joe Biden can take to boost the world’s – and especially developing economies’ – prospects. To be sure, the limits of US global leadership are significant.

The world has received the best possible gift for the coming year. The development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in such a short time is something close to a medical miracle and portends an end to the crisis that dominated 2020. But the pace at which we will end the pandemic depends on three factors. The first is the extent of continued compliance with recommended safety measures such as mask wearing, social distancing, crowd avoidance, and hand washing.

The modern international financial system emerged from the devastation of World War II. Since then, it has continued to be shaped by historic slumps – most recently, the 2008 global financial crisis.Today, the COVID-19 pandemic is putting the global financial system to another stringent test.

The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the importance of access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. As we all know now, hand washing is one of the best frontline defenses against the virus.

A few years ago, China’s currency seemed to be rising inexorably to global dominance. The renminbi had become the fifth most important currency for international payments, and in 2016, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) included it in the basket of major currencies that determines the value of Special Drawing Rights (the IMF’s global reserve asset). Since then, however, the renminbi’s progress has stalled.