Business this week

The IMF drastically reduced its outlook for the world economy, projecting that it will contract by 4.9% this year. The downward revision was across the board; all regions will suffer shrinkage. America’s GDP is now expected to fall by 8%, Britain’s and the euro area’s both by 10.2% and Japan’s by 5.8%. Most emerging markets will fare little better. China, though, is forecast to grow by 1%. See article.

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said that he doesn’t want its bond-buying programme to become a “permanent feature” of the British economy. In a shift of policy from his predecessor, Mark Carney, Mr Bailey indicated that it “would be better to consider adjusting the level of reserves first” before raising interest rates. The central bank recently increased its quantitative-easing programme by £100bn ($125bn).