The largest global financial institutions are revising their outlooks for the current year due to the coronavirus outbreak. Another gloomy forecast has been presented by the International Monetary Fund. “The economic impact is and will be severe,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. This short quote from her speech accurately conveys the Fund's global growth forecast. The IMF expects negative growth rates and “a recession at least as bad as during the global financial crisis or worse.” However, its impact will hardly be long-lasting. Georgieva hopes for a recovery in 2021. Much will depend on how soon the pandemic comes to an end. Coronavirus is not the only major challenge to the global economy. The oil standoff between Saudi Arabia and Russia, trade wars, and sanctions - all this is slowing down the pace of economic development. According to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the global economic growth in 2020 will be 0.4 percent. Besides, some experts argue that the economies of such countries as the United States and Japan as well as the euro area accounting for one third of global GDP have already plunged into recession.
