Bono says 'amoral' capitalism needs taming

The U2 frontman said "it is a wild beast and if not tamed it can chew up a lot of people on the way".

U2 frontman Bono, who has been a prominent campaigner on development issues for decades, has said capitalism is not immoral, "it's amoral".

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bono said capitalism has taken more people out of poverty than "any other ism" but that "it is a wild beast and if not tamed it can chew up a lot of people on the way".

Those who have not benefited from capitalism are, he said, driving "the politics in our home towards populism".

Bono also said he has had a change of heart with regard to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an institution he once considered to be the "Great Satan" for its "bullying of junior economies".

Heaping praise on IMF managing director Christine Lagarde, Bono said the IMF has changed.

The development community, he said, values Ms Lagarde's "tough-mindedness" but he added he would still be on her "case".

-Press Association