IMF hits pessimistic tone as divisive Davos kicks off

This year’s World Economic Forum, in Davos, kicks off against a backdrop of growing pessimism — with the IMF saying global growth appears to have bottomed out with no rebound in sight; and CEO confidence in the world’s economy hitting a record low.

On the eve of Davos, the IMF trimmed back its global growth forecasts for 2020 and 2021, mostly due to a sharper-than-expected slowdown in India and other emerging markets, even as it said that a US-China trade deal added to hopes the activity was bottoming out. Trade tensions and climate shocks make the outlook more uncertain, it said.