IMF and World Bank must act fast after Covid caught policymakers napping

Tide went out for global economy in 2020 and just about everybody was caught skinny-dippingWarren Buffett once quipped it was only when the tide went out that it was possible to see who had been swimming naked. The legendary investor had companies up to their eyeballs in debt in mind when he made that comment but it now has a wider significance. In 2020 the tide went out for the global economy and just about everybody was caught skinny-dipping.Clearly, there is never a good time for a pandemic but the brutal reality is that the world was ill-prepared for the arrival of Covid-19 at the start of the year. Policymakers had turned a blind eye to problems that had been getting steadily worse for years. Weaknesses that ought to have been tackled were left unaddressed. Continue reading...