This blog is based on Chapter 3 of the IMF's April 2024 Global Financial Stability Report | Cyberattacks have more than doubled since the pandemic. While companies have historically suffered relatively modest direct losses from cyberattacks, some have experienced a much heavier toll. US credit reporting agency Equifax, for example, paid more than $1 billion in penalties after a major data breach in 2017 that affected about 150 million consumers. As we show in a chapter of the April 2024 Global Financial...

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With Up to $6.6 Billion in Proposed CHIPS Direct Funding, TSMC Announces 2 Nanometer Technology at Second Fab and a New Third Fab to Produce 2 Nanometer or More Advanced Chips. Proposed CHIPS Investment in Arizona Would Support AI, High-Performance Computing, 5G/6G Communications, and More Applications. On April 8th, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce and TSMC Arizona Corporation (TSMC Arizona), a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum...

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Blog post by Charles Cohen, Caio Ferreira, Fabio Natalucci, Nobuyasu Sugimoto |  The private credit market, in which specialized non-bank financial institutions such as investment funds lend to corporate borrowers, topped $2.1 trillion globally last year in assets and committed capital. About three-quarters of this was in the United States, where its market share is nearing that of syndicated loans and high-yield bonds. This market emerged about three decades ago as a financing source for companies too large or risky for commercial banks...

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The sixth ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (“TTC”) took place in Leuven, Belgium, on 4 and 5 April 2024. It was co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, joined by European Commissioner Thierry Breton, and hosted by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European...

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The United States has been ranked as the top destination for foreign direct investment for the 12th consecutive year according to Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council’s 2024 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index.  The annual survey of global senior executives and investors found that the United States maintains its lead ranking for over a decade due to the growing strength of the U.S. economy and rebounding consumer sentiment. Foreign investors were encouraged by higher-than-anticipated GDP growth in 2023, which was attributed...

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U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Assistant Secretary Alan Davidson gave remarks at a roundtable with leading AI developers, civil society organizations, and academics on the benefits, risks, and policy options regarding open AI models, in relation to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Request for Comment on the topic. Secretary Raimondo moderated the discussion, which addressed the marginal benefits and risks of open AI models, systems of accountability and risk mitigation, the national security and societal impacts...

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​IMO has agreed on an illustration of a possible draft outline of an “IMO net-zero framework” for cutting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from international shipping. This marks a step forward in the legal process towards adopting global regulations, referred to as “mid-term GHG reduction measures”, that will help achieve the targets contained in the 2023 IMO Strategy on the Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships. At the conclusion of the eighty-first session of the Maritime Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 81), held...

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Blog post by Federico Maria Ferrara, Tom Hudepohl, Pamina Karl, Tobias Linzert, Benoit Nguyen, Lia Vaz Cruz |  The Eurosystem is shrinking its balance sheet, which makes more government bonds available for purchase. The ECB Blog looks at how markets are adjusting to this new situation with regard to bond price volatility, liquidity and the impact on repo markets. Since mid-2022 the Eurosystem’s balance sheet declined by around €2,000 billion, or more than 22 per cent. The largest part of...

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On March 25th the Commission published a Flash Eurobarometer conducted at the regional level, showing that EU citizens look positively at the economic situation and the quality of life in their region. Over eight out of ten Europeans (82%) say that the quality of life in their region is good. At the same time, 65% of Europeans say that the current situation of the economy of their region is good. Europeans tend to think that the most important issues facing their region at the moment are the cost of...

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Speech by Alfred Kammer, Director - European Department, IMF  |  Thank you, Dean Muštra, for your opening remarks and Governor Vujčić for the invitation to attend this year’s Regional Governors’ Meeting in Split. Today’s gathering comes two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a subsequent energy-price roller coaster, and the advent of a more fragmented global economy. Against this backdrop Europe has done well, because governments acted fast and decisively. Unemployment rates have remained low, inflation has declined sharply, and the EU announced a new...

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