Global unrest a possibility

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a warning over the consequences of a prolonged global slump – unless governments act with greater urgency to jump start ailing economies, violent social unrest may occur around the world. Weak and uncertain government action to the crisis was causing fears that a world recovery could be delayed until late next year of early in 2010. Setting himself firmly against the president of the European Union who has urged European leaders to stick to their ‘fiscal rule book’, Mr Strauss-Kahn said: ‘We are facing an unprecedented decline in output and we have evidence of substantial uncertainty limiting the effectiveness of some fiscal policy measures’.