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IMF upgrades outlook for suprisingly reslient world economy to 3.3% growth this year

WASHINGTON (AP) — An unexpectedly sturdy world economy is likely to shrug off President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies this year, thanks partly to a surge of investment in artificial intelligence in North America and Asia, the International Monetary Fund said in a report out Monday.

The 191-nation lending organization expects that global growth will come in at 3.3% this year, same as in 2025 but up from from the 3.1% it had forecast for 2026 back in October.

The world economy “continues to show notable resilience despite significant US-led trade disruptions and heightened uncertainty,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas and his colleague Tobias Adrian wrote in a blog post accompanying the latest update to the fund’s World Economic Outlook.

The U.S. economy, benefiting from the strongest pace of technology investment since 2001, is forecast to expand 2.4% this year, an upgrade on the fund’s October forecast and on expected 2025 growth — both 2.1%.

China — the world’s second-largest economy — is forecast to see 4.5% growth, an improvement on the 4.2% the IMF had predicted October, partly because a trade truce with the United States has reduced American tariffs on Chinese exports.

India, which as supplanted China as the world’s fastest-growing major economy, is expected to see growth decelerate from 7.3% last year (when it was juiced by an unexpectedly strong second half) to a still-healthy 6.4% in 2026.

American allies warn division weakens deterrence in calls for global unity to meet new threats

SINGAPORE (AP) — American allies stressed the need for unity at a top defense conference Sunday, saying that as threats increasingly transcend regions, cooperation is more important than ever, even as Washington has become more critical of its traditional friends. U.S. President Donald Trump has been extremely harsh about NATO, and the comments at the Shangri-La conference came the day after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth again chided Western European allies at the forum for not devoting enough resources to defense. Japan pushes for unity, saying it strengthens deterrence Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi praised Hegseth for his commitment to the Indo-Pacific, but at the same time stressed the continued need for strong coalitions globally.
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