Ex-IMF's Lagarde: Global growth 'fragile,' 'under threat'

Former head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde has warned that global growth is "fragile" and "under threat" and policymakers should work to reduce manmade vulnerabilities.

Policymakers should work together to "try to reduce the fragility and ... resolve the uncertainty," facing the global economy, she told AFP in an interview on Thursday.

Lagarde, who officially stepped down as IMF managing director last week, decried certain self-inflicted wounds, saying that issues like Brexit and trade frictions "are manmade and can be man-fixed."
But Lagarde, who was the first woman to lead the crisis-lender and is set to become the first woman to take over the leadership of the European Central Bank later this year, said, "a bit of woman wouldn't hurt."
But Lagarde said that experience shows that, in cases where politicians meddle with central bank independence, it "doesn't pan out very well." But she also said central bankers should strive to be "predictable."