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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday commended the Sri Lankan government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, for its continued commitment to the economic reforms initiated under the global lender's Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The IMF highlighted the administration's policy consistency as a key factor in maintaining investor confidence and ensuring macroeconomic stability. The new government's sustained commitment to programme objectives has enhanced confidence and ensures policy continuity. Going forward, sustaining reform momentum, including by reducing corruption vulnerabilities, is critical to safeguard the hard-won gains, durably restore macroeconomic and debt sustainability, and unlock robust and inclusive growth, the IMF said in a statement. The statement was issued as the IMF and Sri Lanka reached an agreement in Washington on the fourth review of the USD 2.9 billion EFF programme, which was originally approved in March 2023 to assist Sri Lanka in ...
Economic risks for the wealthy due to climate change is growing at the fastest rates because of impacts to global supply chains and goods and services, even as the highest risks remain with the poorest around the world, according to a new study. Across countries, lower-income consumers are known to face higher economic risks in a changing climate because of a low capacity to adapt. However, researchers explained that inequality in consumption between varied income groups within a country is grounded in how easily one is able to substitute goods to adapt to the effects of climate change, including shocks to supply chains. The team from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany found that low-income consumers are more vulnerable to supply shocks as they spend a greater share of their budget on hard-to-substitute necessary goods. On the other hand, high-income consumers spent larger shares of their budget on easier-to-substitute goods so that they suffer smaller