“Nations around the globe, especially the United States and those in Europe, need to press forward with fiscal and reform promises to reduce the uncertainties shackling growth, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, warning that the global economy barely dodged a bullet last year.

Christine Lagarde, the I.M.F.’s managing director, said the euro zone debt crisis and the budget dispute in the United States could have brought growth to a halt, an outcome only avoided by decisions often made at the last minute.

In particular, she urged the United States to raise its borrowing limit and pressed Europe to follow through with commitments to tackle its debt crisis.”

***

Read full Reuters article here