IMF's Lagarde urges action to avoid 1930s moment (by Polya Lesova)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said in Berlin on Monday that the global economy could slide into a "1930s moment" unless Europe deals with its debt crisis and other economic powerhouses such as the U.S. and China fulfill their responsibilities. "What we must all understand is that this is a defining moment," Lagarde said at the German Council on Foreign Relations, according to the prepared text of her speech. "It is not about saving any one country or region. It is about saving the world from a downward economic spiral. It is about avoiding a 1930s moment, in which inaction, insularity and rigid ideology combine to cause a collapse in global demand." Lagarde called for stronger growth, larger firewalls and deeper integration in the euro zone to stem the crisis after the "many false starts and half measures" seen in 2011.