IMF's Lagarde sees weaker growth, big risks (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The global economy is a bit weaker than the International Monetary Fund forecast in July, held down by a number of factors including uncertainty, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said on Monday. In July, the IMF trimmed its world economic outlook to a 3.5% growth rate. In a speech previewing the upcoming World Bank and IMF annual meetings in Tokyo in early October, Lagarde said she would press policymakers to implement policy actions required to secure the global recovery. Lagarde said the financial sector is not safer today than it was at the start of the crisis five years ago. She said that European leaders must improve their implementation of reforms, and be "multiple players playing one game." Uncertainty in the euro zone is the greatest risk to the global economy, she said. The U.S. must end the stalemate over fiscal policy, which is a "serious threat" to the U.S. and the global economy.