PARIS: Economic stimulus from US tax cuts may lead to a rapid rise in interest rates, which would weigh on countries with high debt levels, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned on Saturday. The IMF was going to be “attentive” to the consequences of the reform, which notably included a sharply lower corporate tax rate, she told French radio station France Inter. This, in turn, would have “an impact on all of the world’s economies, especially on heavily indebted economies,” she added. She rejected, however, any comparison with the economic situation preceding the 2008 financial crisis. The US Congress approved last December a tax reform package that will slash corporate tax to 21 percent from 35 percent.

Source: Manila Times February 18, 2018 16:18 UTC