This week the IMF released an update to its World Economic Outlook, titled “Global Economy: Steady amid Divergent Forces” and, seriously, in what fricking world are they living? It was yet another example of international groups, governments and parts of the media sane-washing the utter crisis we all exist in because Donald Trump is an egomaniacal bully with the impulses of a spoiled toddler.
How’s this for timing: on Sunday Donald Trump announced from 1 February he will levy a 10% tariff “on any and all goods sent to the United States” from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland, and will increase it to 25% from 1 June unless they let the US gain control of Greenland.
The next day the IMF released a report in which it noted that since October 2025 “trade tensions have continued to abate but remain subject to occasional flare-ups”.
Flare-ups? Cripes. I guess the IMF could not write “the madman in the White House hasn’t done anything lately, but you know he probably will because he is deranged and could for example decide that he deserves Greenland because Norway didn’t give him the Nobel peace prize.”
No one writes or says that. Everyone fudges around trying hard to suggest things are normal. Americans being killed by roving gangs of government-sanctioned thugs and Trump threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act is just worthy of a straight report. Heck, Donald Trump posting a photo of himself sitting before a map showing the US flag on Venezuela, Canada and Greenland is just Trump being Trump – a bit provocative, or even just “trolling”.
Give me strength.
When did everyone become so utterly committed to ensuring gross acts of violence and betrayal of international laws would be prettied up for easy consumption?
Consider that the IMF’s update showed this chart of the effective rate of tariffs that shows the average tariffs paid by Americans on all imports is higher than the IMF projected in October.
They describe it all in very calm language, stripped of any emotion or understanding: “the overall US effective tariff rate at about the same level as assumed in the October 2025 WEO, but the changes for specific countries can be meaningful”.
“Meaningful”?
The tariffs Americans are paying now are more than six times higher than this time last year, and they are set to go even higher. But sure, “meaningful”.
It’s all so maddening.
The IMF has decided that yes, tariffs are bad, but hey have you seen all that investment in AI?
I noted previously that the more recent GDP figures showed Australia is also having a boom in AI investment:
The IMF has clearly hitched its wagon to AI as being the driver of economic growth for the future.
The report suggests that “on the upside, rapid adoption of AI, possibly facilitated by the ongoing surge in AI-related investment in both hard and soft infrastructure, could significantly improve productivity and boost medium-term growth prospects sooner…
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