international monetary fund

The 17-country eurozone risks falling into a "severe recession," the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned on Tuesday, as it called on governments and Europe's central bank to act quickly to keep the slowdown from spreading.

The International Monetary Fund has sharply downgraded its outlook for the U.S. economy through 2012 because of weak growth and concern that Europe won't be able to solve its debt crisis.

As a new week begins on Wall Street, nobody wants bank stocks, J.P. Morgan Chase hints at changes at the top, OPEC ministers tussle over crude, and airlines are in for some financial turbulence. In fact, the only good news is for France, which apparently won't lose the IMF over the DSK scandal.

In its latest report, the IMF applauds national policymakers for stabilizing credit markets and putting the global economy on a recovery track. However, thorny problems remain -- including how to prevent overheating in emerging markets, and how to cut the U.S. deficit while lowering its unemployment rate.

The Federal Reserve is doling out billions to buy bonds in hopes of keeping interest rates low and stimulating the economy. However, several powerful forces are working against that low-rate strategy, ranging from investor psychology to global competition for capital.

Simply put, the losses Irish taxpayers will be forced to cover are larger than the nation's economy can support, even with the promised bailout. The EU and Irish political leadership's attempts to put a brave face on the crisis is no match for this crippling burden.

Investors should stay focused on the dynamics within European politics that shaped the rescue. Other indebted economies -- like Spain, Portugal and Italy -- could find themselves in a similar situation, after all. And politics will again guide market moves.

As if the Irish debt crisis weren't enough, investors are worried once again about rising inflation in China. But officials in Beijing are quietly building an impressive record of economic management, and some analysts are convinced they can meet the challenge.

Forget the gloomy predictions: According to Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley, U.S. consumers are a year ahead of schedule in repairing their household balance sheets, giving them the ability to start spending again soon. And the head of the IMF was explicit Monday: A double dip is unlikely.

Europe's shakiest economies managed to ride out a sovereign debt crisis this spring with a lot of help from their more stable neighbors and the major central banks. But new data suggests we may soon see a replay of the debt default crisis.