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JOB centres are rarely upbeat places. In Brazil, where they are often a last resort for those who lack the personal connections that lubricate much of life in the country, they can be particularly bleak. Francisco, a 54-year-old driver queuing at one in downtown São Paulo, has had no work for over two years. The lines have never been longer, he sighs. “It’s the crisis.”

Developing economies enjoying “remarkably favorable” financing conditions in recent months remain susceptible to changes in investor sentiment that could crimp capital inflows, a World Bank report said.

“Current market conditions are supportive to developing-country prospects in the short term, but could encourage investors to underprice risk and borrowers to increase leverage,” the Washington-based lender said in a report today. “This might set the ground for sudden spikes in volatility and sharp adjustments to adverse news.”

Fighting climate change would help grow the world economy, according to the World Bank, adding up to $2.6tn (£1.5tn) a year to global GDP in the coming decades.

The findings, made available in a report on Tuesday, offer a sharp contrast with claims by the Australian government that fighting climate change would “clobber” the economy.

The report also advances on the work of economists who have argued that it will be far more costly in the long run to delay action on climate change.

LUXEMBOURG — The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said that if inflation continued to drag, the euro zone’s central bank could do more to invigorate the economy by buying government bonds and other financial assets.

Such a program would in effect emulate the Federal Reserve’s stimulus efforts. The I.M.F., in its annual report on the euro-currency union, also criticized its rules for managing national budgets as complicated and poorly enforced — even as some member nations continue to call for greater leeway.

Italy's economic recovery remains fragile and Matteo Renzi's government needs to take rapid steps to increase the country's growth potential and cut debt, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

In its written conclusions after a visit to Italy, the IMF called on the government to tighten the budget to achieve a modest fiscal surplus next year in structural terms and urged Italian banks to step up efforts to reduce bad loans.

"The recovery remains fragile and unemployment unacceptably high, highlighting the need for bold and quick policy actions," the IMF said in the document.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker called last month in Washington for a new Bretton Woods, the 1944 conference of World War II Allies that set up an international gold-exchange regime. His remarks received little media attention.

This strikes me as an underplayed story, especially as Congress considers taking a serious look at the Federal Reserve. Some legislators in particular are concerned that the value of the dollar, while stronger than last year, is still worth less than a 1200th of an ounce of gold.

BEIJING—China's economy is expected to record slower growth over the medium term, the World Bank said on Friday, but Beijing has the ability to roll out economic support measures to meet its official target of about 7.5% this year.

The bank said in its China Economic Update, a regular report on the state of the economy, that the prospect of growth falling below the target would likely trigger accommodative fiscal and monetary policies.

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Unwinding central banks’ unprecedentedly large bond-buying programs is a tricky — and risky — business. For the chief financial officer of the World Bank Group, the exit from easy monetary policy is something regulators worldwide should seek to coordinate.

“The risk is, for some reason, you have some overreaction in interest-rate markets,” including a spike in rates that throws investors off-balance, Bertrande Badré said in a recent interview on the sidelines of a World Bank summit in Singapore. “There would be an impact on capital flows as well.”

World powers and international donors must prepare a post-war reconstruction plan for Syria and its neighbors to help the region recover from the Syrian conflict, the head of the World Bank said on Tuesday.

Jim Yong Kim said that although there was no sign that the ruinous war between President Bashar al-Assad and rebel fighters will end soon, international efforts - led by Arab states - should focus now on a post-war phase.

WASHINGTON—The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved $4.6 billion in long-delayed bailout funds for Greece, nine months after its last disbursement as Athens struggles to implement tough changes to its economy.

The country met a major milestone in its historically large and highly controversial bailout by posting a budget surplus late last year, and Greece's economy is expected to return to growth again this year after a six-year depression.