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Banking reforms aimed at preventing another financial crisis have failed to make enough progress, the boss of the International Monetary Fund has warned.

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde blamed a combination of the complexity involved, industry lobbying and "fatigue" for the delay.

"The industry still prizes short-term profit over long-term prudence," Ms Lagarde said at a conference on the future of capitalism.

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he World Bank approved three projects totaling $1.48 billion for Ukraine today, including $750 million of budget support as the government faces continued tensions on the eastern border ahead of a May 25 presidential election.

“The country’s leaders are determined to improve public services and back much-needed reforms, and we’re determined to help them,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said today in a statement. The lender is increasing assistance to the country to help “achieve economic recovery at a crucial time,” he said.

Rising territorial conflicts in the waters in Southeast Asia and political tensions in Thailand could dampen strong growth in the region and hurt investments if left unresolved, a senior official of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

"If the tension gets higher, it could have large impacts on the economies, especially in the case of this region where the countries are interconnected through supply chains," Naoyuki Shinohara, IMF deputy managing director, told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Manila.

Investors in Africa are increasingly able to see beyond negative headlines of violence in nations like South Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya, but they also seek more protection against risk for their business ventures, a senior World Bank official said.

"There was a time when Africa for many investors was just like a big, big country," Michel Wormser, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), said.

(Reuters) - Weak consumer spending and business investment brought France's economy to a standstill in the first quarter of the year, raising doubts over the government's growth forecast and its pledge to meet EU deficit targets.

Separately, the International Monetary Fund saw "major risks" of slippage in efforts by President Francois Hollande's government to shave a total 50 billion euros off France's high public spending over the next three years.

BERLIN--The head of the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that inflation rates in the euro zone and other leading economies are too low and pose a risk in the outlook for the global economy.

The comments highlight growing concern as to whether the euro zone might be heading toward deflation. Inflation reached just 0.7% in the 18-member bloc, far below the European Central Bank's target of just under 2%.

Energy subsidies may be preventing governments from Egypt to Malaysia from spending enough on social programs that would help the poor, the World Bank said.

Fuel subsidies are highest in the Middle East and North Africa, where they account for more than 4 percent of gross domestic product, the World Bank said in a report released today. That compares with 1 percent of GDP spent on social safety net programs such as conditional cash transfers, it said.

The tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru has officially lodged an application for entry to the International Monetary Fund, the global financial body said Friday.

The Micronesian island of around 9,500 people would become the 189th member state of the IMF if its application is successful.

The application must first be endorsed by 24 IMF executive board members.

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Employment policies in East Asia Pacific countries favor men in salaried positions while failing to help women, young people and low-skilled workers, the World Bank said in a new report on labor in the region.

Policy makers are failing to protect protect and educate their working populations at a time when aging populations are putting a greater strain on resources. Failure to act now could hurt economic growth, the World Bank said.

MOSCOW—Ukraine has received the first tranche of $3.19 billion from the International Monetary Fund's emergency rescue package of $17 billion approved last week, the National Bank of Ukraine said Wednesday.

The much-needed funds may be used to pay off part of the $3.5 billion debt Ukraine owes Russia for natural gas.

Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom set Wednesday as the deadline for the payment and has threatened to introduce prepayment for future deliveries if Ukraine doesn't pay on time.