Weekly RoundupSILICON VALLEY BANKThe IMF has told media organizations that it welcomes the decisive action taken by authorities in the United States following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and another mid-sized lender and that it is monitoring the implications for financial stability. “The IMF welcomes the decisive steps taken by the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and US Treasury to address the systemic risks arising from recent bank failures in the US,” the Fund told Reuters. “IMF staff are following the evolving situation closely and assessing potential global financial stability implications.” UKRAINEAn IMF mission has held policy discussions with the Ukrainian authorities on their request for a Fund-supported program in the Polish capital of Warsaw. In a statement, Vahram Stepanyan, the IMF’s resident representative to Ukraine, said discussions were productive and good progress has been made towards agreement on a set of policies that could underpin a program. “Building on this progress, staff and the authorities expect to conclude the discussions in the coming days.” The discussions came less than a month after IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised Ukraine’s strong performance under its monitoring program during a visit to Kyiv. ARGENTINAArgentina's authorities have reached an agreement with IMF staff on the fourth review under the country’s Extended Fund Facility. The agreement, which is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, which is expected to meet in the coming weeks, will provide access to about $5.3 billion. “Against the challenges of an increasingly severe drought, a stronger policy package is necessary to safeguard macroeconomic stability, address rising inflation and recent policy setbacks, as well as ensure achievement of underlying program objectives,” a statement said. AFRICAPolitical economy should be top of mind when undertaking economic reforms, Georgetown professor Ken Opalo said in an online Africa Perspectives conversation with the director of the IMF’s African Department, Abebe Aemro Selassie. They agreed that it is paramount to understand the country-specific political, institutional and economic context for reforms to yield fruitful outcomes. STAFF PAPERA new IMF staff paper finds that the economic cost of temperature increases since 2000 has been substantially underestimated because the propagation of weather shocks through production networks has been overlooked. The study examines the effect of weather fluctuations and extreme weather events on sectoral economic production and the transmission of weather shocks across sectors, countries and over time. While agriculture is the most harmed sector, sectors at later stages of the supply chain also suffer. STAFF PAPERCredit cards with reward programs are responsible for redistributing $15 billion per year from the “have-nots” to the “haves,” according to a new IMF staff paper. Money goes from less to more educated people, poorer to richer, and high to low minority areas, widening existing disparities. Reward cards induce more spending, leaving so-called “naïve” consumers with higher unpaid balances. Banks incentivize the use of reward cards by offering lower interest rates than on comparable cards without rewards. | 
