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                       IMF's Lagarde Warns Against Brexit

   by VOA News

   Britain's exit from the European Union would pose a "significant
   downside risk" and potentially send the nation into a recession,
   International Monetary fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said
   Friday.

   "The majority of economic analysis that has been conducted agree that a
   vote to depart the EU would be costly in the long run," Lagarde told a
   news conference in London. "There is also a risk of an adverse market
   reaction to a leave vote, the implications of which could be
   particularly severe."
   She explained that the hit to the British economy could range from
   "pretty bad to very, very bad."

   ''The IMF released a statement earlier this year warning that Britain
   risks falling into a self-reinforcing cycle of weaker economic growth
   and lower house and share prices should voters opt to leave the EU in
   the June 23 referendum.



   The IMF joins a long list of states and international organizations
   concerned about the economic consequences of Britain's exit from the
   European economic bloc.
   Former NATO chiefs said in a letter to The Daily Telegraph newspaper
   that a so-called Brexit would give aid to the West's enemies" and would
   "undoubtedly lead to a loss of British influence" at a time when "we
   need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder across the Euro-Atlantic community
   against common threats."

   President Obama also urged Britain to stay in the EU, saying in a joint
   news conference with Prime Minister David Cameron in London last month
   that the country's membership "makes you guys bigger players." David
   Cameron himself has warned against the exit, for security reasons as
   well as economic ones.

   "Isolationism has never served this country well," he said. "The
   evidence is clear -- we'll be better off in, and poorer if we leave."

   Britons are decidedly split on the issue of whether to leave the EU. An
   average of the last six public opinion polls done by What UK Thinks
   indicates that voters are split firmly down the middle, with 50 percent
   saying they would opt to leave and 50 percent saying they want to stay.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/imfs-lagarde-warns-against-brexit/3328692.html