The International Monetary Fund has just updated its World Economic Outlook, and the outlook is anything but bright.  The report projects world growth to fall to its lowest rate since World War II. 

Global growth in 2009 is expected to fall to ½ percent when measured in terms of purchasing power parity and to turn negative when measured in terms of market exchange rates (Table 1.1 and Figure 1, view: Data Figure 1). This represents a downward revision of about 1¾ percentage point from the November 2008 WEO Update. Helped by continued efforts to ease credit strains as well as expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, the global economy is projected to experience a gradual recovery in 2010, with growth picking up to 3 percent. However, the outlook is highly uncertain, and the timing and pace of the recovery depend critically on strong policy actions.

Read the full report here, and watch Charles Collyns, Deputy Director for Research at the IMF, explain the report here.