At the IMF meeting in Bangkok this week finance and business leaders grappled with uncertainty.
On three occasions in the past 24 hours, top IMF officials have praised UK plans to reduce its annual levels of borrowing.
The influential economics body has upgraded its UK growth forecast for this year, but risks remain.
Unemployment rose slightly as American employers paused hiring with midterm elections just a month away.
In an interview with the BBC, Kristalina Georgieva says economic shocks had pushed "debt levels up like a staircase not to heaven".
The Netherlands has relocated 86 tonnes of the shiny stuff - what's going on?
Economists said there were ongoing concerns over the level of borrowing as national debt passed $40tn.
Interest rates on long-term US, UK, German and Japanese government debt have soared.
Faisal Islam talks to some of the world's most powerful people about the conflict and the economy.
