Minister George Osborne and Global Consequences

global consequences: Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said there was no doubt a decision by Britain to leave the EU would have negative global consequences. "We would classify a UK exit from the EU as a powerful geopolitical shock, a negative shock," Padoan told reporters in Shanghai, according to Deutsche Welle. Refugee crisis and geopolitical tensions Other major risks named in the G20 communique included the arrival of an increasing number of refugees in some regions, volatile capital flows, a large drop in commodity prices and escalated geopolitical tensions. British Finance Minister George Osborne said finance ministers were unanimous that a so-called "Brexit" was one of the "biggest economic dangers this year." Britain will vote in a referendum on June 23 on whether to leave the 28-nation EU. A G20 official said the risk of a Brexit hadn't been mentioned in earlier drafts of the communique, but had been added after a strong case for was made for its inclusion by British delegates. G20 ministers and central bank chiefs said they would use "all policy tools" available to "individually and collectively" boost sluggish growth and foster economic confidence. Divisions between major economies over the best method to turn around slowing growth also emerged during the two-day meeting. There was, however, no mention of a plan for any specific coordinated stimulus spending to spark activity, as some investors had been hoping. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.