http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0190e230-12d7-11de-9848-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

Teresa Ter-Minassian, an adviser to IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, told reporters that the IMF now expects the world economy will shrink by 0.6 per cent this year, with a 5 per cent contraction in Japan, down from the 2.6 per cent contraction expected in the fund’s last official forecast in January.

The IMF said the figures were “unofficial and already out of date”. They were based on forecasts drawn up in late February.

Japan’s major banks have already raised preferred shares and securities to bolster core tier one capital, though the markets’ willingness to provide more funding is unclear.

The BoJ said its loans would be made available to leading banks as a backstop should they need help in shoring up capital bases eroded by losses and falls in the value of their investments.

contraction 短縮(すること), 収縮

draw up 〈文書を〉作成する

bolster 〈(一本立ちできない)主義・組織などを〉支持する

backstop 補強，支え