The global economy is at last shaking off the financial crisis, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) says. Financial markets have rebounded since the lows following the 2008 collapse of the Wall Street investment firm Lehman Brothers - - the result of improving economic conditions and wide-ranging policy actions by central banks and governments, according to the IMF’s update of its Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR). Separately, an IMF working paper warns that the market's ability to absorb Japanese public debt will likely diminish in years ahead as the country's population grows older. The publication coincided with Standard & Poor's Ratings Services threat on Tuesday to downgrade Japan's sovereign debt because of lack of confidence in the new government's ability to push through overdue reforms.