Fed urged to take care with stimulus GLOBAL finance chiefs have stepped up calls for the US Federal Reserve to take care in moving to cut its stimulus, as emerging countries wrestle with financial turbulence. Numerous countries at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank said the US central bank's expected tightening had already added challenges to their struggling economies, stirring capital outflows and pressing their currencies lower. The IMF's steering committee, the International Monetary and Financial Committee, itself cautioned the Fed and other central banks in advanced economies when they begin "normalising" their ultra-low interest rates and easy-money policies. "The eventual transition toward the normalisation of monetary policy ... should be well-timed, carefully calibrated, and clearly communicated," the IMFC said. Others were more frank, after struggling with the consequences of a surge in interest rates in the five months since the Fed signalled it was close to "tapering" its $90 billion a month asset-purchase program. Africa's representatives at the IMF and World Bank said in a statement they were "worried about uncertainty" arising from the pullback from so-called unconventional monetary policies - those which have flooded cheap dollars, euros and yen onto the global economy for some five years. "We call on policymakers in advanced economies to be aware of negative spillovers of their policy actions, and ensure that stimulus exit strategies are communicated clearly," they said. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said he expects only more turmoil in the markets when the Fed moves. Brazil's central bank governor, Alexandre Tombini, said that economic pessimism had spread due to the expected Fed tightening. And Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, warned of a "disorderly" wind-down of stimulus programs. While unconventional monetary policies helped stabilise growth and financial markets in advanced economies after major crises, more attention should be given to the risks associated with the prolonged use and disorderly exit of such policies. The Fed still has not begun its taper, deciding so far that the US economy is not ready for it, but most expect the stimulus reductions to come in the next few months. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has reaped criticism for allegedly poorly communicating his intent. The IMF has repeatedly warned the emerging economies to fortify themselves against likely more turbulence and higher interest rates as the global economy transitions to a more "normal" monetary situation.