The International Monetary Fund and the United States encouraged the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan toward greater monetary stimulus on Friday and urged governments around the world to do their share to encourage growth in their countries. Calling the world economy “fragile, brittle and fragmented”, IMF Managing Director Christian Lagarde told a conference of central bankers in Paris it was “perfectly legitimate and appropriate” for the ECB and the BoJ to take unconventional steps to combat low inflation and economic stagnation.