Remarks by Sec. Rubin, taken from Ascend thread.
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3:03 PM ET 04/27/98
Rubin sees low U.S. inflation, interest rates
BOSTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said
Monday he expected continued low U.S. inflation and interest
rates even as Wall Street skidded on expectations of a rate
hike.
''The problems in Asia will ... most likely result in lower
inflation in this country and lower interest rates,'' Rubin told
reporters after addressing a round-table meeting on community
venture funding.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Federal Reserve
officials believe Asia's economic crisis is not slowing the U.S.
economy as much as expected and they are considering raising
short-term interest rates in coming months.
The report sent Wall Street stocks tumbling. The Dow Jones
industrial average lost 219 points, or 2.42 percent, to 8,845 by
midafternoon.
However, Rubin said he expected continued low inflation.
''If you look out over the course of the next year, I
continue to feel the most likely scenario by far is solid growth
and low inflation,'' he said after addressing a conference
organized by Boston Community Venture Fund, which invests in
emerging business in poor areas.
''There will be ups and downs. There always are,'' Rubin
said. Commenting on Tokyo's announcement last week of a $128
billion package of tax cuts, government spending and low-cost
loans aimed at reviving Japan's moribund economy, Rubin
reiterated the plan was a ''positive step''.
''Obviously, the ultimate objective has to be to get Japan
back on a path of solid, sustained domestic demand-led growth,''
he said, adding Japan still had to address problems in its
ailing financial sector and that it needed to continue
deregulating and opening its markets.<<<< |
