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To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (16336)	11/20/2004 7:29:38 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 116555

Germany's Clement Says Dollar Merits Joint Attention (Update3) Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- German Economy Minister Wolfgang Clement urged the European Central Bank and U.S. and Asian policy makers to take action against any sudden drop in the U.S. dollar, calling the currency's depreciation a risk to economic growth. The dollar's slump ``deserves our whole attention, especially from those responsible for monetary policy,'' Clement said in an interview in Bangkok. ``It is the task of all big economies,'' including the U.S., China and Japan, to avert ``sudden changes,'' he said, without specifying what action they should take. The dollar, which has shed more than 5 percent against the euro in the past three months, fell to $1.3036 at 12:17 p.m. in Frankfurt on expectations that finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 industrialized and developing nations meeting in Berlin tomorrow won't do anything to stem its drop. It reached a record low on five days in the past two weeks. The currency's decline threatens to curb demand for European exports, the driver of the region's recovery, by making products priced in euros more expensive. Growth in the 12 nations sharing the euro slowed in the third quarter to the weakest pace in more than a year. The pace of expansion in the U.S. accelerated. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kazumasa Iwata speak at a panel discussion entitled ``Euro in Wider Circles'' at 2:30 p.m. in Frankfurt. `Not Welcome' Trichet, who said Nov. 8 the euro's renewed appreciation ``is not welcome,'' hasn't signaled that the ECB is ready to sell euros or buy dollar's to stem the currency's advance. The ECB hasn't sold euros to weaken the currency since its start in 1999. Germany's economy grew at the slowest pace in more than a year in the third quarter, when exports declined for the first time in five quarters. The euro's increase to a record against the dollar is causing ``concern'' about future export prospects, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has said. The economy may grow more slowly next year as demand for exports cools, the government's panel of economic advisers said Nov. 17. Gross domestic product will expand 1.4 percent in 2005 compared with 1.8 percent this year, the economists said. Clement said the economy ``can still handle'' the euro's gain though the movement should be ``monitored carefully.'' Europe shouldn't have to carry the burden of the dollar's weakness alone, he said. No Help From Snow European officials are unlikely to persuade Treasury Secretary John Snow to help support the dollar when finance ministers and central bankers from 20 industrialized and developing countries meet in Berlin this weekend. Snow on Nov. 17 criticized Europe for not doing enough to spur growth. He also signaled he doesn't want to stem the dollar's decline, saying ``the history of efforts to impose non-market valuations on currencies is at best unrewarding and checkered.'' Clement's German Cabinet colleague, Finance Minister Hans Eichel told DeutschlandRadio Berlin in an interview broadcast today that ``it can't be in the interest of America to accept a rapid decline in the dollar,'' as that would endanger the U.S. and world economies. ``We will have to see that'' the U.S., Europe and Japan ``sit together and try to come to a common solution,'' Eichel said. Measured by the U.S. Federal Reserve's Trade-Weighted Major Currency Dollar Index, the dollar has shed about a fifth since George W. Bush took office in January 2001. Under Bill Clinton's last two Treasury secretaries, Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, the index advanced 24 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Rainer Buergin in Berlin at rbuergin1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Heather Harris at Hharris@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: November 19, 2004 06:29 EST

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (16336)	11/20/2004 7:38:37 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Germany's Clement Says Dollar Merits Joint Attention (Update3) Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- German Economy Minister Wolfgang Clement urged the European Central Bank and U.S. and Asian policy makers to take action against any sudden drop in the U.S. dollar, calling the currency's depreciation a risk to economic growth. The dollar's slump ``deserves our whole attention, especially from those responsible for monetary policy,'' Clement said in an interview in Bangkok. ``It is the task of all big economies,'' including the U.S., China and Japan, to avert ``sudden changes,'' he said, without specifying what action they should take. The dollar, which has shed more than 5 percent against the euro in the past three months, fell to $1.3036 at 12:17 p.m. in Frankfurt on expectations that finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 industrialized and developing nations meeting in Berlin tomorrow won't do anything to stem its drop. It reached a record low on five days in the past two weeks. The currency's decline threatens to curb demand for European exports, the driver of the region's recovery, by making products priced in euros more expensive. Growth in the 12 nations sharing the euro slowed in the third quarter to the weakest pace in more than a year. The pace of expansion in the U.S. accelerated. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kazumasa Iwata speak at a panel discussion entitled ``Euro in Wider Circles'' at 2:30 p.m. in Frankfurt. `Not Welcome' Trichet, who said Nov. 8 the euro's renewed appreciation ``is not welcome,'' hasn't signaled that the ECB is ready to sell euros or buy dollar's to stem the currency's advance. The ECB hasn't sold euros to weaken the currency since its start in 1999. Germany's economy grew at the slowest pace in more than a year in the third quarter, when exports declined for the first time in five quarters. The euro's increase to a record against the dollar is causing ``concern'' about future export prospects, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has said. The economy may grow more slowly next year as demand for exports cools, the government's panel of economic advisers said Nov. 17. Gross domestic product will expand 1.4 percent in 2005 compared with 1.8 percent this year, the economists said. Clement said the economy ``can still handle'' the euro's gain though the movement should be ``monitored carefully.'' Europe shouldn't have to carry the burden of the dollar's weakness alone, he said. No Help From Snow European officials are unlikely to persuade Treasury Secretary John Snow to help support the dollar when finance ministers and central bankers from 20 industrialized and developing countries meet in Berlin this weekend. Snow on Nov. 17 criticized Europe for not doing enough to spur growth. He also signaled he doesn't want to stem the dollar's decline, saying ``the history of efforts to impose non-market valuations on currencies is at best unrewarding and checkered.'' Clement's German Cabinet colleague, Finance Minister Hans Eichel told DeutschlandRadio Berlin in an interview broadcast today that ``it can't be in the interest of America to accept a rapid decline in the dollar,'' as that would endanger the U.S. and world economies. ``We will have to see that'' the U.S., Europe and Japan ``sit together and try to come to a common solution,'' Eichel said. Measured by the U.S. Federal Reserve's Trade-Weighted Major Currency Dollar Index, the dollar has shed about a fifth since George W. Bush took office in January 2001. Under Bill Clinton's last two Treasury secretaries, Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, the index advanced 24 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Rainer Buergin in Berlin at rbuergin1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Heather Harris at Hharris@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: November 19, 2004 06:29 EST