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To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (5536)	1/10/1998 8:31:00 AM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116753

01-10-98 : Religious Groups Join Forces in Gold-Collecting Campaign By Kwak Young-sup Staff reporter With South Korea foundering in a severe dollar shortage, the nation's religious organizations have joined forces in a rare national campaign: to collect gold to ride out the crisis. Several religions, including Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Won Buddhism, have announced their participation in the gold-collecting drive. In a news conference Thursday, Rev. Song Wol-joo, chairman of the council of national Buddhist sects, urged that all the nation's Buddhist sects and temples take part in the national campaign. ''Each Korean can not stand on their own economically unless the national economy is strong,'' said Rev. Song, who is also chief administrator of the nation's largest Buddhist sect Chogye Order. ''In that sense, I urge all believers in Buddhism to cooperate in the drive.'' Rev. Song said that major Buddhist temples across the nation from now on will gather gold during their Sunday prayer sessions. Designed to reduce the import of gold and thus save dollars, the gold-collecting campaign has been rapidly gathering sympathy among Koreans _ civilians, businessmen, soldiers and even lawmakers are participating in the drive. The nation's Presbyterian churches have also rolled up their sleeves to help pay back the nation's foreign debt and ride out the current economic crisis. About 15 tons of gold, which have been hidden under bed mattresses, have been collected so far. About 30 ministers of large churches in Seoul held a prayer session for the sake of the nation at Youngnak Presbyterian Church Monday and decided to collect $15 billion worth of gold this year, which amounts to about one-eleventh of Korea's foreign debts. ''We have joined the nation-saving campaign, following a historical example set by Korean churches during the early days of Japanese colonial rule when they helped save the nation through a ''buy-only Korean'' campaign,'' said Rev. Lee Chul-shin of Youngnak Presbyterian Church. On the same day, the Korean National Council of Churches also announced that its member churches would participate actively in the gold-gathering drive. In addition, Won Buddhism and Chondokyo, a traditional religion, made public their desire to take part in the rapidly spreading campaign.

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (5536)	1/10/1998 9:51:00 AM
From: Dwight Taylor	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116753

<<Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs on Saturday blamed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for aggravating Asia's financial crisis>> This is the second time in a week I have heard this remark. Last week on Meet The Press (or something) it was Jack Kemp criticizing the IMF. What is going on here? I thought it was the IMF that was the saviour here? If not the IMF to bail out Asia then what or whom will step up to the plate? This Asian thing is probably getting worse and the finger pointing has begun, which leads me to believe the bailouts will fail. It is becoming very political and the "winner" will emerge from the "Harvard" circle of influence--don't forget Hillary et al are Yale.

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (5536)	1/10/1998 1:16:00 PM
From: Abner Hosmer	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 116753

Bobby, from the article you linked: >>Private foreign investors had followed their peers in jumping off the Asian markets without fundamental justification, he said. ''It was an unjustified race for the exit.''<< I thought this comment was interesting. This is the way it's always worked, whether it's bonds, the Dow, or junior golds. A market doesn't feel the need to justify itself. As you have said, it's largely a matter of perception. As soon as one investor percieves that the others will run, self-preservation becomes the imperative. If you don't run, you are doomed to be the last one out. It's inevitable. "But the focus shifted to food markets earlier in the day as crowds bought up rice, sugar, flour, cooking oil and milk." biz.yahoo.com "U.S. President Bill Clinton personally stepped into Asia's financial crisis on Friday, telling President Suharto in a 25-minute telephone call that Indonesia has to follow through on economic reforms..... Mohammad Syahrial, head of research with Pentasena Securities, told Reuters only 22 of 282 companies listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange were financially viable, with the rest technically bankrupt because of overseas debt commitments." yahoo.com I guess that I don't see any quick fixes here, either. Seems like the Heads of State are becoming increasingly alarmed about the possiblity of what Greenspan has called, "Atomic Erosion" in the international banking system. The BIS has repeatedly warned banks and businesses about the heightened danger due to the fact that curency risks were not being properly hedged. They said that we had come close to a systemic crises when Barings melted down. Can you imagine how this looks from the inside, now? Tom