Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: goldsnow who wrote (8645)	3/21/1998 10:33:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116762

Rubin Defends IMF Chief, Urges Japan to Act 09:36 p.m Mar 21, 1998 Eastern By Patricia Wilson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin Saturday defended International Monetary Fund chief Michel Camdessus and reiterated Washington's demand that Japan stimulate its economy in the face of Asia's economic turmoil. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a longtime critic of the IMF, has urged that Camdessus, the institution's managing director, be fired. ''I would like us to get rid of the head of the IMF. He's a socialist from France. Am I too blunt?'' the Mississippi Republican said Thursday. Rubin disagreed with Lott, praising Camdessus for doing ''a very good job in a very difficult environment'' and calling the IMF ''very effective'' in dealing with financial crises in South Korea and Thailand. ''I think we are well served by Michel Camdessus,'' Rubin said on the CNN program ''Evans & Novak.'' Camdessus, 64, has completed just over a year of his third five-year term as head of the IMF. He was appointed by the IMF executive board for a fixed term, which cannot be ended prematurely by the U.S. Congress. The IMF, often criticized for ignoring the needs of the poor, has come under fire from left and right in Congress for its lending policies. The Clinton administration is fighting an uphill battle for new funds to replenish IMF coffers depleted by multi-billion-dollar Asian bailouts. In the interview, Rubin warned Republican lawmakers against attaching controversial anti-abortion measures to the $18 billion IMF package, declaring passage of the legislation ''essential to our interests''. Rubin also expressed ''very great concern'' about Japan's ''inability to get back on a strong domestic demand-led world path'' and said the United States and other industrial nations needed to keep the pressure on Tokyo. ''I think it's very important for Japan, but it's also very important for its Asian neighbors,'' he said. ''On balance, I think the high probability is we'll have a good economy, low inflation and low unemployment going forward,'' Rubin said. ''But we need to face these issues ... so they don't become severe and have the potential of a more severe impact on our economy.'' U.S. officials have pressed Tokyo to cut taxes and increase spending, even suggesting clear economic goals. With economic woes plaguing much of Asia, they say it is essential for Japan to boost its economy and help the region recover. But Tokyo has accused the Clinton administration of interfering and insists it is constricted by a huge budget deficit and legislative opposition. Rubin said that despite their lack of success, industrial nations had to continue to work ''to try to help create a situation in which Japan does the kind of things they need to get back on the right path.'' ''I would say that over the last year and a half the evidence is certainly that that has not worked ... that's not just a frustration for us,'' he said.