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To: Sergio R. Mejia who wrote (19974)	9/28/1998 11:37:00 AM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116769

Schroeder Wants Quick Deal, Market Reform By Robert Mahoney BONN (Reuters) - Germany's future chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Monday his new center-left government would curb speculation on capital markets and support British and French proposals to reform global finance. Schroeder, who toppled conservative chancellor Helmut Kohl in elections Sunday, said he would strive for continuity in German foreign policy, particularly towards Europe. Schroeder also told his first news conference as chancellor elect that his Social Democratic Party (SPD) wanted to form a coalition government with the left-wing Greens quickly. ''For the new government, strengthening international cooperation to fight speculative activity on financial markets will be a top priority,'' Schroeder said. SDP chairman Oskar Lafontaine, favorite to become Schroeder's finance minister, suggested interest rate cuts in Europe would be the right way to fight unemployment. ''An interest rate cut would be right, and we have long called for it,'' said Lafontaine, who was sitting beside Schroeder. ''But the question is why in Europe, with such high unemployment, the central banks have not been able to agree on such a step...We see the American monetary policy here as exemplary,'' Lafontaine added. Schroeder, who said fighting record unemployment of more than four million was his top priority, did not detail how he would curb turbulent markets. But he said he backed proposals by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac on reforming the global finance system to prevent crisis. ''More cooperation at the international level combining the G8, as supported by Oskar Lafontaine, is right,'' Schroeder added. Germany takes over the rotating presidency of the Group of Eight industrialized countries, and of the European Union, next January. Schroeder is expected to take over as chancellor in about 10 days after breaking Kohl's conservative Christian Democrats' 16-year grip on power. He said that the 21-seat majority the SDP and Greens will have in the next parliament was wider than he had expected, and should prove sufficient. ''The conditions have been fulfilled, so the coalition negotiations with the Greens are the logical consequences of the election,'' Schroeder said. He said he was confident ''a rational program'' would be possible with the Greens. ''These talks will begin Friday but we will be putting caution before haste,'' he said. ''They should move forward at a brisk pace, but there won't be any pressure. The pressure we have felt the last few months is now gone.'' Schroeder handed Kohl's CDU its worst defeat since 1949. But he kept open the option of a grand coalition with the CDU should talks with the often fractious ecologists collapse. Kohl has said he would not serve in a coalition. ''We need a coalition agreement that binds everyone without ifs, ands or buts,'' said Schroeder, who looked relaxed after a night of celebrating. Lafontaine, a leftwinger with a firm grip on the party machinery, telephoned Greens leader Joschka Fischer Monday to make coalition overtures, Greens sources said. Financial markets, which favored a grand coalition, took the news of a so-called Red-Green alliance in their stride. Germany's Xetra DAX share index surged almost three percent in early trade Monday, with dealers bidding prices higher in the wake of substantial gains on Asian bourses. Shares then eased somewhat, and in late afternoon trade were up 1.44 percent. Schroeder said he expected the Greens to be serious about power sharing. ''I have the impression that the Greens leadership is not entertaining the idea of forming a government contract for less than four years,'' Schroeder said. ''Care comes before haste. We are not under pressure.'' Schroeder refused to discuss portfolios but he repeated that Fischer could be foreign minister. ''It is not the first time that I have said that I could imagine Joschka Fischer in that office,'' Schroeder said. The SPD won 40.9 percent of the vote to become the largest party in the next parliament. Together with the Greens, who claimed 6.7 percent, they would command a majority of 21 seats according to preliminary official results. The CDU took 35.2 percent and their liberal allies the Free Democrats, won 6.2 percent. Kohl, who earned a place in history for reunifying Germany after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, prepared to leave the chancellery from where he has driven European integration and reconciliation since 1982. Members of his CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, prepared for a round of blood-letting following their defeat. Finance Minister Theo Waigel said he would not seek re-election as CSU chairman. dailynews.yahoo.com

To: Sergio R. Mejia who wrote (19974)	9/28/1998 11:43:00 AM
From: Giraffe	Respond to of 116769

In addition, dealers wanting to sell gold have been unable to borrow large amounts of gold in the market because recent reports of credit difficulties at a few international financial firms, such as Long-Term Captial Management, have made some gold holders reluctant to lend, they said. Due to reduced lending, 1-month lease rates for gold have risen to around 2.0%, up from 0.5% in early September, they said. Remember this post from a couple of weeks ago re. lease rates? techstocks.com