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To: Alex who wrote (27789)	2/5/1999 11:28:00 AM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

Top gold funds are HOT!!!! marketwatch.cnation.com

To: Alex who wrote (27789)	2/5/1999 12:16:00 PM
From: Bob Dobbs	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

Everyone: Grant and Fleckenstein interviews from Frontline episode. Please excuse if they've already been presented: James Grant pbs.org Bill Fleckenstein pbs.org The general gathering of experts pbs.org Bob

To: Alex who wrote (27789)	2/7/1999 2:43:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

Business: The Economy Brazil: IMF deal crumbling The government wants to ensure the currency does not become a joke A chorus of disapproval from Brazil's politicians, church leaders, and state governors threatens to undermine the deal reached between the International Monetary Fund and the Brazilian government last week. Under the terms of the agreement, yet to be ratified, Brazil would receive an additional tranche of $9bn (£6bn) in return for making further budget cuts and pledging to keep inflation in single figures. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso pledged he would keep to his tough stance on inflation and the budget in order to defend the currency, the real, which has been devalued by nearly 40% since the crisis broke. But politicians warned they would not support further tax increases, after the politically painful round of tax measures just passed by the Congress. "The executive government has to start sending signals on spending cuts before we will support new tax increases," said Odelmo Leao, a political ally of President Cardoso. The government admitted it had no plans yet for spending cuts, but called on a spirit of unity and sacrifice. "There is still no decision on how the new division of sacrifices will be, but the moment demands sacrifices by all," said budget ministry executive secretary Martus Tavares. Meanwhile, Brazil's influential Catholic bishops accused the government of "total submission" to the IMF and said the deal had not been adequately discussed by the Congress or the people. The new agreement would lead to "worse unemployment, social inequality, and extreme poverty," the Commission of the Bishops Conference of Brazil said. Test of wills with governors Perhaps most ominously, the government was bracing for a new showdown with state governors who want to reduce the amount they owe to the Federal Government. President Cardoso has cancelled a meeting that was scheduled for Monday with the opposition governors in Brasilia. He said he will not re-open debt negotiations with the states after the governors published a statement calling for a ceiling on their debt burden. "At this time, what the country expects from everyone is the courage to assume responsibility and not a political manifesto," President Cardoso said. The opposition governors, led by former President Itamar Franco, now governor of Minas Gerais state, have been campaigning for a relaxation of the tough budget targets that Brazil agreed to with the IMF. Last month it was the declaration of a moratorium on its debt repayment by Minas Gerais that precipitated the devaluation of the Brazilian currency. But the situation now resembles a political feud between the two Presidents who were once firm allies. Newspapers have been calling for the two men to cool their antagonism for the sake of the country. "Because of the political responsibility they have earned in public life, Fernando Henrique and Itamar Franco have an obligation to lower their guard, cool their spirits and trade belligerence for an agreement in favour of Brazil," said the Jornal do Brasil in an editorial. news.bbc.co.uk

To: Alex who wrote (27789)	2/7/1999 6:47:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

Official: Japan Poised for Recovery Sunday, 7 February 1999 T O K Y O (AP) JAPAN'S TOP economic official said Sunday that the Japanese economy hit bottom last fall and will pick up in the second half of the fiscal year starting in April, local media reported. "I think the worst period came late last September and October," Economic Planning Agency head Taichi Sakaiya was quoted by Kyodo News agency as having said on a debate program aired by national broadcaster NHK. While the economy remains at a standstill, Sakaiya said he expects it to turn up in the last six months of fiscal 1999, led by increased personal consumption and housing investment. He also said there is a "strong likelihood" the economy will reach the government's growth target of 0.5 percent for the fiscal year ending in March 2000, adding growth may actually surpass that projection, Kyodo said. The EPA's official 0.5 percent growth forecast - the lowest initial target set since World War II - has been widely criticized as overly optimistic by private sector economists. The government's revised economic projection for the current fiscal year ending calls for a decrease of 2.2 percent.