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Non-Tech : Greenspan, Rubin & Co - the Most Irresponsible Team Ever?? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cynic 2005 who wrote (151)	2/26/1999 8:17:00 AM
From: Cynic 2005	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 309

Friday February 26, 3:31 am Eastern Time Daughter to Summers: Daddy, just give them the money! TOKYO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers' school-age twin daughters were keen to give him advice on how to cope with Brazil's financial crisis, he told Japanese National Press Club officials on Friday. Summers was trying to spend some time with his family one evening when he received an unexpected phone call about the Brazilian crisis, he said as he entertained press club officials in remarks which could be heard by reporters. Seeing her father move towards the phone, Summers said one of his daughters perked up and said, ''Daddy, just give them the money!'' And if he did not have the money right away, he could raise taxes, she added, according to Summers. Summers said he had started to explain that economic problems were not that easy to solve, when the other daughter jumped in to scold her twin: ''He's given money before, and they wasted it!'' ------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related Quotes ^DJI ^IXIC ^SPC ^IIX ^PSE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 +0.00 +0.00 +0.00 +0.00 +0.00 delayed 20 mins - disclaimer Friday February 26, 1:14 am Eastern Time Japan can't substitute weak yen for policy-Summers TOKYO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Japan must not use a weak yen as a substitute for policies to promote economic growth based on strong domestic demand, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said on Friday. Asked if the United States agreed with Japan's publicly stated view that a weaker yen is favourable in line with the Bank of Japan's recent credit easing, Summers removed a paper from his pocket and told a news conference: ''The exchange rate cannot be a substitute for policy. What we regard as most important is...that Japan pursue policies that will deliver strong domestic demand-led growth and contribute to a more balanced pattern of growth in the world economy.'' Summers repeatedly stressed in the speech that the risks to the global economy are such as to require policies aimed at growth and that Japanese recovery was critical for global growth. He said that it is generally hard for authorities to determine appropriate exchange rate levels. Summers said other Asian authorities he met on a week-long tour ending in Tokyo had expressed concern about the Japanese economy, adding that private forecasts suggest Japan has not yet fully laid the foundation for sustained growth. He declined to comment on specific steps for the government or Bank of Japan (BOJ) to take, including proposals that the BOJ directly underwrite government debt. But he said monetary policy can have quite consequential effects on Japanese economic performance, rejecting the argument that Japan is in a liquidity trap in which easing credit when interest rates are already near zero cannot boost the economy. On the fiscal side, he said it is important for Japan to continue with public-sector steps, including tax measures, until sustained growth is renewed. He noted that Tokyo's forecast of 0.5 percent growth for the fiscal year starting on April 1 is rosier than the private consensus, adding that he hoped the official forecast included measures not yet announced. Summers said the U.S. current account deficit under current private forecasts would not be indefinitely sustainable, either economically or politically. But he declined to say how long a period he meant. He said, however, that the deficit was not an imminent concern given the depth of the U.S. capital market. The best cure for the deficit, he said, would be for other economies to recover so that they could absorb more U.S. goods. He declined to comment on whether the U.S. stock market was in a bubble, saying Washington believes it is government's job to get the economic fundamentals right and let investors judge. The United States believes it should not judge the success or failure of its policies by the level of the nation's asset markets, he said. Summers contrasted this view with what he said had been cases of Japanese authorities actively seeking to stabilise asset markets. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------