Camdessus's power, and more

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

IMF chief named most powerful man in Asia: Asiaweek
Date: Thu May 21 09:15:38 CDT 1998
                                         
   HONG KONG, May 21 (AFP) - The head of the International Monetary  
Fund (IMF), Michel Camdessus, has been named as the most powerful 
individual in Asia by Asiaweek magazine, the publication said 
Thursday. 
   Camdessus was placed top of the magazine's Power 50 list for  
1998 because his "economic and political clout is evidence of how 
dramatically the economic crisis -- and the IMF -- have upset the 
hierarchy in the region," it said. 
   The Asiaweek Power 50 ranks individuals who wield political,  
economic and moral power in Asia, it added. 
   "Many leaders whose power was based partly on their ability to  
deliver development and progress are being undermined as they can 
now no longer do so," said Assistant Managing Editor Zoher 
Abdoolcarim. 
   The magazine cited as example former Indonesian president  
Suharto, who resigned Thursday following weeks of protests against 
his 32-year rule. 
   He was top of the list two years ago and third last year, but  
had dropped off the list altogether this year. 
Rubin, Greenspan say US now hit by Asian crisis, appeal for IMF
+   funds
Date: Thu May 21 15:32:55 CDT 1998
                                         
   WASHINGTON, May 21 (AFP) - Top US financial officials warned  
Thursday that the United States was now taking a direct hit from the 
Asian economic crisis and again appealed for additional funds to 
shore up the IMF. 
   US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury  
Secretary Robert Rubin told Congress that while the economies of 
Thailand and South Korea were stabilizing, the effects of their 
near-collapse would continue to be felt. 
   "There was and is ... a small but not negligible probability  
that the upset in east Asia could have unexpectedly large negative 
effects on Japan, Latin America, and eastern and central Europe 
that, in turn, could have repercussions elsewhere, including the 
United States," Greenspan told the House Agriculture Committee. 
   "The effects of the Asian crisis on the real economies of the  
immediately affected countries, as well as on our own economy, are 
only now just being felt." 
   Appearing before the same committee, Rubin was armed with facts  
and figures. 
   "On an annualized basis, (US) exports to key countries (in Asia)  
were down 23 billion dollars in the first three months of the year, 
and that is likely to worsen in the months ahead." 
   The Commerce Department on Wednesday reported that the US trade  
deficit widened seven percent to a monthly record of 13 billion 
dollars in March, attributed both to Asian stagnation and powerful 
domestic US consumer spending. 
   The picture in east Asia is not uniformly bleak, however, as  
Thai and South Korean authorities appear to be sticking with reforms 
advocated by the International Monetary Fund, the officials said. 
   But Greenspan struck a note of caution nonetheless.  
   "Although the tendency in recent months toward stabilization in  
the east Asian economies is encouraging, clearly those economies are 
not out of the woods, as recent events attest." 
   Both Greenspan and Rubin delivered strong statements backing  
President Bill Clinton's request for an additional 18 billion 
dollars to help shore up the IMF's dwindling resources. 
   The measure has passed the Senate but remains bogged down and  
under sharp criticism in the House. 
   Rubin warned that the IMF, which has mobilized more than 100  
billion dollars for Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia from 
multilateral and bilateral donors, now finds its own resources 
"approaching a historically low level." 
   "The IMF does not have sufficient funds to deal with a truly  
major crisis, for instance if the Asian crisis were to worsen and 
spread to developing countries elsewhere." 
   Alluding to congressional critics who insist that Washington  
should hold out for internal IMF reforms -- notably an increase in 
operational transparency -- before approving the administration 
request, Greenspan said the Fund's staff and management were indeed 
open to change. 
   "We face a somewhat more difficult task in convincing the IMF's  
membership as a whole of the need for change," he acknowledged. 
   "However, I am confident that our leverage in this regard would  
be reduced if the United States failed to agree promptly to the 
proposed increases in the IMF's resources." 
   Rubin defended the IMF's response to the crippling loss of  
confidence in Indonesia on the part of the local population and 
foreign investors, which he attributed in part to the government's 
"mishandling" of the economic crisis. 
   "The IMF reform program was a creative response to the economic  
crisis, not a cause," he maintained. 
   "The IMF program did include difficult measures, but  
implementing difficult measures is always essential in restoring 
financial stability. 
   "Significant components of the IMF-led reform program were  
designed to undo the monopolies and price subsidies that were part 
and parcel of the existing system, and this was a step to reform."