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Just doing his job, like all politicians in 1929, 1987, 1990, 1997, 1998
and now. what else could they say: "hey folks, this is ugly I am outta
here...!" Now it doesn't mean they are always wrong. Sometimes they are,
sometimes not, just like us all. Only they are consistently bullishly
biased.
Gwenn
JW wrote:
> Sunday April 16 12:43 PM ET
> Summers Urges Calm in Face of Market Plunge
> By Knut Engelmann
>
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence
> Summers said on Sunday investors should remember the good
> health of the American economy when they return to their
> desks on Monday after a steep fall in stock prices last
> week.
>
> Exuding an air of confidence in the face of one of the worst
> weeks in the history of Wall Street, Summers appeared on two
> separate television programs in an attempt to limit the
> fallout from the market's bloodbath.
>
> While he insisted he could not ``make predictions'' about
> what would happen when markets reopen on Monday, he told ABC
> television, ``I think we'll all do best staying focused on
> the long run and recognizing the real strength that this
> economy has.''
>
> Speak your mind
> Discuss this story with other people.
> [Start a Conversation]
> (Requires Yahoo! Messenger)
>
> He said the Clinton administration was keeping a close eye
> on developments in markets, but that it was focused on ``the
> real economy, which continues to expand.''
>
> In an earlier appearance on Fox News Sunday, Summers said
> the economy was in no immediate danger of overheating,
> despite a much-larger-than-expected uptick in U.S. consumer
> prices that prompted Friday's sell-off
>
> ``The economy of the United States is in better shape than
> it has been in a long time,'' he said. ``We always worry
> about inflation because being vigilant about inflation is
> how we kept inflation under control over all of these
> years.''
>
> Asked whether he saw a risk of a serious rise in inflation
> in the months ahead, Summers replied, ``No, I don't.''
>
> In its ninth year of an unbroken economic expansion, the
> U.S. economy is growing at such blockbuster rates that the
> Federal Reserve Board is increasingly worried about the risk
> of overheating. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has
> said higher stock prices could stoke inflation by driving up
> consumer spending to unsustainable levels.
>
> Other key industrial nations, too, are worried about the
> effects that a sharp plunge in U.S. equity prices and
> possible slowdown in the U.S. economy could have on their
> own growth.
>
> Sharing The Burden
>
> Addressing the International Monetary and Financial
> Committee of the protest-hit International Monetary Fund,
> Summers said the United States had to ``ensure that
> inflation remains in check'' and boost its low national
> savings rate.
>
> But reiterating earlier comments he placed the onus for
> balancing lopsided world growth on Japan and Europe, whose
> economies are still trying to catch up with the United
> States.
>
> ``I continue to share the concerns of my Japanese colleagues
> about the prospects for the Japanese economy. There have
> been some positive signs and we can all hope that the worst
> is past and look for growth to resume this year,'' he said.
>
> Japan must continue to use ``all the tools of macroeconomic
> and structural policy'' to cement its recovery, he said,
> echoing a statement on Saturday by the Group of Seven major
> nations after a meeting of finance ministers and central
> bankers.
>
> The weekend gatherings of the IMF and World Bank have been
> overshadowed by mass protests against those institution's
> policies, which critics have blamed for worsening the lot of
> the world's poor. Both lenders have also been fought an
> uphill battle on Capitol Hill, where U.S. lawmakers have
> assailed their policies and complained about a lack of
> transparency.
>
> ``Although global economic conditions are better than they
> have been for some time, fundamental questions are being
> posed about economic integration and the role of
> international financial institutions in that process,''
> Summers said.
>
> ``If there is one point on the debate on which everyone is
> united, it is the desire to improve the situation of the
> world's poor and a desire to ensure that a more global
> economy advances this goal. The differences are about the
> best means for achieving this.''
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