ECONOMICS REPORT - IMF Says World Economy Is Recovering

ECONOMICS REPORT - IMF Says World Economy Is Recovering
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, April 30, 2004

This is Bob Doughty¹ with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

The International Monetary² Fund says it expects the world economy to grow more than four-percent both this year and next. Its chief economist³ says these could be the best two years since the early nineteen-nineties.

But the I.M.F. also says interest rates are very low and will have to rise in the future. When rates are low, more people borrow money to buy things like homes and businesses. Prices increase. The I.M.F. says property values in Britain and some other countries may be too high now. However, it warns that prices could fall sharply if interest rates rise too fast.

Some countries also worry that large United States budget deficits⁴ could harm the current recovery. The Bush administration says it will cut those deficits.

The World Bank and I.M.F. held their spring meetings last week in Washington where they are based. This year is their sixtieth anniversary. Protests outside were mostly peaceful. And they were smaller than before. Protesters called on rich nations to cancel the debt of poor ones.

A report by the I.M.F. and World Bank says private investment in developing countries is again increasing. The report says money is flowing to Brazil, China, Mexico and Russia. But it says poorer nations, especially in Africa, are not part of this growth.

Before the meetings, World Bank President James Wolfensohn said the world is out of balance. He said one sixth of the population owns eighty percent of the wealth. At the same time, another one in six people lives in extreme poverty.

Mister Wolfensohn urged developed countries to open their markets and increase aid. He also urged developing nations to improve their governments and to build good legal and financial systems.

The World Bank and the I.M.F. work together as agencies of the United Nations. The bank makes loans to developing nations. But it is not like a traditional bank. Organizations within the World Bank Group seek private investment and offer protection against lending risk. They also help settle disputes among the more than one-hundred-eighty member nations.

The I.M.F. is at the center of the international finance system. Its job is to prevent crises and support cooperation. It does research, lends money and offers technical help. The United States provides more than seventeen percent of the I.M.F. budget.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句