IMF Chief: Status Quo Could Sow Seeds of Next Crisis

The head of the International Monetary¹ Fund warns that another financial crisis could arise if the international monetary system is not reformed.
IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that even though the global recovery is underway, the international monetary system still needs to be reformed.
"Global imbalances are back. Large and volatile² capital flows, exchange rate pressures, rapidly growing excess reserves - all this is on the front burner once again. And, I do believe that left unresolved, these problems could even sow the seeds for the next crisis," said Strauss-Kahn.
Panelists, including Fred Bergsten, the director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, discussed a movement toward developing regional entities³ that could work with the IMF to prevent future crises.
"I think it's fair to say that Europe's response to its current crisis will lead to the creation of a European Monetary Fund. It probably won't use those words to describe it, but if it walks like a dog, you know, call it a dog," said Bergsten.
Bergsten said the IMF's cooperation with Europe has been exemplary. And he added that Asia also is moving toward something akin⁴ to an Asian Monetary Fund, but at a slower pace.
Strauss-Kahn acknowledged that there has been "fair criticism" that the IMF failed to provide an early warning for the global financial crisis. In response, he said, the body has strengthened its surveillance system.
But he also defended the IMF, saying that when it does raise concerns, governments do not want to hear them because governments tend to think in the short term.
"In most cases, what we say is 'we see problems down the road,' but what is 'down the road' for the IMF is a century away on the political timeline," said Strauss-Kahn.
The IMF director also said unemployment levels remain an issue, despite the fact that the global economy is recovering. At present, he said, the United States, North Africa, Europe and elsewhere are dealing⁵ with high unemployment rates. But, Strauss-Kahn stated, this will shift in the long term.
"In 10 years or 15 years from now, the real problem of unemployment will be the tens of millions of young people coming [or] trying to come into the labor⁶ market in Asia and Latin America and part of the Middle East. So, of course, that's very far away, but we have to face this and to try to build a system that is able to address this kind of problem, too," said Strauss-Kahn.
The panel also discussed the role the IMF's own currency can play in stabilizing⁷ the world economy. The IMF's international reserve asset is called the SDR (Special Drawing Rights), and its value is based on a basket of four international currencies - the euro, Japanese yen⁸, pound sterling⁹ and U.S. dollar. IMF officials theorize the SDR could facilitate diversification¹⁰ and reduce the impact of exchange rate volatility¹¹ among major currencies.

1 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。

2 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

3 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

4 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

8 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

9 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

10 diversification   

n.变化，多样化；多种经营

参考例句：

• The seminar was to discuss diversification of agriculture. 该研讨会讨论的是农业多种经营。 来自辞典例句
• Firm diversification is increasingly achieved by the means of takeover and merger. 通过接管和兼并，厂商经营范围日益多样化。 来自辞典例句

11 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。