U.S. Doesn't Need IMF's Cash, but Does Need Its Help

U.S. Doesn't Need IMF's Cash, but Does Need Its Help

Wall Street Journal - October 6, 2008

This weekend, central bankers and finance ministers from around the globe will descend on Washington for the IMF and World Bank annual meetings. Given the rivalries among nations, don't expect the officials to approve a grand plan to deal with a made-in-the-U.S. financial crisis that is spreading globally. But the IMF may be able to prod reluctant countries to take steps that could help the U.S., and could begin to devise proposals for the U.S. to remake its fractured regulatory system.

The weekend's Washington meetings provide a forum to discuss additional efforts. The World Bank is examining how to aid developing countries that may be pushed into crisis by the financial contagion. Among the countries considered most vulnerable -- because they are overextended financially and are susceptible to big drops in exports -- are Turkey, Argentina, Latvia, Hungary and Ethiopia, development officials say. Read More.