Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
On May eighteenth, Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned
as managing director of the International Monetary
Fund. Mr. Strauss-Kahn was charged with a sexual
attack on a cleaning woman at a New York hotel. He
said in a resignation letter that he denies the
charges "with the greatest possible firmness." His
fall has especially shocked Europe. The IMF is
currently playing a major part in rescue loans to
Greece, Ireland and Portugal. European nations have
increasingly depended on the fund to help them in
their recent struggles with debt. The IMF and the
World Bank grew out of an international conference
held in the United States in nineteen forty-four.
They were created as ways to support economic
cooperation and development. Both are both based in
Washington. The World Bank has traditionally been
led by an American and the IMF by a European. But
fast-growing economies in the developing world say
it is time for a change. Officials from Brazil,
China and India say Mr. Strauss-Kahn's replacement
should come from outside Europe. German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, leader of Europe's biggest economy,
disagreed. She said: "In the present situation, when
we have significant problems with the euro and the
IMF is very much involved there, there should be a
European candidate with support from the
international community."The main job of the IMF is
to help make sure payments flow smoothly between
nations. Sometimes this means providing loans so
governments can meet debt payments. The money it
lends comes mostly from quotas -- financial promises
made by its members. One hundred eighty-seven
nations belong to the IMF. The lender currently has
about two hundred fifty billion dollars in approved
loans. Most have not yet been used, or drawn down.
What effect the resignation of Dominique
Strauss-Kahn will have is unclear. He was praised as
a skillful negotiator in dealing with Europe and the
global financial crisis. But Stephanie Rickard at
the London School of Economics says IMF staff
members do the actual negotiation of loan
conditions. "And they're going to continue to do
their job." Dominique Strauss-Kahn became managing
director in two thousand seven. The Frenchman widely
known as DSK is a member of France's Socialist
party. Before his arrest, he was considered a
leading candidate for France's presidential election
next year. For VOA Special English, I'm Carolyn
Presutti.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
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