you are currently the deputy managing director at the imf. and you just heard what bob zoellick had to say about changes and reform at the world bank. are reform efforts under way at the imf as well, and can you tell us about them. >> okay i'd be happy to do that. i think since the crisis in 2008, we've had a sort of renaissance of reforms at the if as a result of it, and those have been around increasing lending, changing the way we do surveillance and monitor countries. adapting our policies, we've developed new products and we've also transformed the governments and the institutions. i'll just say a little bit about each of those. on lending, the imf has committed over $300 billion since the crisis of to of fund countries going through the jock that resulted. and that includes a fourfold increase to low income countries in 2009 to enable them to cushion the adjustment that they had to make after the collapse of lehman's and the resulting financial crisis. and we did that financing to low income countries as the zero interest rates because

of a rescue for spain from the imf. told again these are parts of a normal contingency planning happening within the euro area department. the big distinction made to me this is separate from discussions with spain. when the imf would go about beginning discussions of a rescue plan, it is something that will happen with spain. we know there are meetings planned today. i many, f director christine lagarde meeting with imf president of spain. tim geithner will meet with the same vice president. i think that's part of why the market was excited about this. there is a big pot of imf money, but the spokesperson saying it's not unusual for the department to look at these different scenarios out there. while this money may be used, it's very early days for using ilt. and as you said, simon, earlier, the u.s. position has been that it must be european money that would come long before imf money. u.s. not opposed to principle for using this money, but they believe the europeans have enough funds to take care of their own financi

reports that spain had been discussing with the imf a possible rescue loan. spanish government came out and denied this and the imf also said that the meetings were only internal within the imf and not with the spanish government so euro saw an immediate pop, rallied at 30 and once spain came out and said that that wasn't the case it fell again so you're always subject to the up and downs with the euro. so if we walk through the level of the trades, i'd like to enter a euro cad position of 128.50 on the bounce. i look at a move down to the figure and that's a low from about june 2010 which i think is a good level to aim for, and i put a stop up at 1.2950. >> ameal yeah, did you choose cad because of the jobs report tomorrow, or is that completely separate of that? >> i chose it for a couple of reasons. i chose it because i think u.s. data will outperform european data and canada being linked with the united states and if you do have a risk off move,

i mean, i think for the imf, the international ngos have been increasingly important partners for us in many ways. o one, in terms of being people we consult with on many of our policy issues. we've got some current policy issues, say, on how countries manage natural resources well or or debt ceilings or how do you tax the financial sector are ones where we're having conversations with international ngos so to get their views so we can incorporate that into our own policymaking. the other important area is part of what the imf does when we work with countries is help them imfroouch transparency of their own policymaking particularly around budgets and fiscal transparency, and there the partnership is a little more indirect, but part of our object sieve to increase the scope of genuine public debate about fiscal policy and budgets. and the third area we've been doing more work on recently relating to the earlier question on jobs is work with trade un n unions. and we now have as a sort of normal part of our business, in fact, about 80% of imf missions who go to countries now consul wi

give us your take on imf in terms of the imf bailing out spain. do you believe it will play out this way? >> well, spain has strong links with the imf. i think what is happening here is that there is a push and bull between countries that want, in addition to fiscal austerity, some looseness and spending in order to boost consumption and so on. and the germans clearly are holding very fast about what needs to be done. so the imf coming in has probably a good way of breaking some kind of road block. >> so you think it will happen? >> i think the imf is very concerned about the systemic risk and the interconnectiveness in the euro zone issue. >> do you think greece leaves the euro ultimately? what does that mean for the rest of the group? how does that impact the markets? >> i think the central case is that greece holds in but there's a nontrivial chance, one in three, that greece may elect to leave the euro zone. remember, you can't be expelled under the treaty. you have to be encouraged. if greece leaves, the interconnectiveness is huge. number tw

come on. [ applause ] at the first spring meeting of the imf last week, director lagarde gave a mixed report on the economic climate. she said we are seeing a light recovery blowing in a spring wind, but we are also seeing some very dark clouds on the horizon. those dark clouds, of course, include massive protests worldwide reflecting a growing disconnect between citizens and their government, grave threats to arizona stability, stubbornly high unemployment in many countries, skyrocketing energy costs, things like that. if the problems facing the world economy are dark clouds, christine lagarde said, funding from imf members including japan and korea which i visited earlier this week is like an umbrella. thanks to her fundraising prow es, that umbrella just added $430 billion. [ applause ] so what an honor to introduce this power house and great girlfriend. imf director, christine lagarde. [ applause ] >> uh-huh ever so much, jane, it's a lovely, lovely sbrurks. i know there are a few ambassadors here in the world. i'll say embassies -- [ speaking french ] >> it is my great, great pri

prompted strongly by the imf. would argue for this. that you should at least condone and -- and we can expect the activity as long as we comply. that does require funding. otherwise it is talk. only the u.s., japan, germany can choose the amount of austerity and the timing of it. the rest of the world is stalled by the markets what to do. >> doctor, i want to make sure to draw you on the banking situation as well. back in november, things were on code red. came in, put a trillion euro in the system. why are we back in a banking situation again? tell, walk us through the high points? >> much of the banking sector in the euro area is -- is solvency challenged. right? and needs masses of additional capital. everybody knows it. banks knows it. they don't say to each other. there hatch beve been attempts recapitalize them and has not been done on anything like the scale required. and all the ecb does -- most of what the ecb does is provide liquidity. which is the manifestation of the fear of insolvency. they only address insolvency to a ver

>> one of the things we do in the imf every year is twice a year we look at where the big vulnerables are from the economy. at the moment we've identified three. one is slow growth in the advanced economies, and if the u.s. and europe aren't growing they're not buying goods from poor countries and that's a vulnerability. the second is commodity prices. at the moment commodity prices are pretty high, and many developing countries, particularly in africa and latin america, are benefiting from those high commodity prices. but if there's a slowdown in asia, that's a big vulnerability. it's always been a vulnerability for poor countries. and i guess the third one, which is relatively recent and more linked to the eurozone crisis is what's happening with banks, add many banks are in trouble. they are increasingly reverting to home markets. so european banks who are big players in financing global trade more so than u.s. banks, are becoming more nationally focused. and there is some risk and a little bit of evidence -- i mean, i herd said recently there is some evidence that trade finance fo

in terms of -- you know, i guess we're no longer the austerity imf, but the adapting imf. we allow them, to in some places, have stimulus, avoid the risk of stagnation, and also protect safety nets. if you look in africa, for example, they are on average by 2% in fact wake of the crisis, and the imf helped guide that. in terms of cards, there's a sweep of instruments. some are precautionary. countries that have good economic situations but at risk of being bystanders of the crisis can be hit by shocks they were unintended recipients of are now able to have credit lines in the imf. they are just as involved. it's there if they need it. countries like poe land -- poland, colombia, they have that still in place to use when they need it. we also increase the scope of our ability to respond to crisis, and now we have the financing instruments which can help countries with financing when they have commodity price charts, but conflict situations, and i recently used that for the first time in yemen with the difficult transition. finally, involved in governance reform doubling aft

prompted strongly by the imf. would argue for this.hat you should at least condone and -- and we can expect the activity as long as we comply. that does require funding. otherwise it is talk. only the u.s., japan, germany can choose the amount of austerity and the timing of it. the rest of the world is stalled by the markets what to do. >> doctor, i want to make sure to draw you on the banking situation as well. back in november, things were on code red. came in, put a trillion euro in the system. why are we back in a banking situation again? tell, walk us through the high points? >> much of the banking sector in the euro area is -- is solvency challenged. right?

this will have to be presented to the eu and imf.d big risk is that of renegotiation of the bailout package. as you mentioned before. and both parties have said that they will want to renegotiate parts of the bailout package. this raises the specter of the imf caing one of its payments for greece, but it also raises the specter of greece having to exit the eurozone. the citigroup this morning raised the chances of greece exiting the euro szone to 50% t 75%. >> carolyn, thank you very much. jackie. >>> well, still to come on the show, warren buffett says that u.s. banks have liquidity coming out of their ears. but are they really in much better shape? we'll discuss that question next. with the spark cash card from capital one, olaf's pizza palace gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! pizza!!!!! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! put it on my spark card! [ high-pitched ] nice doin' business with you! [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve the most rewards

hasn't supported the expansion of the imf resources and i wonder if that's not just a let europe deal with europe's problems, but it's fascinating to me we've gone from a decade of the '80s and '90s when the world bank and imf were foevg issed on developing country and now focuses on the developed country problems and resource availability, the problem is has much larger and since it's affecting kuns of reserve currency status this sewn a good sign. >> the war chest, the going to get worse in europe before it gets better. you need the huge facility and the central bank of europe, ecb to play its part. it has. and i'm sure another fund. helpful led by japan, $60 billion. u.s. put in nothing. the leader. 17% of all imf funding so so much bigger than any other country and to kristin's point i think it was their subtle way of saying, you know, we've put in enough already. let others contribute. we're running our own deficits too. but let others contribute and let's start with, you know, some policy and some, in europe, that brings some confidence back and so let's put the onus not on us t

but they want to repudiate the imf program, and he somehow expects nothing is going to happen from that. if he is elected, which she may or may not be, but if he is elected, he ditches the imf program, europe cuts off funding, and then it greece has about six weeks or so of money before it runs out of cash. in the period of time, they will have to decide what to do. it will be extremely volatile. but i think it is too soon to say that they would want to quit the europe. >> it is going to be a hot summer increase in many ways. is it possible for greece to have what it is promising, which is less austerity? we also have a new french president, promising the same thing. is it a realistic possibility for them under stress to turn around and say that the austerity did not work, we are going to forget this plan and change to something else? >> the short answer is no. if we think about and orientation towards growth, fiscal stimulus, that is absolutely not going to happen. not in greece, not in europe, and it is also not what franÇois hollande would agree with. there is the distance between an

and then international financial crisis struck and the imf regained prominence. also thanks to the support from its critical shareholder, the united states. and now we see that the imf is really at the corner stone of the international monetary system. they have made it clear that they're unable to solve the crisis. they also want the international community to prevent a serve approval under the advice of the imf along the way. so if anything, what we're seeing is yes, there is a trend towards building regional organizations. but these regional organizations are not in competition with international ones. and if anything, they try, you know, to work in tandem as a team towards issues that are really in a global threat. >> what can you expect based on the outcome of the elections in greece and france. >> the outcome of the election and the election of president hollande does create a little bit of uncertainty in a sense that hollande has never held anied a ministerial position. he has never held any public office. stakeholders, folcy makers from all over the world

not greece will be pulling out of the eurozone, whether or not we can get the imf deal fulfilled for greece and whether the french mply indications with a lesser time will have a big impact? >> when i look at the debt crisis in europe, i've got three things written on my desk it at the moment. one of them is how are you going to service the debt. the second one is will you default on the debt. and the third one is will you inflate away the debt. we know that it's almost impossible for help to service the debt as we have seen about will these elections because the people are reallying against the austerity measures. so they're not going to service the debt. will they default on the debt? i don't think germany will allow any country to default on the debt, so we're left with option number three and that's the one that's always high on my prior i. they have to try to inflate away the debt somehow. and what they'll try to do, whether they call it long term refinancing operation or quantitative easing, held try to inflate away the debt without

they will remain on the imf program as well. that will minimize the damage in greece. it will still be horrendous. only possible upside for greece. much fame sized by american commentators who are -- take the short run, ruthlessly into -- into -- into the structural side of things -- there is a widespread belief of economists here that you can devaluate prosperity and competitiveness. i got news for you, peace its not an economy. it doesn't have rigidly downward wages and very flexible real wages. it has rigid real wages and very flexible upwards wages. so the 65% devaluation or more that you would get from, will indeed give greece this, this momentary, fantastic competitive advantage. they won't be able to take advantage of.

and our approach has been endorsed again by the imf this week and the oecd. at a time of tight budgets, a proper growth plan requires not just a credible fiscal policy, but also structural reforms to make our economies more competitive, active monetary policy, and innovative use of our hard won credibility to assure inconvenientment in long term infrastructure. we are taking all of these steps in the u.k. and promoting them across europe as well. prime minister monte and i have gathered ten eu lead hes to call for the completion of the single market in digital and services, classic structural reform. president hollande is coming forward with proposals. the ecb has helped supply liquidity to european banks. i will be pursuing all of these elements at the council tonight and at the formal council in june, after which i would be making a statement to the house. growing our economies also means doing everything we can to get trade moving. at the end of the g8 meeting there was a serious discussion at the potential for an eu/u.s. trade deal. the eu and u.s. make u

we are supporting greece through the imf. i think the point that he has to consider is that other european countries and eurozone countries, some of whom are not particularly rich themselves have had a series of agreements with greece about what needs to be done and what money will be put in. and effectively, he is asking them to go back repeatedly to their own parliaments and i said i wouldn't ask for any more for greece, but here i am again asking for more. so it is very, very challenging for them. this i say in the end is going to be a matter for the greek people to decide through their election about whether they want to stay in the euro and keep the undertakings that they have given, or whether they want to choose a different path. it's for them to decide. we must be clear in this country that we should support all and any contingency plans to make sure that either scenario can be safely delivered. >> mr. robin walker. >> the prime minister in his statement quoted the extraordinary statistic that the eu and the u.s. toge

i came for the conclusion of the imf mission. and just to give you a bit of background in terms of what that is, it takes a team of more than seven members on a two week mission. they spend it those days walking to multiple stake holders reject talking to multiple stakeholders. offering confronting views and debating policies that have been in place and recommendation. it is an animated exercise but is conducted as is always the case with excellent cooperation. as a global hot and as an island with a long trading history, he understand better the benefits of living in an interconnected world then the united kingdom. the authorities understand the challenges and opportunities of policy choices in a world where what happens in one country affects all others. it is welcome that the u.k. authorities have reinforced credibility at a time intensified global uncertainty. the bank of england has been nimble and easing monetary policy to support growth. just for one second, you have to appreciate that we do not assess the validity of poli

the country is divided over costs and a bailout from the eu and imf. it is up to the president to find a formula that will avoid calling fresh elections. you can find constant updates on our website. visit our facebook page. thank you for watching. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended, global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was presented by kcet los angeles.

clucks knew at 11:00, former imf leader strauss kahn has filed a countersuit against the housekeeper.ccusations harmed his reputation. it dropped the sexual assault charges after they questioned her reliability. >> the tanning mom helps the reality tv show can be and her future. she was accused of taking her young daughter into the tanning bed with her. she now says there are a couple of people who want her for a reality tv show. she says she would be willing to pose for playboy. a source said she is not playboy material. >> classy. this evening alison starling and i had a chance to have a sit- down talk with people in arlington about with you every night. >> the series helps promote businesses located in roslyn including abc 7 which has been based here for nearly 10 years. we had a wonderful time and we appreciate them inviting us out. >> it was a great time and people asked some great questions. >> we had to go all the way across the street. >> outside tonight remember we were talking about how long the dry pattern has been carried this batch of thunderstorms has moved right there a

>> [inaudible] they said they do not want a imf in theemorandum or the country. the politicians could not hear us. they heard us loudly on sunday. >> what is next? >> what is next? we are waiting to see what happens with the government. if they are trying to make another government, a coalition government, we will be out on the streets. we will not let them do something like that. we want a government -- not only government, but we want everyone to understand in the whole of europe that the imf policies and the eu cuts not lead to anywhere. they just lead to crisis and more help for rich people. not only people of greece. it is italy. it is spain. it will be england tomorrow. it is the same thing. people have to rise up and say "stop." >> what can actually happen? denny's to be a coalition -- you support a coalition? >> he our country is bankrupt -- our country is bankrupt. we do not believe this bailout program will lead us out of the bankruptcy. we have to stop this kind of policy. you cannot solve it by taking money from the market. you need to give money to r

i want to thank christine for that introduction, but more than that for her leadership at the imf for her extraordinary strength and vision in these uncertain economic times. and for her very steady hand as she is trying to help lead us through them. i also want to thank all the members of congress and the diplomatic core here tonight. it is very good seeing a lot of my former colleagues getting to sit with my friend susan collins. and of course, i want to along with all of you salute our host jane harman. one of our nation's most articulate, thoughtful leaders on foreign policy and national security and now as president of the wilson center she is still shaping public debate. in addition to that, she is advising a lot of us and helping to make sure that the scholarship we need for better informed decisions is being done. she provides insights and counsel on a great range of issues. and i loved the fact that jane was just referencing that under her leadership the wilson center has become the home of the council of world women leaders. the only organization of current and former women

the imf endorsed the deficit reduction policies the coalition has put in place, but says fresh measures might be needed if growth fails to materialize. christine lagarde gave this comment. >> unfortunately, the economic recovery in the u.k. has not taken hold. uncertainties abound. this dress in the rural area affects the u.k. through many -- distress in the eurozone area affects the u.k. policy changes are needed before liberals become entrenched. i am pleased that prime minister cameron emphasized the use of the credibility of the government balance sheet to help the economy grow. >> that discussion will dominate the meeting of leaders in brussels wednesday. the crisis in greece will also be important. the importance of solving it has been highlighted, with warnings that the european crisis is the biggest threat to the local economy. the report on how the situation in greece is affecting countries outside the euro. >> thousands of years of history and prestige, but where does gris go from here? looking to the future is uncertain as ever. there is a sense of waiting for something to tu

contention -- and what a huge bone it was -- is greece's international loan agreement with the eu and imf and all the austerity and cost-cutting that entailed. it was largely rejected in sunday's election. the two big parties, the socialists and the conservatives, supported broadly, and they will try to form a coalition government. that failed. the anti-bailout party failed too. then it fell to the socialists to try to form a coalition government, and they have failed too. the president will have to formally hand back the mandate to form of government and try to bring all the political parties to his residence and request the formation of an emergency government. that will probably be followed by fresh elections. really, this country has just taken a massivelicatik in litical unkno, certainly a massive leaps forward into deeper political crisis for a country in the eurozone. >> what affect is this going to have on efforts to keep the country in the eurozone? >> well, to stay in the euro, greece has been told by germany that it needs to stick to cost- cutting and austerity. if it goes back

proudly, i was at the imf, meeting. and they think, i think one of their people. central bank, supervisor. the regulator. and i asked him whether this pointer was in the wrong place? they thought it wasn't funny. but i was underestimating it greatly. right. remember all, all the even latest program for recapitalizing spanish banks, and, an additional $35 billion of provisioning brings total provisioning to 137. that still assumes, household, mortgages are safe. right. and 600 billion euro was outstanding. and a very low, low -- loan loss ratio, 2.6% for something like that. and i know spain has tough, tough personal insolvency laws. and the entire extended family. in fact, the -- the extended family, just the house pets, right. guarantee any mortgage. in a country with 24% unemployment. and rising long term unemployment, ability to pay becomes an issue. you see that in ireland. ireland had just the mortgages. and ireland of course had also very tough personal insol veven laws. and not making them tougher. moody's, the extreme version, for ireland, get up to 35 bil

in december 2010, a belgium prostitute claims she was gang raped at a sex party hosted by the former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn. >> we knew he was a womanizer and loved women. we didn't know it was to that level. we went know that and if the allegations are true, that he was brutal, that he was coercing and using prostitutes and that, if, again, the allegations are correct, that he was, he could go as far as raping someone. >> reporter: he is a washington- based correspondent for tf-1, a french television network. he said straws-kahn is -- strauss kahn is currently under investigation in france where the latest allegation surfaced. >> he's under investigation for what we call aggravated pimping in an organized gang. basically prostitutes are alleging he was hurting women, friends were gathering women to satisfy his needs and that they were prostitutes. he claims he did not know that, that they were prostitutes and thought it was conceptual sex. >> reporter: the woman making the new allegation was flown to washington from europe and paid $2,500 to attend the orgy. she has not filed

a lot would be the sort of things the imf would institute. sort of happy with the economic program that they would suggest? >> well, ross, what's interesting to note when it comes to the candidates and their economic programs is that they haven't been quite in focus for the most part. the talk has been more about returning to political stability and providing national security and the economic policies or economic revival would come as a logical consequence of that. now, the policies that the the muslim brotherhood have been talking about when it comes to to r economic programs, yes, as you mentioned there your former guest that that of course does souc sound barely solid. but it's the implementation that will be the key question and how much of it is campaign rhetoric. a lot of the policies are similar, a lot envision some larger national projects. we talked about reviving the suez canal, that is an important driver of some of the economic indicators, a well. the economy can simply not handle it at this time. but at this point, at this jupg

do you think that the -- why is it, do you think, given some of the warm words of the imf that people feel so differently about the value for sovereign ratings? what's the explanation for that? >> sunot sure i understand the question. >> we've had some imf testimony suggesting that there has been a ratings to perform -- during the crisis. okay? european commission has been very critical of ratings in the crisis. a very wide rachk views. why do these institutions -- you guys have disagreed with each other. why don't they disagree? why is there such a difference about sovereign ratings? >> that's really a very difficult question for me at a ratings agent to answer. it's a question that needs to be put to those who hold those views. >> am i to understand that the standard & poor's and your risk assessment, the methodology could, you just take us through the basis on which you give the united kingdom a 3, which puts us in the same category as canada, germany, japan and the u.s.?

the imf talks took place at the fund's european department. according to dow jones you can see considerable moves high in the euro, breaking back into positive territory versus the u.s. dollar. that has helped the dow move positive. that's jpmorgan, one of the dow's worst performers for the month of may but here helping the market overall. at least the dow will get back into positive territory as this is the final trading day of a pretty weak month for the markets. gold is on track for its fourth straight losing month. pete, here's the chat here. a little up tick. >> if you look at the gdx, the gold miner's index, it's had a phenomenal run over the last two weeks or so, up about 12%. the gdx yesterday led some of the most unusual activity we've seen. so this is about the price level they were buying yesterday. i would expect to see the gdx push toward 45. >> goldman is calling for a breakup of johnson & johnson. steph? >> it's outperformed. they have to do something. the new ceo indicated he wants to get bigger, not smaller. if you want to go

she said it would be messy but the imf had to be technically prepared. joining us now, david roche from hong kong. great to see you. one wonders how it's going to pan out. if the greeks don't fulfill the terms of the bailout lrks the -- will the imf say no more money? >> i don't know if it's going to be the imf or eurozone which will push the button. probably both together. i think they're in broad agreement. i think you'll hear from merkel. she mads nows about grease always being welcome. the losers of that will be grease. you know, you're already seeing deposit flight. once you get into deposit flight, your banks run out of liquidity. at this point you're day fe fac out anyway. i don't think it matters if it's lagarde or merkel who pulls the trigger. if they don't get around to voting for their parties the austerity measure will be pulged by both. >> david, let's assume that -- the polls suggest that's not going to happen. are we in a position to be able to pull the trigger without causing normal damage to the rest of the block? >> no, we're not. let's

. >> translator: i think the terms greece is facing now by the imf is very reasonable considering whato go through. i ask the corporations, the workers and the people to accept those terms. >> times have changed in south korea now contributes its share to the international monetary fund. >> the emf has $400 billion to tame the financial cry circumstance however, it can only be used it if greece accepts the terms. it if they don't, there is no disbursement. i would not leave greece the way it is now. i urge the leaders of france and germany to take active discussions. >> arab spring has taught thaws contingencies can happen any time. what plans does your government have in store? >> we don't want north korea to collapse. that would mean a huge burden on south korea if north korea opened up and lives within the international community this, nuclear issue can be resolved. if pyongyang lives within the international community, it can survive on its own. once it stands on its own feet, i believe it there can be a peaceful unification. >> a quick programming note. catch that full exclusive i

health estimates, it was used on imf drugs last year before rebates and discounts, it was a bargain. so the original estimate does sa cost money but we save money long term. this bill would require health insurance programs to abide by this and all people covered by private plans. to conclude, the bottom line is our goal for medicines must be to develop drugs as quickly as possible, drugs that are the most effective we can find for the diseases people are facing, and to get them out to every person who needs them as soon as possible. that is what i tried to do with s-1138 for hiv/aids treatment. we should reward innovators for developing these new medicines for those that do not require anyone to wait, suffer, and in some cases, die. i want to thank the panel that we have with us today. this is not only a distinguished panel, but it is a panel of folks who have been working, in some cases, on this issue and are very familiar with this issue, and i want to thank them, again, not only for being here today but for the work they have done for so many years. let me begin with dr. mohammad

>> i listened very carefully to what the imf says. to many two things stand out. the first is that they say reducing the high structural deficit over the medium terms, and they say the uk has made substantial progress towards achieving a more sustainable budgetary position. alongside the situation we inherited made them shiver. the second thing is the forecast for growth is the uk will grow fast their year than france, germany, or the eurozone. so they're not predicting that things will get worsement they're actually predicting that things will improve. >> mr. paul blackmon. >> thank you, mr. speaker. as our brave troops come home from afghanistan, one of the key issues is the sustainability long-term of the afghanistan economy. the biggest export in the past has been the poppy crop, which has fueled the illegal drugs trade worldwide. however, that self-same product could be used to alleviate medical suffering. >> here here. >> what consideration has been given to purchasing the poppy crop so we can use it for beneficial medical aims and then sustain the afghan ec

cars turned positive in the first quarter for the first time since 1976 when jim callahan went to the imf. it's not just our car industry that was strong. information technology, aerospace, the creative industries, britt stan has a strong base from which to grow. we have a global language. we have a time zone where you can trade with ashah in the morning and america in the afternoon. we have some of the best universities in the world and a government that is committed to making britain the best place in the world in which to start a business. we w. these strengths, i believe we can see britain through the storm. but to do so we need to act at home and together with our european and global partners. first we must continue to get the grips with the deficit and to build our recovery at home. let us be clear about what we inherited. an economy built on the worst deficit since the second world war. the most leverage banks, the most indebted households, one of the biggest housing booms, and unsustainable levels of both public spending and immigration. with a budget deficit of over 11% of our gd

dominick strauss-kahn was imf chief. he was also arrested after a new york hotel maid accused him of sexual assault. but he was cleared after her story fell apart. >>> also, world leaders gathering in chicago to decide the exit strategy for the war in afghanistan. it's part of the nato summit. and as expected, things turned violent in the street between the protesters and police there. president obama is playing host. and he is facing a lot of pressure from allies who want troops out sooner than 2014. all the while, demonstrators, making their voices heard like this outside in the streets. check out the chaotic scene near the summit site. 45 people have been arrested. >> is a lot of the work outside of chicago, being done by the streets outside? >> not really at all. they don't even notice what's happening, either. a lot of this is happening miles away from the conference site. president obama and his aides are keeping abreast of what's going on. the war and this other occasion of nato leaders. >> what is going on there?