Soros Calls The G20 A Success

Geore Soros, for one, is happy with how the G20 turned out. The hedge fund manager spoke to Maria Bartiromo at the conclusion, lauding the news that the IMF would create $750 billion in special drawing rights. He says this will save countries on their own.

Full transcript:

MARIA BARTIROMO: THE G-20 SUMMIT WINDING DOWN AND NEW PROMISES HAVE BEEN MADE TO DRAMATICALLY INCREASE SPENDING IN EMERGING ECONOMIES. IT IS ONE OF THE TOP CONCERNS OF BILLIONAIRE INVESTOR GEORGE SOROS. HE'S JUST RELEASED HIS BOOK "THE CRASH OF 2008 AND WHAT IT MEANS." IN A FIRST ON CNBC INTERVIEW TODAY I SPOKE WITH HIM ABOUT THE IMF'S ROLE IN HELPING THE POOREST COUNTRIES. [to Soros] YOU'VE SEEN THE COMMUNIQUÉ. YOU'VE BEEN IN SOME OF THESE MEETINGS. WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE COMMUNIQUÉ?

GEORGE SOROS: THEY MANAGED TO GET MORE THAN I EXPECTED. THEY REALLY PULLED A FEW RABBITS OUT OF THE HAT, AND I THINK IT WAS A VERY IMPRESSIVE COMMUNIQUÉ, AND I THINK GORDON BROWN, IT'S REALLY PROBABLY HIS FINEST HOUR.

BARTIROMO: WHY?

SOROS: BECAUSE HE REALLY DID SEE THE NEED FOR ADDRESSING THIS GLOBAL PROBLEM. BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE LESS DEVELOPED WORLD FACING A POTENTIAL COLLAPSE AS THE BANKS DON'T ROLL OVER THEIR LOANS. SO SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE. AND HE DID MANAGE TO BRING IT TOGETHER. AND I WOULD SAY THAT IT'S PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME THAT THE AUTHORITIES ARE ACTUALLY AHEAD OF THE CURVE.

BARTIROMO: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE MONEY FOR THE IMF. IT COULD RISE TO $750 BILLION. IS THAT ENOUGH? AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHO SHOULD GET THE MONEY?

SOROS: WELL, THEY MANAGED TO PUT TOGETHER A BIGGER PACKAGE THAN ANYBODY EXPECTED. AND VERY IMPORTANT IS THE ISSUE OF SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS. $250 BILLION. THAT IS EFFECTIVELY CREATING - INTERNATIONALLY CREATING - NEW MONEY. AND THAT WILL HELP TO ALLOW THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT ABLE TO PRINT THEIR OWN MONEY THE WAY WE CAN, ACTUALLY TO STIMULATE THEIR ECONOMIES. AND I THINK THE WAY FOR THE RICH COUNTRIES TO TRANSFER THE ALLOCATIONS TO THE MOST NEEDY COUNTRIES CAN BE WORKED OUT.

BARTIROMO: SO ARE YOU SAYING THE EFFORTS AS FAR AS THE IMF AND THE COMMUNIQUÉ OVERALL HAVE COMPLETELY CHANGED YOUR MIND? A WEEK AND A HALF AGO YOU WERE OUT VERY VOCAL SAYING LOOK, THE IMF IS GOING TO HAVE TO BASICALLY BAIL OUT THE UK, HERE WE ARE SITTING IN ONE OF THE GREATEST CITIES IN THE WORLD -

SOROS: NO. THAT WAS A MISLEADING HEADLINE GIVEN TO AN INTERVIEW WHERE I SAID IT'S MOST UNLIKELY THAT BRITAIN WOULD NEED TO GO TO THE IMF. HOWEVER, THE FACT THAT WE CREATED SUCH AN OUTCRY SHOWS WHAT A STIGMA THERE IS ATTACHED TO HAVING TO GO TO THE IMF.

BARTIROMO: A LOT OF PEOPLE WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE UK AND THE NEED FOR HELP AND REALLY A BAILOUT, PEOPLE WERE SAYING, WELL, WAIT A SECOND, GEORGE SOROS YEARS AGO SHORTED THE POUND AND MADE MONEY ON THIS AND MAYBE HE'S PLAYING HIS BOOK. IN FACT, LORD MANDELSON SAID THAT. ARE YOU SHORTING THE POUND RIGHT NOW?

SOROS: NO, I'M NOT. FIRST OF ALL, AGAIN, I'VE WITHDRAWN NOW FROM ACTUALLY RUNNING THE FUND. I DID IT LAST YEAR. WE CAME THROUGH IT. NOW I'VE HANDED IT BACK TO THE PEOPLE WHO CAN DO IT. SO I'M OUT OF THE MARKETS, AS I WAS BEFORE I CAME OUT OF RETIREMENT. SO I'M BACK IN RETIREMENT.

BARTIROMO: I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN RETIREMENT VERY LONG, FRANKLY. BUT LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT THE OPERATIONS IN TERMS OF HEDGE FUNDS OVERSIGHT. BECAUSE THIS IS ANOTHER THING THE GROUP SAID, THAT THEY WANT MORE REGULATION ON HEDGE FUNDS. DID YOU AGREE WITH WHAT THEY SAID AND WHERE THEY'RE GOING IN TERMS OF MORE OVERSIGHT?

SOROS: WELL, I THINK YOU ABSOLUTELY WILL NEED MORE REGULATION. BUT YOU REALLY NEED TO HAVE BETTER REGULATION. AND YES, WE HAVE ALLOWED THE MARKETS A FREE HAND, AND OF COURSE THAT WAS VERY UNSOUND. BUT WE DON'T WANT TO GO OVERBOARD NOW WITH REGULATIONS BECAUSE THE FACT THAT MARKETS ARE IMPERFECT, THAT THEY DON'T ANTICIPATE THE FUTURE CORRECTLY, REGULATORS ARE JUST AS IMPERFECT.

BARTIROMO: CAN YOU CHARACTERIZE THE SITUATION FOR US IN EASTERN EUROPE RIGHT NOW?

SOROS: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE WESTERN EUROPE AND AMERICA GUARANTEED THE BANKING SYSTEM THE OTHER COUNTRIES IN EASTERN EUROPE COULDN'T PROVIDE SIMILARLY CONVINCING GUARANTEES, AND THE BANKS IN THE WEST STARTED PULLING THEIR CAPITAL OUT OF THERE AND PULLING THEM BACK. AND THE NATIONAL REGULATORS ALSO ENCOURAGED THE BANKS TO LEND AT HOME AND NOT ABROAD. AND SO THAT CREATED A CRISIS FOR EASTERN EUROPE.

BARTIROMO: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE DEVELOPMENTS SURROUNDING MARK TO MARKET? FASBY COMING OUT AND SAYING THAT THEY DO WANT TO MAKE IT EASIER, A LITTLE MORE LAX IN TERMS OF THE REGULATION FOR MARK TO MARKET. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?

SOROS: THERE I REMAIN REALLY CRITICAL BECAUSE I THINK MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE WOULD HAVE BEEN TO RECAPITALIZE THE BANKS. AND BECAUSE OF THE HISTORY OF THE WAY THE TARP MONEY WAS SPENT, IT WAS REALLY VERY MESSY AND VERY BADLY DONE. AND BECAUSE OF THAT THERE'S INCREASING RELUCTANCE BY CONGRESS TO MAKE NEW MONEY AVAILABLE. AND YET IT WOULD BE MUCH MUCH BETTER TO CREATE CLEAN BANKS. BANKS THAT ARE ABLE TO LEND. AND I THINK WE MISSED THE BOAT ON THAT. AND THAT MEANS THAT WE WILL BE SPENDING A LONG TIME ALLOWING THE BANKS TO DIG THEMSELVES OUT OF A HOLE. AND WHILE THEY ARE DOING THAT, THEY WILL NOT BE REALLY PROVIDING SUFFICIENT CREDIT TO CARRY ON BUSINESS. THEY WILL BE CHARGING A LOT AND GENERALLY IT'S GOING TO WEIGH ON OUR ECONOMY FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.

BARTIROMO: I KNOW YOU SAW THE STORY ABOUT SOME HEDGE FUNDS SAYING, "LOOK, WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE LONDON. THE TAX SITUATION IS NOT FAVORABLE. WE DON'T LIKE THE BUSINESS CONDITIONS HERE. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?

SOROS: WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO GO? ANOTHER PLANET? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THIS IS - THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE BECAUSE NOW WITH THE TAX HAVENS BEING BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL I THINK HEDGE FUNDS WILL HAVE TO GET USED TO BEING REGULATED.

BARTIROMO: GEORGE IS THERE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD DOING WELL RIGHT NOW? I MEAN ANYWHERE THAT YOU WOULD SAY, LOOK, THIS IS SAFETY, THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO BE?

SOROS: I THINK THAT ACTUALLY CHINA STANDS TO EMERGE FASTER AND BETTER THAN MOST OTHER COUNTRIES. I THINK, ACTUALLY, BRAZIL THAT HAS BEEN HURT BY THIS FINANCIAL CRISIS AFTER LEHMAN IS ALSO BASICALLY QUITE WELL SITUATED. SO I THINK INDIA, BECAUSE IT IS LESS TIED IN WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD. SO I THINK THAT THE GLOBAL ECONOMY WILL PROBABLY START GROWING NEXT YEAR.

BARTIROMO: GEORGE, THE CHINESE SAID THAT THERE SHOULD BE ANOTHER OPTION AWAY FROM THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE RESERVE CURRENCY. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT?

SOROS: IN THE LONG RUN THAT MAY BE APPROPRIATE. IT'S NOT IN THE CARDS NOW. THE SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS THAT ARE NOW BEING ISSUED, THOSE ARE NOT CURRENCY. THEY'RE IN A BOOKKEEPING ENTRY AT THE IMF. YOU HAVE TO CONVERT THEM INTO A CONVERTIBLE CURRENCY BEFORE YOU CAN USE THEM. I THINK PROBABLY THE CHINESE YUAN WILL ALSO BE MADE ONE OF THE CURRENCIES INTO WHICH YOU CAN CONVERT IT. WHICH IS APPROPRIATE BECAUSE CHINA IS NOW VERY IMPORTANT COUNTRY. BUT WE ARE NOWHERE NEAR THE SDRs BECOMING AN INTERNATIONAL CURRENCY.

BARTIROMO: LONG TERM WHAT WOULD THE CURRENCY BE? WOULD IT BE THE CHINESE YUAN?

SOROS: NO. I THINK THE DOLLAR IS THE DOMINANT CURRENCY FOR A WHILE TO COME. BUT IN THE LONG RUN I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT THAT THE U.S. SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME DISCIPLINE AS THE REST OF THE WORLD.

BARTIROMO: MY THANKS TO GEORGE SOROS.

Obama Lied

Great article in today`s Washington Times by Tony Blankley

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BLANKLEY: Obama lied; the economy died

Big government is really his bag, but he doesn't own up to it

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/03/obama-lied-the-economy-died/

I am trying to capture the spirit of bipartisanship as practiced by the Democratic Party over the last eight years. Thus, I have chosen as my lead, the proposition: Obama lied; the economy died. Obviously, I am borrowing this from the Democratic Party theme of 2003-08: "Bush lied, people died." There are, of course, two differences between the two slogans.

Most importantly, I chose to separate the two clauses with a semicolon rather than a comma because the rule of grammar is that a semicolon rather than a comma) should be used between closely related independent clauses not conjoined with a coordinating conjunction. In the age of Barack Obama, there is little more important than maintaining the integrity of our language - against the onslaught of Orwellian language abuse that is already a babbling brook, and will soon be a cataract of verbal deception.

The other difference is that George W. Bush didn't lie about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He was merely mistaken. Whereas President Obama told a whopper last week when he claimed he was not for bigger government. As he said Tuesday night: "As soon as I took office, I asked this Congress to send me a recovery plan by President's Day that would put people back to work and put money in their pockets. Not because I believe in bigger government - I don't."
This he asserted though the budget he proposed the next day asks for federal spending as 28 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), higher by at least 6 percent than any time since World War II. Moreover, after 10 years, Mr. Obama's proposed spending as a percentage of GDP would still be 22.6 percent, nearly 2 percentage points higher than any year during the Bush administration, despite the full costs of the terrorist attacks of Sept, 11, 2001, the Iraq and Afghan wars and the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Consider also his assertion in his not-quite-State of the Union address that:
"My administration has also begun to go line by line through the federal budget in order to eliminate wasteful and ineffective programs. As you can imagine, this is a process that will take some time. But we're starting with the biggest lines. We have already identified $2 trillion in savings over the next decade."

But, lamentably, a few days later, The Washington Post reported: "A senior administration official acknowledged yesterday that the budget does not contain $2 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade. Instead, the figure represents Obama's total efforts at deficit reduction, including tax hikes [of more than $1 trillion] on families making over $250,000 a year. It also includes hundreds of billions of dollars 'saved' by not continuing to spend $170 billion a year in Iraq."

Only a big government man would think of calling a trillion-dollar tax increase a spending cut or "saving." Technically, of course, it is true. A trillion-dollar tax increase will reduce spending by a trillion dollars for those private citizens who were taxed. And, from the perspective of the federal government, a trillion dollars taxed is a trillion dollars saved from the greed of the taxpayers who produced the wealth - and might well want to spend or invest it in non governmental activities.

But the foregoing are merely pettifogging numbers compared to Mr. Obama's bigger ideas about energy and health care. Our president shares a fascinating idea about energy with most of what used to be known as the "small is beautiful" crowd. It is a curious phenomenon that one needs a very big government to enforce the beauty of small. As Mr. Obama's energy secretary, Steven Chu, said last year: The price of electricity in America is "anomalously low." You see how much smarter that Nobel prize winner is than you. You probably thought you were already spending enough on electricity and fuel.

And sure enough, Mr. Obama explained last week that in order to make alternative energy sources wind, solar - perhaps eventually human muscle power? - economically competitive, he intends to raise the price of carbon-based energy until it is so expensive that even solar power will be such-a-deal. This level of destructive irrationality cannot be accomplished in the private sector. It will take a very big government indeed to bring such inanities into being. (disclosure: being rational, I give professional advice to carbon-based energy producers.)
If President Obama were to try to misrepresent his positions for the next four years, there would be nothing he could say that would approach the inaccuracy of his claim last week that he is not for big government. It is the essence of the man and his presidency. He doesn't like America the way it has been since its founding - and it will take an abusively big government to realize his dreams of converting America into something quite different. If you don't know that, you don't yet know Barack Obama.

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Tony Blankley is the author of "American Grit: What It Will Take To Survive and Win in the 21st Century" and vice president of the Edelman public-relations firm in Washington

Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC

Brown Tell US Congress: Seize The Moment

17 standing ovations for our fearless leader as he addressed a joint session of the US Congress this afternoon. I'm sorry Crash Gordon but I don't think Obama`s magic dust has fallen upon you! Gordon mentioned the word "friends" many times in his speech but the word the UK taxpayers would like to hear is "Sorry". That is the one word that I feel we will never hear from Crash as he is not a man for apologies.



What do the British public think of our PM`s performance:

***Enough is enough, either get back hear and do something useful (doubtful) or resign. Whats more important - toe-curling speeches to the senate or sorting out the UK - has he already given up? Posted By :Chris B

***Blah, blah, blah. More dross from Brown. He's claiming that governments are 'representatives of the people' - how can he be a representative of the people when he wasn't elected by the people? The article also says there wasn't much interest in the US in what he had to say - there's even less over here, I can tell you. Brown - get out!! Posted By :Andy M

***Brilliant, coming from the idiot who spent 12 years sending the UK down the pan. This guy has got some real nerve blaming it all on the global economic situation. His answer is the same every time borrow, borrow and borrow. Posted By :chas

***This must be the first time an unelected leader of a near communist government has ever addressed the American Senate, Brown is the most despised politician and unacountable person in our soiled Parliament Posted By :Stephen Brookes