[Wall Street Journal] Radio Silence from the IMF

[Wall Street Journal] Radio Silence from the IMF

With a growing Asian crisis, businesses and governments worldwide are 

looking to the IMF for any sign of action. As of right now, they’ve got 

nothing. 

 

Over the past 3 months, economists have turned their attention to a rapidly developing crisis in the East. 

With the free-falling Thai baht spurring insolvency, deterioration of trade relations and inflation in Asia, 

the crisis does not appear to be contained within the Thai economy. Industrial impacts in South Korea, 

Japan, and Indonesia are showing, and governments and businesses around the world have started to worry.


Here in Washington, developments seem to be stalled. Despite the submission of a Letter of Intent and 

Memorandum of Understanding by Thailand, the executive board of the IMF is yet to let on any sign of 

action or progress, with a significant lack of debate on executive action. With the crisis showing no signs 

of stopping, the world looks to the IMF with increasing urgency and uncertainty for any sign of its 

intentions— a sentiment reflected in an increasingly volatile market. Is a bailout on the horizon?

Location: Washington, DC, USA

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