The comminuque issued by the Group of Seven and the findings of the International Conference of Banking Supervisors on hedge funds, proposing more regulation on financial institutions is also carried, together with an well-written insight into the bailout strategy promoted by the United States to save failing hedge funds.

We also carry a reprint of the open letter issued by Professor Krugman to Dr Mahathir, the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Professor Krugman had in August 1998 proposed that East Asian countries consider some form of Exchange Controls to safegaurd themselves against continous currency attacks by speculative currency traders (including the hedge funds). Malaysia adopted its version of Exchange Controls in early September 1998.

For the benefit of new visitors, we still carry the article by Mahbub ul Huq who argues against the measures adopted by the International Monetary Fund to arrest the contagion effects of the Asian Crisis. The author is the president of the Human Development Center, Pakistan. He was the former Finance Minister of Pakistan, and founder of the United Nations Development Programme Report (UNDP). The article first appeared in Choice, UNDP in July.

In the News

Commentary - World Bank report on Asian Crisis.

Review - Wither the U.S. Economy?.

Report - Apec's Kuala Lumpur Declaration.

Commentary - Malaysian Government gored!.

Review - For More Transparency of Hedge Funds.

Update - Regulate the Hedge Funds.

Insight - Save the Hedge Funds.

Repartee to the Wise Goose Chase: - The Hunter is Down!.

Professor Krugman - No Free Lunch.

Mahbub ul Huq - Just Fix the Economy.

This Column

East Asia is presently facing a serious economic and financial crisis. We regularly carry briefings on the state and condition of the economies and future prospects. We welcome you to submit articles of topical interest for publishing at this site. We also welcome your comments and views on published articles.