Global Institutions Buy Stocks, Make Promises Monday

March 2, 2020 (EIRNS)—The Bank of Japan, IMF and World Bank threw themselves into the breach on Monday and reversed stock markets’ plunging. The Bank of Japan acted first, buying huge volumes of what are called exchange-traded funds to get the stock markets in Asia to go up. That then translated into European markets, where the European Central Bank was doing the same thing; and into Wall Street. U.S. Treasury interest rates, however, continued their fall to daily record low levels.

Shortly thereafter the IMF and World Bank came out with offers of “emergency financing” to countries hit by the COVID-19. The joint statement by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President David Malpass said, ““We are engaged actively with international institutions and country authorities, with special attention to poor countries where health systems are the weakest and people are most vulnerable. We will use our available instruments to the fullest extent possible, including emergency financing, policy advice, and technical assistance.”

It must be remembered, however, that IMF loans are never forgiven or written down in any way under any circumstances, as Argentina has just been told again. If poor nations issue what might be called “coronabonds” to the IMF, conditionalities can be attached. The major nations being urged to an emergency summit by Helga Zepp-LaRouche could themselves provide concessionary lending or direct healthcare assistance needed by developing countries to combat the epidemic.