Christine Lagarde On The Paris G-20: Global Growth Must Be First Priority - Bloomberg Interview

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Video - France Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on this weekend's Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Paris - Feb. 18, 2011

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G-20 Stung by Faster Inflation as Imbalance Dispute Rages

Group of 20 policy makers, at odds over smoothing over global economic imbalances, confront a new threat as higher inflation ripples from emerging markets to advanced economies.

A report of greater-than-expected U.S. inflation yesterday followed a jump in the European cost-of-living index to a two- year high and a pickup in Chinese prices, further fraying a tentative global consensus over how to sustain the recovery.

“We clearly need to keep inflation at bay,” French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, host of today’s G-20 meeting in Paris, told Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua. “Too much inflation is not going to be conducive to growth.”

Rising consumer prices, a byproduct of the recovery from the worst recession since World War II as commodity costs surge, have put higher interest rates back on the agenda as the rich world grapples with a debt overhang and developing countries try to escape the boom-bust syndrome.

U.S. year-on-year inflation accelerated to 1.6 percent in January, the highest since May, figures showed yesterday. The euro area’s January rate of 2.4 percent was the fastest since October 2008, skidding past the European Central Bank’s 2 percent target ceiling.

Higher inflation in the industrialized world has driven up central bank interest rates in Canada, and momentum built this week for the Bank of England to follow suit after the central bank forecast inflation will quicken from a two-year high and peak at about 4.4 percent.

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Comments

[Sell Short]

Acute Liquidity Crisis In Europe Confirmed As Borrowing Surge On Marginal Lending Facility Continues For Second Day

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/acute-liquidity-crisis-europe-confirmed-borrowing-surge-marginal-lending-facility-continues-

[John Mack]

Price stability is impossible in two areas: food, energy. Europe has no control over these realities. The US diversion of crops into ethanol will keep the price of food rising. The price of oil will shoot up.

The US right wing is determined to raise the number of unemployed in the US, and then cut off unemployment benefits. This will increase European willingness to impose austerity that makes job growth impossible.

The US, politically unstable, can promise nothing toward combatting inflation, lowering unemployment.