If the IMF bailed out Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, shouldnt it also bail out Puerto Rico. Read the interesting excerpt on that topic below: SPEAKING ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT IN PUERTO RICO AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS, this is what Wilbur Ross, chairman of W. Ross had to say recently, when asked about the situation there. LIU: Well speaking about unemployment, a high unemployment rate is going on in Puerto Rico right now and they are going through an economic crisis. You are a large stakeholder in Assured Guaranty, which guarantee loans - a large number of them - in Puerto Rico. So are you worried about the situation there? How worried should we be? ROSS: Well, I think the Puerto Rican government is doing exactly what it should be doing. It raised taxes because its budget was woefully out of balance. Its dealt (ph) back on the big pensions they have. They have a severely underfunded pension plan. Its putting the lid on government employment. Its fixing itself. And I think its in some ways following the same playbook that Ireland did. Its unfortunate that strong medicine is needed, but they have to regain access to the public debt markets just like Ireland did. And I think they will. LIU: Well, do you - but at the time that they will, will it be before or after a bailout? ROSS: Well I think that right now theyre pretty liquid. And I believe that theyre getting proposals quite regularly from investment banking firms not as to whether or not they can get access but whats the best way to get access. So I would bet within the next six months youll see them reenter the public market. LIU: Reenter the public market. Okay. So possibly then staving off - staving off a bailout. But lets say we get to that point though. Should it be the IMF to provide something like this or the US government? ROSS: Well when you think about it, US government is the largest financier of the IMF. Weve for a long time been. Wouldnt it be weird to bail out Greece and Ireland and Portugal and other peripheral countries in Europe and let Puerto Rico go down? It makes no sense to me. Puerto Rico is - sure, its a part of the US, but its a territory. Its not the same as a state. And for example whats not available to it would be going bankrupt. Theres no mechanical way for Puerto Rico to go bankrupt. So its a strange situation. IMF: International Monetary Fund Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. (November 28, 1937)[1] is an American investor known for restructuring failed companies in industries such as steel, coal, telecommunications, foreign investment and textiles. He specializes in leveraged buyouts and distressed businesses. In 2011, Forbes magazine listed Ross as one of the worlds billionaires with a net worth of $1.9 billion.[2] According to a recent New York Times article,[3] he has been bottom-fishing in mortgages and mortgage companies. He apparently commands far greater sums than his net worth would suggest. Ross was born in Weehawken, New Jersey[1] and grew up well off in suburban New Jersey. His father was a lawyer and his mother a schoolteacher. He serves on the board of advisors of Yale School of Management. His second wife was former New York Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey Ross, whom he divorced in 2000.[4]
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 17:59:20 +0000
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