Treasury s Paulson says US economy is healthy, transitioning to moderate growth

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The US economy is "healthy" and transitioning to a soft landing after blockbuster growth in early part of last year, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said today.

"For a number of months now I have believed that the US economy is successfully transitioning to a a moderate and sustainable rate of growth, and yesterday s data supports this view," he said in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington.

On Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported the economy grew at a 2.2 pct annualised rate between October and December, some 1.3 percentage points slower than the previous estimate last month.

The fourth quarter growth rate follows 2.0 pct growth in the third quarter, 2.6 pct growth in the second and a whopping 5.6 pct rate in the first quarter.
Paulson said he sees parallels to the US economy of the mid-1990s, when wages rose as the economy had high productivity growth, moderate inflation and lower unemployment.

The former Goldman Sachs chief touted the nation s commitment to free trade as one reason behind the economy s health.

"Openness to trade and competition fuels economic dynamism and innovation, as well as the deployment of new technologies that raise productivity and ultimatoldy our standard of living," Paulson said in a statement.

Paulson made the speech as the Bush administration prepares to try and convince the Congress, now controlled by opposition Democrats, to renew his trade promotion authority, which expires this summer.

Trade with China is the most contentious trade issue on Capitol Hill. Many Democrats and some Republicans complain that China s currency is undervalued, making their exports artificially cheap and hurting US workers.

In comments likely to receive a warm welcome by lawmakers, Paulson said he is not satisfied with the pace of China s currency reforms.

"The greatest risk to the economic well-being of our two nations is not that China will move too quickly, but that they will move too slowly in reforming their economy," he said.

The yuan has appreciated about 6.5 pct since July 2005, when China officially un-pegged its currency from the US dollar. China s currency was pegged at 8.28 yuan to the dollar for about a decade. It now floats within managed bands.

Paulson wants the band to be widened in the short-term and for the currency to be market determined over the longer haul.

謬釐

其實美國好，對全世界也不壞！
但美國差，對金有利！
真矛盾。

kwy

Thanks for posting!!