2A -The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 1, 1998 NATION/WORLD Global economic growth slowing WASHINGTON (AP) - Worldwide economic turmoil has cost millions ofjobs and more than $600 billion in output - the equivalent of a country the size of Canada shutting down for a year, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday. The agency also warned that global recession can't be ruled out, especially if the U.S. econ- omy weakens more than expected. In a sobering assessment, the IMF slashed its economic forecast, pre- dicting the global economy will slow to a 2 percent growth rate this year, the poorest showing in seven years. The world's economy will only slightly rebound to 2.5 percent growth in 1999, it said. Both figures were a full percent- age point below IMF estimates made just five months ago. And even that marked-down fore- cast may not come to pass, the IMF warned, given the spreading finan- cial turmoil that began 14 months ago in Asia, leveled the Russian economy last month and is now AROUND THE NATION GOP lobbies for border-check law WASHINGTON - Republican lawmakers are lobbying the House leadershi to repeal a controversial law requiring all foreigners to be checked at Canadian ant Mexican border crossings. The law goes into effect today, and northern lawmakers fear traffic jams and los trade at the Canadian border if it is not repealed soon. Sixteen Republican law makers sent a letter Tuesday to House Speaker Newt Gingrich, urging him to re the law to prevent "unacceptable disruptions and delays that would effectively the border and severely harm trade and tourism." Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Rep. Jack Quinn (R-N.Y.) authored the letter signed mostly by members of Congress from northern border states includin Michigan Reps. Joe Knollenberg and Vernon Ehlers. The group of lawmakers wants the repeal, already passed in the Senate, to b passed in the House before lawmakers adjourn next month to campaign. For tha to happen, the Senate language must be included in the final version of the bil negotiated between both chambers. The problem is the House and Senate have very different ideas on how to han dIe immigration. "We're trying to have the Senate language prevail. It's going to be a struggle' Upton said. "We really have a full-court press" on the leadership, he said. Russian army paratroopers carry food to the village of lilnskoye yesterday. In lieu of Russia's financial crisis, the most basic goods have risen, making the soldier's job even more urgent. AP PHOTO prices on even threatening Latin American coun- tries. "International economic and financial conditions have deteriorat- ed considerably in recent months," the 182-nation international lending agency said in its "World Economic Outlook." Employing unusually blunt lan- guage for an agency that normally searches for a silver lining to any economic cloud, the IMF warned: "Chances of any significant improvement in 1999 have also diminished and the risks of a deeper, wider and more prolonged downturn have escalated." Just a year ago, the IMF forecast that the global economy would expand by 4.3 percent this year, right in line with the long-term growth trend over the past 25 years. But at that time the Asian crisis had not spread from Thailand. The IMF, which has assembled more than $100 billion in bailopack- ages for Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Russia, has been forced to steadily downgrade its economic forecasts as the crisis has intensified. The human cost already has been significant: Millions of people have been thrown out of work in the hard- est hit countries of Asia, where economies have plunged to depres- sion-like levels. Saudi Arabia seeks oil help from U.S. WASHINGTON - For the first time in a quarter-century, Saudi Arabia is seeking out U.S. oil companies to help develop the kingdom's vast energy reserves - dramatic evidence of a changing global oil market marked by low prices and tough competition. Saudi officials began talks with seven U.S. oil companies to explore ways for the Americans to invest in the kingdom's oil industry, including exploration and production. Industry experts expect the process to take a year or more - and even then, it may not be a certainty. But the overture by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in a private meeting with oil executives over the weekend was the first time the Saudis have sought outside participation since the kingdom nationalized its oil industry in 1973. No foreign companies have been involved in exploration or production in Saudi Arabia since then. The Saudi's direct approach caught some oil executives by surprise. Bu industry analysts and Middle Eas scholars said it wasn't unexpected. The Saudis "desperately need capita to invest in their oil sector to keep th oil flowing," said Yehya Sadowski associate professor of Middle Easi studies at Johns Hopkins Unive* iNme held in Texas carnival death case AUSTIN, Texas - The death of 15-year-old girl who fell from a carni- val ride was an accident -not murdei at the hands of amusement company workers, as prosecutors allege,a defense lawyer and industry official said yesterday. Prosecutors took the extraordi step of indicting nine amusement com- pany executives, employees and inspectors on charges of murder it Leslie Lane's death six months ago. Holding executives criminall) responsible for the death of a rider ma) be unprecedented in the nation' amusement ride industry, the distric attorney's office said. Clinton reports a $70 billion budget surplus Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON - President Clinton ushered America into a deficit-free fiscal year for the first time in 29 years yesterday, announcing that the "spell that had gripped America and led to the quadrupling of the debt" had been broken by a $70 billion surplus. "Tonight at midnight, America puts an end to three decades of deficits and launches a new era of balanced budgets and surpluses," Clinton said in a White House ceremony yesterday. From the White House to Congress, there was a rare mood of celebration as both Republicans and Democrats basked in the accomplishment brought about by a combination of fiscal discipline, a hardy economy and good luck. But Republicans claimed that they deserved the accolades, saying they had pressured Clinton in 1995 - after Democrats had lost control of Congress in the 1994 elections - to adopt their commitment to bal- ancing the budget. "Who led? Who followed? And who got out of the way?" asked Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas). "The American people led with a dramatic election in 1994; I believe the Republicans followed; and I believe the president reluctantly got out of the way." Clinton was equally stingy with the praise, claiming the credit for himself and congressional Democrats, who helped him pass an austere economic plan in 1993 without a single Republican vote. He also used the occasion to attack Republicans for trying to spend away the surplus with a five-year, $80 billion tax cut. "Now, I am well aware that it is a popular thing ... just four weeks and change before an election day, to serve up a tax cut;' Clinton said. "(But) I think most Americans would like to see the ink change from red to black and then just dry a little before we put it at risk." Neither side spent much time talking about the much-acclaimed bipartisan balanced-budget agree- ment of 1997, which Clinton signed with House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), in the background. At the time, the leaders applauded their mutual achievement and emphasized the cooperation that went into it. What a difference a year makes. With congressional elections around the corner and Clinton facing Republican-led impeachment proceed- ings, there was little talk of collaborative efforts. But lawmakers of both parties did agree that bal- ancing the budget - when federal deficits were run- ning as high as $290 billion just six years ago - has been good for the economy, which continues to chug along despite a global economic crisis. Budget expert Robert Reischauer stressed that three factors produced America's balanced budget: sensible fiscal policy, enlightened monetary policy at the hands of Federal Reserve Board Chair Alan Greenspan, and "lady luck." "Just about everything broke right that could have broken right,"said Reischauer, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office now at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. Positive influences on the economy included the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Union, which allowed restraint in U.S. military spending; a slowdown in the growth of health-care costs, which allowed employers to increase taxable salaries instead of nontaxable benefits; and the boom in the stock market, which brought addi- tional capital-gains taxes into the, federal coffer, he said. AROUND THE WORLD WANT TO WRITE FOR THE DAILY? CALL 76-DAILY Mohamad scoffs at rival's injuries KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - One day after jailed dissident Anwar Ibrahim appeared in court with a swollen black eye and bruises, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said "it's not impossible" that Anwar, his former deputy, inflicted his own injuries to gain a public relations advantage as he battles to clear his name of sodomy charges. Facing domestic and international criticism after photographs of Anwar's battered face were shown worldwide, Mahathir said it was premature to blame police for the beating. He also suggested Anwar maybe "purposefully did something to cause the police to try to restrain him." Mahathir promised to investigate Anwar's assertion that he was beaten unconscious on his first night in cus- tody. But his remarks yesterday seemed certain to further fuel the controversy surrounding Anwar's arrest Sept. 20 and add to skepticism about a chain of events in which Anwar was abruptly removed from his position as Malaysia's second-most-powerfu politician and subjected to what man here consider a government-orchestrat ed smear campaign. Anwar, meanwhile, was back i court again yesterday, this time in urban Petaling Jaya, where he charged with engaging in homosexua sex. He pleaded not guilty. Ousted official calls for stricter measures MOSCOW - The internationa financial community should trea Russia with tough love and cut of K narcotic of foreign loans until it carrie out specific measures to build a market economy and balance its budget, oust ed chief tax collector Boris Fedoro said yesterday. "My advice in helping Russia is don't give it drugs," said Fedorov, 'wh also was fired from his post as a depu prime minister last month. "Deman from Russia drastic economi reforms." - Compiled rom Daily wire reports. The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $85. Winter term (January through April) is $95, yearlong (September through April) is $165. Oncampus sub scriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of the Associated Press and the Associated Collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. PHONE NUMBERS (All area code 734): News 76-DAILY; Arts 7630379; Sports 647-3336; Opinion 764-0552; Circulation 764.0558; Classified advertising 7640557; Display advertising 764-0554; Billing 764-0550. E-mail letters to the editor to daily.letters@umich.edu. World Wide Web: http://www.michgandaily.com. 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