A new fundamentalism

Mervyn King's call for a reformed International Monetary Fund comes at a time when the world economy may be teetering on the edge, writes William Keegan

Tuesday February 21, 2006

When anti-globalisation protesters say the International Monetary Fund (IMF) needs to be reformed, nobody takes much notice. But when the highly respected governor of the Bank of England speaks out, he makes quite a splash.

Mervyn King has been gearing up for several years for the important speech on the IMF he delivered in India yesterday, and the location he chose to urge fundamental reforms was most appropriate, because one of his criticisms is that the IMF as at present constituted is far too US and Euro-centric.