Business

Business Wire

IMF chief Lagarde: Little sympathy for Greece

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund says she has more sympathy for poor African children than Greeks suffering under the country's economic problems and austerity measures.

In an interview published in the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper Saturday, Christine Lagarde said "I think more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger...sharing one chair for three of them. Because I think they need even more help than the people in Athens."

Lagarde also criticized Greek citizens "who are trying to escape tax," and said the country needs to make more of an effort to solve its economic problems.

Greece's economy is being kept afloat on international loans provided by the European Union and the IMF, along with a harsh austerity package that is deeply unpopular with the country's electorate.

Continues

More From The Wire

Wheat climbs as dry weather lingers over Kansas

May 25, 3:41 PM

Wheat prices rose 2.6 percent Friday as questions persisted about how much dry weather has affected the crop in Kansas.

Cheaper gas spurs more travelers this Memorial Day

May 26, 4:51 AM

More Americans will hit the road this holiday weekend than a year ago. And they'll have a bit more money to spend thanks to lower gas prices.

US declines to cite China as currency manipulator

May 25, 10:07 AM

The U.S. government said Friday that China has made progress in allowing its currency to rise against the dollar and declined to accuse the nation of manipulating its currency to gain a trade advantage.

50 highest-paid CEOs in AP survey

May 25, 5:12 AM

The 50 highest-paid CEOs for 2011, according to an Associated Press analysis of Standard & Poor's 500 companies. The analysis includes companies that had the same CEO for all of 2010 and 2011 and that filed proxy statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission between Jan. 1 and April 30.

Low wages test loyalty to Singapore ruling party

May 25, 3:48 AM

Khamis Neshbahri earned a salary of 700 Singapore dollars ($550) a month when he began cleaning office buildings 11 years ago. His wages haven't budged since then while his cost of living has continued to climb.