CNNfn Link

IMF to tackle Y2K bug

'Millennium facility' planned to aid countries in the event of a glitch

September 24, 1999: 9:13 a.m. ET

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The International Monetary Fund will unveil as early as Friday a new line of credit, of sorts, to aid countries whose economies are disrupted by Y2K computer glitches.

To be called "the millennium facility," the line of credit would be available for quick, short-term funding to fix computer problems or to replace computer systems that malfunction when the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 1999. The IMF did not set a limit on how big the line of credit will be.

It's purpose is to ensure that countries that export much-needed commodities such as oil and other important resources aren't hindered by malfunctioning computers, a problem that could disrupt global supplies and hurt the world economy.

"It's purely a precautionary measure," an IMF official said. "It's to ensure that no significant balance-of-payments problems arise due to Y2K glitches." The announcement is one of many anticipated from the IMF-World Bank meetings, which begin Saturday in Washington.

To be sure, a growing contingent believes that any Y2K computer bug failures, if they occur at all, will be minimal and more likely limited to regions of the world with less-advanced technologies.

A Senate report released Wednesday indicated the U.S. has made progress in dealing with potential Y2K problems, though other countries such as Italy, China and Russia may face more significant troubles.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), September 24, 1999

Answers

As if production systems were toasters or microwaves or something.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), September 24, 1999.

"..in the event of a glitch....

What yo-yo wrote this....... could the disconnect chasm get any wider?

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), September 24, 1999.

I see more and more accounts of glitches on this board daily.

The future will look back and wonder how we allowed our tax dollars to be squandered and stolen to guarantee the bad loans of banks. We would be in so much better shape as a nation if we hadn't thrown so much down the third world rathole.

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), September 24, 1999.

SILICON-SAND=CHIPS. JESUS said don,t build your life on SINKING-SAND.

-- I HATE IDOLS. (dogs@zianet.com), September 24, 1999.

It's for more than just Fix On Failure. Look at the dates involved. They're talking about potential balance of payment problems:

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19990926/tc/yk_imf_4.html

Sunday September 26 12:27 AM ET

IMF Creates Year 2000 Loan Fund

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said Friday it has prepared a special emergency fund to cover any balance of payment problems that result from the Year 2000 computer bug.

``While we have various vehicles that could be of help, we concluded that it would be desirable to have a special temporary facility specifically designed to deal with this unique event,'' IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus said in a statement.

The fund will begin on Oct. 15 and expire on March 31, 2000 and will allow any member country of the IMF access to as much as half of its borrowing limit for a six-month period, IMF officials said in a statement.

At the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31, many of the world's millions of computers may malfunction as their internal clocks and calendars ring in the year 2000. Computer experts say that old programming language may misread the year 2000's final two zeros as the year 1900, wiping out stored information.

``We have no reason to believe that there will be widespread Y2K problems or associated balance of payments problems,'' Camdessus said.

``Nevertheless, there are uncertainties, and the potential consequences for international trade and growth of possible interruptions to production and shipments are significant,'' he said. ``Equally important is the potential for temporary interruptions to international capital flows.''

On Sept. 14, the United States said the Year 2000 computer glitch may knock out power grids, phone networks and other vital services in some developing nations.

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-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), September 26, 1999.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/990925/dk.html

Saturday September 25, 8:13 pm Eastern Time

TEXT-Communique from G7 ministers, central bankers

[snip]

Year 2000 Problem

We discussed our preparations for Y2K -and arrangements for dealing with any international liquidity problems that might arise around the century date change. It remains important that public and private sector officials press forward this autumn with contingency plans in the financial sector and between the financial sector and other critical sectors, such as power and telecommunications. We welcome the establishment by the IMF of a temporary, special facility to enable it to respond promptly if Y2K-related balance-of-payment difficulties arise in its member countries.

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-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), September 26, 1999.