This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English EconomicsReport.

The International Monetary Fund says it expects the world economyto grow more than four-percent both this year and next. Its chiefeconomist says these could be the best two years since the earlynineteen-nineties.

But the I.M.F. also says interest rates are very low and willhave to rise in the future. When rates are low, more people borrowmoney to buy things like homes and businesses. Prices increase. TheI.M.F. says property values in Britain and some other countries maybe too high now. However, it warns that prices could fall sharply ifinterest rates rise too fast.

Some countries also worry that large United States budgetdeficits could harm the current recovery. The Bush administrationsays it will cut those deficits.

The World Bank and I.M.F. held their spring meetings last week inWashington where they are based. This year is their sixtiethanniversary. Protests outside were mostly peaceful. And they weresmaller than before. Protesters called on rich nations to cancel thedebt of poor ones.

A report by the I.M.F. and World Bank says private investment indeveloping countries is again increasing. The report says money isflowing to Brazil, China, Mexico and Russia. But it says poorernations, especially in Africa, are not part of this growth.

Before the meetings, World Bank President James Wolfensohn saidthe world is out of balance. He said one sixth of the populationowns eighty percent of the wealth. At the same time, another one insix people lives in extreme poverty.

Mister Wolfensohn urged developed countries to open their marketsand increase aid. He also urged developing nations to improve theirgovernments and to build good legal and financial systems.

The World Bank and the I.M.F. work together as agencies of theUnited Nations. The bank makes loans to developing nations. But itis not like a traditional bank. Organizations within the World BankGroup seek private investment and offer protection against lendingrisk. They also help settle disputes among the more thanone-hundred-eighty member nations.

The I.M.F. is at the center of the international finance system.Its job is to prevent crises and support cooperation. It doesresearch, lends money and offers technical help. The United Statesprovides more than seventeen percent of the I.M.F. budget.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by MarioRitter. This is Bob Doughty.