FACTBOX-Key comments ahead of Tokyo G7 meeting
(For more stories from the Tokyo G7 meeting click [G7/G8])
Feb 8 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors will debate what action to take over market turmoil and a U.S. economic slowdown when they meet in Tokyo on Saturday.
Following are key comments by senior G7 and IMF officials ahead of the meeting:
U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY HENRY PAULSON, IN INTERVIEW WITH NHK TV AIRED ON FEB 8
"I still believe that we are going to continue to grow, although at a slower pace for a while, but the risk is very much to the downside and the risks are primarily housing."
"My message to them is the economy is fundamentally healthy. No economy goes up forever, there's going to be ups and downs, but we're fundamentally healthy." --
GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER PEER STEINBRUECK, FEB 8
"The first priority is to act on an international, global basis. The second is to act on a European basis and the third on a national level."
On the U.S. rate cuts: "I admit that concerning the very sharp rate cuts in the United States, I sometimes wonder whether that could lead to excess liquidity in the next few years. But my conclusion is that it was right to create greater liquidity and build trust." Continued...
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