"A leading economist believes the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is "manipulating" the financial troubles of emerging and low-income nations to grab more capital for itself, and to keep the nearly defunct global lending bureaucracy alive for years to come.

According to economist Judy Shelton, whose remarks were published in The Wall Street Journal, the IMF has been stealthily moving to secure its own survival by seeking permission to engage in gold sales.

IMF officials indicate that the receipts of those sales would be employed to help poor countries.

But, Shelton argues, "the real objective" of bureaucrats at the Washington D.C. institution is to set up a "permanent endowment fund" for the IMF."

More: http://moneynews.com/streettalk/imf_...