1 Finance ministers and central bank officials of the world's seven largest economies gathered Friday in Toronto for talks expected to focus on the economic woes of Mexico.
2 The nosedive of the Mexican peso in recent weeks sent a shock wave through the ministries and markets of the world's rich nations, a reminder of just how closely linked the economies of the planet are today and how an economic dwarf can quickly become a giant.
3 Meeting over dinner Friday night were officials from the Group of Seven, which includes the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Japan, along with their central bankers and the chief of the International Monetary Fund.
4 The officials were scheduled to meet again Saturday morning, part of a regular series of consultations and preparatory to the G-7 summit June 15-17 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
5 Some of the Europeans are unhappy at being dragged into what many of them see as a North American problem.
6 Several European countries abstained from voting for a Mexican rescue package Wednesday at an executive board meeting of the IMF. They complained they had not been adequately consulted before U.S. officials and the IMF worked out the agreement.
7 That agreement includes dlrs 17.8 billion U.S. in IMF assistance.
8 President Bill Clinton's plan to provide Mexico with dlrs 40 billion in loan guarantees fell apart after strong resistance from Congress. He subsequently scaled the American participation to dlrs 20 billion from a Treasury fund that he put at the disposal of Mexico through an executive order.
9 Washington's new treasury secretary, Robert Rubin, will face tough questioning from his G-7 counterparts here, concerned that huge committments of IMF funds to Mexico could drain funds for Eastern Europe.
10 'There must be a broad understanding that we really and truly are in a new world where we are dependent on other nations in ways that we never were before,' Rubin told reporters in Washington.
11 A Canadian official, who spoke on condition she not be named, said she expected the meeting to focus on the international institutions and how adequatly they to respond to crisis.
12 'Are we sure we have the right institutions in place?,' she said. 'Are we sure they are capable of responding to the dynamics of the new economy? I think Mexico has just given us an example of the deficiencies of the system.'
13 Rubin said he hoped the G-7 finance ministers would use the crisis in Mexico as a case study that will guide them in deliberations on ways to improve the function of the IMF and other international lending organizations.
14 IMF chief Michel Camdessus no doubt will be pressed to keep a closer eye on such potential problems as Mexico.
15 The ministers also are expected to conduct their usual review of the world economic situation and spend a few minutes looking at the situation in Russia and the Ukraine, Canadian officials said.

Finance ministers and central bank officials of the world ' s seven largest economies gathered Friday in Toronto for talks expected to focus on the economic woes of Mexico .
economic woes of Mexico .
What type of issues was Mexico experiencing at this time?