The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 09-09-24

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From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <www.ert.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] G20 Meet in Pittsburg

Last Updated on Thursday, 24 September 2009 20:07

Leaders of the world's biggest economies meet in Pittsburg today to put in force their commitments in April, mainly regarding regulation of the global financial system. One year after the world experienced the worst recession since the great depression in 1929 and the global economy is expected to lurch into reverse this year, US President Barrack Obama, who will chair the G-20 meeting, underlines in his address that the international community has made huge efforts to avoid global financial destruction. Strong police are out in force in view of large demonstrations to be staged in the city tomorrow.

We owe to remember that we have not carried out our missionâ says host of the summit US president Barrack Obamaâ in his address inviting G20 leaders to discuss new regulations for markets to avoid repetition of another crisis. He told reporters the administration hopes world leaders will agree "on a framework for balanced and sustainable growth, a set of policies, parameters and process" that can "avoid the sort of imbalances that contributed to this crisis." Obama, who termed the Pittsburgh meeting a "five-month checkup" since the April meeting in London, wants the group to agree to a framework that will promote more balanced growth.

He also wants the G-20 countries to set in motion a program to toughen standards for bank capital, the reserve cushion against losses that proved decidedly inadequate in preventing the financial crisis that struck with force a year ago.

Europe is seeking to curb the excessive risk-taking that provoked turmoil on financial markets and shoved the world economy into recession. Several European leaders are also pushing for crackdowns on bankers' lavish pay packages.

Another point of arguments is the strategy to be adopted for an exit from the global crisis that Germany objects as it asks end from recovery programs while US and Britain economies are still in the red fearing rise in unemployment rates.

IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn struck a similar note, saying G20 leaders should keep economic stimulus plans in place as long as millions of people who lost their jobs during the

crisis remain out of work.

The G20 will discuss the operation of the IMF as fast emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil seek for a stronger role in the Administration Board , maintaining that they have a lower representation compared to Europeans.

The two-day summit, to end with a joint communiqué and closing news conferences on Friday, is to open with a working dinner Thursday night.

The meeting in Pittsburgh, which has known economic hardship as its once mighty steel industry lost out to global competitors, is the third G20 gathering since the collapse of

investment bank Lehman Brothers a year ago. Now that the recession in many countries appears to be ending, the challenge is to sustain the sense of urgency felt in April when the G20 agreed to work together to rescue the world economy and pledged hundreds of billions of dollars to finance crisis-fighting by the IMF.

News item: 27081

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