US News
G20 leaders open critical financial summit
Nov 15, 2008, 15:05 GMT
Leaders of the G-20 meet during the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, Plenary Session I at the National Building Museum 15 November 2008 in Washington. US President Bush hosted the G-20 leaders for the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy to discuss the world financial crisis. EPA/EUGENE A. SALAZAR
Washington - The world's 20 top economies launched on Saturday an historic summit aimed at stabilizing the world financial system and halting a global economic slide.
Greeting world leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) to the Washington summit, US President George W Bush said he was pleased with the early results after leaders held a working dinner at the White House Friday night.
But Bush, who is hosting the summit, again warned nations against restricting free markets and trade as a result of the financial crisis.
'I am pleased that we're discussing a way forward to make sure that such a crisis is unlikely to occur again. And I am pleased that the leaders reaffirmed the principles behind open markets and free trade,' said Bush, as he welcomed leaders at Washington's National Building Museum.
The meeting in the ornate museum building is closed to the press but is designed to be a free and open discussion between world leaders on ways of averting a financial crisis similar to the one that recently swept through global markets.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the G20 summit marked a 'new beginning' for international cooperation and would ensure that 'all market participants, all products and all markets will be truly monitored and regulated.'
According to a draft of the final declaration obtained by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, world leaders were expected to agree to a set of principles aimed at closing all gaps in the regulation of world finance markets.
Finance ministers have been given a deadline of March 31 to hammer out the specifics, followed by another summit of the G20 leaders at a later date, according to the draft. The next summit is most likely to be held in London, but a formal announcement was expected later Saturday.
The move to better monitor world financial markets comes in the wake of a round of stock market turmoil and a sharp downturn in the world's economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast a global recession in 2009.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Rodriguez Zapatero said, 'The fundamentals of the economy are not bad. We can and must get out of this situation, but we need coordinated actions for that.'
At the White House dinner, world leaders discussed the need for a fiscal stimulus package at the global level, which should be coordinated by industrialized nations, members of the Spanish delegation said late Friday.
Media reports said Brazil could announce its own stimulus package in conjunction with the summit.
But a stimulus is unlikely to come about in the United States until president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. Talks in the current Congress have stalled but Obama has pledged to make it his first priority.
Obama is not attending the summit but in a radio address Saturday said he was glad Bush 'initiated this process because our global economic crisis requires a coordinated global response.'
Obama has sent former secretary of state Madeleine Albright and former Republican Congressman Jim Leach to meet over the weekend with world leaders and their advisors on his behalf.
The G20 brings together a mix of industrial nations and developing economies. The Washington summit marks the first time leaders of the G20 have ever come together - a nod to the growing importance of emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil.
Global stocks have been decimated by the financial turmoil that was triggered by a meltdown in the US mortgage market but has since spread to all corners of the globe.
European leaders have sought a major overhaul of global regulations to prevent financial firms from taking the kinds of excessive risks that sparked the sector's collapse, while developing countries are looking to contain the fallout from the crisis that began in advanced economies.
Leaders are also likely to instruct the World Bank to beef up its lending to developing countries, some of which are facing critical cash shortfalls.
Japan on Friday pledged 2 billion dollars to the World Bank's efforts and planned to add 100 billion dollars to the IMF's own lending programme.
While there is a general consensus that nations have responded appropriately to the crisis with short-term measures, a key element of the declaration is likely to be the need for greater regulation and supervision at international and national levels.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Fraud is rarely prosecuted. This is just the normal end game for financial con artists. The same thing happened during the 'Savings and Loan Crisis' in the US 20 years ago. After the swindle is up and the fleecing is complete then a few years will go by and it will start all over again with another group of patsies.
Best to leave the politicians alone while they play their role in the swindle. Plus, these sham financial conferences are a great way to get a free vacation for those attending.
We had a Congress that felt the full support of the American government covered the government chartered entites Fannie Mae (now asking for 18 billion more as we speak) and Freddie Mac, while the fact was, they were independent entities that took bad risks.
This meltdown was also perpetrated by banks all over the world climbing onto the same band wagon, all on their own, so if someone wants to spread blame, you had better include them.
'so if someone wants to spread blame, you had better include them.'
For every con game there needs to be willing patsies.
Certainly, the US congress is participating in the con game (free money for all) and the US public is willingly accepting their free money and 'economic stimulus' welfare checks.
Did you notice the letter that came with the welfare checks (economic stimulus checks), signed by President Bush? There is no way you can eliminate the president's complicity in the financial con game.
Read and learn
This was preventable.Sep 21st, 2008 - 01:59:13
John McCain predicted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac crises, pushed 2005 legislation to prevent trouble:
The 'FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM ACT OF 2005' would have headed this off but it was killed in the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs by Chris Dodd who recieved the most money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
President Bush sought to rein in Fannie and Freddie in 2003.
The Democratic response to Bush in 2003:
“These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. “The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”
Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.
“I don’t see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,” Mr. Watt said.
Again, failure to differentiate
Here is a URL to a photo:
photos.state.gov/libraries/usinfo/4110/Week_2/021508_ESA2008_500.jpg
showing Bush bleeding more red ink into the federal treasury budget.
Of course, republican groupies will say that the people behind Bush are forcing Bush to sign the bill. Obviously, Nancy (behind bush) has a gun pointed at the back of Bush, and the other members of congress shown in the photo are saying: 'sign it or die' without moving their lips and still maintaining a smile.
... and ....
Here is a picture of SP4:
www.primates.com/chimps/chimpanzee-picture.jpg
as he astonishes himself with his own financial wit.
Once a republican groupie, always a republican groupie.
Here is a URL:
www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/hud.html
showing how President Bush created the housing mortgage mess by conning people that can't afford a house to buy one anyways.
But, of course Republican groupies will say all that URL actually points to a terrorist site setup in Ethiopia by Democratic operatives. Or some equally stupid lame excuse.
This was preventable.Sep 21st, 2008 - 01:59:13
John McCain predicted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac crises, pushed 2005 legislation to prevent trouble:
The 'FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM ACT OF 2005' would have headed this off but it was killed in the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs by Chris Dodd who recieved the most money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
President Bush sought to rein in Fannie and Freddie in 2003.
The Democratic response to Bush in 2003:
“These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. “The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”
Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.
“I don’t see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,” Mr. Watt said.
Again, failure to differentiate...
..how all the talk of the war ended, suddenly? I think the public is actually comfortable with this war.
There are no innocent politicians in any of this. President Bush should have had the good sense to fire Henry Paulson the moment he demanded carte blanche for this $700 billion extortion scheme. George Bush, a REPUBLICAN president, has effectively turned the United States into a banana republic. He literally handed this nation over to Nancy Pelosi and crowned her Queen of the Peoples' Democratic Union of Banana Republics.
Further, the bloody savings and loans were also creatures of the Federal Government. The S&L game was ALWAYS a stupid business. There next to no S&L's until AFTER the Federal Home Loan Act in 1932. What we are seeing at this very moment is an ongoing disaster from actions taken prior to WWII. We have been holding the system together with bubble gum, bailing wire, wishful thinking and bad accounting.
RE:''European leaders have sought a major overhaul of global regulations to prevent financial firms from taking the kinds of excessive risks that sparked the sector's collapse, while developing countries are looking to contain the fallout from the crisis that began in advanced economies.''
Monitored and regulated by whom? The very idea of such a thing would be laughable if it were not so tragic.
Bush advocated for reigning in these Di Medici's running Fannie Mae and was rebuffed by the libnazi elite, who say bad loans help people.
No Diogenes, the President did his part, and when, once again as for 8 years, was handed a bucket of crap, he took the crap out and dumped it like he has always done.
Presidents don't run corporations. Corporations run politicians (Frank and Dodd and Fannie Mae) though. Thank God Paulson was in charge, a man not frightened by what people think. Kotterizing this istuation was the best that could happen and he did it with a blow torch.
No, this President did his part, no matter how inadequate. Watch what happens now. You'll be begging for a Halliburton...
I can imagine how disappointing this situation must be for Republicans, especially Republicans willing to face the facts. President Bush DID try to reign in Fanny May and Freddie Mac. He failed to do so because there were not enough members of his own party willing to support him or who recognized the depth of his concerns. But in the end, and this is the end, we must ask ourselves, was President Bush a genuine advocate of capitalism? The answer to that one is, NO! Not by a long shot.
Henry Paulson did not cauterize anything. A genuine cauterization would have involved allowing all of these institutions to simply vanish of their own accord. A real capitalist would have spoken up about the layoff that mortgage lenders were arranging long before this crisis developed. A real capitalist would not be talking about a bailout for US automakers. All three of them need to go through Chapter 11. It is the only hope they have of recovering.
We have never heard George Bush speak out against any of the crap instituted by FDR Socialists back in the 1930's, a single time. He accepted all that crap as a given and has never once called it what it is. Whatever else George Bush may be, sincere or insincere, he is NOT a capitalist. I seriously doubt that he has a good understanding of what Capitalism is, or how it is supposed to work.
Better go read todays op ed by Bush in the WSJ. I think that will remove any doubt.
And I'd blame Bush, were he swimming in cooperation for the last 8 years by a Congress that saw it's responsibilities and acted on them. Instead they pilloried him, on everything, undermined the President at every turn and Bush failed to defend himself, an utterly bewildering phenomena.
Bush's failure was to not go to the lectorate who elected him, twice, and demand they speak directly to their representatives like Reagan did. Why, I do not know, but it was the mistake of mistakes and he has suffered for it.
Aw, hell guys, Bush can't even balance a checkbook.
Is he a Capitalist? Heck, how can he be of any economic ideology when he doesn't even know the first thing about finance or economics. Bush is positively an utter financial moron. There are socialist financial morons and capitalist financial morons. With Bush, he is simply a 'financial moron'. There is not enough solid performance in his actions to define it beyond that.
From the guy who has proved over and over again (and again) that he has no idea of any of the things he spews---all incorrect.
From the guy that cannot spell.
And he cannot even count to 20 let alone comment on the G 20.
Hey idiot wasn't it you who was spouting off about how good the economy was when it was tanking? Wasn't it you who supported the 'Albino Chipmunk' and 'Caribou Barbi' when he was part of the problems that led to this meltdown, and then less than 2 months ago he said the economy was 'sound'.
You really should go back to the Disney board, reading, spelling and math level around the 5th grade are more appropriate for someone with your intelligence.
page: 1
DiogenesNov 15th, 2008 - 15:21:20
RE;''European leaders have sought a major overhaul of global regulations to prevent financial firms from taking the kinds of excessive risks that sparked the sector's collapse, while developing countries are looking to contain the fallout from the crisis that began in advanced economies.''
Financial firms did NOT cause this mess. The government of the United States caused this. It was the US government that instituted the government sponsored enterprises. The policies imposed upon those enterprises was what caused the mortgage lenders to create ''mortgage backed securities''. Those securities were nothing more than a layoff--just like a bookie selling bets. Real bookies would not have bought into a layoff that big. They would have stopped buying those bets long before things got this bad. Only government are stupid enough and arrogant enough to think that they can ignore the laws of probability and all the rest of arithmetic.
But why should we be surprised that more regulation is seen as the key to preventing another collapse? After all, we elected the same people who caused this mess to be in charge of fixing it. They are going to use the same bad judgment and stupidity in an attempt to fix the problem as they used to create the problem They are who and what they are.
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