World economy at turning point - Obama

UK: President Barack Obama Thursday hailed the sweeping action agreed by G20 nations as a “turning point” for the global economy but warned that this did not guarantee swift recovery.

Quickly seizing a prime leadership role at the crunch meeting of developed and developing nations, Obama hailed the “unprecedented” measures agreed to straighten a warped regulatory regime that helped trigger the crisis. But the US President warned he would continue to fight America’s corner in the pursuit of economic rebirth and expected other leaders to do the same, despite their pledge to join together in the long haul back to recovery.

“We finished a very productive summit that will be, I believe, a turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery,” Obama told a packed press conference. “By any measure, the London summit was historic. It was historic because of the size and the scope of the challenges that we face and because of the timeliness and magnitude of our response.”

The president spoke after the G20 nations had agreed a huge program of new spending that will take their combined outlay in the crisis to five trillion dollars by the end of the next year.

The summit also allocated more than one trillion dollars to the International Monetary Fund and other institutions, ordered a crackdown on tax havens and excessive corporate pay, and new measures to help poor nations.

“We have agreed on a series of unprecedented steps to restore growth and prevent a crisis like this from happening again,” said Obama, who appeared tired and was battling a heavy cold. LONDON, Friday, AFP