To Save Economy, Go Shopping

(NEWSER) - Unlike most economic summits, the G20 talks have delivered more than just a promise to talk some more in the future, Steven Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post. The meeting may not have been the turning point declared by President Obama, but the market-boosting measures agreed upon represent a more substantial result than many had expected. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama touted the resolutions of the G20 summit today in London, saying swift and muscular action was needed to reverse the global economic downturn, the AP reports. Steps like the injection of funds into the IMF and the creation of a global regulatory body “were necessary,” he told a packed press conference. “Whether they were sufficient, we’ve got to wait and see.” More»

(NEWSER) - The key issue behind both the global economic and climate crises is exactly the same: “mispricing risk,” Thomas L. Friedman writes in the New York Times. “We have been mispricing risk in both arenas,” he contends, “producing a huge excess of both toxic assets and toxic air that now threatens the stability of the whole planet.” Only “smart regulation and carbon taxation can heal both.” More»

Responds to Europe's stimulus reluctance with global op-ed blitz

(NEWSER) - President Obama published an op-ed piece in more than 30 newspapers worldwide today, urging the G-20 nations to take immediate, bold action to fix the economy. “The United States is ready to lead,” he wrote in the Los Angeles Times, among others, “and we call on our partners to join us with a sense of urgency.” Included was a call for broad stimulus action—something the European Central Bank opposes. More»

Washington's following 'business as usual' amid crisis

(NEWSER) - Washington is carrying out “business as usual in the most unusual economic moment of our lifetimes,” writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. It’s time for our leaders to wake up to the enormity of the financial crisis, the real "weapon of mass destruction," a problem that only serious capital and confidence can resolve, he warns. One step toward getting that confidence: inaugurate Barack Obama now. More»