G20 Leaders Close to Deal

Treasury seeks billions to help IMF prop up struggling nations

(NEWSER) - Tim Geithner is calling on the other G20 nations to help the US get the global economy back on its feet, the Washington Post reports. The Treasury secretary, who leaves for a G20 summit tomorrow, said in a briefing yesterday the administration plans to ask Congress for another $100 billion to help the IMF aid the worst-hit economies, and urged other leaders to substantially increase their contributions. More»

At Berlin meeting, British PM says world needs $500B rescue

(NEWSER) - The world needs to unite on a "global New Deal" to end the economic crisis, Gordon Brown said yesterday at a European summit. The British prime minister, who is chairing April's meeting of the G20, joined colleagues from France and Germany to call for a major overhaul of the world's financial system, including greater international regulation. Brown estimated that global institutions like the IMF would need about $500 billion to do the job. More»

France, Germany, UK clash over handling recession

(NEWSER) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy began his six-month European Union presidency by quibbling with Germany, and he appears to be ending his term the same way, Bloomberg reports. Half a year after clashing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over a Mediterranean alliance, Sarkozy shrugged off the traditional France-Germany pre-summit chat and rendezvoused with UK PM Gordon Brown ahead of today’s Brussels meeting. More»

Brown and Sarkozy shine while Bush stalls, says columnist

(NEWSER) - The financial crisis hasn't just transformed the business world, writes Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman; it's transformed world politics as well. Who are the winners and losers of the market upheaval?

• Gordon Brown seems more and more the "improbable savior" of the financial system. The British bailout has been taken up in Europe and the US, and the lugubrious PM is now an economic hero.
• George W Bush is the anti-Brown: the normally chipper president looks "panicky and out of his depth."

Meanwhile, the G20 wrestles with Greece mess

(NEWSER) - Things aren’t looking good for George Papandreou ahead of tomorrow’s confidence vote: The Greek prime minister has lost several key supporters over his shocking plan to put the EU bailout to a vote on Dec. 4—and now has a majority of just one, Reuters reports. Greece's use of Europe's common currency "cannot depend on a referendum," said Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos as he broke with Papandreou today. Papandreou called an emergency meeting of his Cabinet after Venizelos’ defection, the Washington Post reports. If he cannot scrape by with his slim majority on tomorrow’s vote, he will lose his job and the referendum will likely not occur; there is also speculation his own party will ask him to resign. More»