นสพ.คอม - G20 leaders off to Washington crisis summit

<body> <h1>G20 leaders off to Washington crisis summit</h1> <p> Chinese milk inspectors beaten for melamine searchAbhisit says reshuffle cannot solve political problemsWashington (AFP) - Leaders from the world s biggest economic powers gathered in Washington on Friday for a crisis summit to recast the global financial order as recession spreads to a growing number of countries.US President George W. Bush will host more than 20 leaders from the world s richest nations and emerging economic powerhouses at a working dinner at the White House followed by formal talks on Saturday.Though the US leader faces mounting calls from Europe, Russia and other emerging nations to increase financial market control, Bush s term ends on January 20 and he cannot make firm commitments for president-elect Barack Obama.The summit, billed as a first in a series, comes amid growing evidence that the worst international financial crisis in generations is taking a heavy toll on economies around the world.Highlighting the increasingly dire situation, EU data on Friday showed the 15 nations sharing the euro has slumped into the first official recession since the bloc was formed in 1999.Despite growing pressure for international action in the face of a fast deteriorating global economic situation, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso warned that the summit would not yield rapid solutions. We cannot expect a miracle from this summit, which was Europe s idea, but will rather see the beginning of a process that will create a finished programme in 100 days, he said an interview with the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung published Friday. This summit must not fail. The crisis broke out one year ago when the US real estate market spiraled downward and swamped the financial sector with subprime mortgages turned sour.Stock markets have crashed and companies around the world are now laying off hundreds of thousands of workers.Barroso said that we need to give the International Monetary Fund more power to act and achieve our main goal of imposing effective regulations on every relevant financial institution -- around the globe, nationally and internationally. Several products and financial institutions, including hedge funds, credit default swaps and credit rating agencies, are largely if not completely unregulated at present.Bush has said that he wants the summit to cover issues ranging from improving bank risk management practices, improving accounting rules for securities so that their true value is clear, and harmonizing accounting laws among nations.US officials also want the International Monetary Fund and World Bank overhauled so emerging economies can have a greater voice.Japan will announce at the summit an offer to lend up to 100 billion dollars to the IMF to provide financial lifelines to emerging countries, Prime Minister Taro Aso announced Friday.Before the summit got under way, the IMF and the Financial Stability Forum -- an international grouping of central banks, regulators and the IMF -- said Friday they will cooperate to provide an early-warning system in an effort to prevent financial crises.The G20 summit will also likely discuss coordinated efforts to revive the global economy, after China unveiled a four trillion yuan (586 billion dollars) economic stimulus plan.Leaders are also to consider creating a college of supervisors to oversee the world s biggest financial institutions, The Washington Post reported Friday.A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the idea, which British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has in particular championed, was being discussed. We should let the summit take place, but there are a number college of supervisors already in existence, and we have always supported this concept to ensure that everyone is using best practices and sharing information, the official said.Meanwhile, Berlin is advocating at a global financial risk map to assess risks arising from international financial institutions and a global credit register to allow banks to judge the financial position of other banks they deal with.Created in 1999, the Group of 20 (G20) countries account for 85 percent of the world economy and about two-thirds of its population.Its members are the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Britain and Canada, the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. Spain and the Netherlands have also been invited. </p> </body>