Bloomberg on Global Economy

Europe's Leaders Meet to Forge New Measures to Prevent Economic 'Disaster' European leaders meet today to forge a new set of measures to combat the credit freeze after their failure to act a week ago contributed to the worst sell-off in the region's stocks in two decades.

U.K. Government May Put Its Representatives on Bank Boards, Official Says The British Treasury may appoint its own representatives to the boards of the country's biggest banks as it begins buying stakes in them over the next few weeks, a government official said.

G-7 Pledges to Take `All Necessary Steps' to Stem Global Financial Crisis Group of Seven finance chiefs, meeting after stocks plunged and as a global recession looms, vowed to prevent the collapse of major banks while failing to unveil new initiatives for thawing credit markets.

Trichet, ECB Officials Say Liquidity Steps Will Take Time to Calm Markets European Central Bank policy makers led by President Jean-Claude Trichet said it will take time for their liquidity measures to soothe markets, suggesting another interest rate cut isn't imminent.

IMF's Strauss-Kahn Says U.S., Europe Must Do More to Calm Global Markets The U.S. and European nations may need to take additional steps to stem the global financial crisis, said International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

China Will Spur Domestic Demand to Sustain `Fast, Stable' Growth, Yi Says China will boost domestic demand to sustain the nation's ``fast and stable'' economic growth, central bank Deputy Governor Yi Gang said.

India's Subbarao Says He's Ready to Take `Swift' Action to Boost Liquidity Indian central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said he's prepared to take ``effective'' steps to maintain liquidity in the nation's credit markets and repeated the bank's policy of smoothing swings in the currency.

G-20 Nations Agree on Need for Crisis Cooperation, Brazil's Mantega Says Finance officials from the Group of 20 countries agreed on the need for a more coordinated response to the biggest global financial crisis in 80 years, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said.

King Must Stop Morality `Lessons' on U.K. Banks, Ex-Thatcher Adviser Says Bank of England Governor Mervyn King should stop giving banks ``lessons in morality'' and focus on preventing financial collapse, said Patrick Minford, a former adviser to Margaret Thatcher.

Germany Faces `Extremely Difficult' 2009 Amid Credit Crisis, Minister Says German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said Europe's biggest economy will struggle to grow next year amid the fallout from the financial crisis.

Nakagawa Says Japan May Inject Cash Into Banks Should Global Crisis Spread Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said the government may inject public money should the global credit turmoil threaten the nation's financial institutions.

Fed Watch

G-7 Pledges to Take `All Necessary Steps' to Stem Global Financial Crisis Group of Seven finance chiefs, meeting after stocks plunged and as a global recession looms, vowed to prevent the collapse of major banks while failing to unveil new initiatives for thawing credit markets.

Bernanke, Paulson Seek Global Help as Credit Crisis Defeats U.S. Efforts Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are discovering both the leeway and limits they have as policy makers as they struggle to combat the 14-month-old credit crisis.

U.S. Will Likely Avoid a `Lost Decade' Like Japan's, Fed's Lockhart Says Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said the U.S. probably doesn't face the prospect of a ``lost decade'' similar to the economic challenges that beset Japan during the 1990s.

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