*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) LONDON, England - September 5, 2009: Finance officials from the world's largest 20 economies have agreed to curb excessive bankers' bonuses. But the agreement falls short of European demands, as the U.S. and Britain declined to impose a bonuses cap. 
(L-R front) Elena Salgado, Spain's finance minister, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, Mehmet Simsek, Turkey's finance minister, Martin Redrado, governor of the Central Bank of Argentina, Agustin Carstens, Mexico's minister of finance, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia's finance minister, Timothy Geithner, U.S. treasury secretary, Alistair Darling, U.K. chancellor of the exchequer, Christine Lagarde, France's finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, India's finance minister, Guido Mantega, Brazil's finance minister, Mario Draghi, governor of the bank of Italy, Axel Weber, president of Deutsche Bundesbank, Ibrahim al-Assaf, finance minister of Saudi Arabia, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's finance minister, pose for a group picture during the G20 finance Minister's summit, at the Treasury in Westminster on September 5, 2009 in London, England. British PM Gordon Brown has warned against withdrawing support for the global economy too soon, stating it could undermine tentative recovery signs, during a G20 meeting. Finance ministers are in London for a two-day meeting to map out rules to prevent a repeat of the crisis that brought the financial system to the brink of collapse.
In a joint statement issued at the end of their meeting in London, England, the assembled finance ministers also said they would continue stimulus programs designed to boost government spending and keep interest rates low.
They warned that any recovery in the global economy is tentative, and said fiscal and monetary policy will remain "expansionary" until the chances of a double-dip recession have abated.
Going in to the meeting, European countries had asked for the G20 to enforce an official cap on individual payouts and collective bonuses at financial institutions. However, Britain didn't support the idea of an official cap.
The U.S. was focused on pursuing a global agreement to get banks to hold larger capital reserves. But the G20 statement did not address that proposal.
The group also agreed to start sanctions against tax havens that don't comply with new transparency rules by March 2010. The ministers also confirmed their intention to give developing countries a greater say over the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Speaking at the summit, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said worldwide economies are "not out of the woods yet," despite the first signs of recovery from the global financial crisis.
Flaherty said officials agree that while the global economy is stabilizing, more work needs to be done to ensure complete recovery from the worst recession in decades.
"There's a remarkable degree of consensus among the G20 finance ministers that the global economy is stabilizing but that recovery is not established," Flaherty told CTV News Channel in a telephone interview on Saturday morning. "We're all agreed that we're not out of the woods yet and that we must stay the course, including the stimulus spending."
According to Flaherty, the Group of 20 finance ministers are encouraged by the signs of economic recovery.
Japan, Germany, France and Australia all experienced growth in the second quarter.
Figures released late last month by Statistics Canada showed that the Canadian economy grew 0.1 per cent in June, the first monthly gain since July 2008.
Britain's economy is projected to grow in the third quarter.
But officials are also concerned about making decisions that will trigger a slide back into recession, as well as high unemployment numbers, Flaherty said.
"We need to continue what we're doing and that means good government, it means continuing the stimulus spending, it means starting to have some discussions about an exit strategy, but not implementing an exit strategy until it's absolutely clear that the stimulus spending has worked and that we are out of the woods," Flaherty said.
Officials from the G20, which represents 80 per cent of the world's output, are meeting in London to discuss potential actions to further economic recovery, as well as lay the foundation for the G20 leaders' summit in Pittsburgh later this month.
Earlier Saturday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned officials against "complacency or overconfidence" in the wake of the promising economic news.
Brown, who chose to speak at the meeting in place of the host, Treasury head Alistair Darling, urged the world's economic powers to continue to develop initiatives that will boost economic growth worldwide, despite signs of recovery.
"Given the risks we face, this is not the time for economic complacency or overconfidence, the stakes are simply too high to get these judgments wrong," Brown said. "To decide now that it is time to start withdrawing and reversing the exceptional measures we have taken would in my judgment be a serious mistake."
(L-R front) Elena Salgado, Spain's finance minister, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, Mehmet Simsek, Turkey's finance minister, Martin Redrado, governor of the Central Bank of Argentina, Agustin Carstens, Mexico's minister of finance, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia's finance minister, Timothy Geithner, U.S. treasury secretary, Alistair Darling, U.K. chancellor of the exchequer, Christine Lagarde, France's finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, India's finance minister, Guido Mantega, Brazil's finance minister, Mario Draghi, governor of the bank of Italy, Axel Weber, president of Deutsche Bundesbank, Ibrahim al-Assaf, finance minister of Saudi Arabia, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's finance minister, pose for a group picture during the G20 finance Minister's summit, at the Treasury in Westminster on September 5, 2009 in London, England. British PM Gordon Brown has warned against withdrawing support for the global economy too soon, stating it could undermine tentative recovery signs, during a G20 meeting. Finance ministers are in London for a two-day meeting to map out rules to prevent a repeat of the crisis that brought the financial system to the brink of collapse.
In a joint statement issued at the end of their meeting in London, England, the assembled finance ministers also said they would continue stimulus programs designed to boost government spending and keep interest rates low.
They warned that any recovery in the global economy is tentative, and said fiscal and monetary policy will remain "expansionary" until the chances of a double-dip recession have abated.
Going in to the meeting, European countries had asked for the G20 to enforce an official cap on individual payouts and collective bonuses at financial institutions. However, Britain didn't support the idea of an official cap.
The U.S. was focused on pursuing a global agreement to get banks to hold larger capital reserves. But the G20 statement did not address that proposal.
The group also agreed to start sanctions against tax havens that don't comply with new transparency rules by March 2010. The ministers also confirmed their intention to give developing countries a greater say over the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Speaking at the summit, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said worldwide economies are "not out of the woods yet," despite the first signs of recovery from the global financial crisis.
Flaherty said officials agree that while the global economy is stabilizing, more work needs to be done to ensure complete recovery from the worst recession in decades.
"There's a remarkable degree of consensus among the G20 finance ministers that the global economy is stabilizing but that recovery is not established," Flaherty told CTV News Channel in a telephone interview on Saturday morning. "We're all agreed that we're not out of the woods yet and that we must stay the course, including the stimulus spending."
According to Flaherty, the Group of 20 finance ministers are encouraged by the signs of economic recovery.
Japan, Germany, France and Australia all experienced growth in the second quarter.
Figures released late last month by Statistics Canada showed that the Canadian economy grew 0.1 per cent in June, the first monthly gain since July 2008.
Britain's economy is projected to grow in the third quarter.
But officials are also concerned about making decisions that will trigger a slide back into recession, as well as high unemployment numbers, Flaherty said.
"We need to continue what we're doing and that means good government, it means continuing the stimulus spending, it means starting to have some discussions about an exit strategy, but not implementing an exit strategy until it's absolutely clear that the stimulus spending has worked and that we are out of the woods," Flaherty said.
Officials from the G20, which represents 80 per cent of the world's output, are meeting in London to discuss potential actions to further economic recovery, as well as lay the foundation for the G20 leaders' summit in Pittsburgh later this month.
Earlier Saturday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned officials against "complacency or overconfidence" in the wake of the promising economic news.
Brown, who chose to speak at the meeting in place of the host, Treasury head Alistair Darling, urged the world's economic powers to continue to develop initiatives that will boost economic growth worldwide, despite signs of recovery.
"Given the risks we face, this is not the time for economic complacency or overconfidence, the stakes are simply too high to get these judgments wrong," Brown said. "To decide now that it is time to start withdrawing and reversing the exceptional measures we have taken would in my judgment be a serious mistake."
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