G8 Leaders: World Economy Still Needs Help

In Italy, Leaders Agree It's Too Soon to Roll Back Stimulus Plans, But Commit to Prepare Exit Plans

(CBS/ AP)  Updated 3:03 p.m. ET

World leaders agreed Wednesday that the global economy remains too shaky to begin rolling back massive stimulus measures right now. They also set a key goal in the fight against global warming, saying temperatures shouldn't increase more than 2 degrees Celsius.

In their official statement on the economy, leaders of the Group of Eight countries said that they "note some signs of stabilization" but continued to stress a difficult outlook that would prevent them from unwinding fiscal stimulus until "recovery is assured."

"The economic situation remains uncertain and significant risks remain to economic and financial stability," the statement said. "We will take, individually and collectively, the necessary steps to return the global economy to a strong, stable and sustainable growth path."

The leaders did commit to prepare exit strategies, with the help of the International Monetary Fund, from the measures to boost growth through government spending, low interest rates, and expansive monetary policy. Germany, worried about running up crippling debt, has pressed for spending restraint, while other major economies like Britain, Japan and the United States can't rule out the need to pump in more money.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized the importance of the agreement to some day unwind the stimulus programs. "If we are lucky, then we have nearly reached the bottom. But we still then must then get out of the crisis," she told reporters.

The leaders gathered Wednesday in the central Italian city of L'Aquila, where the summit was held in a sign of support for the inhabitants. Over dinner later, they planned to turn their attention to world security issues from Iran to North Korea.

The leaders reached agreement on the temperature threshold after failing to press developing countries to approve a more far-reaching goal of reducing heat-trapping carbon emissions by 2050. (Read more on the climate agreement.)

Climate change experts have said such an acknowledgment was significant because the G-8 has never prounouced itself on that temperature goal. Developing countries agreed in a provisional statement to the same phrasing of the G-8 statement.

Italian host, Premier Silvio Berlusconi, welcomed the leaders, many of whom arrived at the summit in electric cars bearing their nation's flag. President Barack Obama strolled into the summit site for the first G-8 meeting of his presidency.

The leaders also called on experts at the International Energy Forum to look at how they can dampen volatility in oil prices. France and Britain had sought the intervention of regulators to reduce what they called "damaging speculation" in oil futures markets. Oil prices have plunged from around $147 a barrel last July to $32 late last year, then to $73 last week.

The document also calls for a rapid conclusion to the stalled Doha round of talks aimed at promoting world trade, but failed to set a deadline. The talks about reducing subsidies and import tariffs have been stalled for years.

The leaders also endorsed an "enhanced global framework for financial regulation" and to address flaws in the current system to help prevent future economic crises, but fails to make any concrete proposals.

Leaders say they will address issues such as executive pay, definition of capital, risk management and the regulation of hedge funds and credit rating agencies.

The summit is being held in L'Aquila after a devastating earthquake in April killed almost 300 people and drove thousands from their homes. Berlusconi moved the summit in a show of support, reports CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante. There are still regular aftershocks - and with the leaders of almost 40 nations staying, there's an emergency plan to airlift them out in case there's another serious quake.

[rickCheney]

Make Cholestrol checking and Diabetes checkup free for every one.

That will cut down the rest of the costs. Its as simple as that.

Let doctors from other countries like India and China practice here.

Give All H1B to Doctors. We do not need programmers from india. We need Doctors from india.

Value of american life has depreciated in the rest of the world.

The only people who come here from india these days are Below average.

restrict all H1B from working in federal Contracts

[rickCheney]

Give all H1B to Doctors from India and China instead of giving it to Technical people.

We need to increase number of Doctors in US.

Every Doctors at the moment graduates from their medical schools knowing that they will be millionaires.

Stupid concept why the doctors here do not need competition. we need competition in Doctors so that they will decrease their rates.

[rickCheney]

Need more Doctors here in US. Give all H1B to Doctors.

Modify the H1b to accept doctors from India.

That way doctors in US will get some competition, other wise Doctors in US will take on the public.

[cabby292002]

hclinton2012, I am assuming by your post name that you you will be voting for Mrs. Clinton in 2012. I guess you are not aware of the fact that she is a MAJOR ADVOCATE of India/US trade. In fact, her husband and her enabled NAFTA during their golden years and she has recently announced that she will be meeting with India to discuss US/India exciting future together... she even named it Upgrade 3.0.

Here you go if you dont believe me...
http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?a=jgskOpdidei&title=Clinton_seeks_to_upgrade_ties_to_'US-India_3.0'

[darthcheney345]

by noloyalisti July 8, 2009 12:35 PM PDT
Only 10% of the stimulus money has been spent. A lot of it is held up by Republicans
-------------------------
Good! Then there's still some chance of rescuing our future from the rapacious tax and spend Democrats who want to take all the money from our pockets and give it away to greedy CEO's who will just pocket the money and delcare bankruptcy.

[noloyalisti]

Let's give corporations even more money for their wars in the Middle East. Let's not save American industries, jobs and unions. Let's just build our military and take what we need. Let's keep voting for tea bagging Republicans who hate the government but use it to rape and pillage the taxpayers.

I think it is great that we are fat, lazy, ignorant, corporation-loving consumerists. Don't you?

[darthcheney345]

The stock market is now dropping THROUGH 8000 today.

It is LOWER THAN IT OPENED on Jan 20.

Hail Obama????

Obama is the WORST PRESIDENT IN 100 YEARS.

Obama is a total failure.

[noloyalisti]

Keep dreaming. You need to turn off the New for Dumb Fox. Only 10% of the stimulus money has been spent. A lot of it is held up by Republicans like Schwarzenneger who don't like government but still want to get paid. Typical, greedy, corrupt, backwards thinking corporatist conservatives. Do tea bag orgies to protest some of the lowest tax rates in the world.

[u-r-right]

Even more serious efforts to balance trade after all these years of lopsided trade agreements would be better than what has been taking place against American workers.

We need to first pull our troops out of Iraq, get some money from the Iraqis and Afghanis for our efforts and put that toward fixing all these domestic issues.

Actually, first, we need competent leadership throughout our government to start the ball rolling and keep the momentum going until we have recovered. Who cares what party does it.

[noloyalisti]

Yes, the world needs help. We have two problems here in the corrupt United States of Corporations. We need to get rid of all the Congresspeople who support globalization, privatization and de-regulation. In short, a War on Congress.

Second, we need to break up the big corporations and make them run for the benefit of the masses. If they step out of line, We the People take them over through our government or we revoke their corporate charters. No corporation too big to fail. No corporation to enrich the greedy CEOs at the expense of the workers.

[ajjaxtheleast]

Myself I'll worry when at one of these GLOBAL summit
meetings the doors are thrown open and everybody runs
out scattering in all directions screaming,,,,

"IT'S EVERY FREAKIN' COUNTRY FOR ITSELF!!!"

Notice that they don't mention, or even HINT, that their
stimulus options have a limit of "help" to throw at us,,,

They dont sound worried, even sound very controlled in
their "warnings",,,,must be lottsa self-stimulusing
going on up and down the line by lottsa folks,,,
******8-HUNDRED-BILLION!!???,,,just an unnoticed
nibble nibble here and a nibble nibble there adds a
mcmansion here, a yacht there,,,

[Benton09]

An end to the humongous spending on the Industrial War Complex, a way of bringing back a U. S. manufacturing base to put our people back to work and a break up of large multinational corporations into smaller more manageable companies might help our country. Our government should help us out first instead of worrying about the world. There are a lot of people hurting in this country and how long will our people stand by and watch us continue to be second, third or fourth in line befor we actually take the situation into our own hands and change it ourselves.

[Joe_NY_15]

by skyk-2009 July 8, 2009 9:35 AM PDT

It is looking like your Trickle-Up Poverty is failing miserably......where is the stimulus to the economy ? there is none.....you were fooled like a fool to think trickling up poverty would help this economy....but the massive debt sunk it further.

[Phone Kall]

Obama is a freaking idiot that has no leadership skills whatsoever.
He did however fool most of America into thinking he will give them "Change" and "Create more jobs".

You all fell for it and he is laughing all the way to his celebrity roasts, traveling the world and not getting anything done in the United States.

Now he is thinking of yet another "stimulus" and the first stimulus is not accounted for?

Impeach this guy and get a real leader in there.

[hclinton2012]

What the members of this summit should be talking about the most is all these "unfair and unbalanced" free-trade agreement that are hurting US Workers along with some European countries and benefit only "low-wage" workers in India and China! But on the opposite course, this LOSER of a President Barack Obama is promising more JOBS from our country to these country to strengthen their ecomonies and NOT our country? Nuts, crazy talk, we need job growth here in American first, forget China and India!

[speakinup22]

Enriquie - it is worse that 60% according to the WSJ:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123690358175013837.html

"Eighty-three percent say they are worried that the steps Mr. Obama is taking to fix the economy may not work and the economy will get worse. Eighty-two percent say they are worried about the amount of money being added to the deficit. Seventy-eight percent are worried about inflation growing, and 69% say they are worried about the increasing role of the government in the U.S. economy.

"When Gallup asked whether we should be spending more or less in the economic stimulus, by close to 3-to-1 margin voters said it is better to have spent less than to have spent more. When asked whether we are adding too much to the deficit or spending too little to improve the economy, by close to a 3-to-2 margin voters said that we are adding too much to the deficit.

"Support for the stimulus package is dropping from narrow majority support to below that. There is no sense that the stimulus package itself will work quickly, and according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, close to 60% said it would make only a marginal difference in the next two to four years. Rasmussen data shows that people now actually oppose Mr. Obama's budget, 46% to 41%. Three-quarters take this position because it will lead to too much spending. And by 2-to-1, voters reject House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's call for a second stimulus package.

[skyk-2009]

IF you have even a thought that we're EVER going to return to Trickle Down Economics my friend you are sadly mistaken. The Stimulus was needed and necessary. We just had such a MASSIVE deficit and debt from the Incompetent Republican's we couldn't put enough into it. We have given this far to long and have watched far to many American's suffer over the last 3 decades...it's time for some REAL Change.. the kind of Change our fathers would bring. IF the Politician's aren't willing to terminate or renegotiate these VERY Unfair Trade Agreements, it's time to hit the Streets!

[hclinton2012]

The first Pelosi's Stimilus Bill is going to finally show up in the year 2012, but it will be too late for 30% of Americans who will be still unemployed, lost their homes to forecloser and have gone into bankruptcy with their credit debt!

[speakinup22]

skyk - I respect you as a human being, but you aren't my friend.

The stimulus hasn't performed as Barry thought it would, and mostly through mismanagement by the Democratic party. Your idea of creating more debt that is not bringing us out of this economic crisis, which started during a Democratic Congress BTW, is really tearing our debt a new one.

"time to hit the streets" - what are you planning to do, advocate a violent overthrow of the government ?

It don't sound like Barry's "change" and "Hope" is working out for you sir.

Good luck with life, ok. If you want to be an anarchist, you ain't getting help from me.

[newerdeal]

calgal4, how can American workers compete with workers that make $20 a week in China. Lets get real. We need change now ! Your old way of thinking has got to go ! ! !

[skyk-2009]

Agreed!! Along with the trade agreements that force us to compete with that!!

[hclinton2012]

That's why these members of this G8 Summit should be talking about "free-trade" and it's "unfaired and unbalanced" in their nature toward the USA and some of the European countries?

[hclinton2012]

With 16,000 US workers getting laidoff or terminated each day, millions going into forecloser with their homes and property and others facing bankruptcy on their personal credit, this LOSER of a President Barack Obama is more worried about the WORLD's ecomony than just the American ecomony? What a JOKE this LOSER of a President Obama has become?

[skyk-2009]

I'm afraid blaming President Obama for the Global Economy is just plain STUPID. Almost as stupid as electing the Party of De-Regulation to watch over the financial industry. He HAS to meet with these people because we are NOT in a Global Economy that REQUIRES such meetings. Obama is NOT, in any way, responsible for the massive job loses we are facing and he did NOT create the INSANITY of Trickle Down Economics that has shifted the Wealth in this nation to the top 10%. IF you can't accept responsibilities for the mistakes we made in the past how do we deal with the future.

[hclinton2012]

These job losses are occuring on this LOSER's watch, he needs to take responsibity for the programs that are continuing the losses and stop blaming others!

[skyk-2009]

Well did you expect to go through the WORST Economic Meltdown since the Great Depression and NOT loose jobs. Blaming THIS President for those job looses isn't fair and will get us in MUCH worse trouble. We must NEVER again... EVER allow Trickle Down Economics back in. We dug our way out ONCE under Clinton only to allow Bush and the Republican's to return to it. It was STUPID and we are paying for our stupidity.

[hclinton2012]

This LOSER of a President Barack Obama promised that if Congress pass this Pelosi's Porkulus Stimilus Legislation back in January-February 2009 that our unemployment won't go beyond 8.0% and we would see over 700,000 jobs created before the end of summer of 2009? Obama LIED and the US Ecomony DIED! Plain and simple!

[pubsnomore]

hclinton2012,

You should change your name to RushLimpBag2012.

[skyk-2009]

I am willing to give this President a chance to make the "Global Economy" work for American's but IF he fails, IF I continue to see American's hurt by Unfair Trade Agreements and Multi National Corporations, then all bets are off as far as I'm concerned. Now is the PERFECT time to form a Third Party, with the Republican Party all but dead. It's time we had a Party in this Nation that represents AMERICAN Workers and looked out for what is good for THEM and NOT the Rich.

[speakinup22]

True enough - if the Republicans don't start representing Conservatives, it is time to start a new party called Conservatives.

Unions have solidly voted for Democrats - let them stay there.

[hclinton2012]

The Global Ecomony will never work for US Workers, we have a much "higher" standard of living than the $0.30 per hour jobs created in India and China. They can't even buy the products they are producing on those assembly lines!

[skyk-2009]

speakinup, What UNIONS? When we HAD Unions the American Workers got a fair shake and a decent wage. OUR standard of Living went up and we had benefits. IT was ONLY when we allowed Conservatives and their stooges in Congress to start busting them and shipping those jobs to the Third World that our Standard of Living started to fall. Face it the Conservative ways has NOT, not even ONCE, worked. We NEED strong Union's to help ALL workers, regardless of if they belong to one or not. The THREAT of a Union always kept the Rich in line.

[hclinton2012]

Unions have played their part in America to raise our "standard of living" and in some companies they still need to be around to secure certain benefits to their employees. Unions don't work for every situation and every companies. But Unions don't drive jobs from American Workers to "cheap" wages in China and India, the people in Congress and Presidents do! And this LOSER of a President Obama is just continuing what past Presidents have been doing on "free-trade"?

[pubsnomore]

The RepigLickkker party was never for conservative values or for the welfare of the USA. They've been out for oil for the past 50 years...and nothing else!

[speakinup22]

skyk - not my fault you can't keep a union together.

Myself, I always liked the idea of doing a good job and counting on that to get me ahead. It always bothered me that someone could lay down rules about me not working some place unless I payed them good money for nothing.

Unions are one step from communism. No thanks, I'll represent myself.

[whitemale08]

The global economy didn't receive 'massive stimulases', the banks received MASSIVE MASSIVE BAILOUTS @taxpayer's expense.

We bailed out Warren Buffet @Goldman Sucks and JP Morgan with their trillions in worthless derivatives and credit-default swaps.

That crowded out any stimulas money, which is why it was only 786 billion which went to pay off construction companies that lost in the housing bubble and states that got duped by JP Morgan from selling them worthless derivatives and credit-default swaps.

PUT GOLDMAN SUCKS JP MORGAN BRITISH BANKS BARCLAYS CAPITAL INTO RECEIVERSHIP AND BANKRRUPTCY RE-ORGANIZATION!!!!

or it will continue to get worse folks!

[newerdeal]

President Obama needs to get back to Washington and focus on getting the USA economy going.

Stop all this running around and giving speeches and meet and greets and get to work ! ! !

Focus president Obama !

You wanted the job so bad and you knew things were messed up. It is time to quit blaming others and get to work ! ! !

[calgal4]

How do you expect the US to isolate itself from the rest of the world economy? Hmmm?

[skyk-2009]

We weren't isolated before the "Free" Trade Garbage my friend. In fact before we started down that INSANE road we were the worlds largest creditor nation. FAIRNESS is what is lacking in our policies with other nations. Greed and Politician's who sold their very soul for that greed has put this nation in a very bad way. Our Country is falling down around us and we do NOT have the funds to fix it. Before these "Free" Trade Agreements I had a good job that allowed me to take care of my family on a 40 hour week. Since we started the "Free" Trade Global Economy that job and MILLIONS like it are GONE. Gone to are the good benefits, pensions and decent standard of living. IF something doesn't work for ALL the people of the country then it should be trashed... PERIOD!!

[pubsnomore]

The federal gov't needs to subsidize Made in USA products and tax the imported products in order to do so.

[DaVicar5]

They already do that

[skyk-2009]

I was willing to give this President a chance along those lines to bring fairness the way of the American Worker and I still have confidence he will do that. IF he fails though I'm with you. It's time to go back to what worked FOR the American Workers and to hell with the rest.

[pubsnomore]

Davicar,

They obviously don't do it enough, since there's no incentive yet for companies to pull the plug on Chinese sweatshops yet!

[darthcheney345]

by DaVicar5 July 8, 2009 8:46 AM PDT
They already do that
-------

Then they should do it more.

BTW, this is called "protectionism," and the great messiah Obama has repeatedly declared that he opposes it.

But I think it's time for his supporters to take him to school on this issue and change his mind.

[darthcheney345]

by skyk-2009 July 8, 2009 9:18 AM PDT
I was willing to give this President a chance along those lines to bring fairness the way of the American Worker and I still have confidence he will do that. IF he fails though I'm with you.
---------------------

LOL! So what's YOUR solution? More HOPEY CHANGEY? Keep giving your missiah MORE TIME... MORE TIME.. MORE TIME....

Guess what, OBAMA HAS ALREADY DECLARED THAT HE TOTALLY OPPOSES THIS SOLUTION.

So HOW LONG to you plan to let the great messiah string you along with PROMISES, even though HE HAS REPEATEDLY DECLARED THAT HE OPPOSES THIS.

He says an import tax is a "tariff," and he opposes "protectionism."

OBAMA HAS ALREADY DECLARED THAT HE OPPOSES YOUR HOPEY CHANGEY.

How long do you figure it will take for your messian to do what HE OPPOSES????