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.