Eurozone - financial crisis

EU's big four to hold banking summit in Paris

Thursday 02 October 2008

Europe's four biggest economies - Britain, France, Germany and Italy - will meet Saturday with euro-zone chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Paris to agree on a European response to the global financial crisis, the French presidency said.

Special Report Global capitalism on the brink?

Thursday 02 October 2008

By AFP (text) / Douglas Herbert (video)

Watch ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet being interviewed by FRANCE 24's Ulysse Gosset on The Talk of Paris. Thursday 2 October, 6:10 pm (GMT+2).

Watch our Top Story, "Bailout on the ropes", our Face-Off show, "No bailout, no way out?", and the France 24 Debate, "Crisis strikes Europe".

Read Douglas Herbert's commentary and our coverage of the effects of the crisis on French banks.

Find out more about the origins of the greatest financial crisis in decades and watch Professor Gerardo Della Paolera explain how we got there.

Read how to spend $700 billion

The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy will meet Saturday in Paris to agree on a European response to the global financial crisis, the French presidency said.

The announcement of the meeting of Europe's major economies came as the Netherlands proposed a European reserve fund to help troubled banks hit by the financial storm.

"This summit is aimed at preparing the contribution of European members of the G8 to the next meetings of this forum on the international financial crisis," said an Elysee presidential palace statement.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet and the head of the eurogroup finance ministers' committee, Jean-Claude Juncker, will also attend, it said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a world summit on the financial meltdown sparked by the US banking crisis, arguing for a more "regulated capitalism" to replace the laissez-faire approach.

The president hopes the summit can be held in November bringing together the Group of Eight industrialised powers -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- and also emerging powers China, India and Brazil.

G7 finance ministers are to meet in Washington next week.

The meeting on Saturday was confirmed after Germany firmly rejected the rumoured plan for a 300-billion-euro Europe-wide bank rescue fund.

France denied it had put forward such a proposal and said it was the Dutch government that had come up with the idea for the fund.

The finance ministry in The Hague confirmed that it was proposing that a European fund after the United States put forward its 700-billion-dollar rescue package.

An aide to Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on Thursday said France had never made any firm proposal for a bailout fund and decried what he termed as "groundless accusations against the French."

"There was an exchange of ideas, but no French proposals. There was no French plan, there is no French fund," said the official, adding that no amount was put forward.

Eurozone - financial crisis

02/10/2008 18:58:01 Alert a moderator

Wall street.

By Anonyme joseph walker - sherborne dorset uk.

Well the merry go round dosnt stop,these flutuations has nothing to do with the state of the country ,its dictated by investors ,and the goverments are just the impotent on lookers ,who bail out the finacial institutions,,doubt if any of the finacial executives have had sleepless nights ,probably given themselves a generous handout..
02/10/2008 08:49:45 Alert a moderator

confidence scheme

By Patrick Walker - USA

President Bush has repeatedly said the "the fundamentals of the economy are strong,," and also that the 'economy is in crisis." What to believe? The banking system relies on the confidence of its customers. Can anyone be confident of what Bush says? What fudiciary responsibility do bankers have to protect all cash accounts of its depositors? It appears none. It would appear that any bailout is just a confidence scheme played out by Congress and the President to fool the public and the public is doomed to be damned.
01/10/2008 17:42:26 Alert a moderator

Must be done but also learn from it and start debloquing this

By Simo HG - VA

One thing is for sure people and leader become very vernulable to financial market who went out of control and seems that they are the real boss. Now there is now way to get catch a physical boss and that is the truc, what is in it it people money saving and product sold that will return in long term.

I am not saying that they are all bad but they went beyond the limit allowed and acceptable. Look what is going on the vote will be yes they rise the vote will be no they will faill and every one will fail. this is not any kind of freedoom at all. people living on debt and encouraged to do so stressedall there lifes and will lose it when the time is right.

like the socialism or communism "and sincerly i don't think any country reach the level of communism is stayed like idoleology. and so the the real capitalism lost it somewhere and went toward the wrong path. it never mean debt for people and flux of money to be locked any time at any given time where the real loser are all honest innocent people and business.

maybe like the socialist group is incorporating carrefully some capitalism doctrine and market controlled regulated rule. this time that the out of touch capitalism incorporate some of socialist doctrine to moderate. this will be and must at national level and separately decentralized so the wake should not pay for the stronger and it must not be imposed through military mean.

and by they way one of the communism doctrine is every thing can be free and get there and take, isn't it what is going in wall street those days. LOL

and also i do not think that any country reached the stage of communisim as it was called for inculding russia. I might be wrong.
Thank you
01/10/2008 16:12:44 Alert a moderator

vote

By riddelup - usa

Yes, the senate will vote now and America will vote in November.
01/10/2008 12:55:17 Alert a moderator

Bailout? More like suicide plan!

By Anonyme - Washington USA

The great 19th century economist Arnold Toynbee concluded that 'all great nations commit suicide'. Today we are witnessing the self-immolation of the USA. This Bill is a scam - a documented coup d'etat by the financial elite to overthrow the US democratic system! We are witnessing the beginning of the end of capitalism as we know it - now watch the resulting rise of fascism across the globe.
01/10/2008 12:03:27 Alert a moderator

THE DECLINE OF THE BLOATED ECONOMY

By MALCOLMUS AWSUMICUS - BELGIUM, ANTWERPEN

Caught between Scylla and Charybdis what else can we do? The sinister writing was clearly plastered on the wall (sinister, because there's more than meets the eye) and we could have nip the danger in the bud had people got off the bandwagon to take a closer look at the financial goings-on. We did not see it coming just as we chose not to see 9/11 coming and now closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. Without the bail-out we will all be up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Henceforth, parsimony is the order of the day.
01/10/2008 10:19:27 Alert a moderator

Bush

By joseph walker sherborne dorset uk. -

I am totally dumbfounded that anyone would believe anything that George W. Bush would have any influence on anything!---He is ONLY the most POWERFULL man on the planet !?!?

It's not GWB, at all; it's the way the market works in uncertain times -- volatile, unpredictable---You would rather have communism?

The best news from or about GWB might be his immanent demise or impeachment by congress.---Dont hate the player,hate the game !
01/10/2008 01:10:58 Alert a moderator

Heart Attack!

By Arlyn H. Lichthardt - France, Gespunsart

I am totally dumbfounded that anyone would believe anything that George W. Bush would have any influence on anything! It's not GWB, at all; it's the way the market works in uncertain times -- volatile, unpredictable (unless you're a trader, knowing that what you sold yesturday, you'll probably buy back today if your leverage hasn't dried-up.) The best news from or about GWB might be his immanent demise or impeachment by congress.
30/09/2008 11:06:14 Alert a moderator

finacial crisis

By Anonyme joseph walker - sherborne dorset uk.

Well we in the west ,we been playing with monopoly money,for decades,the game had to stop,it time we came back to reality.unfortunetly ,the pawns are the masses.
30/09/2008 03:22:19 Alert a moderator

US Bailout

By Anonyme - Washington USA

Everyone should go on-line & read the wording of the draft bill rejected by the US Congress.
Its NOT about a mere $700 billion bailout - actually its about $11 trillion !!!! (and thats only what they estimate) This is the story the media (incl France 24) is NOT telling us - why? Read for yourselves - bypass the windsocks