Group of 20 Seeks Curbs On Bonuses, But Not Caps; U.S. and Britain Resist Strict Limits
Top finance officials from rich and developing countries agreed Saturday to curb hefty bonuses for bankers, but the proposed crackdown on high payouts fell short of European demands after the United States and Britain shied away from imposing a cap.</br></br>The Group of 20 finance ministers also pledged to maintain stimulus measures such as low interest rates and additional government spending to bolster the global economy, warning that the fledgling recovery that provided the backdrop to their meeting here is by no means assured.</br></br>"The financial system is showing signs of repair," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said. "Growth is now underway. However, we still face significant challenges ahead." The G-20 joint statement issued at the end of the ministers' London meeting said that fiscal and monetary policy will stay "expansionary" for as long as needed to reduce the chances of a double-dip recession.</br></br>The International Monetary Fund has said that the global economy is beginning a sluggish recovery from its worst recession since World War II, and in July it raised its estimate for global economic growth in 2010 to 2.5 percent, from an April projection of 1.9 percent.</br></br>But the IMF also downgraded its forecast for this year, saying the global economy would shrink by 1.4 percent instead of 1.3 percent.