G7 discuss how to best print money in tandem, transfer bad debts to taxpayers, and assign themselves greater regulatory power.
Group of Seven ministers will today discuss a major new coordinated bail-out of the stricken banking system, with the aim of preventing the credit crunch from spiralling out of control.
The meeting comes a day after the Bank of England announced a quarter-point rate cut that financial players fear will do little or nothing to alleviate the strains in the financial markets and the broader economy.
Chancellor Alistair Darling and colleagues meeting in Washington will attempt to agree the terms of a global programme, swapping billions of dollars of sub-prime tainted debt securities for more marketable liquid assets.
The hope is this will help unfreeze the banking system, where firms are hoarding cash rather than lending to each other.
In a speech today, Darling will urge finance ministers to ‘take action to support the global economy in the short term,’ warning the meetings come at a ‘critical time’.
The International Monetary Fund has warned America’s property meltdown has triggered the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression
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