WASHINGTON, March 24: US President Barack Obama sought swift action from G20 leaders on stimulating the economy abroad and new powers to wind down failing financial firms at home on Tuesday, a day after markets cheered his plan to soak up toxic assets weighing down the banks.

With the Group of 20 finance ministers preparing to meet in London on April 2, Mr Obama called for the world’s leading economies to enact robust stimulus spending, repair credit markets, and extend aid to poor countries.

“My message is clear: The United States is ready to lead, and we call upon our partners to join us with a sense of urgency and common purpose,” he said in an article published in 31 newspapers around the world.

The United States and Europe have differed over whether more spending was needed on top of the trillions of dollars governments have already pledged, with many Europeans arguing the priority was to strengthen market regulation.

Asian powers were acting to bolster their economies. South Korea vowed to spend nearly $13 billion extra to shield Asia’s fourth-largest economy from an almost certain recession and Japan’s central bank governor urged banks to improve their capital bases.—Reuters
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