Business leaders appeal for crisis leadership
Written on January 23, 2008
Business leaders rattled by a slump in global markets appealed to the U.S. and other central banks on Wednesday to get a grip on the global economy and some accused them of losing their nerve.
With share prices tumbling again despite an emergency U.S. interest rate cut on Tuesday to counter fears of recession, top executives expressed alarm as they gathered for an annual meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos.
“Central banks have lost control,” said financier George Soros, echoing the concerns of many of the more than 2,000 business and political leaders arriving in the snow-clad mountain town for the World Economic Forum meeting.
In a debate on the U.S. economy, 59 percent of participants agreed with a motion that central bankers had lost control.
Officials from Washington tried to counter the gloom.
“The U.S check cash advance. economy has sound economic fundamentals,” David McCormick, U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, said, challenging the view of many around him that a U.S. recession was inevitable.
“While we continue to believe the U.S. economy will grow, it will grow at a slower pace and there is no doubt downside risks have increased,” he said.
But many executives said the surprise decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday to cut interest rates by 75 basis points looked like a panic move.