World has avoided economic disaster, Obama says

Lasting worldwide recovery “is still a ways off,” President Barack Obama declared on Friday, but he also said at the conclusion of a global summit that a disastrous economic collapse apparently has been averted.

Lasting worldwide recovery “is still a ways off,” President Barack Obama declared on Friday, but he also said at the conclusion of a global summit that a disastrous economic collapse apparently has been averted.

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Obama said world leaders had taken significant measures to address economic, environmental and global security issues.

“Reckless actions by a few have fueled a recession that spans the globe,” Obama said of the meltdown that began in the United States with a tumble in housing prices and drastic slowing of business lending. The downturn now threatens superpowers and emerging nations alike.

Obama urged national leaders to unite behind a global recovery plan that includes stricter financial regulation and sustained stimulus spending.

“The only way forward is through shared and persistent effort to combat threats to our peace, our peace, our prosperity and our common humanity wherever they may exist. None of this will be easy,” Obama told a news conference at the end of the Group of Eight summit of major economic powers.

“What we wanted is exactly what we got -- a statement of unity and strong condemnation,” Obama said. He said the leaders’ declaration was even more significant because it included Russia, “which doesn’t make statements like that lightly.”