Geithner: US responsible for recession

The US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner admits that the US is accountable for the global economic crisis which has spread across the world. "Never before in modern times has so much of the world been simultaneously hit by a confluence of economic and financial turmoil such as we are now living through," Geithner said, addressing the Economic Club of Washington on Wednesday. Geithner noted that the new economic forecast prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calculated that the global economic output will fall by 1.3 percent this year -- a decline unprecedented in more than six decades. The United States entered recession after a housing and mortgage meltdown in December 2007, which later affected and spread through the world, resulting in major job losses. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve envisioned deterioration of market conditions, forecasting little recovery in 2010. The Obama administration earlier called on the G20 nations to increase their financial commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by a combined total of USD 500 billion ensuring that it has enough money to help poverty-stricken countries. Many of the European countries, however, have given the United States a cold shoulder. Some believe that they already have done more than enough to stimulate their economies, arguing that they do not want to pile up huge levels of debt, adding that nationalization of private companies is not the solution to the crisis. Geithner called the G20 proposals made in London on April 2 an "unprecedented, cooperative program," citing estimates that the action could provide a USD 5 trillion fiscal boost to the global economy through 2010. While the US official did not mention any further commitments that the US would seek this weekend when finance ministers meet in Washington, some analysts believe it's unlikely those discussions will produce any further major proposals. Although President Barack Obama has requested for USD100 billion as the US share to the USD 500 billion pledge to IMF loan plan, more donors are still needed to reach target.