CANADA - EU TRADE DEAL

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

BRIEF VIDEO CLIP OF DEAL.
http://news.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/World/ContentPosting?newsitemid=quebec-city&feedname=CBC-WORLD-V3&show=False&number=0&showbyline=False&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=False

EUROPES ROLE - EASING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS - AUDIO STORY
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95862812&ft=1&f=1017

NOTICE IT SAYS THE EU WILL CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH AND BREAK IT IN PIECES. MY TAKE IS THAT THE WORLD WILL BE PUT INTO ECONOMIC TRADE BLOCS HEADED WORLDWIDE BY THE EUROPEAN UNION.

YOU THINK THIS IS JUST AN ACCIDENT THAT THE EU MAKES A PEOPLE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH CANADA NOT JUST GOODS AND SERVICES. THE EU WANTS A IMFORMATION AND IMMIGRATION AGREEMENT WITH CANADA. MY BIBLE SAYS THE EU WILL CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH, ECONOMICAL,POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUSLY IN THE FUTURE. NOTICE HOW CLOSE THE IMF, WORLD BANK, G-7,G-20,AND ALL COUNTRIES HAVE COME TOGETHER TO TRY TO SOLVE THE ECONOMIC CRISIS,AND WHOS LEAD DID THE WORLD TAKE IN THIS CRISIS, THE EU'S JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS WOULD HAPPEN.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

5169-CANADA SUMMIT MOD-DATE: 10/17/08 22:21:14 AMERICA-OCT17-5169-CANADA SUMMIT AMERICA: STORY 5169 5169-CANADA SUMMIT QUEBEC CITY, CANDADA
OCTOBER 17, 2008 NATURAL WITH ENGLISH AND FRENCH SPEECH DURATION:01:43 SOURCE:POOL
INTRO: HEADLINE: Canada, France seek overhaul of financial system.

TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~NONE~

Capitalism must be better regulated to prevent future financial crises,
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says after meeting French President
Nicolas Sarkozy.
1. CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT
JOSE MANUEL BARROSO AND FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY ENTERING ROOM
2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER, STEPHEN HARPER
SAYING:

Without question these times call for closer economic cooperation among key players in the global economy. Among other things this means rejecting the frequent tendency in difficult times to turn inward and erect barriers between our economies and our citizens. Indeed we must stand against protectionism and work to lower and eliminate barriers. I am therefore pleased that today we have decided to gather to take our economic cooperation to an entirely new level. The European Union and Canada have just completed a comprehensive economic study and have now agreed to define together the formal mandates for negotiating an ambitious, deeper, comprehensive and truly
historic economic partnership agreement.

3. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY SAYING:
We need to hear Canada's voice, a strong voice to defend entrepreneurial capitalism, not speculators' capitalism, to demand regulations, which are not the opposite of freedom -- there is no freedom without a minimum of regulation and supervision.

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT JOSE MANUEL BARROSO
SAYING:This is why at this summit we also discussed deepening our economic partnership, an effort we intend to pursue with an important involvement of European Union on one side and Canada on the other. We are interested in an ambitious agreement and we are open with regard to its final form.

STORY: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso agreed on Friday (October 17) on the need to hold an international summit before the end of the year to restore confidence and the normal functioning of the financial system. These times call for closer economic cooperation, Harper said at a joint news conference in Quebec City.
They met a day ahead of talks that Sarkozy and Barroso will hold with U.S. President George W. Bush at Camp David in Maryland. Clearly in the world of globalization, our institutions and our capacity to act have not kept up with other developments, and we're seeing some of the consequences of that, and we have to have new infrastructure, Harper said.

Among other things this means rejecting the frequent tendency in difficult times to turn inward and erect barriers between our economies and our citizens. Indeed we must stand against protectionism and work to lower and eliminate barriers, Harper added. Sarkozy said a summit is needed to launch an overhaul or refoundation of capitalism to become a capitalism of entrepreneurs, not speculators. The French president rejected the idea that regulation somehow clashed with freedom. There is no freedom without a minimum of regulation and supervision, the conservative leader said, adding the world must ensure the same causes do not produce the same effects.
Sarkozy said he aimed for progress in Quebec and in his Saturday's (October 18) meeting with Bush on the date, agenda and attendees of a financial crisis summit.
Harper said a summit date must be set as soon as possible, and Sarkozy said he preferred it take place before the end of November. Sarkozy said it should include more than the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized nations.

In the prepared text of a later speech to the province of Quebec's legislature, Sarkozy said the world must be done with a financial capitalism obsessed with the frenzied search for short-term profit and reintroduce social and moral responsibility. For the crisis in which the world finds itself, unprecedented
since the 1930s, is not a technical crisis. It's a moral crisis, he
said. Harper said in such times it was important to work against protectionism, which exacerbated the Great Depression, and to that end the EU and Canada agreed to launch negotiations on an economic partnership as soon as possible in 2009. They also decided to conclude a comprehensive air transport agreement by Nov. 30.

EU-Canada Summit confirms close ties Reference: IP/08/1540 Date: 17/10/2008 IP/08/1540 Brussels, 17 October 2008

EU-Canada Summit confirms close ties
The annual EU-Canada Summit will take place in Quebec City this Friday, 17 October. The European Commission will be represented by its President, José Manuel Barroso, who will participate alongside French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in his role as President of the Council. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will represent Canada. The agenda will focus on the financial crisis and the global economy, and on boosting EU-Canada economic relations. The Summit will also look at regional issues, such as Afghanistan, where the EU and Canada are co-operating closely together to promote good governance, sound development and the rule of law.

President Barroso commented: At the end of a week in which we have been reminded of the global nature of the financial crisis and the EU has taken decisive action to restore financial stability and protect depositors, it is all the more timely that we should meet with our long-standing strategic ally and G8 partner Canada. It is important for us to remind ourselves that EU-Canada trade and investment relations are the bedrock of our relationship. That is why I am glad to see that the joint study we have now concluded predicts economic gains for both sides from a closer economic partnership. I will be looking to this week’s Summit to launch the process towards a new and ambitious economic agreement. It is important that we get off on the right footing by carrying out a thorough scoping of this to ensure that any future agreement addresses the interests of both sides in a balanced way.

Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner remarked that: EU-Canada co-operation on regional issues around the world is better than ever. Not only is Canada a regular participant in the EU's ESDP missions, but we also enjoy a healthy co-operative relationship in the field of election observation. Canada was a valued participant, for instance, in this year's EU Election Observation Mission to Pakistan. With regard to Afghanistan, we also work very well together in crucial areas such as security sector reform and border management.

EU-Canada relations have gone through a particularly intensive phase over the past year, notably with regard to the collaborative work, now completed, on a joint study assessing the benefits and costs of a closer economic partnership. In parallel, negotiators have made substantial progress on an ambitious EU-Canada air transport agreement, designed to produce significant economic growth and create new jobs by opening up fresh investment opportunities in the sector and reinforcing regulatory co-operation.

Further information: EU's relations with Canada:
http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/canada/index_en.htm
EU-Canada Summit, 17 October 2008

Harper hails agreement to work toward Canada-EU economic partnership OCT 17,08

QUEBEC - Canada and the European Union are committed to fighting protectionism and to achieving a comprehensive economic partnership, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday.Governor General Michaelle Jean, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and French President Nicolas Sarkozy chat prior to a meeting Friday, in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson .Tough economic times make it crucial for closer co-operation, Harper said after a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission. Among other things, this means rejecting the frequent tendency in difficult times to turn inward and erect barriers between our economies and our citizens, Harper said. Indeed, we must stand against protectionism and work to lower and eliminate barriers.Harper said Canada and the European Union are taking their economic co-operation to an entirely new level.(We) have just completed a comprehensive economic study and have now agreed to define together the formal mandates for negotiating an ambitious, deeper and comprehensive and truly historic economic partnership agreement. This will commence as early as possible in the new year.The prime minister was speaking after a private meeting with Sarkozy and Barroso to discuss the current international economic crisis. The three men were in Quebec City for the summit of la Francophonie, which was to begin Friday night and continue through Sunday.

Posted on Fri, Oct. 17, 2008 Harper: Canada, EU committed to major trade pact
AMY LUFT The Associated Press

QUEBEC CITY - Canada and the European Union are committed to creating a comprehensive trade agreement despite the uncertainty caused by the global credit crisis, Canada's prime minister said Friday after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.Canada's drift toward stronger economic ties with Europe comes as the U.S. economy slows and years after the two neighbors signed a free trade pact. The U.S. receives about 80 percent of Canada's exports.Tough economic times make it crucial for closer co-operation, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said after talks with Sarkozy and Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission.Canada and the EU will prepare formal mandates with a view to launching negotiations on an economic partnership as soon as possible in 2009, Harper said.We must stand against protectionism and work to lower and eliminate barriers, he said.Harper said Canada and the European Union are taking their economic co-operation to an entirely new level.Officials say a possible Canada-EU trade agreement would allow for Canadian and European workers to work in each other's regions and allow for EU and Canadian companies to bid on government procurements.The possibility of a broad agreement follows a Canada-EU joint study launched in Berlin last year and released Thursday that recommends a more comprehensive economic plan for both parties.Harper and Sarkozy are also in Quebec City for the Francophonie summit of French-speaking nations, which was to begin Friday night and continue through Sunday.Sarkozy is cutting his Quebec visit short on Saturday to meet with President Bush at Camp David. That meeting is intended to lay the groundwork for a global summit to overhaul the financial system.Sarkozy repeated Friday his call to overhaul the financial system so that it can it better supervised in the wake of the crisis.

Together we need to rebuild a capitalism that is more respectful to man, more respectful to the planet, more respectful to future generations and be finished with a capitalism obsessed by the frantic search for short-term profit, Sarkozy said.

Canada, EU working towards 'historic' agreement: PM
Updated Fri. Oct. 17 2008 9:27 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that Canada is working towards a comprehensive and truly historic economic partnership with the European Union. Harper made the comments at a press conference Friday, after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso. Harper said that Canada and the European Union had agreed to define the formal mandates for an ambitious, deeper and comprehensive and truly historic economic partnership agreement.Without question, these times call for closer economic co-operation among key players in the global economy, Harper added.

No details were given on the plan.

Harper, Sarkozy and Barroso were greeted by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean ahead of tonight's summit of La Francophonie, an organization of 55 French-speaking nations.

Harper has vowed to make sure Canadian banks are not negatively impacted by ongoing rescue efforts in Europe and the U.S., where governments are providing aid to financial institutions. Sarkozy delivered an address to the National Assembly Friday afternoon. The president of France gave a very heartfelt speech . . . Mr. Sarkozy said while Canada is our friend, Quebec is our family, CTV's Rosemary Thompson told Mike Duffy Live Friday from Quebec City. Premier Jean Charest and Sarkozy signed an agreement Friday that will allow a number French professionals and tradespersons to work in Quebec. The same applies for Quebec citizens who want to work in France in those same professions. About a dozen professions and two-dozen trades are included in the deal. That will climb to about 100 by 2010. For instance, if you were a doctor in France you could come and work in Quebec as a doctor and there wouldn't be a hassle over credentials, Thompson told CTV Newsnet from Quebec City. Transportation Minister Lawrence Cannon told Mike Duffy Live that Canada has to seek out new markets in these times of economic uncertainty. Cannon said they are working on an open-skies agreement with the EU. In the evening, Sarkozy will attend the official opening of the summit of La Francophonie. However, the French leader has cut short his visit and will not attend the closing ceremonies of the summit -- a first for any French president. Instead, Sarkozy will travel to Camp David in Maryland on Saturday for meetings with U.S. President George Bush. It's a bit disappointing, Christine St-Pierre, Quebec's minister responsible for the provincial language law, said Thursday. Quebec Premier Jean Charest said the shortened visit was understandable given the extraordinary circumstances. Sarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, will not be travelling with her husband. With files from The Canadian Press

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, right, and Quebec Premier Jean Charest hug after they spoke to members of Quebec's National Assembly Friday Oct. 17 in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Pool - Jacques Nadeau

Sarkozy says Quebec-France ties should not divide Canada

QUEBEC - Quebec's deep ties with France should never become the wedge that divides a united Canada, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday.After emerging from a meeting in Quebec City with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Sarkozy was asked about his position on the three-way relationship between France, Canada and Quebec. I don't see why a proof of fraternal, familial love for Quebec has to feed us proof of defiance toward Canada, Sarkozy told a news conference behind the fortified walls of the Citadel. Sarkozy was speaking after he, Harper and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso had met privately at the Governor General's residence to discuss plans for a comprehensive economic agreement between Canada and the European Union.

Sarkozy said unity is more important than ever during this period of financial uncertainty. Frankly, if there's someone who would tell me that the world today needs another division, then we don't have the same read of the world, Sarkozy said as he and other leaders gathered for the summit of la Francophonie, the French-speaking equivalent of the Commonwealth. Harper, meanwhile, said France and Canada remain tight allies and friends. It's hard to imagine why we would want to have tension between France and Canada, when we have huge challenges in the world to solve together, the prime minister said. Harper said anglophone Canadians understand the special nature of the France-Quebec relationship. France and Quebec are more than friends, they are from the same family, Harper said. Sarkozy also said many Quebecers are part of the French family. I know perfectly well that in Quebec there are francophones who are part of our family, he said. Francophones in my family don't ask me not to consider Canada ... as a friend.Sarkozy reiterated his message in a speech later to the Quebec legislature, paying tribute to the great Canadian people while addressing his brothers in Quebec. I love Quebec and I love Canada, he told the members of the provincial assembly and invited guests which included several former premiers. He said Canadian unity is a key foundation upon which capitalism will be rebuilt after the resolution of the international financial crisis. He said a global governance of the 21st century capitalist system is needed.

And we need leaders like Canada, he said. Last spring, Sarkozy made a moving declaration about his love for Canada. His words surprised many Quebec separatists who saw it as stark shift from France's longtime position to remain neutral when it comes to Canadian unity. Sarkozy dropped his predecessors' ambiguity, saying the French no longer wanted to see their love for Quebec and Canada torn apart and adding that the future of Canada and France was one of two countries.He also spoke passionately of the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers who died on French soil in the Second World War. He really does need to understand how deeply touched all Canadians were by that declaration, Harper said. In 1967, then-French president Charles de Gaulle stirred the growing separatist legions during a visit to Montreal with his Vive le Quebec libre call. But Sarkozy has indicated he would do things differently. He sent French Prime Minister Francois Fillon to Quebec City in July for the city's 400th-birthday celebrations. Fillon referred to de Gaulle's words in an address, but later said he had no intention of creating a diplomatic incident and was simply recalling an historic event.

European leaders press for new economic order Associated Press Writer John Leicester, Fri Oct 17, 2:19 pm ET

PARIS – The idea is ambitious: World leaders joined by aides to the new U.S. president-elect would gather before the year's end in New York and attempt to forge a new vision for the global economy.French President Nicolas Sarkozy has teamed up with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to press for such a summit, and the French leader travels to Camp David this weekend to lobby President Bush to sign on.Brown, buoyed by the praise he won for engineering a British bank bailout that inspired U.S. and European rescues, is proposing radical changes to the global capitalist system, including a cross-border mechanism to monitor the world's 30 biggest financial institutions. Sarkozy has floated the idea of reforming rating agencies and even exploring the future of currency systems.Details remain vague and the obstacles are many.But the political pendulum, at least in Europe, is swinging decisively in the direction of tighter control and supervision, away from the laissez-faire economics that fueled a colossal global boom and appear to have enabled an equally dramatic bust.In Brown's view, what's needed is nothing less than a new version of the 1944 Bretton Woods conference that brought together Allied leaders and established a post-World War II global monetary and financial order, laying foundations for the International Monetary Fund and a currency exchange regime that lasted for three decades.This is a defining moment for the world economy, Brown wrote in Friday's Washington Post. The old postwar international financial institutions are out of date. They have to be rebuilt for a wholly new era.

Behind the lofty rhetoric, Brown and Sarkozy are backed by a degree of clout.

They have proved instrumental in the past two weeks in corralling European governments to dig deep into taxpayers' pockets to shore up banks, unfreeze credit, and soothe markets.But experts wonder whether leaders at the proposed summit will truly be able to set aside national interests and clashing legal and business cultures to agree on a common vision. In exchange for global financial stability, nations could be forced to sacrifice autonomy and economic growth under tighter regulatory shackles.The gathering aims to bring together the Group of Eight industrial powers as well as emerging players like China and India — and countries at different stages of economic maturity will bring different needs to the table, as climate change talks have made abundantly clear.Officials in the waning Bush administration are also politely dismissing global regulation and some observers are skeptical Europeans can sell the idea to any U.S. president.I'm very dubious that much can be done, said Charles Wyplosz, an international economics professor in Switzerland.The White House is playing down the likelihood Bush will agree to a time and place for a summit when he meets this weekend with Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.For Brown, the banking bailouts are only phase 1 in getting finance working again. Phase 2, he argues, will require global action as sweeping as that which gave birth to the United Nations, the World Bank and the IMF in the 1940s.At a European summit this week, Sarkozy and Brown started to flesh out their proposals, backed by Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The most eye-catching proposal from Brown — albeit one based on a proposed European system — envisions a cross-border monitoring program for the 30 biggest giants of global finance, such as America's Citigroup Inc. or Britain's HSBC PLC.He also called for the 185-nation IMF to be turned into an early warning system for the world economy, with international monitoring powers. Such reform would mark a revival for the IMF, which has receded to the sidelines of the global economy in recent years. Sarkozy cast his net even wider. The conservative — who has in recent weeks sounded increasingly like a leftist — wants discussion on tax havens, hedge and sovereign wealth funds, the folly of big pay bonuses for risk-taking executives and even how many major currencies the world needs. Some of his harshest words were for ratings agencies, hinting that he wouldn't be sorry to see them disappear altogether in the financial architecture that he and Brown say they want built.

Do we keep them? he asked. What do we replace them with? Should they only be American? he added, in a statement bound to get attention from U.S.-based Moody's and Standard & Poors. As always, Sarkozy is in a hurry. Waiting three months until John McCain or Barack Obama is sworn in runs the risk of the crisis getting worse or getting better, which could frustrate the drive for fundamental reform, the French leader warned. He suggested instead that the winner of the November election send economic aides with Bush to the summit. Sarkozy is pushing for a November or December meeting in New York, where everything started.Europe wants it, Europe is asking for it, Europe will get it, he said. If we wait for the new president that means, in the best case scenario, we would get together in the spring ... It's much too late and not acceptable.

But obstacles abound.

Brown's talk of very large and very radical changes could prove highly problematic in a capitalist system that has grown increasingly complex and intertwined since the end of the Cold War. Experts say experience shows that getting nations to agree on specific rules that could crimp their economic strengths can be a long, frustrating and sometimes fruitless process. And politicians now howling that capitalism needs curing turned a deaf ear to warnings of flaws in the banking system when economic times were good, they point out. Wyplosz predicted that leaders will find, once they get down to the nitty gritty, that reforming the World Bank and IMF is going to be difficult. And he was pessimistic about the prospects for effective cross-border policing of banks, saying countries have a habit of wanting to protect their own banking champions from outside meddling. There will be a lot of talk but the discussions will go nowhere and two or three years from now the urge to change things will be gone, he said. On closer inspection, Brown's still ill-defined proposal to better supervise big financial groups may also not live up to the billing of radical reform. A British Treasury spokesman, who could not be identified under government policy, said Brown was referring to creation of committees that would meet regularly to swap information on big banks' behavior. Each committee would be made up of regulators from an array of countries, likely including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, Britain and the United States, the spokesman said. He added: It's not a regulatory thing, it's about information sharing and keeping each other informed.Julian Jessop, chief international economist at London-based Capital Economics, said this could be just another set of ghastly committees with a bunch of countries on them.Some experts are also concerned that a summit with such an ambitious yet vague agenda could distract leaders from far more concrete and pressing steps, not least forcing banks to squirrel away more money so they can better ride out tough times. The French are always good at launching very conceptual discussions, said Harald Benink, a professor of banking and finance in the Netherlands. That doesn't address the fundamental problems that have become all too obvious.AP Business Writers Aoife White in Brussels and Emily Vencat and Pan Pylas in London contributed to this report.

A glance at the Bretton Woods conference

The Associated Press – Fri Oct 17, 2:25 pm ETEuropean leaders are calling for a second version of the Bretton Woods conference on ordering the global economy. Here's a brief look at Bretton Woods, held in July 1944.

WHAT IT WAS: Bretton Woods, a town in New Hampshire, was the site where 44 leaders of the Allied nations that won World War II gathered to establish a postwar global monetary and financial order. It was aimed at preventing a repeat of the economic dislocations of the 1930s.

WHAT IT DID: The agreement from the conference led to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, one of the World Bank's forebears. The Soviet Union was at the conference but refused to join the IMF.

WHAT IT LED TO: An exchange-rate system where currencies could only move within a 1 percent band around a fixed gold value, which was quoted in terms of the U.S. dollar. The system collapsed in 1973 following several shocks, heralding the era of floating currencies.

Europe lobbies Bush for global market reforms OCT 18,08 Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer.

Reuters CAMP DAVID, Md. – European leaders are lobbying President Bush at the Camp David presidential retreat on Saturday to support a summit by year's end that would craft ways to reform the world financial system.French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso are trying to convince Bush that now is a good opportunity to tighten and better coordinate control of the financial markets, in response to the economic crisis that has shaken markets around the globe.

The president has backed the steps European nations have taken to stem the economic crisis, and is in favor of a meeting in the near future of the Group of Eight industrialized powers and other emerging economies like China and India. But the U.S. hasn't signed on to the more ambitious, broad-stroke revisions that some European leaders like Sarkozy have in mind for the world financial system.Sarkozy and Barroso are stopping at Camp David to meet with Bush on their way home from a summit in Canada.On Friday, Sarkozy repeated his call to overhaul the global financial system so that it can be better supervised in the wake of the crisis.

Together we need to rebuild a capitalism that is more respectful to man, more respectful to the planet, more respectful to future generations and be finished with a capitalism obsessed by the frantic search for short-term profit, Sarkozy said

Sarkozy and other European leaders want Bush and representatives of presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, to meet before the end of the year in New York and to forge a new vision for the global economy. Sarkozy has floated the idea of reforming rating agencies and even exploring the future of currency systems.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who engineered a British bank bailout that inspired U.S. and European rescues, is proposing radical changes to the global capitalist system, including a cross-border mechanism to monitor the world's 30 biggest financial institutions.White House press secretary Dana Perino said the Camp David meeting was not expected to produce any new policy decisions or the date or place for a planned meeting of leaders of major economic powers, the so-called G8. Instead, she said it would focus on efforts, extending as far back as April, on coordination for financial stability through measures such as bank disclosures, accounting rules at credit rating agencies, capital standards and asset valuation.

In his weekly radio address, Bush on Saturday sought to reassure Americans about the cost and scope of the nation's financial bailout plan and said that in the long run our economy will bounce back. He acknowledged that people are concerned about their finances and, while he offered assurances about an eventual recovery, he did not say when that would happen.Since Oct. 9, 2007, when the Dow topped 14,000, investors have lost $8.3 trillion from pension funds, college savings plans, 401(k)s and other investments. Congress gave Bush a $700 billion plan to buy bad assets from banks and other institutions to shore up the financial industry.The federal government has responded to this crisis with systematic and aggressive measures to protect the financial security of the American people, Bush said in the radio broadcast. These actions will take more time to have their full impact. But they are big enough and bold enough to work.