Bush spurs global action as Obama sets agenda for US

Outgoing US president George W Bush has managed to get a second bloc of world leaders to commit to comprehensive action against the global financial crisis, even as president-elect Barack Obama is ready to announce his top economic team, and is seen as setting the economic agenda.

Though Obama will take over as the president of the United States only on 20 January, the financial markets managed to rally somewhat from the cues they scoured about who will be on his economic team. Wall Street soared almost 500 points before the weekend on reports that Obama is planning to select Timothy Geithner, a well-respected head of the New York Federal Reserve, as his Treasury secretary.

President Bush too managed a few more feathers on his cap at the eighth summit of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. He managed to rally the leaders of the Pacific Rim countries to endorse the action plan drawn up around a week back in Washington by the G20 nations that represent the world's richest nations and prominent developing countries, including China, Brazil and India from the 'BRIC' countries.

The G20 and the APEC leaders have pledged to cooperate on economic stimulus measures, an overhaul of financial regulation, and avoiding the erection new trade barriers during the current downturn. The APEC leaders said they could overcome this crisis in around 18 months.

The markets, however, seem to be following Obama when it comes to taking cues, closely following the news coverage of his economic plan that was delivered during the weekend on Saturday via a radio address that almost overshadowed President Bush's speech on the same day at the APEC meeting.

In his radio address, Obama said he has directed his economic team to ''come up with an economic recovery plan that will mean 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011 - a plan big enough to meet the challenges we face that I intend to sign soon after taking office." He outlined a plan that was reminiscent of the New Deal programme unveiled by President Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Obama said he would jump start the economy through job creation by putting people back to work, rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges, modernising schools and pursuing alternative energy sources.

Reports suggested that the stimulus programme would be in the range of $500 billion to $700 billion, much higher than the $175 billion Obama promised during his campaign.