Day 73
April 2, 2009
"This is the day the world came together to fight against the global recession. Our message today is clear and certain: We believe that global problems require global solutions ... I think a new world order is emerging with the foundations of a new progressive era of international cooperation."
—Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister and the G-20 summit host, in closing remarks at the end of a day of meetings
"I am just very touched ... There are diamonds like this all over the world. All of you are jewels."
—First Lady Michelle Obama, getting choked up at the warm welcome she receives from London children at a local girls' school.
The Group of 20 nations end their one-day summit with world leaders pledging $1.1 trillion in loans and guarantees to struggling countries and agreeing to crack down on tax havens and hedge funds. But they fail to reach sweeping accord on the most contentious issue: more stimulus spending to attack the global financial crisis. Summit host Prime Minister Brown frames the meeting as a success, and Obama follows suit, saying the leaders have agreed on "unprecedented steps to restore growth and prevent a crisis like this from happening again."
Across town, Michelle Obama delivers her only prepared remarks of the trip at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School. She's met with shrieks of delight and gets teary-eyed at the start of her talk, telling the students her husband is going to be "very jealous" of her afternoon.
Across the pond, both the House and Senate vote in favor of pared-down versions of Obama's $3.5 trillion budget, setting the stage for the spending plan to be finalized in April. Also, after months of waiting, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich — still maintaining his innocence — is indicted on 16 felony corruption charges after allegedly trying to sell Obama's vacant Senate seat, among other misdeeds.