Evening Buzz: "Financial Fool's Day"
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/WORLD/europe/04/01/g20.london.protests/art.rbs.afp.gi.jpg caption="A protester smashes one of the Royal Bank of Scotland windows as scuffles threatened to escalate."]
Maureen Miller
AC360° Writer
G-20 protesters are clashing with riot police in London. The demonstrators have smashed windows at the Royal Bank of Scotland and vandalized the Bank of England on what they called "Financial Fool's Day."
Effigies of bankers were burned and some in the crowd chanted "Kill the bankers."
"It's our money they've stolen" read one protesters sign, while in another area signs said "Quit Iraq and Afghanistan: Yes we can" - a reference to Pres. Obama's election campaign slogan.
More than 30 people have been arrested. Anderson will be reporting from London tonight. READ HIS BLOG HERE
As the protests took place in the city's financial district, Pres. Obama was busy at various meetings. Today he talked with British Prime Minster Gordon Brown, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Queen Elizabeth.
It's the president and First Lady's meeting with the queen at Buckingham Palace that's gained the most attention. Tonight, we'll tell you all about their visit with royalty.
The G-20 summit begins tomorrow. Pres. Obama is facing criticism for the U.S. role in the global financial crisis. As 360's Tom Foreman will report tonight, China has been on the attack saying America went in a "blind pursuit of profit" which led to recession. The European Union has called the stimulus "the road to hell." Tonight, we're keeping them honest. Is America really to blame for the financial meltdown? Share your thoughts below.
Join us for these stories and more starting at 10pm ET.
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Filed under: Maureen Miller • The Buzz |
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Is America really to blame for the financial meltdown? Hallo. It's not time for a blame game! Come on. Set the focus right. Rather than to point fingers, why not just come up with better ideas and strategies to save the world economies from falling further.
There again, would you agree that human beings never learn their lessons? This so-called global economic downturn and turmoil, for sure, isn't taking place for the first time. History has the tendency to repeat itself? You say it. It is not time to look for a culprit or scapegoat. Look at how people, especially lower-income group and the needy suffer. There are more and more need to be done. If US is to blame, I think President Obama should not be the first target, but his predecessor. No one should forget that the power transition was done early this year.
When people are angry they strike out at most anything, property, others. I agree cooler heads need to prevail, unfortunatly when your life's savings, retirement accounts, homes, all things that stand for security are blown away from your grasp cooler heads evaporate.
This financial mess is not soley in the United States, it is world wide.
Yesterday listening to all the other heads of States in other countries clarified that.
Are the other countries selling out their Infrastructure to foreign countries, ie toll roads, salt mines, National & State Parks,sennding our natural resources to the highest bidder, not keeping them here to assist us,automotive ,( there's talk of selling the Hummer line, that line is responsible for making our military vehicles)
want a foreign interest to make those?
AIG's bailout, cost us, the American taxpayers 100 billion that went to Europe to bailout their toxic accounts, that their not using for the reason it was given to them. AIG is going to fail here, because it's going to fail over there.
I am still amazed that the whole reason behind free enterprise is that you take your lumps, and if you fail, you fail. No one is there to bail you out, you invest what you can afford to invest, nothing more, nothing less. I am really sorry those people who lost everything, bottom line they got extremely greedy, so they lost it all. I am tired of paying for everyone's greed, aren't YOU?
Not a good time to be in the banking business or a banker-–is it?
Watching those leaders and protestors blaming the US for the world economic crisis makes me sick. It's clear what they're after. They want the US government to come up with a rescue package for them, too. They're always after something. When the US economy was up, those countries welcomed US businesses to help their economies and provide jobs, and now that things are down, they want the US to take responsibility and help them, too. Everyone's suddenly so helpless, they're not just asking for help, they're demanding help. What happened to the generations who like JFK believed that people should "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"? Everyone seems to have forgotten that and are going "one for you, two for them, three for me, etc.".
Washington & Wall Street are in cahoots. They're just covering their tracks & misdeeds with all the bailouts & overwhelming figures so no body knows whats what.I'm just a Vet who loves his country but I fear America has seen it's better days,so sad.
More and more people are becoming aware of the theft going on by the FED, and all fractional banking. the debt can never be paid as our debtor moneys are only one hundred percent, the bonds at any interest can only be paid with more debt, there will be more and more days of reckoning, and more and more intensity. Money is a holding mechanism for human energy, there is very little if any trickle down, give it back to whom it belongs, in blood sweat and tears, and it will trickle up. When the relatively rich start to lose, they put the little guys to work, and it trickles up.
Is America to blame for the Financial meltdown? The short answer is yes.
Why? 1) Subprime mortgages were only in the USA, but bundled up and sold globally with multiple complex deals to apparently remove risk, but in turn created property asset bubbles in other countries as well.
2) It was further exacerbated by unrealistic relaxation of regulatory laws in the USA and a complete failure of rating agencies ( who were paid by banks etc) to assess the risk of these complex instruments like CDS's and CLO's and other derivates.
3) Finally insurance companies based on 2 above charged premiums to guarantee against losses on CDS's etc which were too low and unrealistic, further encouraging even more risky deals to be created. Hence the huge cost at AIG.
So yes its America but the rest of the world followed like sheep and must share the blame to some extent.
Regards,
Hodgson.
I'm so happy and proud of our new president; it's unfortunate that he has to take blame for this financial crisis that the world is angry at our nation for.
Took this poor protestor a full hour to smash that window. He was to busy posing for a few hundred cameras! Joke.
Looking forward to tonight's show. It ought to really be interesting with the protesters and the leaders. For years everything has been the fault of the US, I wouldn't expect it to change now but perhaps Obama can use his powers of oration to convince them that it isn't all our fault and that they have more to gain by working with us than independently. I hope Anderson reports on why the European Union says Obama's financial plan is the path to hell.
I do not approve of violence and damage, but it is very clear just how angry the people really are. They should be. Our government here in America is directly to blame for the financial crisis in this country and the actions of both Bush and Obama – both! – have only made things worse, not better.
We are on the wrong road. The people know it. When will the politicians actually listen?