Even as the world economy is going through the worst crisis in seven decades, there are signs that the decline in global growth and trade is easing, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday.
In a speech as well as a question-and-answer session at the Economics Club of Washington, Geithner again defended the government’s plan to take so-called legacy assets — previously known as toxic assets — off banks’ balance sheets, saying it’s the best way to value the assets and create a market for them.
In his speech, the secretary said actions both already taken and in the pipeline offer the strongest basis for confidence that the foundation for global recovery is being implemented.
“The rate of decline in global growth and trade has shown some signs of easing,” he said. “Some measures of spending and output have started to stabilize. Financial conditions are starting to improve modestly. We have started to see some signs of stabilization of declines in output and trade.”
— Market News International
