Obama Team Pushes for Global Stimulus, Euros Resist

The Obama administration will press for a global stimulus at next month's G20 conference in London, setting up a possible showdown with European nations wary of further deficits, reports the Wall Street Journal. US officials, supported by Britain and China, say that more public spending is needed to reverse the global downturn. But France and especially Germany are opposed to further borrowing and want to use the G20 to overhaul financial regulation.

In an interview with the Financial Times today, Larry Summers lays out the administration's case for a global effort to pump money into the economy. Barack Obama's top economic adviser says "there’s no place that should be reducing its contribution to global demand right now." He added that relying on China to shoulder a demand-led recovery is no longer possible: "There’s a need for extraordinary public action." (More economic stimulus package stories.)