European leaders press for new economic order
By JOHN LEICESTER – 17 oct 2008

“Sarkozy cast his net even wider. The conservative — who has in recent weeks sounded increasingly like a leftist — wants discussion on tax havens, hedge and sovereign wealth funds, the “folly” of big pay bonuses for risk-taking executives and even how many major currencies the world needs.
Some of his harshest words were for ratings agencies, hinting that he wouldn’t be sorry to see them disappear altogether in the financial architecture that he and Brown say they want built.
“Do we keep them?” he asked. “What do we replace them with?
“Should they only be American?” he added, in a statement bound to get attention from U.S.-based Moody’s and Standard & Poors.
As always, Sarkozy is in a hurry. Waiting three months until John McCain or Barack Obama is sworn in runs the risk of the crisis getting worse or getting better, which could frustrate the drive for fundamental reform, the French leader warned.” The credit agencies ‘oversaw’ deregulation.

(AP) — The idea is ambitious: World leaders joined by aides to the new U.S. president-elect would gather before the year’s end in New York and attempt to forge a new vision for the global economy. Read the rest of this entry »