The Judgement We Face

Judgement is a summary court in perpetual session,Prime Minister Brown continued.More and more children are being lured to expensively funded madrases,where they are taught to hate us.Our values tell us we cannot be fully comfortable while others go without comfort.When the strong help the weak,it makes us all stronger.These recent events have forced us all to think anew.Let us,for the future,build tomorrow today,the Prime Minister concluded.He received a standing ovation from Congress,and was personally thanked by Representative Patrick Kennedy(D-Rhode Island).Mr.Brown is a parson's son who rose to political leadership in a dramatically troubled era.

What the World Wants

You now have the most pro-American European leadership in over a century,Prime Minister Brown observed.We should seize this moment.Never before have I seen a world that wants to come together so much.How much safer everybody's savings would be if the whole world came together to outlaw shadow banking systems,and to outlaw offshore tax havens.Let us agree at our G20 summit in April rules that apply to every bank,everywhere,all the time.I am confident that this president,this Congress and the peoples of the world can come together in Copenhagen in November and reach agreement to combat global climate change,Gordon Brown told the joint meeting of Congress.

A Crisis of Irony

The very financial instruments that were meant to manage risk,turned into a global contagion,Prime Minister Brown pointed out to Congress.We win our future,not by retreating from the world,but by engaging with it.In these unprecedented times,we must educate,invent and invest our way out of the downturn.We conquer our fear of the future through our faith in the future.The lesson of this crisis must be,we must build for tomorrow today.Now more than ever,the rest of the world wants to work with America.The new frontier is that there is no frontier.Global problems need global solutions,the British leader stated.

The Application of Values

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently shared his views on the financial crisis with a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.For me,Mr.Brown said,this global recession is not just to be measured in statistics.We the representatives of the people have to be the people's last line of defense.We have learned through this global downturn that markets should be free;but markets should never be values-free.The world has learned that what makes for a good society,makes for a good economy,too.These enduring values are the values we need for this time.An economic hurricane has swept the world.We are summoned not just to manage our times,but to transform them,the Prime Minister feels.

The Essential Task

The British government will work with our partners to establish a new International Monetary Fund as a sentinel,Prime Minister Brown promised,and to achieve the transparency,integrity and responsibility of the financial system.Confidence in the future is the key to bringing back confidence today.I am confident in the future,Mr.Brown asserted,wearing a white bow tie,white shirt and black dinner jacket,a red poppy on his lapel to commemorate Armistice Day.

The Role of the West

The prime minister,who had been heralded by trumpets,continued his observations:While I see a world that is facing a financial crisis,there is evidence of this new multilateralism at work.Together we can create a new global society.The challenge is to build a consensus for a new global financial system.I believe we in the West should approach these challenges with a degree of humility.The alliance between Britain and America,Europe and America,can and must provide leadership.The election of Barack Obama can only be a source of hope and inspiration.Let that hope be fulfilled with a pact with the rest of the world to lead and fulfill the first truly global society.

A Steep Economic Path

The world today can seem a daunting place,Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted.Today we rise to the challenge of an open free trade and flexible globalization.It is likely that,in the next two decades,the global economy will double in size.We shall encounter,not just the insecurities we now know about,but the opportunities of tomorrow as well.The livelihoods of British families and businesses are shaped by this ever-more interdependent world,Mr.Brown pointed out in the ornate Guildhall setting.

Special Access:With the Prime Minister

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently addressed the Lord Mayor's banquet in the City of London,the British financial centre.These last weeks and months will be studied by generations to come,the prime minister predicted.They will be seen as a time when one chapter ended,and another began.To us falls the challenge of leading Britain through the first financial crisis of the new global age.The range,complexity and impact of these forces have shaped the steps we're taking to the new global society.

The EU is Leading

In white shirtsleeves and a purple tie,Prime Minister Brown stated that the European Union is the world leader in development aid.As well,it is the leader in climate change reform,and in the quest for a trade deal.If we can't get one in the next few weeks,it may elude us for many,many months-if not longer.We've got to show this deal to a world that is becoming increasingly protectionist,Prime Minister Brown reflected.The iShares MSCI UK fund(EWU) gives investors exposure to the British economy.

A Massive Shift

Prime Minister Gordon Brown,who has been in office a little over a year now,observed that we are witnessing a massive shift in the world economy.It is a shift of power to Asia.The challenge of this global change is to make it both inclusive and sustainable.We are seeing the worst food shortage in 30 years.The worst thing we can do is cut the subsidies to developing countries.It would be a huge mistake to cut that aid,Mr.Brown warned.In Britain's case,we will soon be 80% dependent on other countries for gas.We have a once in a generation chance to reduce our dependence on oil.We will soon become the world's leading offshore wind energy producer.We're dealing with a massive expansion of demand for oil from Asia.China is building 100 airports a year and 1,000 cities a year,while adding 10 million cars a year.We need a new green revolution in the developing countries.You will need a body the size of the World Bank to ensure the flow of money to the developing countries for implementing climate change reform,Mr.Brown estimated.

Special Access:With the Prime Minister

Speaking with the British Liaison Committee of the House of Commons,Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the off-balance sheet activities of some banks,and the writedowns that are taking place,should never have happened.There are reforms to the financial system that are necessary,such as improved transparency,improved bond rating agencies,and a better system of global supervision of the financial flows of multinational firms.We've got no proper early warning system for the world economy.We need to be better at dealing with financial stability at a global level.Action has already been taken to improve the flow of money by the Bank of England,which has injected funds into the system.