The 2008 G20 Washington Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy took place on November 14–15, 2008, in Washington, D.C., United States. It achieved general agreement amongst the G20 on how to cooperate in key areas so as to strengthen economic growth, deal with the 2008 financial crisis, and lay the foundation for reform to avoid similar crises in the future. The Summit resulted from an initiative by the French and European Union President, Nicolas Sarkozy, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. In connection with the G7 finance ministers on October 11, 2008, United States President George W. Bush stated that the next meeting of the G20 would be important in finding solutions to the economic crisis.
Since many economists and politicians called for a new Bretton Woods system (a monetary management which was instituted after World War II) to overhaul the world's financial structure, the meeting has sometimes been described by the media as Bretton Woods II.
2008Nov, 14
The first G-20 economic summit opens in Washington, D.C.
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Events on 2008
- 11Jun
Canadian Indian residential school system
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada's First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school. - 7Aug
South Ossetia
The start of the Russo-Georgian War over the territory of South Ossetia. - 29Sep
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Following the bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history. - 29Oct
Northwest Airlines
Delta Air Lines merges with Northwest Airlines, creating the world's largest airline and reducing the number of US legacy carriers to five. - 10Nov
Phoenix (spacecraft)
Over five months after landing on Mars, NASA declares the Phoenix mission concluded after communications with the lander were lost.