The G-20 Conference, Central Banks, and Garbage Collection

Abstract

Speaking to union members in Italy on 11 November 2008, President Lula of Brazil warned his audience that they should not expect major results from the meetings of Group of Twenty (G-20)² nations in Washington at the week’s end. Lula admitted that the G-20 would not be able to make a perfect diagnosis of the causes of the global financial crisis, though he added that:

• This first meeting was at least a promising start, and

• The G-20 nations now appeared to be taking over from the G-8, as the main forum for tackling the crisis, a fact that was (in his opinion) to be welcomed.

“Garbage collection” has been for three decades a technical term in artificial intelligence. In the last couple of years it has transformed itself into a technical term connected to lack of intelligence in banking — and lack of prudence.