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Gordon Brown Speaks at G-20; A Plan to Rescue the World; Another Round of G-20 Protests; Banks to Get a Boost?; The Real Cost of Autism; G-20 Leaders Official Statement

Aired April 02, 2009 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Thursday, April 2nd, and here are the top stories in the CNN NEWSROOM. The G-20 summit opens and closes in a day. Did world leaders pull the global economy back from the brink?

A broad agenda on the street. Protesters target G-20 leaders with a variety of causes.

The first lady dazzles London today. The tabloids buzz about Mrs. O and her close encounter with the queen. It is a new record. The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits surges again.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We are awaiting details of a plan to rescue the world's finances. You know what? We know that the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, is speaking right now. Let's just show a quick live shot as we set up the rest of the agenda for this hour.

There you go. We will monitor Gordon Brown's comments, and we will turn around the news of this event in just a matter of minutes for you.

Leaders, of course, of the biggest economies across the globe wrapping up the G-20 summit. Nuggets of information coming out seem to indicate consensus on some pretty contentious money matters. We're told the leaders will agree to clamp down on tax havens and tighten financial regulations.

Since the man is speaking right now, let's listen in.

The British prime minister, Gordon Brown.

GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: There will be an end to tax havens that do not transfer information on request. The banking secrecy of the past must come to an end. The Organization of Economic Corporation and Development are this afternoon publishing a list of tax havens that are noncompliant and where action must immediately be taken. And we have agreed tough standards and sanctions for use against those who don't come into line in the future.

We will create a new financial stability board to ensure cooperation across frontiers to spot (ph) risks to the economy. And together with the International Monetary Fund, providing the early warning mechanism that this new global economy needs.

We will complete the implementation of international colleges of supervisors of financial institutions, and we will implement new rules on pay and bonuses at a global level that reflect actual performance with no more rewards for failure. We want to encourage corporate responsibility in every part of the world.

Secondly, we will clean up the banks so that they increase lending to families and businesses. And to enable this, we have agreed for the first time a common global approach to how we deal with impaired or toxic assets.

Third, we have agreed to do what it takes to restore global growth and hasten recovery. Since our last meeting in Washington, and as part of this process from Washington, G-20 countries have announced and are now implementing the largest macroeconomic stimulus the world has ever seen.

We are in the middle of a non-precedented fiscal expansion, which will, by the end of next year, amount to an injection of $5 trillion into our economies. And it will save or create millions of jobs in a period where we must combat unemployment.

In addition to the dramatic interest rate cuts, our central banks have pledged to maintain expansionary policies, as we state the in communique, expansionary policies, as long as they are needed, using the full range of options available to them. But we have also agreed today additional resources of $1 trillion that are available to the world economy through the International Monetary Fund and other institutions.

This includes $250 billion from special drawing rights, the reserve currency of the IMF, drawing rights that will be issued to countries who are part of the International Monetary Fund. This is available to all IMF members, and at the same time, we will treble the resources of the International Monetary Fund itself with up to an additional $500 billion.

Together, these actions give us confidence that the global economy can return to trend growth, even faster than the International Monetary Fund is now predicting. And we have today called on the International Monetary Fund to monitor our progress towards this objective, and to report on whatever further actions may be necessary.

Fourth, alongside these extra resources, we will ask the international institutions to strengthen their independent surveyance of the world economy, and to promote growth and the reduction of poverty. We are agreed that the mandates of these institutions that were created in 1945 must now be reformed to make them more accountable, more representative, and more effective. And this includes giving emerging markets in developing countries greater voice and greater representation, and we will also enable that the heads and senior staff of these institutions are appointed on merit.

Fifth, we are going to act decisively to kick-start international trade. Trade is a crucial driver of growth in the global economy. We are agreed to work urgently with leaders discussing meeting and preparing for a conclusion to the Doha Trade Round, and this is the potential to boost the global economy substantially.

To address what is a huge shortfall in finance for trade -- 90 percent of all trade depends on this finance -- we have today agreed to make available not the $100 billion, which was originally called for, but $250 billion of trade finance. This will be provided over the next two years through our export credit and investment agencies, and through the multilateral development banks. And this will include $50 billion through the new World Bank program that is being established.

We will act also to make our global recovery fair and more sustainable. This time of financial crisis is no time to walk away from our commitment to the world's poorest. So when people are suffering and, yet, it is within our capacity to help, we will not pass by on the other side.

We remain firmly committed to meeting our millennium development goals and our pledges on aid. And to deal with this crisis for the poorest countries, we have asked the International Monetary Fund to bring forward proposals to use the proceeds of agreed sales of gold to support low-income countries. And so, in total, we have reached agreements worth $50 billion for the poorest countries, alongside our support for a World Bank vulnerability fund.

In mobilizing the world's economies to fight back against recession, we are resolved to seize the opportunity of our fiscal stimulus programs to promote low-carbon growth and to create the green jobs in which our future prosperity depends. And we have committed to building on this by working together to seek agreement on a post-2012 climate change regime at the U.N. Conference in Copenhagen in December. And we have asked our finance ministers to complete the reforms of the regulatory system, and we will meet again as G-20 leaders later this year to take stock of progress.

When the Wall Street crash happened in 1929, it took 15 years for the world to come together to rebuild and renew our economies. This time, I think people will agree that it is different. We will not hesitate as long as people are losing their jobs and their homes to make the difference that we can by improving their prosperity. Today's decisions, of course, will not immediately solve the crisis, but we have begun the process by which it will be solved.

A few years ago, meetings such as this could not have happened with so many different countries from diverse continents involved. Far less could there have been an agreement amongst them. But today, the largest countries of the world have agreed a global plan for recovery and reform. This involves the biggest interest rate cuts in history, the biggest fiscal stimulus we have ever seen, the biggest increase in resources in the history of our international institutions, with $250 billion, more money than ever before, for trade finance, as well.

For the first time, we have a common approach around the world to cleaning up banks' balance sheets and restoring lending. We are engaging in a deep process of reform and restructuring of our international financial system for now and for the future. And we have maintained our commitment to help the world's poorest, and we have put more money aside for that, and also for a green recovery.

These are not just a single collection of actions. This is collective action, people working together at their best.

I think the new world order is emerging, and with it, the foundations of a new and progressive era of international cooperation. We have resolved that from today, we will together manage the process of globalization to secure responsibility from all and fairness to all. And we have agreed that in doing so, we will build a more sustainable, and more open, and a fairer global society.

Thank you very much.

I'm very happy to answer questions on the communique.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we have people standing and stating their name and organization clearly, please?

HARRIS: All right. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Boy, so much there. The headline clearly is a trillion-dollar global stimulus plan agreed to by the G-20 members. So much more to get to.

This is all about interest rates being cut on a global scale. And also, again, as we just mentioned, that global stimulus plan.

Let's talk to Carter Evans, part of our money team out of New York, at the New York Stock Exchange.

Boy, Carter, this is the headline. I mean, this is what the British prime minister wanted, and this is what President Obama flew to London for, this idea of this global stimulus plan. And now the headline seems to be "Trillion-Dollar Global Summit."

CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's a tremendous amount of money, Tony. And I'll tell you what traders on the floor are telling me.

First and foremost, let me let you know, this is a very cynical bunch on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange here.

HARRIS: Right.

EVANS: They would like to see a real plan come out of this, one that everyone is going to stick to. They have very little faith that that will happen. Even if there is a concrete plan, they don't believe that nations will actually stick to it.

HARRIS: Well, Carter, let me stop you there, and then I'll let you go forward. But can you imagine what the reaction of that very cynical group would have been if nothing came out of it, if the British prime minister had stood up and said, you know what, we have nothing here.

Come on.

EVANS: Well, I'll tell you one thing...

HARRIS: You can't win that crowd.

EVANS: ... that they didn't want to hear. They did not want to hear that there was going to be a large stimulus. And you may be surprised to hear this, but many of the traders on the floor are siding with France and Germany.

What they want to see is more regulation. And I know that sounds very strange, because these people here are all about the free market. But they say, like it or not, we have an international monetary system right now, and it needs to have some sort of regulation that people have to stick to. They believe, here on the floor, that throwing this money at this problem before you actually fix the regulatory system is a big mistake.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Are you kidding me? So you're telling me that the folks there on the floor that you talk to on a daily basis were actually in agreement that the approach, the top priority here, should have been regulating the financial sector?

EVANS: You got it exactly right.

HARRIS: Wow.

EVANS: That is what I am hearing over and over and over again. Let me remind you, these guys aren't the ones that caused this problem here, but they do see everything that goes on.

They're the middlemen for the transactions. They can see the problems.

HARRIS: I see. I see.

EVANS: They can see the results. And they know there is a problem with the regulatory system in the international community. They say that needs to be addressed before throwing any more money at this problem. They believe that it's a waste of money to try and fix this with money before you fix the system.

HARRIS: But I'm just sort of curious, I'm just going to push back a little bit. The idea of a stimulus, you create a stimulus, you throw money -- I don't know if I like the idea of throwing money, but you attack this problem through spending, because globally, spending is down, and you can't keep this huge economic system going, the global system going, if no one is spending.

EVANS: And you're exactly right. But they say to encourage spending, you need people to have faith in the financial system again, and they simply do not have faith. HARRIS: And my question is, you can't -- I don't know how you get the spending going. If you start with regulations that say you can't do this and you can't do that, I mean, those are rules on paper that have to be followed. But those rules on paper don't necessarily translate into us going out and buying the big screen or buying the new car that we may need.

EVANS: No, absolutely not. But what they say is that it sets the foundation for success when you do actually have money flowing into this system. They say you can put a Band-Aid on a broken leg, but the leg is still broken. The skin may heal, but you've still got a serious problem inside.

HARRIS: Well, can you do them both at the same time?

(CROSSTALK)

EVANS: Well, it could take some time. Yes, I guess you can do it both at the same time, but they don't believe that either will be a success until there is a firm belief that people are actually going to stick to the regulations, because they do not believe that that will happen. They believe that we may come out of this with some regulations that people are supposed to adhere to, but then when it really comes down to it, the different nations are going to change the rules to fit their needs.

HARRIS: So I'm hearing what you're telling me, trust what you're telling me, and I'm also looking at the Dow, and I'm seeing a rally. Is this a summit rally?

EVANS: No, this is not a summit rally. What you're seeing right now is a rally based on the financial data that we've been having come in here in the last couple of weeks and yesterday. We got some good housing data yesterday. We got some good manufacturing data today.

We had some awful unemployment news. But you know what? That was not unexpected. And they know that employment will not improve until the economy improves first. And we are beginning to see glimmers of hope there right now.

HARRIS: Hey, Carter, good stuff.

EVANS: All right.

HARRIS: We're going to have you on early and often.

Carter Evans for us at the New York Stock Exchange.

So what do you think about all of this? We have been asking you, what do you hope comes out of this G-20 summit?

E-mail us your views, cnnnewsroom@cnn.com, and we'll read some of your responses a little later in the program.

G-20 protesters in the streets again today. Crowds aren't as big as yesterday, when police arrested more than 80 people, but still, plenty of anger out there.

CNN's Phil Black is in the middle of all of it for us. He's live from London.

And Phil, how robust is the protest today, and how are police sort of positioned to deal with the -- any and all bad actors?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in this scene where I am here now, Tony, very different to those angry scenes we saw yesterday.

First, let me give you some geographic context.

I am just down the road from the ExCeL Centre. You should be able to see it. That's where world leaders are meeting, that's where Gordon Brown is currently holding his press conference that we were hearing just a few minutes ago.

You can see this line of, well, fairly friendly-looking police officers here, and this is who they're keeping an eye on. These are the maybe 100, 200 or so protesters that have gathered at the edge of the security perimeter around the ExCeL Centre, representing a wide range of causes.

They're a little bit excitable at the moment, because some relatively official-looking motorcades have been passing through the checkpoint just here. Unable to tell just who they are, but certainly whenever anyone official drives past, these guys tend to look excited.

But they're in essentially pretty good humor. And a wide range of causes they're campaigning for -- world politics, peace. Some of them just concerned individuals who want to get the economy back on track. Very different, as I say, to what we saw in central London yesterday -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right.

Phil Black for us.

Phil, appreciate it. Thank you.

So what do the protesters really want? A group calling itself the G-20 Meltdown organized the event. Basically, they're calling for an end to capitalism as we know it.

Here is the -- so let's put this up here. It is titled "G-20 Meltdown in the City."

The site reads, "Lost your home, lost your job, lost your savings or your pension? This party is for you."

And here's part of the manifest manifesto. "Oust the bankers from power; get rid of corporate politicians; guarantee everyone a job, a home, a future; and establish a government by the people."

All right. If you are looking for a silver lining when it comes to the economy, you won't find it in today's new jobless numbers. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, the bleeding just won't stop. For the ninth week in a row, first time jobless claims topped 600,000.

Let's bring in Christine Romans. You know, she is our superstar business correspondent. She's joining us from New York.

And Christine, just to drive the point home on this, first time jobless claims, these are people who were working.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. Yes.

HARRIS: Contributing to this economy.

ROMANS: Yes.

HARRIS: Paying their mortgages, and now they're in real jeopardy.

ROMANS: That's absolutely right.

The numbers are pretty staggering, Tony. And you're right, above 600,000 again.

You know what? A year ago -- a little over a year ago, we were running in the 330,000 people a week. I mean, even in a good economy, you have got a lot of people entering and leaving the workforce at every time. So look at these numbers, 669,000, I think was the final number for last week. Those are initial claims.

And then, even more troubling, Tony, you look at the number of people who are all together getting joblessness claims, 5.7 million. For 10 weeks in a row it's been a record.

We know the labor market is a lagging indicator. That means, Tony, even after we see signs of life, or at least signs of -- even after we see a pulse in this economy, you're still going to see more months of this.

Jared Bernstein, who is the vice president's chief economic adviser, says after the last recession, it took 19 months before the jobless rate started to come down again. So it isn't pretty. And then we'll get the big jobless number tomorrow that's not expected to be very good, either.

I found a bright spot though, Tony.

HARRIS: I would love to hear it.

ROMANS: I found that in Texas, there were fewer first time unemployment claims than the week before. Down more than 4,000, almost 5,000.

And I've been watching some of the states to see where you might be seeing some retreats. So Texas is one of the states. But all of this underscores what they're talking about and what this G-20 thing is all about, the communique and what they're -- I mean, everyone is facing a situation like this. This is one week's number that show you exactly the kind of heat they're feeling in it London right now.

HARRIS: You know, I know we didn't task you with this today, but I would love for you to, at some point, in one of these hours here, talk to us about what you think of this idea of a trillion-dollar stimulus package, global stimulus package coming out of this G-20, and what your thoughts on that are. But I don't have time to talk about it now.

ROMANS: All right.

HARRIS: So let's talk about it a little later.

Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: OK. Bye-bye.

HARRIS: So if you have no job, how can you pay back that student loan? We will ask Gerri Willis how to avoid default.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The number of graduates falling behind on their student loan payments is growing. No surprise in this economy.

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here to help us out here, and boy, get some good advice to folks.

How bad are the numbers, Gerri?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, Tony, they're bad. According to recent data, student loan defaults are up to 6.9 percent from 5.2 percent a year earlier.

Now, we're talking here about federal loans, not private student loans. Let's take a look at the trend here.

In 2003, the default rate was 4.5 percent. In 2004, that rate was 5.1 percent. And in 2007, the latest figures we have, that rate jumps to almost 7 percent.

Now, we go deep into Sallie Mae's 10-K filing. Sallie Mae is one of the biggest private student loan providers.

We found that private student loan defaults are up to 3.37 percent in 2008, from 1.47 percent in '06. The increasing amount of student loans defaulting, it doesn't really come as a surprise. During a recession, the job placement rate declines, recent grads can't get jobs, they can't start repaying.

You see the whole cycle here -- Tony.

HARRIS: And how can you avoid default if you're in real trouble here?

WILLIS: Well, look, if you are afraid you may not be able to make your federal loan payments, talk to your lender first. That's job number one.

There are programs out there that can help you. Let's take a look at the options.

First of all, there's forbearance and deferment. Now, in both cases, you can stop making payments for a little while. The debt doesn't go away, but interest does continue to accrue, even if you don't make the payments. There is one exception. If you have a subsidized Stafford loan, the government pays the interest.

HARRIS: Are there different ways, Gerri, to repay the loan?

WILLIS: Well, if you are looking for a more permanent solution to your student loan debt, maybe you're looking for a career that doesn't pay a lot as a teacher, maybe a public defender, you may want to consider repayment options like an income-contingent repayment, an income-based repayment. You can qualify for the income-contingent payment now.

Now, this plan will peg your monthly payments to your income, family size, the amount of your loan. Income-based repayment programs will be available this July, and they cap your monthly payments based on a percentage of your discretionary income.

Now, to figure out if you're eligible, take some complicated calculations, fortunately finaid.org can help. Go to that Web site, take a look at their calculators -- Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, Gerri, give us a bit of a preview of what's coming up on your weekend show, "YOUR BOTTOM LINE."

WILLIS: Well, "YOUR BOTTOM LINE," this week we're looking at what Washington is doing to help the auto industry, and what's in it for you.

Plus, a new tax benefit just may put some money in your pocket this week.

That's "YOUR BOTTOM LINE," 9:30 a.m. Eastern on CNN.

HARRIS: I'll be there. Thank you, Gerri. Good to see you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: And as always, we invite you to check out our special report, "America's Money Crisis." Again, that's at CNNMoney.com.

The leaders from the most powerful countries in the world all together in London, but it is Michelle Obama and the queen -- look at this. Everyone is talking about this, including our own Richard Quest.

Oh my.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Leaders of the world's biggest economies plan to spend - listen to this - more than a trillion dollars to tackle the global financial crisis. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown calls it the largest economic stimulus ever seen.

The leaders agreeing to tighter regulation on hedge funds, tax havens and the banking system. They also plan to aggressively kick- start international trade, and to pledge $750 billion to institutions like the International Monetary Fund is poorer countries can get desperately needed loans.

President Obama discuss the G-20 agreement in a news conference coming up in the next hour at 12:45 Eastern time. We will, of course, be bringing it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Here's a quick break down on just who the G-20 is. The group is made up of top financial officials from 19 of the world's largest leading economies, plus the European union. Combined, they represent about 90 percent of the world's gross national product. Those nations conduct 80 percent of world trade, and include two-thirds of the world's population. The group chairmanship rotates annually.

America's first lady is really having quite an impression in London. She is leaving her mark, it's for sure. Talk about this for a moment. The most anticipated moments of Obama's overseas trip, White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, live from London with details of Michelle Obama's international debut.

And Suzanne, maybe there's a story I've missed here, but so far, it looks like the first lady is a hit in London.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Tony, this has become quite a story, because, you know, all eyes obviously on the G- 20 summit, and the new U.S. president, Barack Obama. But much of the buzz today is all about the first lady. There is even one British newspaper that called her, "The Mighty Michelle."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Michelle Obama has arrived, pulling up to Buckingham Palace in "The Beast," rolling into the VIP entrance of the monarch's residence, with the U.S. president on her arm.

The much-anticipated moment, her greeting with the queen. Her Majesty extends her hand and Michelle accepts it. It wasn't the curtsy that made Brits wild over France's first lady, but it did please the queen and calm the nerves from earlier in the day.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm very much looking forward to meeting her for the first time later this evening, and as you might imagine, Michelle has been really thinking that through.

MALVEAUX: Also important, the exchange of gifts. The queen gave the Obamas her standard gift, a framed signed photo of herself and Prince Philip. The Obamas gave her a rare song book signed by a Broadway composer and an iPod.

According to the British newspaper "The Telegraph," the queen already has one. She was encouraged to buy one by her son, Prince Andrew, four years ago. It's reportedly a silver six gig mini. This after President Obama was widely panned by the Brits last month for giving the prime minister a collection of DVDs.

Michelle started her day at 10 Downing Street. Crowds followed her every move and noted her various outfits. This one a J. Crew ensemble. Next stop, the cancer center with the British prime minister's wife, Sarah, sharing tea and cake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we just start looking straight to this camera please?

MALVEAUX: Rounding out the day, a ladies dinner and what's become her signature style, sleeveless. As a big "Harry Potter" fan, Michelle was treated to a special dinner guest, the series author, J.K. Rowling. Then, off to the opera.

The Obamas debut on the world stage, images that formed the first impressions of the first couple.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Tony, the Obamas acknowledge they have never been under this kind of scrutiny before.

And this is what all the buzz is about today. This is "The Times," you can see it says, "protocol dictates that no one touch the queen."

You've got this photo here of both of them, their arms behind their backs. But it says she seemed comfortable with Michelle Obama's embrace at the palace. And so there is all of this debate whether or not the queen and Buckingham Palace -- the queen touched Michelle Obama first, she returned the favor so there was no break in protocol.

And then I just got this e-mail, this is from Buckingham Palace Press, because they have to keep all of this sorted out. And it says that it was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection and appreciation between the queen and Michelle Obama. The London Summit Reception at Buckingham Palace was an informal occasion.

So the palace is saying officially no faux pas -- Tony.

HARRIS: And you were here with me yesterday. I was all nervous about that meeting and hoping everything went well, and apparently it did. Wow.

OK, Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you. You know, we're going to talk about that moment with Richard Quest in just a moment. We'll get Richard's take on all of this.

Let's turn to business news now. Major banks are posted billions of dollars in losses and have taken write-downs that are just as bad. But now new accounting rules could give struggling financial institutions a bit of a boost here.

And I'm wondering if that's what is prompting the market rise today. Let's ask that question of Susan Lisovicz, she's at the New York Stock Exchange.

Susan, good to see you. Good morning.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, good to see you, Tony.

And yes, it's responsible, partly, for the rally we saw. An expectation of new accounting rules expected to be passed today. And obviously, the optimism continues today.

You know, this is not quite as glamorous as Buckingham Palace and the G-20, Tony, but this is very important. It's a little inside baseball, but very important to stabilize the banking sector, OK? So stay with me, here.

HARRIS: I gotcha.

LISOVICZ: The goal is to help banks' balance sheets. The change would give banks more leeway in how they value these assets, especially mortgage securities that we call toxic assets. Right?

HARRIS: Right.

LISOVICZ: Currently, the value of those assets has collapsed, right? The housing market stinks.

HARRIS: That's right.

LISOVICZ: No one wants to buy them. So it's difficult to determine the value. We say that the market is illiquid and causes these huge write-downs, and we have seen that for the last couple of years.

The new rules, Tony, would allow banks to value assets at what would be sold for an essentially a healthier market. Essentially let's them mark them up a little bit.

HARRIS: Yes, yes. Well, how much of a difference will this make for banks, and the balance sheets?

LISOVICZ: Well, Tony, does the number $2 trillion...

HARRIS: Are you kidding me?

LISOVICZ: ... mean anything to you? HARRIS: Heck, yes.

LISOVICZ: That's the estimate in bad assets, and for anybody who likes to figure out these things, that's 2,000 billion.

So the new rules should push that number down by raising the value of assets. Of course, this is complicated, it's complex, there are critics. They say that the higher value could drive away potential buyers, potential investors, because they won't want to overpay.

And there are other critics concerned that that whole bank bailout plan recently unveiled by Treasury Secretary Geithner, well that these two may conflict with each other.

That's for another time. Check out the Big Board. We see a nice rally here in bank stocks leading the way, Tony. Right now, the Dow is up 264 points, or 3.5 percent and it's above 8000.

HARRIS: Wow. If this is as good as potentially -- certainly it sounds, the market should be, you know, let's get another 100 points on this rally today, send the signal loud and clear to Washington, D.C. Come on.

LISOVICZ: Well, yes. We've got, you know, four more hours in the session.

HARRIS: Yes, we do.

LISOVICZ: So, you know, four and a half. So, yes, we've got some time for the bulls to, you know, gain momentum.

HARRIS: All right, Susan, appreciate it. See you next hour. Thanks.

A tornado watch, flood warnings, that's the story this morning in the southeast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: At 72 it is the oldest, scripted program on TV, but come September, CBS is dumping "The Guiding Light" from its daytime schedule. Are you kidding me? Ratings just aren't what they used to be.

The soap premiered on radio in 1937 and jumped to television in 1952. "The Guiding Light" gave several notable actors their start. James Earl Jones, Kevin Bacon, Calista Flockhart, just to name a few.

Fans, don't give up hope here. Procter & Gamble, which owns the show, says it will try and find a new home for the soap, perhaps on cable.

What is the cost of autism? Would you believe $3 million per person?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Autism is a complex disorder that knows no racial, social or ethnic boundaries. A Harvard study finds that over a lifetime, taking care of an autistic person can cost more than $3 million. The problem, according to advocates and families, health insurance policies won't pay for many autism-related treatments.

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When he was born, Darian (ph) Sepulveda had his mother's personality and his father's eyes. For 18 months, he laughed, he cried, he even spoke.

At two, it all disappeared.

ADA SEPULVEDA, FIGHTING FOR INSURANCE COVERAGE: I was losing my child, basically, in front of my eyes. He was just dying on me.

GUPTA: Darian was diagnosed with autism. While his family began waging a battle against his disease, another fight was brewing with Darian's health insurance company.

SEPULVEDA: I had absolutely no problem with coverage until Darian was diagnosed.

OK, open. Very good!

GUPTA: Now Darian is 10. His diagnosis began a financial spiral for his family. Years of denied claims, unpaid bills, mortgages, loans, debt, that has become untenable.

SEPULVEDA: I call him the billion-dollar baby or the billion- dollar boy, because it's very costly.

KEVIN WRENGE, COUNCIL FOR AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE: Health insurance policies currently cover medical diagnosis and medical treatment for autism.

GUPTA: But many families say not all treatments are covered. For example, Darian's speech and neurological problems and some medications were not paid for. Insurance companies say most autism treatments are experimental, unproven. Covering them would cause everyone's insurance rates to spike.

SEPULVEDA: You don't tell a person that has a diabetic child, oh, well, you know, there is no cure for this. You give him insulin. You treat them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job, keep your fingers up.

PETER BELL, AUTISM ADVOCATE, AUTISM SPEAKS: Keep your fingers up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excellent.

GUPTA: Those insurance problems continue into the teenage years, into adulthood. Sixteen-year-old Tyler Bell is about to graduate high school.

P. BELL: Who is your favorite musician.

TYLER BELL, LIVING WITH AUTISM: Tyler.

P. BELL: Tyler.

GUPTA: Peter Bell is Tyler's father, also a spokesperson for the advocacy group, Autism Speaks. He has been fighting for insurance coverage for most of Tyler's life. Now he's concerned about Tyler's transition to adulthood.

P. BELL: The face of autism is changing. We're talking about kids that are now starting to shave and do all those things that teenagers do and will eventually become adults.

GUPTA: Adults with autism with no insurance coverage and no other safety net to provide for them.

P. BELL: I've heard some people say, I hope my child dies before me. And I don't know any other disease or disorder where that's the case.

That's my biggest fear, that if we're not here to provide for him, who will?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: I tell you, Tony, we've been covering these stories for a few years now. It's so tough to hear that sort of thing.

The good news is, I think things are starting to change a bit when it comes to these laws. This organization, Autism Speaks, which you saw profiled there asking for states to mandate private insurance companies to defray some of these costs. Eight states have signed on, they hope more states will sign on in the future.

HARRIS: Well, let's ratchet it up a bit, is the president - we're talking about the federal government - supportive of this kind of legislation?

GUPTA: Well, based on the comments that we've heard President Obama make, he is. In terms of having some sort of federal legislation, again, to allow private insurance companies or to mandate them to provide these sorts of treatments.

Part of the problem here though, again, is if it is considered experimental, does an insurance company have to pay for it.

HARRIS: I see. GUPTA: How do you take these things that seem to work, at least for some children, and have them classified not as experimental? It's a big road block.

HARRIS: It really is. You know, it's good to see you.

GUPTA: Good to see you, Tony. Don't see you enough.

HARRIS: Took the thought right out of my head. All right, thanks, Sanjay.

You know, there are plenty of organizations that are supporting research raising awareness and providing resources for the families living with autism. And you will find links to them on our "Impact Your World" page. That's at CNN.com/impact.

And Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy join "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight. They'll be answering questions about vaccines and autism from both sides of the controversy. "LARRY KING LIVE" that's Friday night - Friday night, let me correct that, Friday night at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific right here on CNN.

An update on our big stories ahead in the next hour. Tackling the global financial crisis and taking steps to prevent a future meltdown. World leaders wrap up a G-20 summit in London. Did President Obama get what he wanted? We will hear from him in a news conference. We'll take that live next hour, of course.

The North Korea threat. President Obama and South Korea's leader promise a stern united response if a planned rocket launch goes ahead. The latest on the growing tensions.

And new numbers out today show the unemployment lines getting longer. Weekly jobless claims surge to 669,000. We will go beyond the numbers with Christine Romans of our CNN Money Team.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, want to get to our Richard Quest and Richard is in London.

And Richard, are you in the ExCel Center there in London? Richard, can you hear me OK? You are?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I am at the ExCel Center here. Yes, of course I can hear you; pay attention, please.

Very important communique that has just come out from the G-20. Look at the size of this thing.

HARRIS: No, it's terrific, because our original plan was to talk about the queen and Michelle Obama but that's yesterday's news. I really want you to help us focus in on the communique and what is coming out of this summit. QUEST: I'm glad you asked about that. It is a ten-page communique that is extremely detailed and sets out what the various countries have been doing to increase fiscal stimulus, to get their economies moving again.

"The new consensus," is how Gordon Brown, the British prime minister and the host, described it. Substantially, there is roughly a trillion dollars in new money sliced and diced and moved around that will go to the International Monetary Fund.

Look, Paula Newton is with me to help understand this communique, make sense of it.

What do you think of it? Have they actually done the deed and done it well.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is not a new deal. It's not a new global deal. Let's not be too ambitious about it.

What it does is at least, for once, coordinate some actions around the world. At the end of the day, it's still going to come down to individual countries.

HARRIS: Did - did - hang on, hang on, hang on. Did President Obama get his commitment to new stimulus money that he wanted?

NEWTON: Absolutely not. The best he could hope for is that around the table they agreed and said, look, if things look really dire in a few months, we'll have another look at the stimulus.

HARRIS: So should they have all stayed at home? Was it a waste of time coming here?

NEWTON: Absolutely not. We can't be that cynical, Richard. But at the same time, if I'm talking to you, Tony, and I'm telling you this is going to help with jobs, is this going to - no.

QUEST: Oh, no, no.

NEWTON: What it does is it helps put the financial footing back into the financial system.

QUEST: I don't agree.

NEWTON: Go ahead.

QUEST: I don't agree and I'll tell you why I don't agree. Because it solidifies the moves already made and it increases the ability of governments to move the economies around.

NEWTON: But that's if they hold to these commitments. Remember we saw a lot of this in Washington in the fall. They went up and put up protectionist barriers. Trade has gone off a cliff.

QUEST: Yes, but that is backward looking, this is forward. Tony, we're, as you can see, this is the sort of disagreement that's happening all around the table.

HARRIS: No, I love the disagreements.

QUEST: Did they or didn't they?

HARRIS: Yes, yes, I think that is the question. And Paula, Paula, hello, Paula, you're telling me that the president did not get what he wanted, which was to get a new global stimulus package, an agreement to pump more money into the global economy. You're telling me he didn't get that.

NEWTON: Absolutely not.

But this is what's going on, Tony. And I saw Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Clinton in the hallway, huddling.

QUEST: Huddling?

NEWTON: What they're talking about - yes - trying to sow the seeds around the world. President Obama trying to nudge each country individually and saying, look, if we get certain indicators that aren't looking good when this initial stimulus, this initial push, starts to wave around the world, if it's not looking good will you try and pony up again. That's what they're trying to do.

QUEST: I think the core thing that they also did agree on is this idea that the old form of capitalism is broken and it needed to be reformed.

Now they were never going to be able to put that together in one meeting here in London, which is why they've agreed to meet again. You watch the jockeying now. You watch the lobbying in Washington and you watch all those organizations, those hedge funds that actually don't want new regulation.

HARRIS: OK, you know I want to keep - well, I want to continue with this conversation, but you know you've got responsibilities for CNN INTERNATIONAL.

Paula, thank you. Richard, thank you very much.

We're going to take this up in just a moment with our Suzanne Malveaux. That's pretty striking. Thank you both very much.