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G-20 officials: Too early to end stimulus

British Treasury chief Alistair Darling, Left, walks with an unidentified official at the venue of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland Saturday Nov. 7, 2009. Rifts among the world's top financial ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 rich and developing nations, are reported to be threatening attempts to secure future global growth and break a deadlock over the cost of fighting climate change. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver)

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British Treasury chief Alistair Darling takes an early morning walk at the venue of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland Saturday Nov. 7, 2009. Rifts among the world's top financial ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 rich and developing nations, are reported to be threatening attempts to secure future global growth and break a deadlock over the cost of fighting climate change. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver)

ENLARGE PHOTO

British Treasury chief Alistair Darling, left, takes an early morning walk, with an unidentified official, right, at the venue of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland Saturday Nov. 7, 2009. Rifts among the world's top financial ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 rich and developing nations, are reported to be threatening attempts to secure future global growth and break a deadlock over the cost of fighting climate change. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver)

ENLARGE PHOTO

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The Associated Press Updated 11:11 AM Saturday, November 7, 2009

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Finance officials from the rich and developing countries have pledged to maintain emergency support for their economies until global recovery is assured.

Saturday's statement at the end of a meeting of the Group of 20 countries in Scotland says that economic and financial conditions have improved.

But the statement stresses that recovery is "uneven and remains dependent on policy support." High unemployment remains a major concern.

The G-20 finance ministers and central bankers also commit to take action to tackle the threat of climate change and work towards "an ambitious outcome" at a major UN conference in Copenhagen next month.

Officials are considering financial help for poorer countries to develop green technology.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned against putting the brakes on economic stimulus measures too quickly, saying that would weaken the economy.

In prepared remarks ahead of a Saturday news conference, Geithner says that "unemployment will rise, more businesses will fail, budget deficits will rise, and the ultimate cost of the crisis will be greater" if expansionary measures are stopped too soon.

Geithner says that U.S. job numbers out Friday showed it is still "a very tough economic environment."

He says that a statement from finance officials from the Group of 20 rich and emerging countries "reflects a very broad consensus that growth remains the dominant policy imperative across our economies."

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November 07, 2009 04:06 PM EST

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