WEF Meet Concludes Amidst...

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[Global business and political leaders left the Alpine Swiss resort on Sunday after five days of brainstorming, with a warning that protectionist efforts by the rich nations could make things worse for the global economy facing the biggest crisis since the Great Depression. The emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) economies marked their strong presence at the annual World Economic Forum meeting, telling the Americans and others in the west how their business models turned into bubbles, which were to burst anyway. Now that the bubbles of low savings, or actually no savings, and high consumption have burst, the impact is not limited to the US and European economies. People in developing countries that depend on exports to rich nations are taking a hit on income and jobs. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blamed the excesses of the free market economies for triggering the crisis. &quot;This pyramid of expectations would have collapsed sooner or later. In fact, it is happening right before our eyes,&quot; Putin, who was among the 40 heads of state and government said, in one of the sessions. Wen blamed &quot;inappropriate macroeconomic policies of some economies&quot; and &quot;prolonged low savings and high consumption,&quot; in a barely veiled attack on the US. India gave a strong warning against protectionist efforts being resorted to in the West. &quot;History is witness that whenever countries try to prop up protectionism, it intensifies depression,&quot; Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said. (PTI)