Europe's leaders chew over the financial turmoil
It’s a natural reaction to pull the shutters closed when it's blowing a gale outside. 
But at this summit Gordon Brown is determined to persuade his colleagues that, while the world's financial system may be suffering something a little more serious than bracing fresh air, they mustn't batten down the hatches.
In the first round of talks here, Europe's leaders have been chewing over .
The form of words that they're discussing is full of suggestions that the EU should stand ready to take "regulatory and supervisory actions" and develop "improved tools for financial crisis management".
They're also talking about the increasing role of investment by oil-rich countries. at the end of June on these Sovereign Wealth funds.
But Gordon Brown is worried that some leaders who want to beef up the rules may send exactly the wrong signals in a crisis when investment is scarce.
He's concerned that Europe could look inward and protectionist, and I am told that is what much of the discussion on Friday will be about.
I’m Mark Mardell, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's North America editor. These are my reflections on American politics, some thoughts on being a Brit living in the USA, and who knows what else? My 
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In the realm of finance and economics, how could anyone take a word spoken by Gordon Brown seriously? As Chancellor of the Exchequer, he sold many tons of British gold at the lowest price in decades, thereby losing Britain hundreds of millions of pounds. He was warned against doing this by every expert within earshot, yet did it anyway, and now gold has better than tripled in price, increasing nearly fourfold. Brown may be a nice person and may understand international politics, but I wouldn't trust him to balance my bank account.
One of the major fallacies afflicting world economics is the view, strongly promoted by the USA, that people are essentially good. This was in answer to the communist critique that claimed the opposite, and claimed that people are more often simply greedy cut throats, competing by any foul means that they think that they can possibly get away with. The American belief entails the principle that people, whether as individuals or as corporate organizations, will do what is right and good, most of the time, without stringent regulation and government monitoring. Investment institutions and lending institutions have been largely left to do as they choose, without rigorous close monitoring and government over their practices. Unfortunately that has led to a very dangerous situation where a domino effect is a very real possibility, as one or another institution is proven to have become rotten at the core. We can keep in mind the old saying that one rotten apple can spoil the barrel. Well, yes, if it is all in the spirit of unbridled competition.