This was no Roman holiday for Timothy Geithner. But after crashing global markets with a botched rollout of a bank rescue plan, the new Treasury secretary earned better reviews from global finance officials meeting in Rome. Geithner appeared more assured at a news conference here following two days of G-8 talks. However, few new details emerged from the closed-door meetings.
"The world is facing enormous challenges," said Geithner. "Governments around the world are acting with greater force and urgency to address these challenges." Finance officials here seemed more willing to give the Obama team time to flesh out its plan to deal with toxic assets. "He participated actively in the debates on all points on the agenda," said French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde of Geithner. "We welcomed him warmly." (More Timothy Geithner stories.)