TOYAKO, Hokkaido — With global inflation and an economic slowdown looming over their heads, the Group of Eight industrialized nations ended their three-day summit Wednesday by exposing their inability to take effective action against soaring oil and food prices and the weak dollar.
"The world economy is now facing uncertainty and downside risks persist," the G8 said in a statement on the global economy, and "serious strains" still exist in financial markets.
But the statement will have "no impact on crude oil and food prices in the future," said Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. "There were no new or concrete steps to tame inflation at the G8 meeting."