Rudd Echoes Merkel

Aussie prime minister Kevin Rudd has joined German chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for a global system of financial regulation.

Australia, which along with Britain, Iceland, Belgium, Russia, Germany and, of course, the United States is dealing with faltering banks is, according to Rudd, a victim of the "greed is good" mentality that took hold in the West in recent decades.

"We've seen the triumph of greed over integrity.

"The triumph of speculation over value creation.

"The triumph of the short term over long term, sustainable growth."

"Global financial markets require global financial regulation based on the fundamental principles of transparency, conservative prudential standards and, above all, universality."