World leaders have confirmed a deal worth US$1 trillion to end the global recession at the G20 summit in London this week.

Speaking after the conclusion of the summit, prime minister Gordon Brown claimed to have struck a “historic” deal to end the global recession as he unveiled plans to plough more than $1 trillion into the world economy.

‘This is the day that the world came together to fight back against the global recession,' he said. ‘Not with words, but with a plan for global recovery and reform.’

The deal sees an increase of up to $750 billion in the resources available to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which helps countries that get into difficulties.

A further $250 billion will contribute to helping counteract the contraction of world trade and fight protectionism. However, much of this finance will come from existing programmes of export guarantees in rich countries, with only $50 billion being made available for poor countries.

The G20 leaders also agreed tough new measures to regulate financial institutions, including sanctions against tax havens that do not disclose information.

PM Brown pointed out there was "no quick fix" for the world economy but there was a commitment to do whatever was necessary.

Further reading:
G20 summit: How the markets will react
G20 summit: UK's financial services rests on a knife-edge