U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday turned a cold shoulder to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's call for a global tax on financial transactions by banks.

Also at the G20 meeting, finance ministers and central bankers from the world's 20 most powerful economies agreed to keep massive stimulus measures in place until the global economic recovery strengthens.

Mr. Geithner told Sky News that he was "not prepared" to support Mr. Brown's call that global leaders examine an international financial tax, but said Washington shared a commitment to ensure taxpayers aren't forced to pay for future financial-sector bailouts.

The proposal, delivered by Mr. Brown in a speech to Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers gathered in St. Andrews in Scotland, caught officials by surprise. The British government had previously showed little interest in such measures.

As expected, the G20 officials agreed to maintain economic stimulus measures.

In a joint statement, the officials said economic and financial-market conditions had improved since the G20 agreed to coordinated stimulus measures in the spring, but warned that the recovery remained "uneven" and that high unemployment is a "major concern."

Mr. Geithner said October U.S. unemployment data released Friday showed that how tough the economic environment remains.

The G20 finance ministers also said they remained committed to coordinating the withdrawal of stimulus measures as things improve.

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