* Obama asks G20 to stimulate world economy
* U.S. Treasury wants power to intervene in failing firms
* Britain's Brown on tour to promote recovery plan
* U.S. stocks sag a day after 7 pct rally (For more on the financial crisis, double-click [nCRISIS])
By Daniel Trotta
NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama sought swift action from G20 leaders on stimulating the economy abroad and new powers to wind down failing financial firms at home on Tuesday, a day after markets cheered his plan to soak up toxic assets weighing down the banks.
With the Group of 20 leaders and finance ministers preparing to meet in London on April 2, Obama called for the world's leading economies to enact robust stimulus spending, repair credit markets, and extend aid to poor countries.
"My message is clear: The United States is ready to lead, and we call upon our partners to join us with a sense of urgency and common purpose," Obama said in an article published in newspapers around the world.
The United States and Europe have differed over whether more spending was needed on top of the trillions of dollars governments have already pledged, with many Europeans arguing the priority was to strengthen market regulation.
The European Commission warned member states to control ballooning budget deficits that threaten established limits. [ID:nLO955320] Economists debated whether Europe needed more stimulus and how fast it should be rolled out. [ID:nLO68691]
On the interest rate front, European Central Bank Governing Council member Erkki Liikanen said the ECB had additional room for maneuver on all important policy rates. [ID:nLO85011]
Asian powers were acting to bolster their economies. South Korea vowed to spend nearly $13 billion extra to shield Asia's fourth-largest economy from an almost certain recession and Japan's central bank governor urged banks to improve their capital bases. [ID:nSEO53508] [ID:nT316154]
GEITHNER, BERNANKE BEFORE CONGRESS
Obama's treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, told an angry
Congress that he needs authority to step in to shut down
troubled institutions like American International Group
"AIG highlights the urgent need for new resolution procedures for systemically important nonbank financial firms," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in support of the measure. [ID:nN23260113
But the Republican opposition immediately labeled it a White House abuse of authority. [ID:nN24344813]
"This is an unprecedented grab of power, and before that occurs, there ought to be a real debate about whether we should give that authority to the Treasury Secretary," House Minority Leader John Boehner said.
U.S. stocks [.N] were down slightly after Monday's seven percent rally and the MSCI World index <.MIWD00000PUS> was flat. European shares <.FTEU3> closed 0.2 percent higher after Japan's main share index <.N225> gained 3.3 percent. Oil fell below $53. [ID:nSP459944]
BROWN ON TOUR
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched his own diplomatic offensive to win support for his plans to help pull the world out of its worst financial crisis since the 1930s. [ID:nLN81627]
Before embarking on his travels to Europe, New York and Latin America, Brown met the chiefs of 13 major banks for talks about capital adequacy, regulatory reform and economic measures, after upbeat comments from Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse. [ID:nLO937482]
Deutsche Bank's
Switzerland's Credit Suisse