World leaders will meet Nov. 15 in Washington to address the global financial crisis — the first in a series of summits to mitigate what economists predict could be a long and deep downturn. In making the announcement, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the first meeting will focus on the underlying causes of the financial crisis, the global response and the principles that should guide any reforms.

The summit will bring together leaders of the Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and the United States, the European Union China, Brazil, India, Russia, South Korea and other major economies. She said the White House would seek input from the winner of the U.S. presidential election who will take office on Jan. 20.

Perino said countries would come to the summit with different approaches about what's needed to fix the system. "I don't believe that you'll have any details coming out of this meeting in terms of things that everyone agrees to at the first meeting," she said.

The collapse of the housing market in the United States led to the tanking of the broader financial system, prompting a credit freeze in this country and around the globe. So far, though, a string of drastic actions by the Federal Reserve and the Bush administration has yet to turn around the economy. Businesses are reluctant to hire and boost capital investments, consumers have hunkered down, and all the economy's problems are feeding off each other.