A special commission appointed by U.S. lawmakers is set to begin its search for the root causes of the global financial crisis.

People work inside the Lehman Brothers headquarters in New York, Sep 2008The10-member Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission meets for the first timeThursday, about a year after the collapse of prominent U.S. financialfirm Lehman Brothers signaled the start of the meltdown.

Thecommission has the power to require witnesses to testify about theevents that led to the crisis. It must submit its findings to the U.S.Congress by December 2010.

Some economists have blamed thecrisis on a series of events that included the collapse of the U.S.housing market and the subsequent decline in value of complexinvestments.  

Others have raised concerns about weak financial regulations.

Leadersfrom the world's top industrialized nations, the Group of 20, have beenlooking at ways to strengthen financial regulations and will considerproposals when they meet in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh later thismonth.

Meanwhile, efforts within the United States to overhaul the financial regulatory system have met with some resistance.

U.S.President Barack Obama has proposed giving the Federal Reserve (theU.S. central bank) the power to regulate financial firms that are solarge they could hurt the country's economy if they fail.

Somelawmakers have questioned that approach, arguing instead in favor of acouncil of regulators from agencies that monitor the economy.


Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.