New York - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday called for advanced economies to get a hold of the global financial crisis and criticized market speculators for putting global growth at risk.

Lula warned that the turmoil brought on by the "boundless greed" of investors could not be allowed to spread to the entire world, in an address before the United Nations General Assembly.

Lula called for a rebuilding of international economic institutions to help improve regulation and make long-term changes to the global financial system. But he said it was up to those governments "at the heart of the crisis" to bring the more immediate "disorder" under control.

The US Congress is currently mulling a 700-billion-dollar rescue package that would involve taking over the shaky mortgage-related assets at the heart of the downturn.

The bankruptcy last week of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and fears of more bank failures threatened to derail the entire US economy and sent global stock markets on a nosedive.

While advanced economies struggle, Lula said that developing countries in the southern hemisphere were gaining strength and political power. He pointed to a new political union in Latin America - UNASUR - and touted his own country's progress on renewable energy.

Lula also called for solutions to a surge in food and energy prices that has impacted the livelihoods of many in developing countries. (dpa)