Bretton Woods II

I don’t expect a lot, though it is notable that the second-tier economies (Mexico, Brazil, India, South Africa, etc.) were actually included in the discussions for once.  From Mercopress (Montevideo, Uruguay):

The leaders also agreed to evaluate global accounting norms and the financing needs of international financial institutions.

Finally, they have agreed to draw up a list of financial institutions whose collapse would imperil the global financial system.

The plan said each country should act “as deemed appropriate to domestic conditions”, but stopped short of imposing a co-ordinated international stimulus plan.

“If you go through the document you see words like ‘reform of financial markets’, ‘transparency’, ‘integrity’ – it doesn’t really amount to a hill of beans,” John Terret, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Washington DC, said.

“But what it does amount to is that we have seen for the first time under one roof here in Washigton DC, 20 of the key economic nations in the world. The crucial thing is that the emerging markets – the developing nations – are at the table as well.

“I think that really is an indication of how this crisis is being seen around the world, particularly in America – it’s serious and things have changed.”