U.S. Does Not Support a Global Crisis Regulator

The New York Times reports on the preparations for the world financial summit in Washington on November 15. It becomes increasingly clear that no major decisions on changing the regulatory framework for financial markets can be expected from this summit. The Bush administration is opposed to this, while President-elect Obama clearly distances himself from the summit so as to avoid - according to the article - "being pinned down by commitments made by his predecessor". The article concludes by suggesting that the only concrete result that could be expected from the summit in the given situation is an agreement about a coordinated fiscal stimulus in the leading economies. This would be in line with the latest IMF recommendations.

PS: Dani Rodrik (Harvard) is critical vis-à-vis the current US stance.