It would also secure an agreement with ten of them

Barack OBAMA

An ambition to variable geometry

After having encouraged the Europeans to strengthen their stimulus plans, Washington has been to show the will to promote an ambitious agenda of reform of the financial regulation. For evidence, the Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, submitted, on 26 March, the outline of a regulatory reform that introduces a supervision of the OTC derivatives markets and "hedge funds" for the first time, and is designed to "make school". To prevent future crises, Washington is willing to strengthen the regulation of institutions with systemic risk, to place the hedge funds under the umbrella of the supervision and to "encourage offshore financial centres and tax havens to adhere to an international code of conduct", said Barack Obama sherpa, Michael Froman. In addition, Washington proposes to implement a series of rules and principles on capital of financial institutions needs to avoid the worsening of the crisis. Finally, the Obama administration intends to promote cross-border cooperation between national regulators, although the Treasury Secretary said in an interview with the "Financial Times", on 31 March that he did not believe the emergence of a single regulator. At the same time, Washington is favourable to the expansion of the financial stability Forum to all of the members of the G20 and the allocation to the IMF of a power of supervision of stimulus.

4.6 of the world population 25.4 of global GDP

Gordon BROWN

The return of morality

He had dreamed of a new Bretton Woods, one of these agreements which remain engraved in the history. But British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had to revise its ambitions in recent weeks. The host of the London Summit hoped to do double time pulling a new recovery plan international: appear as a Savior on the plane home and sit down to at the outset its alliance with Barack Obama. Las, the inflexibility of Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, will correct the ambitions of Gordon Brown, but not only. British Prime Minister, who had tactically pushed back to April 22, the presentation of its budget had also waive a new tax hand, after the warning of the Governor of the Bank of England. However, the British has yet of what meet its public opinion, by pushing the fires of financial reform. Yesterday, the ex-promoteur of the "free market" has called for restoring morality in banks. He promises to limit the salaries of managers, to regulate "hedge funds" and the rating agencies, and to fight against the opacity of tax havens. It would also secure an agreement with ten of them. British Prime Minister grows, finally, to give more weight to the emerging countries in the IMF and to finance an international fund to boost global trade.

0.9 of the world's population 5 of global GDP

Nicolas SARKOZY

For international supervision

Nicolas Sarkozy has repeated it yesterday on Europe 1. The France is an ambitious agreement. "Projects" currently on the table are not suitable, "the France or the Germany." The points of tension in the first place are tax havens and non-cooperative centres for financial crimes. Paris is the publication of several lists of countries that fail to respect the rules and the definition of sanctions possible against them if it does comply to a defined horizon. On recovery, the Elysee defends the idea of a message of confidence where the heads of State would commit themselves to do everything including if necessary fiscal stimulus measures. Paris also wants a message where leaders commit to abandon protectionism. On financial supervision, Nicolas Sarkozy advocates a homogenization of the rules controlled by international organizations such as the IMF, the financial stability Forum or the OECD. "In the absence of rules, the more lax standards triumph", indicates the Elysee. Similarly, Paris defends the framework of market wages. "Hedge funds" and the rating agencies, requires strict supervision. In particular, the funds could threaten the stability of the international financial system must be punished. Finally, Paris advocated the strengthening of multilateral institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, and an increase in their resources.

0.9 of the world population 4.7 of world GDP

Angela MERKEL

For a more severe financial regulation

The Germany is one of committed seekers tighter financial regulation, which covers, in the words of the Chancellor, "all markets, all actors, all products". A claim expressed as of 2007, while presiding over the G7, to control the "hedge funds", but that was at the time were barred from British and American partners. Berlin will also advocate to force tax havens (called "non-cooperative jurisdictions") to more transparency, an old hobbyhorse of the Minister of finance, who did not hesitate in this struggle to rush the Switzerland. Berlin wants the publication of an exhaustive list of these problematic areas, but was visibly facing resistance from other countries. Berlin is still advancing the theme of the bankers pay, while the departure of the former leaders of the Dresdner Bank bonuses caused a heated debate last weekend. As the world's leading exporter until at least 2008, the country finally has everything to fear from a downturn of its commercial partners. Berlin would like that the WTO is closely monitoring new barrier to trade. The Germany, worried for its public finances, oppose any new stimulus package. The Chancellor has already indicated that he should not wait for the London Summit a comprehensive reform of the international financial system and that there would be a lot of work after the Summit.

1.2 of the world's population 6.1

of world GDP

Luiz i. LULA DA SILVA

For a recovery of credit

The head of the ninth world economic power, the Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, intends to play a leading role at the G20, as it has already done at the November summit. Leader of one of the emerging major, also major exporter of raw materials, it will defend free trade to the protectionist temptations and a rapid conclusion of the Doha Round negotiations on the liberalisation of world trade. Holding urgent credit recovery, it will also promote the reform of the global financial system, the adoption of more effective measures of regulation of the banking system and the recovery of the economies through a better distribution of wealth. A few days ago in Brasilia, in the company of British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, Lula said that the members of the g-20 must "work to rebuild an almost umbilical relationship between financial market and the productive sector." Other application recurrent Brazil: increase the weight of the Brazil and other large emerging countries in the multilateral institutions, IMF and World Bank, that he does not hesitate to mobbed for their arrogance in poor countries and for the failure of which they have shown to predict the global crisis.

2.9 of the world population 2.4 of world GDP

Dmitry MEDVEDEV

A reduction of the role of the dollar

Dethrone the dollar or at least to remove a little of his lustre world reserve currency, this is the main ambition of the Russia at the G20. Medvedev calls regularly for an overhaul of the system international reserves, either by the establishment of a supranational currency, which would necessarily be the special drawing rights (SDRS) of the international monetary fund, or by the installation of "regional" reserve currencies The first scenario would, by the inclusion of the ruble, the Yuan (provided that the latter becomes fully convertible) or gold, which the Russia is the world's second largest, in the basket of currencies (dollar, euro, pound sterling and yen) calling the DTS. The latter is, since its inception in 1969, the unit of account of the IMF, but is not used in practice for international regulations. Make the SDR a reserve currency in the same way that the dollar, which currently accounted for 64 in reserves of central banks around the world or of the euro (26), would be a difficult decision in practice, as confidence in a payment instrument is not ordained. This is the reason why the second scenario is he also keep awake dream. To become reserve currency, the ruble fully convertible since barely July 2006 should be that of substantial trade flows are denominated in Russian currency, and especially its long term stability inspire confidence. He lost 35 of its value against the dollar in eight months.

2.1 of the world's population 2.4 of world GDP

HU Jintao

More power to the IMF

The Chinese President, Hu Jintao, arrived in full confidence in London. He is convinced that the current global crisis demonstrates the failure of the economic policies of large Western democracies and, in contrast, the appropriateness of the choice of Beijing who should succeed to maintain growth above 6 in 2009 despite the collapse of global demand. Considering that this "success" reinforces the legitimacy of the country on the world stage and eroding the traditional powers of the West, Beijing will request the right to be heard with stronger voice in the major international financial institutions. The country is including quickly review the distribution of voting quotas which prevents the developing countries to weigh on the broad guidelines of the World Bank and the IMF. If China accounts for 5 of global GDP, it has only 3.7 of the quota in the IMF, when the countries of the European Union and the United States to control them respectively 32 and 17. To advance their cause in London, Chinese negotiators could promise to support some other claims found to little binding to their own countries, such as the strengthening of international regulation. Beijing has also pledged, if his wishes are heard, to be financially more generous with the IMF to double the amount of its resources.

19.9 of the world's population 5 of global GDP

Taro ASO

Priority to the fight against protectionism

The Japan insists on the need to leave the world economy of the crisis. It focuses less on the strengthening of the financial regulation, even if its position has changed significantly since the time when George w. Bush was President: the archipelago is more opposed to a hardening of this regulation. London, Taro Aso, the Prime Minister, who has always been a fervent advocate of the stimulus, will mainly explain and justify its policy in this area. It has confirmed the preparation of a third stimulus plan in an amount that could near EUR 100 billion. This plan, which will be the subject of a supplementary budget in the Finance Act, must not only stimulate the Japanese economy, but also have effects in neighbouring countries. Assistance to the affected Asian countries is one of the other axes of the speech of the Japan. Tokyo will announce an increase in its assistance in a range between 500 billion yen and 2,000 billion. In the same way, it must expose some 5 billion of loans for projects in energy savings. In defending the increase in the resources of the Asian Development Bank and of IMF, the Japan, whose economy is highly dependent on exports, is to be a fierce opponent to any rise of protectionist tendencies.

1.9 of the world's population 8.1 per cent of global GDP