Surprise: G20 Had More Substance Than Hot Air

Unlike most economic summits, the G20 talks have delivered more than just a promise to talk some more in the future, Steven Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post. The meeting may not have been the turning point declared by President Obama, but the market-boosting measures agreed upon represent a more substantial result than many had expected.

European leaders will likely try to claim victory over the US with the summit’s promises for an overhaul of the IMF and a global crackdown on financial regulation, but those measures actually tie in neatly with Obama's reform agenda. The president did well and the G20 talks can be considered a success, Pearlstein concludes—at least by the standards of previous meetings.
(More G20 stories.)