G-20 Preview

G-20 begins first full day of official meetings on Thursday in London.

WSJ: G-20 Set to Fall Short of Grand Goals

What emerges from this week's G-20 meeting "is expected to be a long way from the early high expectations," says Simon Gleeson, a London partner at the law firm Clifford Chance who has advised the U.K. government on financial regulation. "Even the little things seem to be contentious."

It is already clear that the summit will mostly fall short of its original lofty goals. Over the past few days, European leaders continued to insist they wouldn't agree to U.S. and British calls for further fiscal stimulus for their ailing economies. According to a draft of the communiqué set to be released when the meeting adjourns, the G-20 leaders will tout a global bailout totaling up to $2 trillion, though that includes a host of measures already announced.

Over the weekend, White House officials sought to back off their once high hopes for coordinated global action. They played down fiscal-stimulus targets they were urging on Germany and other European nations earlier in the month and instead focused on more modest objectives, such as new rules for tax havens and international coordination for financial regulation.