The G-20 meets in Pittsburgh, and expectations are low

There may be some support for an agreement on bank capital requirements, or, alternatively, at least some statement that extremely high leverage in systemically-critical banks/institutions can not become the norm, with members allowed to determine what constitutes excessive risk in their respective economies.

Also, expect a communiqué on the need maintain fiscal and monetary stimulus, at least for the next six months, perhaps longer, given that the global economic recovery is only in its infancy.

Finally, on global imbalances, expect little substantive action. Members will likely urge China to increase domestic consumption to address one imbalance, and China will likely counter that a good way to reduce one key trade imbalance is for U.S. consumers to consume less and save more. Americans have been doing just that in past year, but they're still consuming too many foreign goods, particularly from China, and from oil producing nations.

Economic Analysis: With reforms and facilities in place to maintain the flow of capital through the financial system and in commercial operations, the G-20 will be looking for the market to provide signs of sustainable GDP growth, which is where one would expect the engine of growth to originate in a largely market-based economic order. Essentially, if citizens in emerging markets increase their consumption, and to a lesser extent, if U.S. consumer spending stabilizes, good things will result for global GDP. The outlook becomes more clouded if emerging market consumer spending does not increase in the quarters ahead.