Worldwide government leaders hoped their recent summit would calm investors even though they didn't really come up with anything specific. But it looks like a non starter. Asian markets opened down on Monday morning, showing disappointment that more didn't come out of the summit, European markets followed suit and U.S. stock futures are indicating a lower open as well. Also, news broke that Japan and Hong Kong slid into recession.

The value of both the Yen and the U.S dollar rose as investors looked for safety. Their actions show they were disappointed with the summit and with the fact that world leaders didn't take more concrete steps to avert a global recession.

What did the Group of 20 agree to do? They all agreed to act independently to be sure financial markets, products and participants are subject to supervision, but no coordinated plans were developed. The fact that the leadership of the U.S. is in flux for the next couple of months until President-elect Barack Obama is inaugurated in late January didn't help matters. While he sent Representatives to the meeting only President George Bush attended.