Leaders gathering for G20 summit

Protesters have been assembling in Pittsbur World leaders are meeting in the US city of Pittsburgh later as the two-day G20 summit gets under way. Economic stability, financial regulation, climate change and bankers' bonuses are set to top the agenda. With many major economies are beginning to climb out of recession - attention will turn to when and how to withdraw government stimulus packages. Thousands of extra police will be on duty, as officials prepare for demonstrations by activists. The previous G20 meeting, in London in April, was marred by clashes between police and protesters. The leaders are gathering after the UN general assembly in New York, and are due to meet for a working dinner on Thursday evening. IMF debate President Barack Obama has led a campaign to smooth out imbalances in the flow of global capital to try to secure greater long-term economic stability. The US proposal calls on economies such as China, Brazil and India to boost domestic consumption in order to lower their trade surpluses. Meanwhile the US and Europe would encourage more saving to reduce long-term budget deficits. Other discussions will involve the continuation of talks over whether countries such as China, India and Brazil should have greater say on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 'Party over' Cracking down on bankers' bonuses has popular appeal with the public, and so it is expected that an agreement will be reached on how that might be achieved. There will also be talks on "regulatory harmonisation" - making sure that countries do not try to attract investment by offering looser rules. Earlier, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling warned bankers that the "party was over" and they must realise that the world has changed. He wants a limit on bonuses and rules to allow banks to be able to get them back if bankers make losses later. And he said there was a limit to how much could be achieved by regulation and that bankers must realise that they have to change their behaviour. Mr Darling wants to use regulations to force banks to limit the proportion of their profits that they can give out in bonuses and make sure there are no rewards for failure. Link...