Tokyo gatherings unlikely to amount to much

Finance ministers and central bankers from the G7 meet tomorrow in Tokyo ahead of the annual gathering of the IMF and the World Bank there, which concludes on Sunday. Although these meetings can very occasionally spring a surprise, there does not appear to be any good reason to expect significant developments this time around. Hopes of fresh initiatives to support the weaker members of the euro-zone in particular are likely to be disappointed, as are any Japanese officials keen to gain G7 support for intervention to undermine the yen. A fresh hint at coordinated action to lower oil prices might still impress some, but would be the third such warning since May.