Randomly Noted

(This earlier ran on Dow Jones Newswires as a Money Talks column)

For all the talk about new world orders, new blocs, new spheres of influence and such we are yet to see the Group of 20 flex much muscle, or the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) manage to stay on message.

 This while European Union members wrestle publicly with how to deal with Greece–particularly how much money to hand over.

Governments still prioritize their individual needs over collective decision-making, and some groupings are proving a particularly fractious bunch.

That means, noise aside, we are unlikely to witness a sea change shift from the U.S. as a central decision maker or the U.S. dollar as the main global currency, or a major change in the phrasing and nature of world trade agreements; we are likely to also see a fair amount of protectionism persist.

The weekend meetings in Washington DC of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the G-20 plus the G-7 were a classic exercise in maintaining the status quo. Only last year everyone was talking about how the G-20 would soon supersede the G-7/G-8, especially given the growing influence of China among the pack of the stronger developing nations.

That had implications for all sorts of things in terms of the balance of power, from emerging-market nations’ ability to negotiate things like trade, to what sort of currency should be the world’s dominant medium of exchange.

China and India, et al, are emerging powers. They are gobbling up more of the world’s resources and playing a bigger role as well in global politics.

But why presume the “south” is any more of a united grouping than the “north”? Emerging market nations may be just that, but they don’t necessarily have a lot else in common. Grouping them together and saying they will have the same agenda on trade, currencies and monetary policy is ridiculous.

Countries will act together, but only up to a point. Unions look less solid when their individual interests may be put at greater risk. That’s true for the G-7, G-20, EU and BRICs alike.

Witness the comments from officials from India and Brazil in recent weeks along the lines that it wouldn’t be a bad thing if China allowed its currency to rise. Are we seeing a crack in the BRICs?

Witness the German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle reminding everyone on Sunday that his country is “not ready to write a blank check” for Greece, after Athens appealed for an E.U. and IMF bailout.

 
We all like to bang on about a new world financial order. In reality, any change will be slow and incremental. The U.S. (with its outsize influence on the IMF and World Bank) and its currency will be top dog for a while yet.