“Group of 20 Agrees on Far-Reaching Economic Plan…….The agreements, if carried out by national governments, would lead to much tighter regulation over financial institutions, complex financial instruments and executive pay.…….The ideas are not new, and there is no enforcement mechanism to penalize countries if they stick to their old habits. But for the first time ever, each country agreed to submit its policies to a “peer review” from the other governments as well as to monitoring by the International Monetary Fund......”

And before you get too excited and clink buttermilk or champagne glasses, depending on your lifestyle preferences, pay attention to the next paragraph, what I would call the small print:

“But French officials wanted to impose specific caps on bonuses, perhaps based on a percentage of a bank’s profits. American and British officials thought specific caps were too rigid, and pushed for rules that would defer the payout of bonuses for several years and reduce the incentive for people to take short-term gambles. The American view prevailed, but that does not preclude governments from imposing tighter restrictions……. “The announcement today is more than symbolic,” said Robert M. Kimmitt, who served as deputy Treasury secretary under President George W. Bush.....”

Which means the sticky fingers of the lobbyists of America’s banks and investment bank have reached the banks of the Monongahela, the Allegheny, and the Ohio…