G20: The big money decisions

Okay, here's some news (well, sort of). The leaders are close to agreement on the big money questions.

There will be a significant increase in the resources of the IMF, the emergency rescue service for ailing economies. The increment in funding for the IMF could be nearer $500bn than the $250bn already pledged as a minimum.

For me, the fascinating question is how much of this increment comes from the soon-to-be superpower, China (I'm sad like that).

There could also be commitments of several hundred billion dollars of trade finance, to lessen the painful slump in world trade that's impoverishing so many countries.

And the question of the IMF providing financial support for developing countries through an arcane mechanism ("Special Drawing Rights" - don't ask) is apparently "open".

On protectionism and all that, there will be a commitment to name and shame countries that breach free-trade rules with protectionist measures.

But there will be no formal timetable to restart the Doha negotiations on further liberalisation, because President Obama has not yet got his domestic ducks in a row on what is a highly contentious issue in the US.

Finally, it's still slightly unclear whether the leaders will announce a policy of publicly humiliating tax havens that don't co-operate on disclosing the identities of potential tax dodgers.

Apparently the Chinese don't like the idea that Macau and Hong Kong could be named and shamed.

Update 12:37: The amount of trade credit being promised is $200bn (up from the $100bn minimum pledged in the finance ministers' summit last month).

And there will be an increase of $250bn in Special Drawing Rights from the IMF, the biggest increase ever - which is a mechanism for channelling funds to poorer countries.

The Special Drawing Rights increase is big stuff - and I haven't properly explained the significance.

The record $250bn increase in SDRs is shared between all IMF countries, broadly according to their size (on a quota basis).

Broadly the increase boosts every country's reserves and thus their liquidity.

It's particularly valuable for cash-strapped poorer countries or emerging economies.

But it's really the equivalent of creating money for all economies, including ours, or for the global economy.

Update 13:59: Stephanie Flanders tells me that the £250bn increase in the general allocation of Special Drawing Rights represents a ten-fold increase (or perhaps more) in the current stock.

As she says, that's particularly useful for poor, reserve-starved countries - because it allows them to borrow (in a world that won't lend to them) at the US official interest rate (which is as close to zero as makes no difference).

Update 15:21: A chap who knows a lot more about this Special Drawing Rights stuff tells me that it's not very useful for very poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

They won't be allocated more than a few billion dollars, and even the low interest rate on this de facto overdraft facility makes the money too expensive for them.

We in the rich West probably won't use the facility at all (we don't need a new overdraft facility - or at least not right now, touch wood).

So it will be most useful for middle-income, emerging market economies. Many of them are feeling very financially stretched, so the new borrowing facility should make a serious difference.

If it helps to prevent a domino-effect collapse of these emerging-market economies - well, we'd all benefit.