Global finance leaders claim some progress in fighting economic crisis

WASHINGTON -- Amid tentative signs that the wounded world economy may be stabilizing, G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs claimed tentative progress Friday in their crisis-fighting campaign.

No specific new initiatives were announced. But Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said officials reaffirmed earlier commitments and were heartened by signs that where governments have acted, financial markets were soothed. "I'm encouraged by the signs of progress we've seen already," he said.

Friday's talks centered on implementing earlier pledges to jump start troubled economies and reform outdated international institutions. The G7 gathering, on the eve of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, came less than a month after leaders of the G20 nations agreed in London on a package of anti-crisis measures.

The centerpiece of the London accord was significant new funding and responsibilities for the IMF as the chief monitor of the global economy. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF's managing director, now is "within striking distance of securing $250 billion" in temporary funding from member nations as part of an overall package worth nearly $1 trillion, Geithner said Friday.

Debate continues on the best way to reform the 65-year-old IMF. Developing nations, such as China, are seeking a greater say in the fund's operations in return for substantial contributions to its crisis response. But European powers that traditionally have dominated the IMF are dragging their feet on concessions.

"It's a slow process and it ought to be faster," legendary investor George Soros told a Brookings Institution audience.

Even as officials shuttled from conference to conference, economic indicators hinted at a slowing in the global decline that has tested nerves for more than six months. But no one anticipates a speedy return to robust growth. The official communique released after the meeting said the global economy "should begin to recover later this year," but only weakly.