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Hopes could not be much lower for the Group of 20 summit that begins tomorrow in Washington.

The summit, conceived by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and grudgingly agreed to by outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush, is ostensibly aimed at addressing the financial crisis that has frozen credit markets and sent many of the world's leading economies into a dizzying tailspin.

But with Bush's political capital approaching zero, President-elect Barack Obama playing his cards close to the chest, and policymakers at odds on what to do, it will be surprising if much of substance is decided this weekend. Bush stressed in remarks yesterday that he would resist calls to impose regulations he sees as too strict. "The crisis was not a failure of the free market system. And the answer is not to try to reinvent that system," he said.

Differing expectations could doom the summit to an acrimonious ending. "Let this be very clear," Sarkozy, who is pushing for sweeping changes to the global financial architecture, warned last week. "If I don't get concrete results, I'll take off. I'll leave Washington and come home." His finance minister, Christine Lagarde, is more circumspect, telling reporters, "I'm not suggesting we will find solutions or have big announcements that will thrill the media or political observers."

"A lot of people are talking about 'Bretton Woods II,' IMF chairman Dominique Strauss-Kahn cautions, "The words sound nice but we are not going to create a new international treaty."

What would be a realistic, if less-than-thrilling outcome? Brad Setser of the Council on Foreign Relations expects world leaders to produce "an agreement to start putting in place principles for reforms, and then agree to meet again."

At a minimum, Mark Landler of the New York Times says, the summit will clarify "how completely the crisis is reshaping the economic map -- rendering obsolete the old club of Western powers that fashioned the financial pillars of the post-World War II era."

The festivities kick off with a working dinner at the White House tonight.

U.S. Presidential Transition

Hillary Clinton is reportedly emerging as a serious contender to become secretary of state. CNN says that, as of yesterday evening, the transition team had not contacted her about taking the position.

Defense insiders expect President-elect Obama to make Richard Danzig his defense secretary, according to the the Army Times.

Politico reports that Larry Summers may be off the short list for Treasury secretary.

Americas

Nearly 2,000 Chileans were not notified that they carried HIV.

Brazil's once-hot economy is being pummeled by the global financial crisis.

Election-related violence is rocking Nicaragua.

Asia

North Korea is ratcheting up its war of words with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Fresh U.S. airstrikes killed 12 people in Pakistan's tribal belt.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will now detain certain Chinese food products at the border, where they must prove to be melamine-free.

At least 67,000 factories closed in China during the first half of 2008.

Middle East and Africa

Small, but deadly "sticky bombs" are becoming a weapon of choice in Iraq.

The American University in Iraq is finding success in only its second year.

Hamas fired a fresh round of rockets into Israel.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah expects Obama will be more of the same.

Europe

Russia's parliament is fast-tracking a bill to extend the presidential term to six years.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has been harshly criticized in Europe for his cold welcome of the U.S. president-elect, expects to meet with Obama "very soon."

The eurozone is officially in recession, according to EU figures.

Today's Agenda

The EU is wrapping up its first summit with Russia after the Georgian war.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at a conference in Frankfurt, Germany.

The executive director of the International Energy Agency briefs the Japanese press on the latest World Energy Outlook.

Photo: GERARD CERLES/AFP/Getty Images