MOPPING UP DUBAI
Speaking in Washington en route to the gathering, French Finance Minister Francis Mer said the group needed to clear up its message from Dubai.
"We will try to do the maximum together to state that the wording of Dubai does not satisfy anyone and try to hatch a wording or expression that satisfies all of us," Mer said.
"It's clear we didn't succeed in Dubai in the form of expression we used. In Boca Raton, our presentation will have to be different to what it was in Dubai if for no other reason than to show markets that our position was badly expressed or to flesh it out according to [recent] trends," he added.
The G7 source said too few currencies were bearing the burden of the dollar's fall since Dubai.
"We wanted to widen the field of flexibility," said the G7 source, adding that while the euro and sterling rose after Dubai, the Bank of Japan continued to put a brake on the yen and the Chinese yuan remained steady.
But the absence of booming China, by some World Bank measures now the world's second-largest economy, means any messages to Asian countries outside Japan about currency policy may pass unheeded.
A US Treasury official said Snow kicked off the dinner by saying that "the number one issue this weekend is continuing the process to create global growth."
Ministers will also discuss emerging economies, progress on tracking terror-related funds and the reconstruction of Iraq.
Argentina may face some pressure to be more flexible in its slow-moving debt renegotiation talks with private bondholders.
"We haven't ruled out inviting Argentina in the statement to show good faith to its creditors," one the G7 source said.
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