What Will Be the Focus of the G20 Summit?

The City of Pittsburgh is making its final preparations before over 20 of the world's leaders converge on the city on Thursday and Friday. Many of the people who live and work in the city are thinking more about the travel restrictions and protests than the actual summit, or what will be discussed during the meeting. So, what will the G20 members be meeting about later this week?

The main topic that the G20 members will discuss is the worldwide economic situation, and how they can bring balance to the global economy. In a document that outlines the U.S. position on this topic, the US believes that exporters (like China, Germany, and Japan) should consume more, while countries with a lot of debt (like the US) should boost their savings. The document claims that "The world will face anemic growth if adjustments in one part of the global economy are not matched by offsetting adjustments in other parts." The US also imagines that the International Monetary Fund will have a greater hand in policy recommendations and assessments.

This kind of approach makes sense to us at IntellaCore. The world is no longer run by only a handful of large countries. Instead, as countries develop, they are gaining even footing with the once dominant countries. Many countries should be included in the solution to the problem.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to push for a larger role for developing countries in the global economy. He is also expected to restate India's position against all forms of protectionism, including trade, goods and services, and investment.

There will also be some focus on tightening financial regulations. There will be proposals to restrain bank executive pay and tightening the standards in the banking system to prevent another economic meltdown. Recently French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called to limit banker bonuses, and has actually promised to walk out of the summit if there is no agreement to cap executive pay and compensation.

But with all of this hype that we are experiencing in Pittsburgh, will anything actually come of the summit? The G20 has no real lawmaking power, so any changes that come from this summit will be the result of the lawmaking authorities for each of the countries. Some experts who have covered meetings like this in the past state that there will be a lot of self-congratulation, and the participants will say it was a great success. If any changes do come about because of this summit, don't expect anything to really start until November.

What We Are Reading

Everyone has an opinion about something on the Internet. People have opinions on topics from what ice cream topping they prefer to which politician they will be voting for in the next election. But many people have blogs and Twitter accounts, and there are many interesting articles published daily. There is too much content published each day to keep up with. All of the opinions can be overwhelming. Who should you pay attention to?

We decided to sort through some and find the best sources that we use that relate to business and technology. IntellaCore has put together a list of some writers we like and some magazines and newspapers that offer blogs from their writers that we find value in. We hope you can take a minute and review their blogs. Many of them offer advice and excellent tips for business and technology issues.

Chris Brogan
In this blog, Chris Brogan takes a closer look at social media and the effect is it having on popular culture and the business world.

Copyblogger
This blog helps you become a better blogger and gives tips to help you write more effectively.

Problogger
This is a blog to review if you are interested in starting your own blog. There are tips for

Global EDGE
The blog, created by International Business Center at Michigan State University, provides readers with information, insights, and learning resources on global business activities.

Harvard Business Review
The Harvard Business Review Blog is one of the top sources for business information and resources.

CNN International Business
CNN International Business' anchors and correspondents blog with the issues affecting world of business.

Freakonomics
This is one of the more interesting blogs. If you read the book "Freakonomics" and you enjoyed it, read the author's blog on the New York Times website. They claim there is a hidden side to every story, and they try to explain what that hidden side is.

Business Week
There is a lot of blogs on this page to pick from. The topics cover almost anything business related from the auto industry to management to stocks. Business week is one of the premier magazines devoted to business and management.

Global Business Perspectives
This blog's authors are series of people who write on different international topics ranging from business to cultural understanding. The blogs focus on globalization and how it affects businesses and individuals. Their writers are professional business leaders and senior managers at U.S. and international companies.

The Counterintuitive CEO
As founder and CEO of Forrester Research, George F. Colony is one of the most influential thought leaders in the world of business and technology. This blog focuses on CEOs and contains ideas, research, observations, and analysis pointed at increasing the success of CEOs.

EveryDay CIO
This blog, written by IntellaCore's CIO Ian Rudy, discusses how to take this ever changing world of technology and apply it practically to your everyday life to truly improve it and empower yourself and others to accomplish great things.

Wired - Epicenter
This blog is Wired's take on technology business news and the Silicon Valley scene. Explore Wired's other blogs for Wired's thoughts on other topics.

Information Week
This magazine is one of the best when it come to technology and information. The blogs cover many different topics such as but not limited too: cell phones, Google, cloud computing, IT issues, security, analytics, and tech stocks.

This list covers what we look to daily for interesting opinions and breaking news, but this list does not cover all of the sources we read. We will list more in the near future.

If there is a blog that you read or write, let us know and post the link in the comments.