Concerns left after weekend global financial summit

Analysts, investors and media around Asia expressed concern Monday that a weekend summit of world leaders aimed at tackling the global financial crisis – and preventing future debacles – was high on symbolism but low on action.

While welcomed around Asia as a significant first step, the two-day summit in Washington, which brought together leaders from 21 nations, put off many hoped-for concrete goals until their next meeting, to be held in late April after President George W. Bush is gone and President-elect Barack Obama is in office.

Asian markets reacted little to the summit – major stock indices were mixed Monday – perhaps because investor expectations were low.

“To put it harshly, there is little point in trying to figure out ways to prevent a disease once a patient is sick,” Credit Suisse Japan analyst Shinichi Ichikawa said in a report released Monday. “The just-concluded summit came up with no specific prescription to alleviate the effects of the most serious international financial crisis.”

T.J. Bond, a Merrill Lynch economist in Hong Kong, said some investors were disappointed there was no explicit announcement of coordinated fiscal stimulus measures. The leaders supported the benefits of enacting government spending to stimulate their economies but stopped short of a commitment for all to act at the same time, as some Europeans had favored.