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The G 20 countries wrapped up their ground breaking summit with amazing cooperation among members. The tackled a wide range of problems and were able to agree on just about every key issue.

Let's look at some specific policies that the G 20 members agreed upon:

• Regarding the matter of stimulus, they agreed to boost the International Monetary Fund's lending power to around $750 billion.
• They also unveiled a $250 billion expansion of the IMF's reserve currency, referred to as "special drawing rights." This will boost liquidity in the global financial system by expanding member countries' foreign exchange reserves.
• They agreed to selling gold to help poor countries.

The players at the G-20 summit have opened the curtain on Act 1.

First we have Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. He holds the position that a strong stimulus program is the only means to pull Europe and the world out of the current crisis. He cited Japan's experience in the 1990s when Japan used a strong stimulus as a way to stimulate growth. He also cited Japan's current stimulus package, which amounts to $720 billion, and he even said that Japan would discuss further stimulus if the need arises.

Standing in opposition is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She is firmly opposed to more stimulus and demands to know why it is needed. She believes that excessive public spending will not assure a vital recovery.

Japan, the world's second largest economy is facing a sharp downturn. To try and stimulate its economy, Japan is using the financial tools used by the US and UK. The Bank of Japan( BoJ) said that it is increasing its purchases of JGB's (Japanese Government Bonds) from y 1,400 billion to y 1,800 billion per month. A central bank buying its bonds has the effect of creating new money that will flow into the economy. Japan is careful to say that this is not "quantitive easing" or just printing money, but in reality it will have the same effect.

What do you look for in this crazy world of finance? When it comes right down to it, it is a country's currency that is the best indicator to the question: "How am I doing?"

Let's see how the currency markets around the world are doing. The dollar is still king. It moved to its highest level since 2006. This is an indication that with all the troubles the U.S. is having, the U.S. is still the strongest economy in the world and the U.S. dollar is still the currency most prized throughout the world.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that demand for oil is set to fall at the fastest rate since 1982. World demand is expected to be about 84.7 million barrels per day. This is the second successive year of falling demand since 1982-83. Even in China, where demand has been rising steadily, it is expected that consumption will fall off sharply this year.

However, the IEA warned that if there is a substantial draw down of stocks, prices could be higher by the end of the year.

While the December drop was most severe, Kazuo.Momma, researcher for the central bank, said that there could be an even greater decline between January and March. He said it would be quite a while before inventories are fully adjusted and output recovers.

General Motors Corp.'s (NYSE: GM) problems are well known: declining growth, huge debts, and enormous contingent liabilities (such as for retirement and health care benefits).

Yes, it also sounds like the U.S. economy, huh?

Well, this is the gloomy assessment from Ray Dalio, who is the chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates. A few years ago, he warned about the overleveraged economy. More importantly, he positioned his portfolio for the New Reality.

In fact, in 2008 the Bridgewater Pure Alpha 1 fund was up 8.7% and the #2 vintage increased 9.4%.

So, what's is his thinking now? Unfortunately, it's fairly gloomy (this is according to a great interview in this week's Barron's, which is a paid publication).