Helped by falling oil prices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached record highs this week, the latest sign that investor sentiment is recovering from the bear market of 2000-02.

Jones added that said the leading role played by the US, even though it was not hosting tomorrow's summit, was a sign of things to come.

Nor is there any sign of a big pickup in commodity prices; the Dow Jones AIG index is above its recent low on March 2nd but is still less than half last July's peak.