The informal meetings of finance ministers from the so-called Group of Fivethe U.S., Britain, West Germany, France and Japanhave generally been hush-hush affairs. Rarely is the site or even the date of the gatherings revealed. But growing concern about the stability of global finance cast an unusual spotlight on last week's summit at a remote Tudor-style castle in Kronberg, West Germany.
Earlier in the week U.S. Treasury Secretary Donald Regan had drawn attention to the meeting by telling reporters in Washington that he intended to push for greater international cooperation to shore up the...