WASHINGTON --- Jolted by rising unemployment and shrinking investment portfolios, Americans have been feeling the pain of the worst financial upheaval in more than a half century. As President Bush and leaders of other major countries meet for an economic summit, many are wondering whether they'll be able to find common ground for relief.

Q: Might the summit help ease economic pain in the United States and abroad?

A: It depends. Few expect major new economic initiatives to come out of the summit. But the intense spotlight could raise pressure on the United States and other countries to take their own additional steps. These could include more economic stimulus packages.

Q: What are the key issues?

A: At the top of the agenda is the complex and delicate matter of how to overhaul the regulatory oversight of financial markets. The goal is to avoid the types of housing, credit and financial debacles now threatening to plunge the global economy into a deep recession. Many experts say the global crisis is a result, at least in part, of lax regulation.

"Our first priority must be recovery and repair," U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. "Of course, we must take strong actions to fix our system so that the world does not have to suffer something like this ever again."

The summit "marks a very important step in what will be an ongoing process of recovery and reform," Mr. Paulson said.

The crisis erupted in the United States in August 2007 as mortgage investments soured with the housing market's collapse, then spread to other countries. Banks and other financial companies suffered huge losses. Foreclosures soared. Troubles then seeped into other areas, crimping auto and student loans and locking up lending for consumers and businesses.

Q: Will there be a breakthrough on a regulatory overhaul?

A: Probably not. Europeans want broad changes and tighter universal regulations.

"We don't want to move from a lack of regulation to too much, but we want to change the financial ground rules," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. But with just two months left in office, Mr. Bush isn't prepared to go nearly as far as the Europeans want.

"Our aim should not be more government; it should be smarter government," Mr. Bush said. "The crisis was not a failure of the free-market system. And the answer is not to try to reinvent that system."

The Bush administration predicts the leaders will agree on broad principles of reform. These would be intended to guard against future financial crises, promote regulatory cooperation among nations and identify the root causes of the crises.

There were signs of progress along those lines before the start of the summit Friday.

The White House said a communique at the end of the gathering would likely include proposals for a new "college of supervisors" made up of financial regulators from many nations, and an early warning system to detect weaknesses in the financial system.

Mr. Bush has been "supportive of those types of ideas in the past," said White House press secretary Dana Perino, hinting an agreement in those areas might be near.

Q: What might block progress at the summit?

A: For one thing, the wide differences between the Europeans and Americans over how far-reaching any regulatory overhaul should be. Then there's the fact that Mr. Bush is on his way out. Foreign leaders might be hesitant to cut deals with a departing administration. President-elect Barack Obama won't attend.

And if the summit devolves into a blame game, it could chill prospects for achieving anything.

Q: Why have a financial summit in the first place if the United States and other countries are already taking their own steps?

A: We're living in an increasingly interconnected economy. Jarring economic and financial events can -- and in this case did -- spread from the United States to other countries, intensifying problems.

Throughout the crisis, the world's economic powers have been trying to coordinate relief efforts. The Federal Reserve and other major central banks slashed interest rates in early October -- the first coordinated action of its kind in Fed history.

The top seven industrialized powers -- the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan -- also have tried to avoid having rescue efforts in one country aggravate problems in another.

Q: Could the summit have a beneficial psychological effect on investors and other people?

A: Maybe. "It might be a little help," says Morris Goldstein, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "But if they don't agree on anything, it could be a negative. Confidence could suffer."