How Germany became a thorn in America’s side.

In early February, the top financial officials of seven major industrialized countries gathered in Canada to mull the state of the world economy. To grease their interactions, the Canadians had created an intimate setting in Iqaluit, an Inuit town near the Arctic Circle. A planning document waxed on about fireside chats at a cozy inn and decreed that the attire would be casual. It touted an array of cultural activities to supplement the official meetings and even promised the summiteers matching parkas.

Many of the middle-aged technocrats embraced the spirit of the occasion, trading in their bankers’ uniforms for chinos. A photo of Mervyn King, the British central bank governor, shows him splayed out on a careering dogsled, sporting a childlike expression of terror and glee. But, amid all the A-list bonding, the Americans seemed slightly aloof. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner shuffled through the first day of meetings clad in a dour-looking business suit. (Though he did halfheartedly don a wool sweater the following day.) The U.S. delegation arrived too late to partake in the sledding. Click here for more.