Roberto De Ocampo was invited to speak at the 3rd Singapore Global Dialogue on whether the world economy is governable. He argues that the world economy is far more complex now than during the Bretton Woods system. Several financial crises starting in the 1990s demonstrated the interconnectedness of economies and impacted regions and the world. The rise of China and shift of economic power away from the US and Europe has further complicated governance. While the G20 aims to facilitate cooperation, it faces legitimacy issues due to its limited membership. True global governance will require continued evolution of international institutions and cooperation between powerful state actors like the US, EU, and China.
Western governments are hopelessly addicted to deficit financing while refusing to address looming funding issues - with apologies to the embarrassingly foolish Angela Merkel, politicians can no more successfully “battle” the markets than you and I can successfully “battle” gravity. Petrocapita is an investment trust built around the premise that demand for energy will continue to move prices higher over the long-term. Petrocapita was created to allow investors to add professionally managed oil & gas assets directly to their portfolios.
Western governments are hopelessly addicted to deficit financing while refusing to address looming funding issues - with apologies to the embarrassingly foolish Angela Merkel, politicians can no more successfully “battle” the markets than you and I can successfully “battle” gravity. Petrocapita is an investment trust built around the premise that demand for energy will continue to move prices higher over the long-term. Petrocapita was created to allow investors to add professionally managed oil & gas assets directly to their portfolios.
An afro arab spring - socio-political trajectories in stemming the tide of th...Costy Costantinos
The financial, economic and for many, the livelihood, crisis that erupted in 2008 showed a cliffy downward freefall of economic trajectories unheard of in recent memory. The outbreak of the financial crisis provoked a broad liquidation of investments, substantial loss in wealth worldwide, a tightening of lending conditions, and a widespread increase in uncertainty. Higher borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions, coupled with the increase in uncertainty provoked a global flight to quality, caused firms to cut back on investment expenditures, and households to delay purchases of big-ticket items. Unemployment is on the rise, bringing with it a substantial deterioration in conditions for the most vulnerable. The sharp rise in commodity prices eventually resulted in The Arab Spring
Swedbank was founded in 1820, as Sweden’s first savings bank was established. Today, our heritage is visible in that we truly are a bank for each and every one and in that we still strive to contribute to a sustainable development of society and our environment. We are strongly committed to society as a whole and keen to help bring about a sustainable form of societal development. Our Swedish operations hold an ISO 14001 environmental certification, and environmental work is an integral part of our business activities.
What some of the most informed people in the world have said about 2016. First off, if you are expecting this quarterly to tell you all about the juicy investment opportunities available to your family in 2016, you may be disappointed
because the subsequent paragraphs are not going to discuss that information.
Although you may glean some insight from the views expressed herein, our Q2 edition will contain more financial and economic information. The opportunities we are referring to in this article are qualitative in nature - but they do come with a price tag that you determine.
There is no doubt that 2016 will be a year of economic & financial challenges, globally. In our opinion, 2016, represents an opportunity for your family to prepare. Our view is that, if you havent already started doing so, you should discuss repositioning your family’s wealth strategy to thrive in the coming years. By now you should be aware that at PANGEA, we define wealth differently than most.
At PANGEA we recognize that wealth transcends dollars and decimals to also include the human elements of personal well-being, family intellectual capital and family & community legacy. What follows in no way represents advice, rather it is a curated composition of perspectives of what some of the best informed, wealthiest families in the world have already done to prepare in advance of the finanical and economic shifts on the horizon.
For the last 6 years, Greece has been a country burdened with bad debt and the threat of default on loans that will take more than a few generations to pay back. During that time, the economy has failed to improve, and again Greece is potentially on the verge of defaulting on its loan obligations, and leaving the European Union.
arifanee.com is world's leading website on the hottest financial news, perspectives and behind the scenes stories. arifanees.com brings you insight and information to inspire and transform your paradigm by enriching your with the best of facts and the vision.
arifanees.com
Information-Inspiration-Transformation
An afro arab spring - socio-political trajectories in stemming the tide of th...Costy Costantinos
The financial, economic and for many, the livelihood, crisis that erupted in 2008 showed a cliffy downward freefall of economic trajectories unheard of in recent memory. The outbreak of the financial crisis provoked a broad liquidation of investments, substantial loss in wealth worldwide, a tightening of lending conditions, and a widespread increase in uncertainty. Higher borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions, coupled with the increase in uncertainty provoked a global flight to quality, caused firms to cut back on investment expenditures, and households to delay purchases of big-ticket items. Unemployment is on the rise, bringing with it a substantial deterioration in conditions for the most vulnerable. The sharp rise in commodity prices eventually resulted in The Arab Spring
Swedbank was founded in 1820, as Sweden’s first savings bank was established. Today, our heritage is visible in that we truly are a bank for each and every one and in that we still strive to contribute to a sustainable development of society and our environment. We are strongly committed to society as a whole and keen to help bring about a sustainable form of societal development. Our Swedish operations hold an ISO 14001 environmental certification, and environmental work is an integral part of our business activities.
What some of the most informed people in the world have said about 2016. First off, if you are expecting this quarterly to tell you all about the juicy investment opportunities available to your family in 2016, you may be disappointed
because the subsequent paragraphs are not going to discuss that information.
Although you may glean some insight from the views expressed herein, our Q2 edition will contain more financial and economic information. The opportunities we are referring to in this article are qualitative in nature - but they do come with a price tag that you determine.
There is no doubt that 2016 will be a year of economic & financial challenges, globally. In our opinion, 2016, represents an opportunity for your family to prepare. Our view is that, if you havent already started doing so, you should discuss repositioning your family’s wealth strategy to thrive in the coming years. By now you should be aware that at PANGEA, we define wealth differently than most.
At PANGEA we recognize that wealth transcends dollars and decimals to also include the human elements of personal well-being, family intellectual capital and family & community legacy. What follows in no way represents advice, rather it is a curated composition of perspectives of what some of the best informed, wealthiest families in the world have already done to prepare in advance of the finanical and economic shifts on the horizon.
For the last 6 years, Greece has been a country burdened with bad debt and the threat of default on loans that will take more than a few generations to pay back. During that time, the economy has failed to improve, and again Greece is potentially on the verge of defaulting on its loan obligations, and leaving the European Union.
arifanee.com is world's leading website on the hottest financial news, perspectives and behind the scenes stories. arifanees.com brings you insight and information to inspire and transform your paradigm by enriching your with the best of facts and the vision.
arifanees.com
Information-Inspiration-Transformation
Ruim vier op tien kinderen hebben te weinig tijd om buiten te spelen en mogen dat vaak niet van hun ouders. Hierdoor vervreemden kinderen steeds meer van de natuur. Hoewel 3 op 4 kinderen graag meer wil spelen in het bos, doet slechts 1 op 3 kinderen dat effectief. Om de band tussen kinderen en de natuur te versterken en hen opnieuw de weg naar het bos te leren kennen, besloot de basisschool Terbank in Heverlee om samen met de kinderen, ouders en leerkrachten een wilgenhutten dorp te bouwen op de speelplaats als buitenklassen. Deze originele en creatieve activiteit kadert in het educatief project ‘De Boom In’, een initiatief van Tetra Pak ®, GoodPlanet en BOS+.
JES Stadslabo en Tempo-Team pakken jeugdwerkloosheid vernieuwend aanLiesbeth Vranckaert
JES Stadslabo en Tempo-Team lanceren vandaag een vernieuwend tewerkstellingsproject voor kwetsbare schoolverlaters. De doelgroep zijn kortgeschoolde schoolverlaters. Ze worden via een intensief trajectplan op maat gericht op het verbeteren van hun individuele competenties, begeleid naar werk. Tempo-Team en JES Stadslabo met steun van ESF en in samenwerking met de VDAB en de Vlaamse Overheid willen 240 schoolverlaters in het Gentse aan een job helpen door hen zelfredzamer te maken. Volgens de initiatiefnemers besteedt het onderwijs te weinig aandacht aan de overstap van de schoolbanken naar werk. Dit wordt bevestigd door een studie van Tempo-Team bij schoolverlaters, waarin 1 op 4 stelt niet of slecht voorbereid te zijn op de arbeidsmarkt.
International economic integration is a fundamental aspect of globalization, although it's essential to remember that globalization encompasses more than just economics. While economics is a significant part of globalization, it's not the entire picture. Economic globalization plays a crucial role in facilitating global culture and politics. Trade allows for the exchange of cultural products, like movies and music, and is intertwined with political diplomacy, often serving as a basis for international relations.
Given the importance of economic globalization, it's vital to consider how to make the system more equitable. While some aspects of global free trade can be adjusted, it cannot be completely eliminated. International policymakers should focus on making trade deals fairer and ensuring that governments find ways to mitigate the negative impacts of economic globalization while making sure its benefits are accessible to all.
World crisis of 2008 and its economic, social and geopolitical consequencesFernando Alcoforado
This article aims to identify the causes of the global economic and financial crisis of 2008, tracing the economic and social scenarios and global geopolitical changes resulting from the crisis. The methodology consisted in the analysis of publications related to the global economic and financial crisis and its consequences. The result of the studies indicated that the global economic and financial crisis of 2008 will be prolonged and that it may result in the advent of a new world order, the decline of the US and the rise of China as a major economic power in the world.
ECO 202 – Written Assignment Scoring Rubric Complete th.docxtidwellveronique
ECO 202 – Written Assignment Scoring Rubric
Complete the assignment with attention to the following criteria:
Rating Scale Exemplary: Corresponds to an A- to A (90-100%)
Proficient: Corresponds to B- to B+ (80-89%)
Basic: Corresponds to C- to C+ (70-79%)
Novice: Corresponds to D to D+ (60-69%)
Not Attempted: Corresponds to an F (0-59%)
Elements
Criteria
Not Attempted
(Criterion is
missing or not in
evidence)
Novice
(does not meet
expectations;
performance is
substandard)
Basic
(works towards
meeting expectations;
performance needs
improvement)
Proficient
(meets expectations;
performance is
satisfactory)
Exemplary
(exceeds
expectations;
performance is
outstanding)
Length
Requirements
20%
There was little
or no evidence
of an essay
0-11 Points
The paper is
entirely too
short.
12-13 Points
The paper
contains a great
deal of “fluff” and
still doesn’t meet
the length
requirements
14-15 Points
The paper is just
a little on the
short side and/or
it meets the
requirements
only because it
contains “fluff”
that could use
trimming.
16-17 Points
The paper falls
within the
required length
requirements
without going
over and
without straying
from the main
topic(s).
18-20 Points
Mechanics of
Writing
30%
Little to no
evidence of
proper writing
mechanics
0-17 Points
The grammar
of the paper
greatly
impedes
understanding
of content;
and/or the
paper contains
no citations.
18-20 Points
The paper needs
a good deal of
improvement with
respect to
grammar,
citations, spelling,
and/or style.
21-23 Points
The paper is
mostly free of
errors with
respect to
grammar,
citations, spelling,
and/or style, but
needs some
improvement in
this area.
24-26 Points
The paper is
nearly perfect
with respect to
grammar,
citations,
spelling, and
style.
27-30 Points
Understanding
& Application
50%
The paper
exhibits a
complete lack
of
understanding
of the text
and/or course
materials, and
the application
was incorrect.
0-29 Points
The paper
exhibits very
little
understanding
of the text
and/or course
materials, and
the application
was vague.
30-34 Points
The paper exhibits
basic
understanding of
the text and/or
course materials,
but needs
improvement in
this area. The
application was
superficial and did
not go in depth.
35-39 Points
The paper
exhibits sufficient
understanding of
the text and/or
course materials,
but some
improvement
needed. The
application was
detailed and
shows a
developing level
of understanding.
40-44 Points
The paper does
an excellent job
demonstrating
an accurate
understanding
of the text
and/or course
materials. The
application
showed a
higher level of
analysis
45-50 Points
Chapter 7.
Eton College Forum on the Global Financial Crisistutor2u
The title of this event is ‘No More Business As Usual: How to Avoid Another Financial Crash.’ The 2008 crisis marked a sea-change point.It was a fa ilure on three counts: 1. A failure of oversight from Governments and Central Banks alike, 2. A failure of modeling in not being able to predict the crash and 3. A failure of ideology. Underpinning the crisis was the fundamentally flawed neo-liberal ideologue which has dominated main-stream economic thinking.
Similar to De ocampo presentation 3rd singapore global dialogue sep 12 (2) (11)
De ocampo presentation 3rd singapore global dialogue sep 12 (2)
1. Centennial Asia Advisor’s Chairman Roberto De Ocampo was one of the
invited speakers at the 3rd Singapore Global Dialogue.
2. Presentation of Dr. Roberto F. de Ocampo, OBE
Former Philippine Finance Minister
Delivered at the 3rd Singapore Global Dialogue, Sept. 21, 2012
Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore
“Is the World Economy Governable?”
It’s a Different World
When I accepted the invitation to speak in this 3rd Singapore Global
Dialogue on the panel session, “Is the World Economy Governable?” my first
reaction was why was this question being asked in the first place? I figured
that this question is being considered because there is some sense that the
world economy has become less than governable. The first clear reality that
predicates the question is that when we speak of the world, the reality is that
it’s a far different world now from what it was even as recently as five years
ago.
To put things in perspective, one could say that the world economy was
so much simpler and, thus, governable when the Bretton Woods agreements
were established giving rise, among others to post-war global institutions and
procedures to regulate the international monetary system. The Bretton Woods
system achieved its objectives to stabilize exchange rates and enhance
economic growth. It gave importance to world institutions that it established,
particularly the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development better known as the World Bank.
3. The important element of the Bretton Woods was the
obligation of countries to adopt a monetary policy that maintained the
exchange rate by tying their currencies to the US dollar. It was also
characterized by the ability of IMF to provide immediate relief for countries
with problems in balance of payments. The system generally worked as it
helped establish a period of relative stability until 1971 when the USA
abandoned fixed exchange rates.
A fundamental difference since Bretton Woods is the change in
the balance of economic power (and perhaps along with it, political leverage).
A new configuration in world economy emerged after a series of financial
crises in recent years that affected the dominant economic
powers, particularly the USA and the European Community. These crises also
raised questions about the effectiveness of the Bretton Woods
institutions, especially the IMF. The issue of world economy being governable
has become more challenging.
4. These financial crises started in certain national economies, and
quickly triggered impact of regional and global proportions. Among these
were the Mexican peso crisis in 1994 that triggered the “tequila effect’ in
South America; the collapse of Thailand’s baht in 1997 that sparked the Asian
financial crisis; the sub prime mortgage crisis in the US in 2007 that set off a
global economic recession; and, the government debt crisis in Greece in 2009
which contributed to the Euro zone financial crisis that is still ongoing.
Along side these crises there has developed a defining event in the
world economy, namely the emergence of China as a dominant power. Its well
documented economic growth has enhanced its global influence. Thus since
the time of the Bretton Woods agreements world balance of power has gone
from Cold War relationships between the USA and Russia, the collapse of
Communism and the emergence of the USA as the world’s predominant world
power, and now the rise of a new balance of power primarily between the
USA and China. One can also make a case that there is a shifting of the world’s
balance of power towards Asia, particularly with the rise of Emerging
Economies most of whom are Asian and the ongoing weakness and turmoil of
the Eurozone.
5. Another difference in the world economy involves not just the economic
configuration, but the demand for governance to underpin the new structure.
Bretton Woods provided the platform for the economic powers, particularly
Western Europe and USA, to be the dominant players in world economy. They
set the rules of the game, so to speak, thus proving true the golden rule: he
who has the gold makes the rules.
But these rules, as they refer to the conduct of business in international
finance and economics, were broken by these very same dominant economies
who made the rules, thus resulting in various financial scandals that rocked
the world economy and giving rise to the issue of world governability. In
short, if the rule makers themselves have broken the rules, who is in a position
to enforce the rules on them or can they be relied upon to right themselves?
We have seen in the last decade or so notable instances when
companies employed questionable accounting tricks, financial
engineering, complicated risk metrics, and outright fraud in order to hide
losses and inflate profits. There was
6. the Enron scandal in 2001, WorldCom which inflated its cash flow by some $3
billion, and posted positive performance when it really lost money, the
Lehman Brothers collapse that triggered the still on-going financial and
economic difficulties in the USA, the most recent Barclays scandal, and of
course the nerve wracking seemingly intractable saga of the Eurozone.
Companies in the dominant economies were obsessed with hitting their
profit and share value targets. They let their people on their merry way, far
from the executive suites, manipulating fuzzy numbers and obscure financial
transactions with total absence of oversight by their superiors. The result was
financial collapse that triggered a global crisis
In reaction to these, the noted economist Paul Krugman once wrote
that he thought banking should be made boring again. But in the years that
followed the US Financial Services Modernization Act “banking became
anything but boring. Wheeling and dealing flourished, and pay scales in
finance shot up, drawing in many of the nation’s best and brightest young
people. And we were assured that our supersized financial sector was the key
to prosperity”. Instead, and as Krugman stated “finance turned into the
monster that ate the world economy”.
7. Furthermore, the process of globalization has been instrumental in
the shift of the balance of economic power. Globalization not only facilitated
interaction among the new and old dominant or important players in the
world economy through trade, capital and investment flows. More
importantly, it facilitated the exchange of information, concepts and standards
that these economies have come to acknowledge the critical value of
governance for growth and development to be sustainable.
8. There was a lot of blame to pass around. The easy-money policies of the
US Federal Reserve have been suggested to be a leading cause of the sub
prime mortgage crisis. Another school of thought maintains that the reason
people commit these financial shenanigans and a fraud is greed.
Whatever the reason, the near-collapse of the world financial system in
2008 and the global credit crisis that followed, the continuing Eurozone saga,
and the shifting balance of economic power has given rise to widespread calls
for changes in the regulatory system and the structure of decision making in
international finance.
From G7 to G20
This realization of a new economic paradigm was not lost on the
economies that were dominant or principal players of the Bretton Woods era,
namely the Group of Seven comprising of USA, UK, West Germany, Italy,
Japan, France and Canada, and thus the G7 expanded to the G20.
The G20’s Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors has declared itself as the "premier forum for international
economic cooperation" but it continues to suffer from "input" legitimacy due
to its exclusive nature and lack of broader representation.
9. Some have observed that “The G-20 is a self-appointed group. Its
composition is determined by the major countries and powers. It may be
more representative than the G-7 or the G-8, in which only the richest
countries are represented, but it is still arbitrary.”
A study by the Danish Institute for International Studies (2011)
makes the following points:
• The claim by the G20 that its “economic weight and broad membership
gives it a high degree of legitimacy” is not convincing. It permanently
excludes 173 countries.
• This fact alone undercuts its claim to representational legitimacy.
• In addition to this fundamental problem, the composition of the
membership of the G20 is problematic from a representational
perspective because (i) the African region is grossly under-represented
(South Africa is the only African member country) and (ii) low-income
countries and small, open economies are completely absent
10. While the G20 has invited ‘representatives’ from underrepresented
regions – such as Vietnam for ASEAN and Ethiopia and Malawi or the
African Union – to participate as ad hoc ‘observers’ in G20 summits this
tantamount to ‘concessions at the margins’. Representational legitimacy
requires universal participation on equal terms, such as when all countries
participate with voting power in proportion to their GDP.
11. Even a World Bank/ IMF paper critiqued that the G20 membership
is based on no explicit criteria and includes several countries which are
obviously not “systematically important” such as Argentina and Australia.
• Lacking explicit membership criteria, the G20 contains no mechanism for
adjusting membership to reflect changing realities of the global economy.
• The G20 claim for being representative due to its high share of the world
economy is misleading because its figures include the whole of the EU via
the EU chair. Take out the non-G20 countries in the EU and the shares fall
to 77% of world GDP, 60% world trade, and 62% of world population.
• There is also the further question of why the EU is privileged as a full
member while representatives from two other regional organizations
(African Union and ASEAN) are marginal invited guests, and why other
regions (such as Latin America, Middle East) have slight or no
representation.
12. Some say that it also suffers from "output" legitimacy, namely its
ability or lack of it to strengthen international cooperation and come up
with effective solutions.
Among issues raised in this regard have been that: the results of
reform processes started in the U.S., E.U. and several individual countries
after the 2009 Pittsburgh Summit are very meager, or are too slow and
come too late.
13. Examples cited are the Basel III Agreement which is still not
finalized, 4 years after Lehman, the stress test for European banks that
failed to recognise that the entire banking sector in Spain was
insolvent, and in the US, after passing the Dodd/Frank-Act establishing
new structure of supervisory system, stress tests were made but shortly
thereafter J.P. Morgan Chase had to confess to a loss of USD2bn. The
losses are now estimated at USD5.9bn.
All thse criticisms notwithstanding, I don’t think it is our intention
to answer the question asked in this panel, “Is the World Economy
Governable?” with a proposal for a supra “world government” with
supreme exercise of political and economic authority. This is of course
unrealistic.
What is realistic is “world governance”. This is a requisite for
growth and development to be sustainable. But definitely, the G20 as a
mechanism for world economic governance is still at this point a work in
progress.
14. The G20, IMF and other international institutions must continue to
evolve with the changing configuration of the world economy. New
economic centers or powers are emerging as others fade away. New
economic parameters and balances in world economy develop. These
institutions must continuously assess their mandates, objectives, and
memberships lest they become an anachronism.
The development process is not static, and depending on how a
crisis is handled an economy can come out of it stronger. Asia, including
the Philippines, was not as adversely affected by the 2008 global financial
crisis.
15. I recall that during my time as Chairman of the APEC Finance
Ministries at the onsent of the Asian Financial crisis Japan proposed a rescue
fund that would operate like an Asian IMF, but calibrated according to the
character and context of the regional economic crisis. The proposal was not
implemented as dominant APEC member countries from the West objected to
it, claiming that it would lead to moral hazard.
If a proposal to establish a regional kind of an IMF is deemed
ineffective on the belief that it would create moral hazards, are the countries
as rule makers any more credible when they are themselves the rule breakers?
Is it time now to revisit the concept of an Asian IMF as part of a new world
economic governance?
More broadly, isn’t it time to review the organizational configuration of
the Bretton Woods institutions? For instance, under some protocol or
understanding, the US gets to appoint the World Bank President and Europe
the IMF Managing Director. Does this still reflect the current balance of power
in a similar way that the current protocol reflects the balance during the
establishment of the Bretton Woods agreements?
16. The Sum is Equal to its Parts
The world economy is indeed different now. But as always, the sum
can only be equal to its parts. And the effectiveness of the sum, as it were, of a
system of world economic governance can only be equal to the economic
health and interactive harmony of its parts.
Perhaps the progressive improvement of G-20’s role in world
economic governance could start, as some suggest, with a more explicit and
transparent criteria of size and regional representation.
Furthermore, aside from the abovementioned issue concerning the
appointment of its heads, consideration could also be given to the
reconfiguration of the boards of World Bank and IMF. It has been suggested
that instead of their current board structures where eight countries represent
themselves whereas all others are grouped into multi-country
constituencies, a more representative system be put in place dividing the
world up into fewer main regions with more balanced representation and with
voting shares more representative of the regions’ economic weight.
17. From the Asian perspective, the key is integration. As a member
of the External Advisory and Review Board of the ADB’s 2010
publication, “Institutions for Regional Integration: Toward an Asian
Economic Community”, we identified certain challenges to make this
concept of integration viable. Quoting from this publication, the
integration process creates the following challenges for policy maker:
1. Cementing recent gains: Although Asia’s economic growth has
been rapid, recent achievements are fragile. The region’s beneficial
openness to the rest of the world also has its downsides, not the least a
vulnerability to external shocks. And while regional economic cooperation
has progressed in recent years, existing obligations and commitments
have yet to be implemented uniformly across Asia and the Pacific.
18. 2.Broadening the process: Until recently, Asian economic integration
has mostly focused on East Asia with ‘Factory Asia” being mainly an East Asian
operation. While trade between South and East Asia, notably between India
and China, is growing, not all parts of those regions, and not all sectors and
activities, are equally involved.
3.Deepening integration: The next steps is regional integration involve
moving from the integrated trade and production networks to more deeply
integrated goods markets by lifting barriers to trade and competition,
removing obstacles to interregional trade in services, allowing a freer
movement of labor, and developing more resilient financial markets.
4.Ensuring the compatibility of regional and global integration: Since
Asia is highly integrated globally well as regionally, it is crucial that measures
to cement the region’s integration complement rather than jeopardize its links
with the rest of the world.
19. Aside from this, it is still a reality that much of global governance
depends on the situation of the most powerful countries. It would be
particularly important for key parts, particularly regional aggrupations and the
more dominant economies to bring themselves to a healthy economic state
and a continuing harmonious relationship.
If, as they should, these leading economies, primarily the USA, the
Eurozone, and China are to credibly take the head, certainly the USA has to
put in the financial regulatory framework to correct a financial system still
prone to unbridled capitalism’s excesses, the Eurozone has to face the reality
that monetary union without a better semblance of fiscal union will result in
continuing economic crisis firefighting, China must begin to increasingly show
its ability to be a credible influential voice on the world economic stage.
From the geopolitical perspective, considering the inevitable balance
of power and to some extent, rivalry between the US and China it would be
important that the two do not misunderstand each others signals and
intentions since, as always, when elephants battle, ants get trampled.
Thank you.