Over the past decade, Chinese trade revenues, savings and purchases of US debt increased. Low interest rates encouraged US consumers to spend and housing prices soared. But such imbalances could not be sustained and financial instruments containing mortgages for homes that have lost their value, have proven toxic for the world. Economists and central bankers are still struggling to find a way out of the subprime mortgage crisis. If Japan’s lost decade offers lessons, then deflation must be averted at all costs if there is to be hope for a recovery.. But for the long-run, one magical phrase emerges from experts and that’s “stricter regulations for the banking industry.” Once governments succeed in restoring consumer and investor confidence, they should focus on designing regulations that encourage responsibility and a long-term outlook. Furthermore, policymakers have to recognize the need for global oversight of the banking industry, either by strengthening existing institutions or by creating new international authorities. The timing of the rescue is uncertain, and the certainty of its efficacy remains in question. To put the matter in historical perspective, there is still no consensus on whether government spending policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt or increased demand for goods created by Second World War pulled the United States out of the Great Depression. One certainty for this crisis: there are no localized solutions for a problem that extends throughout the world.

China’s Latest Currency Actions Are Market Driven

Expect volatility as renminbi adjusts to market forces
Nicholas R. Lardy
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China’s Soft-Power Push

The nation spends billions, but arbiters on soft power worry about tight government controls
David Shambaugh
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Devalued Yuan Seeks Reserve Currency Status

Investors and economies cling to and strengthen the US dollar, despite many glaring imbalances
Will Hickey
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Capitalists, Arise: We Need to Deal With Income Inequality

Businesses can take action, despite a paralyzed US Congress, to invest in employees and innovation
Peter Georgescu
August 10, 2015

Is Uber a Threat to Democracy?

Innovative providers and cost-conscious consumers cut out middlemen, regulations and taxes
Kemal Derviş
July 27, 2015

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Professional Foreigner!

Survey by entry-level worker in China surprises managers and himself
Samuel Massie
July 24, 2015

Renminbi’s Flexible Rate – 10 Years On

China's currency moves toward reserve status
Jennifer Hughes
July 21, 2015