Global Financial Rules

Accordingly with Lorenzo Bini Smaghi:

"[…] if financing were to become easier, it would be unclear how both creditors and debtors would perceive the risk of excessive imbalances. The real danger is that adjustment would take place even later, with imbalances left to accumulate for a longer period of time. Under these circumstances, crises could be even greater, and the adjustments harsher – as occurred under the last world currency, the gold standard."

"A viable international financial system requires a mechanism to keep imbalances in check. An essential element of such a mechanism is to give the IMF a prominent role in two areas: strong and effective surveillance in order to prevent crises, and responsible lending to countries in need, but with appropriate limits and conditionality."

"We don’t need to reinvent the wheel; we just need to follow up on the commitments made ten years ago. Dealing with the short-run challenges of the current crisis should not distract us from the objective of preventing future meltdowns."

"The right reform for the Fed"

En The Washington Post Ben Bernanke apunta "The right reform for the Fed" - Now more than ever - [...] needs a strong, nonpolitical and independent central bank with the tools to promote financial stability and to help steer our economy to recovery without inflation.

Adicionalmente:

"Working with other agencies, we have toughened our rules and oversight. We will be requiring banks to hold more capital and liquidity and to structure compensation packages in ways that limit excessive risk-taking. We are taking more explicit account of risks to the financial system as a whole."

"We are also supplementing bank examination staffs with teams of economists, financial market specialists and other experts. This combination of expertise, a unique strength of the Fed, helped bring credibility and clarity to the "stress tests" of the banking system conducted in the spring. These tests were led by the Fed and marked a turning point in public confidence in the banking system."

"There is a strong case for a continued role for the Federal Reserve in bank supervision. Because of our role in making monetary policy, the Fed brings unparalleled economic and financial expertise to its oversight of banks, as demonstrated by the success of the stress tests."

Source: The Washington Post

JEP

JEP gana el Premio Cervantes

José Emilio Pacheco, galardonado con el Premio Cervantes 2009
Ministerio de Cultura

Cuarto mexicano en ganar el Cervantes

"Africa at Risk "

Accordingly with Meles Zenawi

"[...] Africa is the only continent that has not industrialized. Indeed, since 1980’s the industrialization that had taken place in Africa has by and large been reversed. Africa has thus contributed nothing to the historical accumulation of greenhouse gases through carbon-based industrialization. Moreover, its current contribution is also negligible, practically all of it coming from deforestation and degradation of forests and farmland."

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

"Data through September 2009, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index improved in the third quarter of 2009, posting its second consecutive quarterly increase and further improvement in its annual rate of return."

"The 10-City and 20-City Composites continue to show monthly improvement in their annual return figures. Both composites emerged from double-digit annual declines with September’s report, the first time in 21 months. In addition, 19 of the 20 metro areas saw improvement in their annual returns compared to the previous month, Cleveland being the only exception." Full Report

Only time will tell

Accordingly with Barry Eichengreen:

"China is making a big push to encourage greater international use of its currency, the renminbi. It has an agreement with Brazil to facilitate use of the two countries’ currencies in bilateral trade transactions. It has signed renminbi swap agreements with Argentina, Belarus, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia. Last summer, it expanded renminbi settlement agreements between Hong Kong and five mainland cities, and authorized HSBC Holdings to sell renminbi bonds in Hong Kong. Then, in September, the Chinese government issued in Hong Kong about $1 billion worth of its own renminbi-denominated bonds."

"All of these initiatives are aimed at reducing dependence on the dollar both at home and abroad by encouraging importers, exporters, and investors to make more use of China’s currency. The ultimate goal is to ensure that China eventually gains the flexibility and financial prerogatives that come with being a reserve-currency country."