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Bubble Capitalism
Corporate Crisis, US Deficits and Fall of the Dollar
Picture Credit: Anglo-Catholic Socialism The tech-boom of the 1990s brought a sense of euphoria to the propertied classes of the United States and Europe. For a time, economists celebrated a world that had moved into a “new economy,” immune from classic economic cycles. While other less fortunate countries (Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea and others) were wracked with financial and currency crises, corporate chieftans and financial manipulators in Wall Street, London and Frankfurt embarked on wild investment programs, brazen insider trading schemes, and accounting cover-ups to portray unrealistically high profits. After Enron, WorldCom, and many other large corporations crashed in high-profile lawsuits and bankruptcies, the stock markets plunged in 2000 and the economies of the rich countries suddenly looked very shaky. None more so than the United States with its large and growing balance of payments deficit.
Some, including the IMF and the Bank for International Settlements, predict that the US trade deficit, worsened by high consumer debt and real estate speculation, may require a severe “adjustment” resulting in deflation, high interest rates and a weak dollar. After a decade of global currency crises, broad economic distress, and wrenching neoliberal reorganization, the US weakness -- as well as that of Japan -- may spell deeper international instability in the period ahead. As China builds up large trade surpluses and a sudden “correction” in the foreign exchange markets appears increasingly likely, Washington rejects all cooperative international programs to head off the impending financial reckoning.
This section posts materials on the crisis, its implications for the global political economy and corporate malfeasance.
Also See GPF's Pages on:
Social and Economic Policy
US Trade and Budget Deficits, and the Fall of the Dollar
This page posts information on the US trade and budget deficits and the fall of the dollar.Financial Crises
This page follows various financial crises, and poses the question of whether these crises are all part of one, general financial crisis.Corporate Crisis and Corporate Malfeasance
This page provides articles and other information on accounting scams, insider trading schemes, and widespread corporate malfeasance.Tables and Charts on US Trade and Budget Deficits, and the Fall of the Dollar
This page provides numbers and graphs on the current state of the US economy.
More Information on Social and Economic Policy
