Word: bigs
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...This marks a big change. As Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said during the recent ASEAN summit, "The old growth model where, simply put, we have still to rely on consumption in the West for goods and services produced here, we feel will no longer serve us." This is especially true because China, which is poised to overtake Japan as the world's second largest economy, is an increasingly important trading partner for countries such as Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. "Asian firms would do better to reorient their exports and production towards meeting the demand of Chinese consumers...
...rolled out the red carpet for 17 African heads of state, we assumed it was all about gaining access to oil and minerals to fuel China's awesome economic growth. But there is much more going on than a meet, greet and grab from the African continent. China has big economic plans and ambitions in Africa that go beyond oil and minerals. While much of the world still views Africa as a basket-case continent, Beijing is thinking ahead and busy establishing a foothold in Africa's potentially large consumer markets. (See pictures of how the Chinese are changing life...
There's not much to add to the first point - that really bad stuff can happen - other than to note that capitalism has just experienced the equivalent of a meteor near miss. But the second and third points demand more explanation. The reason a big federal debt undermines the dollar is that a government with really big debts will be tempted to inflate its way out by printing money to pay creditors. Printing more dollars (the process actually involves the Federal Reserve's purchasing government securities with dollars it conjures out of thin air) reduces the value of existing dollars...
...problem is that after a decade of strong growth in China in particular, we now have an unbalanced system in which the dollar is overvalued against the Chinese yuan (among other emerging-market currencies). That has contributed to big U.S. trade deficits and, as China built up a huge stash of dollars it needed to put somewhere, to the credit bubble that precipitated the financial crisis. There's widespread agreement that this setup has to change but little agreement about how to change it. Which is a risky situation...
...that of any Greek or Roman hero. Aban-doned by his father and brought up by a tough-as-nails mother, the poor boy who loves to box is rejected by a local squad but then journeys many islands away, to the country's metropolis, Manila, to make it big. Then he leaves the Philippines to make it even bigger, conquering the world again and again to bring back riches to share with his family and friends. Now, in his hometown of General Santos City on the island of Mindanao, he and his family own commercial buildings, a convenience store...