Word: globalization
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...pictures of the global financial crisis...
...half-decade before the financial crisis was a go-go time for the global economy. Consumption reached unprecedented heights; so did oil prices and shipping rates. And that frantic buying and selling was a boon for manufacturing. As U.S. consumers flexed their credit cards for flat-panel TVs and video games, factories sprouted around the world to make all the stuff that was crammed into consumers' SUVs. But amid the recession, spending has shrunk dramatically, as debt-laden U.S. consumers are learning to save - and those factories have a lot less to do. During the downturn, the rates at which...
...worse shape. To measure excess capacity, economists use a metric called the "output gap," defined as the difference between the potential output of a given economy and what is actually being produced (including services). The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is projecting that, despite global production cutbacks, the situation is actually getting worse because the recovery will be weak. In 2010 the output gap among 24 OECD member nations is projected to widen to -5.7% - the widest gulf by far in the post-World War II era. (See 25 people to blame for the financial crisis...
...what if this recession isn't an ordinary recession? There is a widespread belief among economists that a secular shift in global spending patterns is under way. U.S. consumers, the usual drivers of economic growth, are reducing their outlays and may do so for years to come as they pay down debt. Under this "new normal" scenario, some of today's spare capacity may never come back into action because total demand will remain depressed indefinitely. Factories in some crowded sectors will have to be permanently closed or retooled to make different products...
...Second, divide and rent the Taliban. Like the British, we can propose deals that split the moderates (those content with exerting power in Afghanistan alone) from the fanatics (those obsessed with global jihad). We can also attract Taliban fighters by paying them more than the Taliban leadership can afford...