Word: japanism
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...Federal Open Market Committee Timothy Geithner was Treasury attaché in the Tokyo embassy for the first half of that decade. That's when a widespread banking crisis led to a credit crunch, an economic slump and eventually interest rates that were lowered to zero by the Bank of Japan. Even so, Japan's banks, which were in the process of repairing their balance sheets, were extremely reluctant to lend. Thus, even though interest rates were low, the economy weakened. Prices for pretty much everything declined, following a bust in the real-estate and stock markets in Japan. The country...
...Some economists - for now a minority, to be sure - believe the U.S. is at serious risk of a deflationary spiral, even if just a quarter ago, inflation was above the Fed's comfort zone of 2% to 3%. "Compared to Japan's problem a decade ago, this crisis is unfolding much faster and spreading wider due to financial globalization," says Shanghai-based independent economist Andy Xie. A financial system unable or unwilling to lend, a tapped out U.S. consumer, and business now retrenching - and laying people off - all are a formula for possible deflation. What's so wrong with declining...
...will play out. There are plenty of analogies to describe the possible shape of the U.S. downturn if you plotted GDP growth on a graph: V (short and shallow); W (double dip with a positive blip in the middle as a result of fiscal stimulus programs); L (a protracted, Japan-like stagnation); saucer (stagnation with a very weak recovery). A V-shaped recession now seems highly unlikely. The U.S. housing sector continues to deteriorate, eroding consumer confidence and wealth. Private investment is in free fall, and personal consumption (which accounts for 70% of U.S. GDP) is getting weaker and weaker...
...Everywhere I've been this year - from Jerusalem to Japan to Colombia to Italy and back again - I've heard people essentially say that America is an overweight, white plutocrat who is not only out of touch with the world but also shows no signs of wanting to grow closer to it. This is as unfair as any image - contradicted at every moment by the kindness and curiosity of many Americans - but it remains a potent one in a world where people communicate more with images than ideas and assumptions travel faster than truths. The best way to begin...
...comments come as his representatives, having left for Beijing on Oct. 29, are expected to visit with Chinese officials in the latest dialogue between the Tibetan government-in-exile and Beijing since July. The Dalai Lama did not say when the talks would begin. During a weeklong visit to Japan - his first overseas trip since undergoing surgery to remove gallstones in early October - the Dalai Lama is scheduled to meet with Buddhist monks and speak on spirituality. He will not, however, meet with politicians, as the Japanese government is careful to avoid criticism from China by meeting with the leader...