What a rising current-account surplus means for the euro area

GREECE’S third bail-out programme came to an end on August 20th. A look at the causes of the country’s near-decade of crisis illustrates how external imbalances can reflect underlying troubles. Gaps in public finances, as well as investments in property, were financed by borrowing from Germany and other northern European countries. Wages and costs were […]

China’s vanished current-account surplus will change the world economy

NOT long ago China was a leading culprit in global economic imbalances. Whether blame was ascribed to its undervalued yuan or its frugal people, the problem seemed clear. China was selling a lot abroad and buying too little back. One data-point summed this up: its currentaccount surplus reached 10% of GDP in 2007, well above […]