Joblessness is down, wages and profits up. Ordinary people have become investors. The economy has been described as the most beautifully balanced in about a half-century. But the economies of much of Asia have been crippled as piece by piece their productive capacity disappears into the sea storm. Its economy is in recession, and officials have been slow to deal with the situation.
Farmers are angry.
Oil is in a glut situation. Canada's exports are damaged, and its dollar fell below 68 U.S. cents in mid-June. And South American nations too have felt the effect. Economic destabilization creates political problems. While nobody can read the future, economists try.