fund crisis in 1998 illustrated not only the risks of the spill - over of crises in emerging areas but also the fragility created by the advent of new players and the development of financial derivative instruments. this fragility was further underscored by the failure of enron in 2001. what are the prudential issues at stake in the recent developments in financial markets, particularly in the greater interdependence of national markets, the emergence of new instruments and new categories of economic operators in a context of increasing trading volumes? to find answers to some of these questions, the last session will take the form of a round table bringing together speakers from mature and emerging economies at different stages of integration into international trade, be they central bankers and / or from the private sector. it will afford an opportunity to discuss the consequences of the increasing global imbalances on international financial stability. stanley fischer will then provide a summary of the day ’ s work. it remains for me, ladies and gentlemen, to express my wish for this symposium to enable the further development and convergence of assessments of the current state of affairs and of economic policies. i wish you a fruitful day of discussions and now give the floor to president jean - claude trichet.

of exports of products that are in high demand. second change : the advent of new players in international trade of goods and services and international division of labour. of course, this is not an unprecedented development – it has occurred several times since the second world war, with japan and also with the newly industrialised asian countries. it has nevertheless taken on a new dimension due to the newcomers ’ size and competitive edge, the liberalisation of capital flows and the decrease in transport and communication costs. the new international division of labour thus affects every stage of the production process ; it influences the localisation of added value and raises the question of the financing of the external imbalances of economies that focus on the design and marketing of products rather than their manufacture. the second session will deal with the impact of trends in productivity and competitiveness on international capital allocation and global imbalances. these trends may have contributed to the increase in global imbalances reflected in current account balances, and highlight several paradoxes. the first paradox is that of the us economy, which combines the structural surge in its productivity with a possible loss in competitiveness illustrated by the increase in its external deficit. this paradox is perhaps only apparent if we consider that the improvement in the us ’ relative productivity performance is mainly in the non - tradable sector and as compared to the industrialised rather than the emerging economies. in addition, while this pick - up in productivity does boost the profitability of investments, logically, it goes hand in hand with an excess of investment over national savings that calls for increasing foreign capital inflows. however, the predominant nature of capital inflows to the united states changed at the start of the 2000s, switching from mainly purchases of equities and foreign direct investment by the private sector to purchases of government securities by central banks, which are not motivated by the search for increased profitability. this leads us to the second paradox, a twin to the first, i. e. financing mature economies ’ expenditure with world savings. does this situation correspond to the efficient allocation of capital and if not how do we explain it? more generally, is there any likelihood that a chain that hinders balancing mechanisms has been established? the foreign exchange intervention operations carried out by several central banks help to finance the us budget and external deficits. in the united states, the corresponding maintenance of long - term interest rates at a low level fosters the us domestic savings - investment imbalance. in the asian countries,