Western credit markets are holding up remarkably well
Post-financial-crisis reforms are helping them weather the storm
CREDIT IS THE financial system’s oxygen supply. When it flows freely, it does so unnoticed. When it stops, soon enough everything else does as well. The hypoxic episode that felled the American investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008 unleashed chaos, turning a subprime-mortgage crunch into a global financial crisis. Ever since, central banks and market pundits have fixed a hawk-like gaze on credit conditions, wary of a repeat.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “War bonds”
Finance & economics March 12th 2022
- Can the world cope without Russia’s huge commodity stash?
- War in Ukraine will cripple global food markets
- Russia looks to Chinese financial plumbing to keep money flowing
- Western credit markets are holding up remarkably well
- Iran’s flourishing stockmarket reflects its resilient economy
- Our crony-capitalism index offers a window into Russia’s billionaire wealth
- How oil shocks have become less shocking
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