Full text at http://www.comw.org/poc/0501.html The External Debt: Global Reserve Growth One of the areas we watch closely in the Pulse is the U.S. international investment position, which we will refer to as the external debt. This debt grew from -$323.4 billion in 1994 to -$2,430.7 billion in 2003, an average annual increase of -$234.1 billion. As a percentage of GDP, the debt grew from 4.6 percent in 1994 to 22.1 percent in 2003. (Direct investment in this data is valued at current cost.)
Since 1999, a period of economic weakness, the debt has grown exceptionally fast, from -$775.5 billion to -$2,430.7 billion, an increase of 213.4 percent. This growth continued in the first half of 2004 with an increase of -$285.4 billion. Historically, economies such as Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, or Indonesia prospered during periods of capital inflow but faced crises when those flows slowed or stopped. One of our great unanswered questions is what would happen if the U.S. experienced such a slowing or reversal. Consequently, it is very important that we follow developments that have an impact on the U.S. position. The U.S. net international investment position consists of a variety of financial and other assets (see Pulse #04-1), but in this discussion we will focus on foreign investments in U.S. Treasury and other securities as they are especially sensitive to economic and financial developments. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/O.5XsA/8WnJAA/E2hLAA/7gSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
