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Sovereign downgrade? Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Such is likely to be the response of any investor in Japan to the news that Standard and Poors has removed its triple A rating on US
Sovereign downgrade? Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Such is likely to be the response of any investor in Japan to the news that Standard and Poors has removed its triple A rating on US
S&P’s downgrade of Japan’s credit-rating raises a disturbing prospect. Is this stage two of the global credit crisis, featuring chain of sovereign defaults amongst the largest economies?
The Japanese are doing it again. The Koreans prefer to do it when nobody’s watching. The Chinese are at it brazenly and, like everything else they do, on an enormous scale. The Swiss tried it, without much success.
The Greeks have got a lot to answer for. As well as roiling the markets and torpedoing the euro, they have inflicted serious damage on the debate about the global crisis and its remedies.
John Veals is the villainous hedge fund manager in Sebastian Faulks’ best-selling credit-crunch novel “A Day In December.” He is a man with no friends, no culture, no interest in anything other than making money. His nefarious machinations lead to the failure of a major British bank, enabling him to make huge profits from his short positions. Other characters in the novel include Gabriel Northwood, a virtuous lawyer, and Roger Malpasse, a retired banker of the old school.
A leadership change in Japan passes almost unnoticed these days, but the ascension of Naoto Kan to the role of prime minister could have a long-lasting impact on the strategic landscape.
You are a little-known politician who has enthused the public with promises of change. You win a thumping electoral victory. You succeed a tired and discredited administration whose policies helped create the worst economic crisis in decades. And then your problems start.
Remember the fable of the hard-working ant and the irresponsible fun-loving grasshopper? As generations of parents tell their children, both creatures get what they deserve. The grasshopper pays a terrible price for his summer of fun, while the ant survives the winter snug and smug.
Shabu shabu is a simple but delicious Japanese dish in which transclucently thin slices of beef are dipped into a boiling broth of vegetables and tofu. A few seconds will do; just enough for the meat to turn pinky-grey.
The Abe Administration’s key achievement was to show that Japan hasn’t changed, and neither have its problems.