Niall Ferguson: The Global Financial Crisis

For the United States to contend with a financial crisis on this scale is fiscally possible, says Ferguson. The situation is actually much worse for Europe and for the petro-powers.
This Carnegie Council event took place on November 20, 2008. For the full video, audio, and transcript, go to http://www.cceia.org

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Niall Ferguson
• global financial crisis
• national debt
• petro-powers
• Iceland
• Europe
• BRICs
• energy exporters
• recession

[vicar2]

He's not anything more than a historian really. He's just a historian of financial and imperial history, which puts him in a perfect position to comment about the modern financial crisis. Indeed he's more qualified than an economist, because most economists only tend to acknowledge the last 50 years of financial history. Don't forget historians are also economists, geographers, anthropologists, political scientists etc depending on what field of history you work in.

[hoodoo961]

The world will continue to absorb American debt because it is the safest investment in the world, that is why interest rates on T securities are so low.

[m1trekker]

Ferguson has been proven wrong on the petro-powers, where' the 25 dollar barrel ? wrong on the BRICS too, China has accelerating growth during the Western downturn.

[Idahya]

As a matter of fact ,the global financial crisis has been fabricated so as to form a new world order .

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@vicar2

"most economists only tend to acknowledge the last 50 years of financial history". Look at Fred Harrison, do a search on him.

Land ownership is tax free in increased values. The study of land, the wealth it creates, its ownership and taxation should be fully understood by all. The solution is tax land by its value, LVT. It reclaims community created wealth to pay for community services, leaves private wealth in private hands, no income tax promoting growth, clears derelict city plots

[SenorBastardo1348]

hmm hes wrong wrong wrong...since he has made these statments I'm up 30%, my cousin on wall street who buys into this bullshit is down 10%. Like the ancient proverb: "wisdom is proved right by its works"

[existentialvoid]

@hoodoo961 yup

16 trillion dollar economy, second is china at 4.8 trillion, third is japan at 4.5 trillion and so on - the US is so dominant in economic terms that 1.7% growth still outpaces growth of china (7.6%) or Japan (1.8%) - basically to make gains to that kind of head start, you need to top 15% and maintain it for 2 generations - which is difficult at best.

[shevchenkoTV]

Moscow: Responsibility of the GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS is Russian. Recognition on "shevchenkoTV".

[misterMagoo4]

Niall seems to have done a complete volte face with reference to China havig decoupled fromAmerica and the end of his 'Chimerica' hypothesis. Look for Niall's 2010 vox pox.

[elemental12345678900]

What are the potential and actual problems for the financial systems and how might these problems impact on the real economy, globally and nationally?

[TheLadyEmma]

I'm a tutor in Sri Lanka these days Im doing a research on the impacts of global financial crisis, I'd love to have some suggestions from educated scholars. The thing is Sri Lanka's case is unique and different. tourism is rising and the stock market boom is also there. One cant really see any negative impact, Government continue to reduce prices of commodities O_o just don't understand how to tackle this problem...

[00dfm00]

Ferguson ignores the off-balance sheet liabilities that are coming due now and increasing fast: social security, medicade, medicare. They add an additional forty - sixty trillion. Each year the US generates a surplus will decrease that amount by the amount of the surplus - a situation that ain't going to happen.

So, the real debt to GDP is closer to 5x GDP, not 0.5x GDP. US is screwed. End of yet another empire.