Some clues to understand the international financial crisis

Abstract

First of all, the editorial describes the latest events in financial markets, in order to justify the denomination of “crisis”; in this sense, it makes special reference to interbank, stock, fixed–income and foreign exchange markets. Secondly, it arises the question: why have these events taken place?; it alludes to property boom, to “junk“ mortgages and a certain problem of permissiveness. The third part collects the actions carried out by political powers, mainly by the central banks of the most important countries; scarce intervention of governments is also highlighted, perhaps because it is considered that they should not interfere in the march of markets. Another part deals with near future expectations, both from the financial and from the real economy points of view. It exposes briefly the impact of this crisis on Spain from both points of view. It concludes with some ethical comments, stressing the role, although limited, of public authorities, as regards to the objective of achieving a balanced running of economy.