WASHINGTON ― Because of the breakdown of political decision-making in the U.S. and Europe during the Great Recession, the burden of response has fallen largely on two big central banks: the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. And down the road, they are going to pay for it. The balance sheets of these institutions have ballooned as they’ve pumped out cash ― adding so many new obligations that some economists worry the central banks may be sowing the seeds of the next financial crisis.

BANGKOK ― Fifteen years ago this month, the world’s eyes turned to Southeast Asia and then to South Korea and across the Asia-Pacific region as what would become known as the Asian financial crisis unfolded, ending a period of business euphoria about the so-called Asian miracle. In Thailand, after a decade of economic growth averaging 9 percent per year, the bubble burst first, when the government was forced to float its currency in July 1997. The crisis spread, as the value of currencies and eq

To hear the media report it, President Obama is proposing a tax increase on wealthy Americans. That’s misleading at best. He’s proposing that everyone ― including the rich ― receive a continuation of the Bush tax cuts on the first $250,000 of their incomes. (If they’re filing singly, the first $200,000.) Any dollars they earn in excess of $250,000 will be taxed at the old Clinton-era rates.Get it? Everyone is treated exactly the same. Everyone gets a one-year extension of the Bush tax cut on the

CAMBRIDGE ― The world’s advanced economies remain divided over whether to strengthen budget balances in the short term or to use fiscal policy to promote recovery. Those worried about the short-run contractionary effects on the economy call the first option “austerity”; those concerned about long-term sustainability and moral hazard call it “discipline.”Either way, the debate is akin to asking whether it is better for a driver to turn left or right; depending on where the car is, either choice m

Mohammed Morsi has been Egypt’s president for less than a month, and already senior clerics in his country and around the Islamic world are loudly calling for the demolition of the pyramids, Egypt’s most important tourist attraction and among the Seven Wonders of the World.Saudi Sheik Ali bin Said al-Rabi’i called them heinous “symbols of paganism.” In recent days, similar calls have been echoing through Egypt and the region, including one from a Bahraini sheik who urged Morsi to “destroy the py

The symptoms are many, and they are all pointing towards a worrying diagnosis: Asian economies, led by China and India, are rapidly losing steam.Corporate bosses are worried about slowing Asian demand, some of which is already reflected in lackluster company earnings.Meanwhile, Europe continues to cast a shadow on global business sentiment. The recession in the eurozone could yet worsen, and that might make Asian exporters scramble for sales, especially if a much-awaited recovery in global elect