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January 23, 2009

Earth is Missing $265-Billion

Apparently $265-billion annually is going missing from world trade and investment flows. Wonder if there is a reward? Nevermind.

In 1996, the year before the Asian financial crisis began, economies designated by the IMF as emerging, developing and newly industrialised ran a collective current-account deficit of $78 billion. Over the next decade this turned into a surplus of several hundred billion dollars (see chart 1), with China and oil exporters accounting for almost all of the increase in the past three or four years. Much of the turnaround is mirrored in a widening American deficit. (The world’s sums do not add up. Statisticians are unable to offset the recent burgeoning surpluses with deficits elsewhere: according to the IMF, in 2007 the surpluses exceeded the deficits by $265 billion.) [Emphasis added]

Source: Economist

Hey, maybe this whole damn planet is a fraud, a kind of evil money Gaia. That would explain much.

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