Japan's currency the yen has fallen significantly against the dollar. It its economy in crisis? What is the role of US interest rates, inflation, debt, and deficits? What about China? Ben Norton explains the complex geoeconomic situation.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=sz3r36ZTe7Q
Topics
0:00 Intro
1:40 Yen plunges against US dollar
3:32 Rising exports, falling imports
4:40 Did Germany overtake Japan?
5:58 Nominal GDP is misleading
7:27 PPP is much more accurate
9:25 Misunderstanding GDP figures
10:53 US deficits & debt drive GDP growth
12:37 Strong US dollar
13:58 Industrialization & manufacturing
15:31 Current account
16:15 US Treasury securities
18:09 Why is the yen falling?
18:43 Interest rates
20:37 Bond yields
23:28 Why doesn't Japan raise interest rates?
23:50 Japan's debt
26:18 Inflation
29:32 US Treasurys
30:29 De-dollarization: China drops US bonds
33:14 TL;DW (conclusion)
35:07 Outro