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page 113 chapter II
doesn‘t always have to take forty years. Could that not
perhaps serve as an example for us all? We can certainly
do with some courage and optimism, because
there‘s no denying that the global economy is not in
good shape at the moment.
1. Consequences of the financial market crisis
The financial markets went to pieces last autumn. The
collapse of Lehman Brothers investment bank caused
the subprime crisis to escalate into a financial market
crisis. Business enterprises have been holding back
on new investments since then. There is a slump in
demand on many markets. Even in the United States,
consumers are deferring purchases and – at last –
again discovering the idea of saving, at least for the
time being.
The national economies of North America and Western
Europe, and also those of many other countries,
are in the midst of a major recession, probably even
the most serious one since the late 1920s. And for
the first time in history, everything is on the decline
simultaneously – and faster than ever before. The Dow
Jones Index – still one of the world‘s most important
stock market barometers – reached an all-time high
of more than 14,000 points in October 2007. By March
2009, the Index had lost more than half, dropping to
roughly 6,500 points. The Euro Zone still recorded
economic growth of 2.7 percent in 2007. For the first
time in a long while, we will probably have to reckon
with a decline of roughly 4.5 percent this year.