Ok, not real dark matter.   Hausmann and Sturzenegger defined "dark matter" as the difference between the assets (or liabilities) implied by US "income" payments, and the United States net internatio…

Ecuador is the kind of country that can borrow only when times are really, really good for emerging economies.  It has been and - as far as I can tell - remains politically dysfunctional.   It tends …

Stephen Jen argues that the US-Asian relationship can be understood as a debt for equity swap.    Asian - led by China - buys US debt; the US buys Asian equities/ invests in Asian plant and equipment…

Eichengreen provides the best summary I have seen of competing views on the sustainability of large US trade deficits, along with the impact of sustained trade deficts on US external debt and the inv…