Slideshow: Could An Obscure Loophole Send the Euro the Way of the Ruble?

Could an obscure provision of European monetary policy known as emergency liquidity assistance undermine the European Central Bank's control of monetary policy and allow monetary free riders to subvert the euro, as happened two decades ago in the 15-nation post-Soviet ruble area? This slideshow explains why it is extremely unlikely.

Keywords: Monetary policy, emergency liquidity assistance, euro, ruble

Slideshow: Demographics and Politics, as Much as Floods and Security, Undermine Pakistan's Economy

This slideshow examines the development prospects of Pakistan, a country with which the United States has declared an especially important relationship. Pakistan's economy was doing well as recently as a few years ago, but has since faltered. Well publicized natural disasters and security issues are part of the problem, but there are underlying demographic and political difficulties that make matters worse.

Keywords: Pakistan, economy, demographics, politics, development, energy subsidies, tax reform.

Slideshow: The Impossible Trinity, or, Why Latin America Hates QE2

This slideshow examines the effects on Latin American economies of the Fed's program of quantitative easing (QE2). The problems created by QE2, and steps taken in Brazil, Chile, and elsewhere to mitigate these problems, are discussed in terms of the impossible trinity.

Key words: Exchange rates, monetary policy, quantitative easing, QE2, impossible trinity, capital account, financial flows, sterilization, Brazil, Chile

Slideshow: Could Federal Spending Be Capped at 20 Percent of GDP? Should it Be?

This slideshow discusses proposals to resolve U.S. budget problems by capping U.S. federal government spending at 20 percent of GDP. Charts present historical and projected data, and show why a 20% cap would be likely to entail a reduction in the real level of public services and entitlement payments.

Keywords: Fiscal policy, budget, deficit, debt, spending cap, entitlements, discretionary spending.

Slideshow: Hidden Pitfalls of Increasing U.S. Dependence on Canadian Oil Sands

This slide show explores environmental and national security impacts of increasing U.S. dependence on imports of oil from Canadian oil sands, and discusses some pitfalls for policy makers and investors.

Key words: Oil imports, oil sands, tar sands, bitumen, Canada, environment, national security, energy policy

Slideshow: If a Stronger Yuan is Good, Can a Weaker Dollar be Bad?

This slideshow looks at two of the big currency stories to 2010. A gradual appreciation of the Chinese yuan was generally seen as good news in the United States, but the broader decline of the dollar to new lows against other trading partners was often treated as bad news. Does this make sense?

Keywords: Exchange rates, yuan, China, dollar, real effective exchange rates

Slideshow: What is Price-Level Targeting? Has Its Time Come?

This slide show describes the monetary policy known as price-level targeting and compares it with the alternative, inflation targeting. It discusses the views of both supporters and critics, and explains why support for price-level targeting may grow in 2011.

Key words: Fed, FOMC, central banking, monetary policy, inflation targeting, price-level targeting