Russia is in the grip of a profound economic crisis, which naturally has a very worrying political dimension. In Latin America, despite considerable efforts at adjustment in some countries, there are still latent risks of contagion, and the markets have, alas, so far not taken sufficient account of the differences in conditions.
And in Japan a severe crisis of confidence still prevails, involving substantial potential risks to the world economy. The recent measures to remedy the weaknesses in the banking sector might, however, constitute an important step towards overcoming the difficulties. On the continent of Europe, by contrast, conditions have so far been distinctly more favourable.