Efficient clearing and settlement systems such as these were able to perform a stabilizing role during the crisis. That is exactly what they were intended to do. The crisis did, however, illuminate some key areas in which financial market infrastructure needed to be broadened and put to better use.
At the same time, evidence of increased pricing power can be gleaned from the profit margins of nonfinancial businesses, which have continued to press higher even outside the energy sector. Whether that rise in unit costs will feed into the core price level or will be absorbed by a fall in profit margins remains an open question.