These excess savings (that is, savings greater than the investment opportunities at home have been channelled to industrial countries, notably the United States, financing its increasing current account deficit, which in 2005 reached a historic record, exceeding USD 800 billion, or around 6.4% of GDP.
In the US, the main factors driving the widening of its current account deficit in 2005 were household borrowing and fiscal deficits, while the corporate sector remained a net saver. Is the whole world contributing to these imbalances? And are we all affected? (See Chart 9).