One implication of these developments is that exports are not likely to be as great a source of strength for U.S. economic activity in coming quarters as they had been earlier this year. At the same time, the increase in economic slack and the declines in commodity prices and import prices have alleviated upward pressures on consumer prices.
The recent financial crisis highlighted the fact that some financial firms had grown so large, leveraged, and interconnected that their failure could pose a threat to overall financial stability. The sudden collapses of major financial firms were among the most destabilizing events of the crisis.