In the ordinary course of business, firms are exposed to credit risk and the risk of price fluctuations in currency, commodity, energy, and interest rate markets. For example, when an airline sells tickets months before a flight, the airline becomes exposed to fluctuations in the price of jet fuel.
Three things have been important in making the progress we have on reforms:   First, the sheer seriousness of the crisis, and the recognition that, in a globally integrated system, we all sit in the same boat;    Second, the readiness in the official community to agree objectives and timelines for substantial reform, including through the G20 process; and    Third, the establishment of mechanisms, such as the FSB, to hasten the policy development needed to meet these objectives.