The current turmoil in emerging capital markets is the result of a classical reversal of market sentiment after an excess of optimism. There are good reasons for being cautiously optimistic but uncertainties remain.

In the United States, the regional Federal Reserve Banks (FRBs) are de facto subsidiaries of the central Federal Reserve Board. The claims and the debts between FRBs are settled through a transfer of assets which is actually a simple accounting arrangement.

Central banks in the Eurozone have accumulated claims and debts between themselves. These "Target 2 imbalances" substituted for the outstanding between private entities, in particular for the interbank loans and there is no mechanism to settle them. Should the Eurozone burst, they would become due.

Governments act as guarantors of last resort of the financial system, as evidenced during the crises of the past 6 years. It will remain true in the future, even if a better regulation and the bailing in financial institutions by their creditors allow to better circumventing the risks born by the taxpayers.

As remarkable as its economic growth, China’s income distribution has been worsening since mid-1980s. Inequality across regions, occupations and between individual all rose dramatically. More importantly, it did so in a short time.

The WTO is going through a leadership transition as after 8 years, the incumbent Director-General steps down on September 1, 2013. What are the challenges ahead for Pascal Lamy’s successor? The next DG will certainly have to take the Doha loss and move toward an updated multilateral trading system.

The design of the recent bailout package for Cyprus preserves the offshore banking status that is used by Russian depositors and round-trip investors. Is it worth it?

On January 30, 2013, the IMF Executive Board issued a short report on the outcome of its discussion regarding the quota formula review. Judging from the extent of remaining disagreement, the objective of completing the review by 2013 is not met and there is still a long way to go.

The last 5 years have been a major challenge for the theory and practice of monetary policy. The key channel of conventional monetary policy has been severely impaired and the target policy rates in some countries have approached zero.

Par arrêté du Premier ministre en date du 18 décembre 2012, M. Sébastien JEAN est nommé directeur du Centre d’études prospectives et d’informations internationales.