Could this be what it's like to watch, paralyzed, as a country on autopilot begins to come apart at the seams while still proclaiming itself "the greatest nation on Earth"?

Last month, Warren Buffett went shopping - abroad. He flew to South Korea for a factory opening and called the country a "hunting ground" for investments. He also pronounced post-earthquake Japan "a buying opportunity," and then traveled on to India, where he said he was eyeing more acquisitions. This is Buffett's way of betting against the U.S. dollar. Armed with about $38 billion of cash at Berkshire Hathaway, he can use dollars now to buy companies that will generate profits in other currencies for years to come.

All this signals a clear shift in the development agenda. Traditionally, this was an agenda generated in the developed world that was implemented in - and, indeed, often imposed on - the developing world. The United States, Europe, and Japan will continue to be significant sources of economic resources and ideas, but the emerging markets are now entering this arena and will become significant players. Countries such as Brazil, China, India, and South Africa will be both donors and recipients of resources for development and of best practices for how to use them. A large portion of the world's poor live within their borders, yet they have achieved new respect on the global scene in economic, political, and intellectual terms. In fact, development has never been something that the rich bestowed on the poor but rather something the poor achieved for themselves. It appears that the Western powers are finally waking up to this truth in light of a financial crisis that, for them, is by no means over.

The catastrophe in Japan has made apparent just how fragile the global economy has become. Factories around the world have had to slow production due to a lack of parts. But the problems are surmountable -- provided the nuclear disaster in Fukushima doesn't worsen.

The European debt turmoil is not a cyclical liquidity crisis. Rather, it is a structural solvency crisis that requires immediate solutions. Dan Steinbock explains why the euro area crisis is only beginning - and explores how this challenge can be overcome.

Interest rates are rising in the long term. Businesses will have to adapt, while governments must prevent an era of creeping financial protectionism.

Economic decline at the hands of 'hot' money has driven Egyptians' discontent.

An American bill imposing punitive tarifs on countries that undervalue their currencies is set to unleash a new trade war between the US and China. But in fact the whole global currency system is in a state of jeopardy. As confidence in the dollar drops, private investors are putting their faith in gold.

When the spending bubble popped, it ushered in the era of the incredible shrinking consumer. Demand is weak, and companies are looking to do more with less by stretching their workforce and filling the gaps with cheap labor, even part-timers. Indeed of Brookings' 20 strongest cities have average or below average cost-of-living, and most of those cities have below average wages.

The faltering recovery and the credibility this has cost the the White House will probably lose the Democrats one or both houses of Congress, making the insufficiency of the stimulus easily the most consequential error for an administration that has done a lot right. To appreciate how it happened, it's necessary to understand the twin imperatives that dominate White House thinking. They usually function in harmony, but on this issue clashed to devastating effect.

I have just returned from Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom of unmatched natural beauty, cultural richness, and inspiring self-reflection. From the kingdom's uniqueness now arises a set of economic and social questions that are of pressing interest for the entire world.

Read this for an interesting strategic analysis.

Wall Street's banditry was the proximate cause of the Great Recession, not its underlying cause. Even if the Street is better controlled in the future (and I have my doubts), the structural reason for the Great Recession still haunts America. That reason is America's surging inequality.

Few doubt that US ratings agencies contributed greatly to the global financial crisis. Europe is now worried that the euro could also fall victim to credit downgrades -- and is exploring the possibility of creating its own ratings agency.

For decades, Turkey was one of the United States' most pliable allies, a strategic border state on the edge of the Middle East that reliably followed American policy. But recently, it has asserted a new approach in the region, its words and methods as likely to provoke Washington as to advance its own interests.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's handling of the Gaza crisis has brought him into the spotlight - and his country into the centre of regional politics. Patrick Cockburn reports

Brazil's economy grew at its fastest rate in at least 14 years in the first three months of 2010, official figures have shown.

At almost 20 percent, Spain suffers the second-highest unemployment rate in the European Union. But the rate for those just entering the job market is twice as high. This month, Madrid wants to push through far-reaching labor market reforms. But opposition promises to be fierce.

The IMF has warned euro nations that without more centralised control they risk sinking back into recession

Com a crise financeira européia, está se dando um passo a mais no avassalamento da Europa. Com o Tratado de Lisboa, a Europa entregou sua defesa à Organização do Tratado do Atlântico Norte (OTAN): acabou-se o velho sonho de uma defesa européia independente. E agora, com uma política financeira controlada pelo FMI, a UE renunciou a um pilar essencial de sua independência. Sem a defesa e a moeda, não lhe resta nada para afirmar sua independência dentro do bloco ocidental e frente ao resto do mundo.