Paulson: The Global Economy is Very Healthy, at its Strongest Level
The subprime crisis originating from the U.S. has led to a prolonged period of turmoil in global stock markets. At this critical juncture, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson publicly expressed extremely optimistic views for the first time in an effort to stabilize investor sentiment and restore market confidence. Although this subprime turmoil may lead to the bankruptcy of some funds or companies, and financial market 'adjustments' may continue, he still optimistically forecasted that the U.S. economy would maintain growth. The global effects of the Federal Reserve's "market rescue" efforts on capital markets have also become increasingly apparent.
Sweden Has a Complete Set of "Garbage Economics"
"Sweden has a complete set of 'garbage economics'," said Professor Nielsen of Stockholm University's Department of Economics during a press interview. Such an opening statement left the journalist somewhat puzzled — it was supposed to be an interview about economic development models, so why did Nielsen's first words mention garbage? And what does he mean by "garbage economics"? It wasn't until Nielsen explained his theory in detail that the journalist understood the subtlety.
Nordic Pirates Relying on Garbage to "Scout"
Nielsen first told the journalist a story: long ago, before Nordic pirates planned to raid a certain place, they would always send someone to "scout" first. These scouts generally judged the wealth of the area based on the garbage discarded by the locals. If there were many leftover fish, leftover meat, and even clothes that were worn out but of good quality in the garbage pile, it indicated that the place was relatively wealthy. Conversely, it wouldn't be worth raiding. Therefore, the correlation between garbage and the level of economic development was summarized by Nielsen as the first theory of "garbage economics."