MarketWatch: U.S. financial superpower status to wane?

[marmar]

U.S. losing financial superpower status: Steinbrueck

By William L. Watts, MarketWatch


LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Germany's finance minister on Thursday laid the blame for the global banking crisis on the Anglo-American free-market model's quest for ever-higher near-term profits, predicting the United States would soon lose its role as the world's dominant financial power.

"The U.S. will lose its status as the superpower of the global financial system, not abruptly but it will erode," Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck told the lower house of Germany's parliament in Berlin, according to published reports. "The global financial system will become more multi-polar."

Steinbrueck criticized the United States for failing to adequately regulate investment banks and said free-market policies embraced by the United States and Great Britain that emphasized a short-term "insane drive for higher and higher profits" were partly to blame for the crisis.

"Wall Street will never be what it was," he said.

The finance minister said he would push for a global ban on speculative short selling and would use next month's meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers in Washington to press for new rules that would prevent banks from fully securitizing loans and selling them to third parties.

Steinbrueck said U.S. authorities were late in undertaking rescue efforts, but said he welcomed the decision to attempt to bail out only organizations whose collapse would threaten the world financial system. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-lose-financial-superpower-status/story.aspx?guid=%7BAAD822C1%2DBC7E%2D4178%2D9BFE%2DF9A8C897D209%7D

[LaurenG]

1. I think we're on the downslope for the remainder of ?...

We are no super power militarily or financially anymore. Not that that's a bad thing.

I think it's China's turn, oh and watch the fall of China in about 50 years. Their dictators are as greedy as ours but the world won't put up with them as long since they aren't human rights friendly and don't pretend to be.