APEC’S always in fashion
One of the most closely guarded secrets at the APEC summit in Japan’s port city of Yokohama this weekend is not what the Asia-Pacific leaders might say about currencies and global imbalances. No, that’s all going to be thrashed out at the G20 meeting Thursday and Friday in Seoul. The big topic of speculation here at the Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center is what the leaders will wear when they gather for the annual class photo that concludes the meetings.
U.S. President George W. Bush (L) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin wear Chilean ponchos at APEC meeting in Santiago in 2004. REUTERS
The last time Japan hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit was 1995 in Osaka. There the leaders, apparently trying to depict the Japan Salaryman look, came out in business suits. Nobody remembers much about that APEC meeting, except that it took place in the magnificent, gold-embellished Osaka Castle.
In fact, APEC summits are rarely memorable for much beyond the fashion show and the intriguing historical settings in which they are often staged. The 1994 summit in Bogor, Indonesia is enshrined in the annals of APEC for the “Bogor Goals” that were agreed there. Leaders committed to achieving “free and open trade and investment” by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing ones, giving the group its blueprint for the future. The 21 summiteers in Yokohama are expected to declare that the five industrialised members have passed their Bogor tests. Another eight in the developing wing have asked to be assessed as well, proud of their record in cutting tariffs and red tape.
I covered the 1994 summit, when Bill Clinton famously kept Indonesian President Suharto waiting and pacing on the portico of the 18th-century Bogor Palace. Everyone was watching Bill work the crowds, while Suharto ostentatiously looked at his watch, peacocks screeching in the bushes. I’ve covered nearly half of the annual summits since they began in Seattle in 1993 when Clinton began the fashion show tradition by outfitting the leaders in black leather bombardier jackets. That was kind of a cool look for everybody.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (3rd from left) joins Indonesian President Suharto (to Clinton’s right) in waving to the media at the 1994 summit in Bogor, Indonesia. REUTERS
Since then they’ve been decked out in native attire ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Previous meetings have seen the leaders don Chilean ponchos, Chinese silk jackets, batik shirts, Korean Hanboks, Vietnamese silk tunics, Mexican sombreros, New Zealand sailing jackets, and Australian Drizabone raincoats. The funniest photo has to be the one from the Santiago summit in 2004 when they all trundled out in Chilean ponchos that made them look they were auditioning for a part in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Vladimir Putin looked like he had been stuffed inside a box made of raccoon skins in his chamanto.
Who do you blame for the credit crisis?
Greedy bankers are routinely blamed for the credit crisis but one British-based poll of — well, financiers — spreads the blame more widely.
Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income research at Evolution Securities, wanted a more specific scapegoat and ran a poll of about 200 mostly fund managers and investors asking them to pick their credit crisis culprit. Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was the clear winner, picking up 35 percent of the votes. He has been widely criticised over the past year for low interest rate policies that helped fuel the credit boom.
Former U.S. president Bill Clinton also figured quite prominently with about 10 percent of votes, and British prime minister Gordon Brown got quite a few.
Some bankers were singled out, including Fred Goodwin, former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland and Richard Fuld, the head of collapsed Lehman Brothers.
In a related article in Euroweek, Jenkins also had a unique culprit — Bill Gates of Microsoft. None of the maths behind structured credit could be done without spreadsheets like Excel, Jenkins reckons.
So who do you think is to blame?
(Reuters photo: Kevin Lamarque)
I have a hard time blaming lenders because of their greed. I certainly don’t feel sorry for them. They took the risk and now they have to pay for their greed. Massive losses on bad loans. Got what they deserved. Borrowers, though? How can you borrow more than you can afford. Spend it. Then blame someone for lending you too much?
