Richard Iley and Mervyn Lewis have written an extremely useful book on the global economy since the Western financial crisis. Well-written, well-informed and easily accessible to non-economists, it offers much good sense about many questions, from the future of the renminbi to that of the United...

1. The essence of the problem -- 2. The trade perspective -- 3. National accounting perspectives -- 4. The international perspective -- 5. Nature of the adjustment mechanisms -- 6. The sustainability of the deficit -- 7. The demand for US assets -- 8. China and the United States -- 9. Conclusion.

1. The rapidly changing world economy -- 2. The great recession -- 3. Global finance and payments imbalances -- 4. The role of monetary policy -- 5. The post-crisis world -- 6. China's prospects and challenges -- 7. The US external position -- 8. The redback, the greenback and the troubled euro...