I’m reminded of that scene in Godfather III, for which I can’t seem to find a YouTube, in which Michael learns that Old Yurp ain’t so askeerd of his new world tough guy shit after all. I don’t know jack about econ, but this seems important to me:

IHT - Politicians, regulators and financial specialists outside the United States are seeking a role in oversight of American markets, banks and rating agencies in the wake of recent problems related to subprime mortgages.

Their argument is simple: The United States is exporting financial products, but losses to investors in other countries suggest that American regulators are not properly monitoring the products or alerting investors to the risks.
“We need an international approach, and the United States needs to be part of it,” said Peter Bofinger, a member of the German government’s economics advisory board and a professor at the University of Würzburg.

While regulators in the United States have not been receptive to the idea in the past, analysts said that Europe and Asia have more leverage this time around. Washington might have to yield if it wants to succeed in imposing bilateral regulations on state-owned investment funds from emerging economies.

“America depends on the rest of the world to finance its debt,” Bofinger said. “If our institutions stopped buying their financial products, it would hurt.”

Well that sounds rather stern, Herr Bofinger! Thanks! Not being in the investor class and already moving rapidly through the developing underground economy, this sort of thing hardly affects me except in terms of how it alters the price of gas and food. But I’ve longed wondered when the rest of the world would step in and say, “You’re done now” to the incompetents we’ve allowed to hold power. Is this a first shot? Have there been ones I don’t know of? Probably.

Although I suppose the flaw in this post is that Fredo didn’t make it to the third movie.