Final Word from Tuesday, October 23, 2018
There are so many fissures in the global economic foundation that the next financial crisis could come from almost anywhere. The New York Times reported that Wall Street investment banks are going to town with collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) that are put together from numerous convenant-lite corporate loans. When packaged together by skilled alchemists, the junk turns into gold. An explosion here would be enough to cause a bad recession, an economics professor told the NYT. Fear not, says CNB Gov. Jiří Rusnok, because there is no crisis on the horizon. He said on Sept. 26 that the CNB's numbers show nothing of the kind. He was franker in an earlier interview with Právo: "We must recognize that we live in a time replete with uncertainty. Each person must try to minimize the risks on his or her own level." Another way of saying the same thing is that if you are taken off guard when the next financial crisis comes, it will mainly be your own fault. [ Czech Republic Czech National Bank governor ]
Glossary of difficult words
fissure - a long, narrow opening or line of breakage made by cracking or splitting, esp. in rock or earth;
to go to town - to act with great energy and/or enthusiasm;
covenant - a clause or stipulation in a contract;
covenant-lite - light on stipulations or restrictions;
alchemist - a person who transforms or creates something through a seemingly magical process;
replete - filled or well-supplied with something;
off guard - unprepared for a surprise or difficulty.