The post-crisis environment has seen central banks play an increasingly large role in the financial stability policies of many countries. Central bankers need to understand how price and financial stability policies must work together for the best best results.
For the past few years Greece, has been fighting its fiscal deficit with a harsh austerity programme. However, the limited success of this approach means that if the country is to make a sustainable recovery from its current economic crisis, its policies must focus more on instigating growth.
With the same proactive approach that allowed the country to steer clear of the worst of the global economic crisis, Qatar's central bank is preparing the country's banks sector for regulatory pressures ahead, while ensuring they can meet the large-scale funding requirements that come with the country hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
A combination of responsible fiscal control, economic diversification and social inclusion make for a resilient economy. While Colombia has made significant strides towards achieving such equilibrium there is still headway to be made, with issues such as the country's stubbornly high unemployment rate, social inequality, and the threat from narcotraffickers still to be tackled.
New Zealand may have fared relatively well during the global financial crisis, but the difficult economic climate, combined with specific market failures, has served to raise some serious questions among policy-makers, banks and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand itself.
As China becomes a growing source of finance in Latin America, looking to internationalise the renminbi and diversify its investments away from low-yielding US debt securities, both parties seem to be reaping the rewards. But does this blossoming relationship simply highlight Latin America's dependence on commodities?
As China moves from producer to consumer, as more bilateral trade agreements are signed, and as more environmental disasters show just how vulnerable a country's manufacturing base can be, a new era is emerging that is changing the entire philosophy of the global supply chain.
There is a feeling in some circles that as the East rises, the West must simultaneously decline. But why? Rising prosperity in Asia means more opportunities for businesses and banks in North America and Europe, and the only ones to suffer will be those who continue to think along 'East versus West' lines.
One of the key facets to Europe emerging from its current malaise lies in the creation of a market in which its social businesses – innovative entrepreneurs that make up about 10% of the continent’s companies – can thrive, unencumbered by red tape, lack of finance or regional boundaries. The European Commission is on the case.
With an economy on the rise and an influx of new foreign investment, Panama's businessman-turned-president Ricardo Martinelli is planning to push on with taking advantage of the country's location and expanding the Panama Canal, as more ships look to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.