280/YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE!
interest rates in the US, partly from the central banks of the rest of the
world holding their exchange reserves in dollars. The term
'eurobanks' refers to banks dealing in dollars on European soil, and
by extension, to the 'xenobanks' dealing in any currency outside its
country of origin. Free of state control and the obligation to lay down
reserves, they could offer high returns to their depositors and
competitive rates to their clients without reducing their profit
margins (Adda, 1996).
FINANCIALISATION OF A NATION OR FIRM
The degree of financialisation of a nation or firm is measured by a
simple indicator where the numerator is the financial assets and the
denominator, the financial assets plus the real assets. More precisely,
it may be said that financialisation exists when industrial firms
devote an increasing portion of their resources to strictly financial
activities, often to the detriment of the principal activity. (Salama, in
Chesnais, 1996)
G5
The G5 (Group of Five) came about in 196 7, when the US and the UK
called a meeting of the Ministers of Finance of the top five industrial
countries (Germany, US, France, UK and Japan). The G5 nations still
carry most weight in the G 7.
G7
Germany, US, France, UK, Japan, Italy and Canada. The seven heads
of state generally meet annually in late June, early July. The first G 7
summit was held in 1975, on the initiative of the French president,
Valery Giscard d'Estaing.
G8
Composed of the G7 plus the Russian Federation (since 1995).
G10
Composed of the G7 plus Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden, the
ten countries which signed the General Agreement to Borrow in