could not have done what they did without the complicity of the rating agencies so we're told quote stiglitz here and then he asked max some how these two whales of corruption in s. and p. get a pass i don't get it can you enlighten him well what he calls alchemy i called reverse drug dealing and he's absolutely right that systemic crisis their systems are part of a racket the racket including the investment banks and the government policy makers it's all part of a collusion insider dealing and another fancy word for lying would be mendacity just to throw that in as well and the result is you've got too big to fail now in these rating agencies that are supposed to be impartial and independent and whether it's a rating agency or whether it's the new york times right i mean their view is completely partial it's paper view it's pay for the opinion it's an opinion per click per view . per dollar and it's utterly corrupt throughout the entire system and of course finally here is a bit of chart porn for those who like their porn with little bars and graphs look at that double top. and that's just

it's monday and over the weekend what do we hear well one day nobel prize winning economist joseph stiglitz gave us a warning about global trade surpluses and deficits and now take a listen. it is simply impossible for all countries to have a surplus so you know that's a written letter so he argues the whole powerhouse x. order and massive trade deficit dynamic isn't going to go on working forever and as countries with the major trade deficit realize that's unsustainable and seek to become trade surplus countries if that's not going to happen you just heard it because the map does not work out so enter a competitive currency devaluations the currency wars we often talk about on this show and aggressive trade moves now when it comes to when it comes to currency wars the u.s. and china may be what comes to mind but where are we with that you know we've certainly heard the political rhetoric here is an example republican front runner for president mitt romney for example says he would label china a currency manipulator if he was elected take a listen if they artificially hold down the value of

i worked on this at the oecd, which became part of the stiglitz commission. but i think it would be great if in a rio, the government's work to decide to adopt, or at least a timetable to get some key indicator measurement progress and get away from gdp being the only key indicator in economic development. >> let's start with that question. it is a good question, and it goes back to the first question as well. the door is opening, in a very happy way i think, on people thinking about the new economic system and was working for us. we are undervaluing the environment, the gap between the rich and poor is growing. the whole litany. the system is not working. the u.n. just had a major conference last week sponsored by the government of bhutan. you were probably there. what do we mean by a gross have been as index? and does that relate -- happiness index? and does that relate to other things? there is a drumbeat going on. there was -- there will be an economic institute meeting starting in june. can that be done at rio? no, but there will be a lot of side events