The world economy is still in the process of recovering from the severe damage inflicted by the 2008 financial crisis, stemming from the mismanagement of European and American banking institutions. The industrialized countries have slowly managed to revive their economies and are now back on the path of relative growth. Their technological superiority, institutional and legal maturity and collective political resolve have all played an important role in the process of recovery. And yet, with the exception of China and the oil-producing countries of the Middle East Gulf region, the vast majority of countries worldwide continue to struggle with the consequences of 2008.
Concurrently, the interaction of global oil supply and demand produced a continuous rise in the price of oil from less than $40/B in 2009 to a peak of $112/B in June 2014, before falling by the end of 2014 to $60/B. Coupled with similar fluctuations in the exchange rate of the euro and the dollar, the two main currencies of global trade, these movements only heightened uncertainty about global economic prospects. (CONTINUED - 934 WORDS)
