It used to be that the emerging economies had all the answers: commodity prices were booming, stock markets were roaring, and GDP growth was much faster than in developed economies like the US and Europe. Now? Not so much. Here’s an excerpt from two separate Wall Street Journal articles on September 11 about Brazil and China:

Regarding Brazil, “The country’s economy now appears to hang on the whims of a chaotic political system that relies on back-room favor trading among a patchwork of political parties that have little in common beyond a desire to increase their power bases.”

Regarding the recent downturn in the Chinese economy and wild swings in the stock market, mostly down, as noted in a speech by a leading Chinese authority, Premier Li Keqiang:

“Mr. Li in his speech didn’t mention the stock market directly, took no responsibility on behalf of the government for any percieved mislandling, offered few details on how reform would unfold, and blamed global weakness and China’s economic transition for the recent volatility of economic indicators.”