Eugene Eteris, BC Scandinavian Office

Ten years in human history is really a minor for revelations. However, the past 10 years have been so turbulent that all spheres of social life, all parts of the world still feel the decade’s effects, mostly negative. Hence, our intention to shed light at those events that shaped global and European economy, public finances and business arrangements. The decade that changed the world.

The first decade in the XXI century was a time of nervous agitation. Already in the first moments of a new century, the world was drowned in panic: it was called Y2K-panic coped with fears that transitional arrangements in IT would be disastrous to politics and economy. This panic could remind us of how vulnerable our civilization is towards the modern technologic development. However, in March 2000 the US Nasdaq technology index peaked 5.048, marking the top of the „dot.com“ boom and S&P 500 index reached almost 1,500.00, the figure it could make only at the end of 2007 (with the lowest figure at 776.76 in October 2002).
Some notable event through a decade
The start of 2001 marked the start of the US recession; as a result, the developed economies grew by meager 1,2 per cent a year. Goldman Sacks coined the term „Brics“, showing the importance of Brazil, Russia, India, and China for the world economy. Energy group Enron collapsed with several executives convicted of fraud (its boss, K.Lay faced 20-30 years imprisonment, he died in 2006); then WorldCom scandal followed (B. Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in 2006).  

Full text at the website of The Baltic Course First 10 years in a new century: the changing world survived!