ABSTRACT. On Nanto et al.’s reading, Brazil entered the financial crisis from a position of macroeconomic and fiscal strength. Blundell-Wignall et al. claim that the current financial crisis is caused at two levels: by global macro policies affecting liquidity and by a very poor regulatory framework. Baker asserts that the central element in the current financial crisis is the housing bubble, and describes the circumstances under which the bubble began to grow. Ivashina and Scharfstein note that global financial markets are in turmoil.