Emerging markets — led by the so-called BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) — have enjoyed an outstanding period of growth during the past decade. Starting in the early 2000s, investors, recognising strong growth potential in several emerging markets and responding to easy monetary policy in the United States, poured capital into these markets. The result was an unprecedented period of growth. Emerging market economies now account for more than 50 percent of global GDP on a purchasing power basis, and the BRIC economies are among the 10 largest economies in the world.

Recently, however, the BRICs have begun to crack. Growth rates in China, at 7.5 percent, and India, at 4.4 percent, are nearly half their 2007 levels of 14.2 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively. The IMF believes Brazil and Russia will grow at an annual clip of 2.5 percent, down from the 6.1 percent and 8.5 percent growth the countries respectively