Savings glut Chickens, not eggs

The US runs a huge trade deficit, about 6% of GDP. Asian central banks finance at least 70% of this deficit by buying US bonds. Which comes first, the US demand for imports or the foreign demand for dollar assets? It’s a chicken-and-egg question, because neither can exist without the other. But Ben Bernanke, a former member of the US Federal Reserve Board, thinks the foreigners come first. He talks about a <<global savings glut>>. In his view, non-Americans have been looking for some...