The uncertain availability of food allowed little surplus for exchange, and there were few contacts with groups in different places that might have specialized in obtaining different foods.
The Chinese, European and Middle Eastern owners of surplus foreign exchange will look hard for anywhere but the U.S. to invest.
It created a host of millionaires and families of wealth overnight; the surplus foreign exchange was invested in national infrastructure, such as ports, railroads, and banks.
"The main threat to this recovery would be to enter an endless fight on current account surpluses and exchange rates," Mr. Strauss-Kahn said Saturday.
The latest huge trade surplus suggests foreign exchange reserves will keep booming, and with them the money supply.
Still, a current account surplus, large foreign exchange reserves and the yen's importance as an international currency means Japan retains good access to global capital markets, the agency stressed.
Both operated similarly in that they served as a redistribution and banking system for easily spoiled food; a group with surplus edibles would exchange them for durable goods (such as shells) that could be used in the future to acquire fresh food in return.
China, it is said, will have a massive foreign exchange surplus for the foreseeable future, gobbling up natural resources producers in Australia, Africa and Latin America, buying U.S. technology companies to transfer know-how back to China, and using an open checkbook to pick up big stakes in famous European brands.
International lenders are treating Iceland and Iceland's banks as one and the same, despite the fact that the government runs a budget surplus and foreign exchange reserves are adequate.
Optimists note that Japan still has an ample trade surplus and foreign-exchange reserves, and a high savings rate that can be harnessed to pay for the transformation of the economy into, say, a leader in renewable energy.
