BUSINESS
September 16, 1998 | JAMES FLANIGAN, TIMES SENIOR ECONOMICS EDITOR
Free-market economics and political liberty were the worldwide hallmarks of this decade--and may still be the basic, underlying trends. But something has happened, a shadow of doubt on the inevitability of open markets in Russia, Hong Kong and elsewhere, a threat to historic reforms in Brazil and other Latin American countries. Storm clouds are no longer beyond the horizon, but are threatening a global depression that would scuttle even the strong U.S. economy.