Though India's banks face bad debts, its cloistered financial system, high foreign-exchange reserves and capable central bank mean it is not about to keel over.

ECONOMIST: India��s slowdown

Against that, a new deal would keep foreign-exchange reserves high, allay lingering investor mistrust and shield Brazil from unexpected shocks.

ECONOMIST: Brazil, Argentina and the IMF

Yet the dollar's share of global foreign-exchange reserves has remained high.

ECONOMIST: America��s debt crisis will be chronic, not acute