While improvement in capital flows has certainly been a supportive factor since September 2012, the deterioration in the trade balance is likely to weigh on the external balance nonetheless.
Judging by the experience of other rich countries that have suffered financial crises spawned by housing busts, such as Sweden and Norway in the early 1990s, weak balance sheets will weigh on consumers' spending for years rather than months.
With judges, the Senate must weigh and balance its concern for the independence of the judiciary against the recognition that because a judge is appointed for life, impeachment is the only available method for removing from office those who are corrupt.