Analysts tend to ignore a crucial component of current-account flows: U.S. multinationals' selling their products from one foreign country to another.

FORBES: Fact and Comment

The main component of the current fiscal cliff squabbling, the income border beyond which the tax rate will increase, is clearly not a middle class issue.

FORBES: How Will The Middle Class Fare In The Battle Over The Fiscal Cliff?

By the same token the thirty-year hiatus in construction of new nuclear plants following Three Mile Island limited another important component of our energy mix and reduced our current options.

FORBES: Looking Beyond The Oil Spill

Accounting ignores these critical details while finance incorporates them by using cash flow metrics rather than earnings metrics and a cost of capital measure that reflects current interest rates plus a component for a company's overall riskiness.

FORBES: The P/E Problem

This remains a necessary component of the new model we seek, and it is a critical deficiency in our current relationship.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House