麻豆社

2011 was the year in which people started to worry about the credit worthiness of the governments of many of the world's largest economies. The United States lost its top triple-A credit rating. A British government commission proposed new measures to stop taxpayers being called on to rescue complex banks in the future. The Arab Spring revolution had little impact on the global economic picture, with the biggest oil and gas producers in the Middle East largely unaffected. A shocking earthquake and tsunami which hit Japan caused widespread damage, including to the Fukushima nuclear plant. Countries including Germany, Switzerland, Italy and China all began reconsidering their use of nuclear power. A meeting in Durban called for a new global agreement to cut emissions, but isn't set to start for nine years. In technology, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, died. He made fortunes from products that consumers hadn't even known that they needed died.

(Picture: An elderly woman cries in front of a destroyed building following a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. Credit: Getty Images)