Please summarize the following article in financial perspective.

Free exchange | The fragile four /SYN Which emerging markets are most vulnerable to American financial tantrums? some control of their own fates. They are not "purely passive ob- jects of the effects of Fed policy decisions", as Mr Bernanke put itin 2015. Mr Basri has recounted the numerous measures he and other policymakers introduced to make Indonesia less fragile. They nar- rowed the country's current-account deficit by raising interest rates, tightening credit regulations and cutting fuel subsidies, de spite the political damage that would ensue. Cabinet discussions were very "dynamic", Mr Basri writes. Indeed, judged by the criteria of 2013, emerging markets today look far less fragile than they once were. Inflation is lower (only 1.4% in Indonesia) and exchange rate valuations have cheapened up considerably, says Mr Lord. Their current accounts are also "much improved". Indonesia's is now in surplus, as are India'sand South Africa's. These past indicators of fragility, however, may not be appro- priate for 2021. The pandemic has depressed demand and cur- tailed imports, which has temporarily narrowed current account deficits around the world. But the fight against covid-19 has also dramatically widened another kind of deficit: the gap between government spending and revenues. Budget deficits averaged over 10% of GDP across the fragile five last year, according to the IMF. Fiscal sustainability "has become the key macro area of concern Tter of your country. But there are better and worse days to start HERE ARE few greater honours than becoming finance minis- for some emerging markets", Mr Lord says. Bond strategists at HSBC, a bank, published an alternative rank- the job. Chatb Basri became finance minister of Indonesia, the ing of vulnerable emerging economies on March 2nd. The least re- fourth-most-populous country in the world, on May 21st 2013. silient, according to their scorecard, are Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico That was only a day before the start of a financial sell-off known as and South Africa. These economies have all been prone to current- the "taper tantrum". Yields on American Treasuries rose abruptly account deficits in recent years, even ifthe pandemic has flattered after Ben Bernanke, then chairman of the Federal Reserve, spoke the latest figures. And sizeable government debt in South Africa about reducing (or tapering) the Fed's bond purchases. Higher and especially Brazil leaves them exposed to any jump in interest American yields shattered the appeal of emerging markets, under- rates, which are now unusually low. mining their currencies, bonds and shares. "I had very little time to adjust," Mr Basri noted in 2016. The fairweather four Policymakers in emerging markets now fear a second such tan- These are not the only potential sources of vulnerability. When trum. As Treasury yields jumped at the end of last month, a broad American yields rise and the dollar strengthens, countries that index of emerging market shares fell by over 7% in little more have borrowed heavily in hard currencies find their debts harder than a week. This is "shaping up to be a bruiser", wrote Robin to bear. But the trouble need not end there, according to Valentina Brooks of the Institute of International Finance, a bankers' group. Bruno of the American University in Washington, DC, and Hyun on Twitter. Markets have calmed down in recent days. But if they Song Shin of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Any de again lose their composure, which emerging economies will be terioration in the creditworthiness of one borrower in an interna worst hit and why? tional lender's portfolio can limit the risks it is willing to take on One way to identify future casualties is to look at the character- other emerging markets, even those that mostly borrow in their istics of past victims. Back in 2013 Indonesia was one of an unfor- own currency. Boris Hofmann and Taejin Park of the BIs have tunate group of emerging markets dubbed the "fragile five" by shown that a rising dollar is a particular danger to emerging mar- James Lord of Morgan Stanley, a bank. The group, which also in- kets that have sold a large share of their bonds to foreigners. One cluded Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey, were all struggling reason why Mexico is on HSBC's worry list and Turkey is not is that with inflationary pressure, an overvalued exchange rate and a foreigners hold 46% of Mexico's local-currency government conspicuous current account deficit (which measures a country's bonds and less than 7% of Turkey's. trade deficit among other things). A few months into the tantrum These findings create a headache for conscientious finance Indonesia reported that its deficit had increased to 4.4% of GDP. ministers in emerging markets. If they strive to reform their econ- The "market went into shock", Mr Basri recalls. omies to make them less fragile, they will become more attractive Similar factors were combined into a "vulnerability index" by to foreign investors, who will then snap up a greater share of their the Fed's own economists in 2014. For the most part, the worse a bonds. But that could make them more vulnerable to a sell-off country scored on the index, the more its currency fell in the taper whenever global financial conditions darken. Indonesia's reforms tantrum. This kind of evidence has prompted Fed officials ever after the taper tantrum soon won praise from the IMF and attract- since to argue that the sensitivity of emerging markets to the Fed's ed foreign buyers back to its bond market. But, Mr Basri admits, words and deeds depends a lot on economic fundamentals in the these inflows increased the vulnerability of Indonesia's economy emerging markets themselves. to a reversal when global markets wobbled again in 2015. Emerging To the Fed's critics, that can sound like blaming the victim. But economies are not powerless victims of the Fed. But they can be it is also a hopeful message. It implies that emerging markets have hapless victims of their own success