Recovery of the World Economy
With the turmoil on the international financial markets calming down, signs of an incipient recovery can be seen in those economies that had been hit worst. The enormous drain of capital from the emerging markets has been stopped or even reversed in some cases, especially in the developing and newly industrialised countries of South-east Asia. Latin America is still suffering from the effects of its tumultuous financial market, but recent cuts in interest rates can be regarded as a stabilising factor for its economy. The outlook for Russia continues to be gloomy; business surveys within the EU, however, point towards stabilising confidence, after a temporary halt in GDP growth. The USA continued its strong growth, fuelled by booming private demand in the first quarter, with no sign of any significant slowdown in the near future. The only factor that could perceivably dampen its economic performance is the risk of the Fed raising interest rates in response to the recent turnaround in the inflation trend.