Credit Crisis Leaves Economies Facing Risk of Default, WEF Says

The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression has saddled governments with so much debt that it’s sapped their ability to combat future shocks and left some of them prone to default, the World Economic Forum said.

In an annual study of risks, released two weeks before it holds its annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the forum said indebtedness has reduced the scope of policy makers to spur growth at a time when they are divided over how to govern the world economy.