Has the Global Expansion Weathered Too Many Hits?

At what point will the five-year-old expansion be dealt one punch too many? It may well make it through this latest scrape — and emerge in weaker shape. Top economic officials will earn their pay.

The Iran War will certainly extract a toll. The difficulty lies in figuring out whether it represents just another setback or finally quashes the resilience that's come to typify growth since the pandemic. This tension was evident at last week's meetings of the International Monetary Fund in Washington. It's encouraging to hear prudent noises from policymakers, but caution risks becoming an excuse for not doing anything. That can be smart in the short term. It’s not a sustainable strategy.