These Are the Five Potential Trouble Spots That Could Knock the Global Economy Off Course
US unemployment claims in the US, business confidence in Germany, bond yields in Japan. What investors and executives need to be watching in 2024.
The global economy was tested in 2023 as it rarely has been before: inflation and the most aggressive monetary tightening campaign in decades, wars in Europe and the Middle East, a festering real estate crisis in China and the deepening rivalry between Washington and Beijing, which is forcing companies to rethink supply chains and security.
Despite these pain points, the post-pandemic global recovery managed to roll on. In the US consumers defied expectations and kept spending, prompting many economists to ditch their downside scenarios and forecast a rare soft landing. In China the booming electric-vehicle industry—along with a healthy dose of fiscal stimulus—helped leaders stick close to their growth target. And the world economy’s great new hope, India, took up some of the slack.