Plumbing the Depths – The Ongoing Crisis of Global Capitalism

Authors

  • Brian O'Boyle

Abstract

Economists occasionally quip that they have successfully predicted seven of the last five recessions. By its nature, economic forecasting can be fraught with uncertainty, but there is widespread agreement amongst financial commentators concerning the ongoing crisis in the global economy. Citi-Bank analysts have put the likelihood of another US recession in 2016 at 65%. In Latin America their figure rises to 100%. The Bank for International Settlements is no more optimistic, arguing that we may now be witnessing the ‘calm before another storm’ as a ‘plunge in stock prices and a slowdown in global growth are taking place at the same time that investor confidence in central banks is waning’. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its growth forecasts no less than four times since 2015, citing a combination of faltering trade, contracting industrial production and low economic sentiment. Summing up its concerns, the Fund stressed that ‘global growth has remained too slow for too long.’

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Published

2016-06-01