LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Just as you learn to put up with
a nagging toothache, this week is expected to provide fresh
evidence that the U.S. economy is getting used to life on the
edge of the fiscal cliff.

Of course, putting off that trip to the dentist is not
necessarily wise. The longer Washington delays, the more painful
it will become to narrow its gaping budget deficit.

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Counting on China to keep driving
global economic growth boils down in large part to a bet that
the ruling Communist party gets urbanisation right.

If it does, some 1 billion Chinese will live in cities by
2030, up from around 700 million today.

LONDON (Reuters) – It would be fair to say that U.S. hedge-fund manager Kyle Bass does not expect the explosion in global debt in recent years to turn out well.

“This ends through war,” Bass, the founder of Hayman Capital Management in Dallas, said. “I don’t know who’s going to fight who, but I’m fairly certain that in the next few years you will see wars erupt, and not just small ones,” he told a recent conference.

LONDON (Reuters) – It would be fair to say that U.S. hedge-fund manager Kyle Bass does not expect the explosion in global debt in recent years to turn out well.

“This ends through war,” Bass, the founder of Hayman Capital Management in Dallas, said. “I don’t know who’s going to fight who, but I’m fairly certain that in the next few years you will see wars erupt, and not just small ones,” he told a recent conference.

LONDON (Reuters) – Out with the old, in with the new has a fine New Year’s ring to it. Unfortunately, the saying does not apply to the global economy: the uncertainty over U.S. fiscal policy that dominated the last weeks of 2012 is far from going away.

That uncertainty, which is causing businesses to draw in their horns, is likely to be reflected in two important December indicators this week – the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing survey on Wednesday and the jobs report on Friday.

LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) – Out with the old, in with the new
has a fine New Year’s ring to it. Unfortunately, the saying does
not apply to the global economy: the uncertainty over U.S.
fiscal policy that dominated the last weeks of 2012 is far from
going away.

That uncertainty, which is causing businesses to draw in
their horns, is likely to be reflected in two important December
indicators this week – the Institute for Supply Management’s
manufacturing survey on Wednesday and the jobs report on Friday.

LONDON (Reuters) – Five years into the great financial crisis, private investment in rich countries is still dead in the water, underlining the depth of the downturn and offering fresh evidence of the global economic tilt to emerging markets.

By 2011, private investment as a share of 2007 GDP had fallen 3.4 percent in the United States, 3.8 percent in Japan and 2.9 percent in the 27 countries of the European Union, according to data compiled by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the consultancy firm’s research arm.

LONDON, Dec 27 (Reuters) – Five years into the great
financial crisis, private investment in rich countries is still
dead in the water, underlining the depth of the downturn and
offering fresh evidence of the global economic tilt to emerging
markets.

By 2011, private investment as a share of 2007 GDP had
fallen 3.4 percent in the United States, 3.8 percent in Japan
and 2.9 percent in the 27 countries of the European Union,
according to data compiled by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI),
the consultancy firm’s research arm.

LONDON (Reuters) – The wheels could come off the U.S. economy even before it has shifted out of second gear unless politicians reach a last-minute deal to avoid $600 billion in tax rises and spending cuts that kick in next month.

The rest of the world would be unable to avoid the pile-up if America does fly off the so-called fiscal cliff.

LONDON (Reuters) – The ‘currency wars’ long deplored by Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega have involved little more than shouting matches so far, but the risk of an outbreak of outright hostilities in 2013 is growing.

Thursday’s decision by the Bank of Japan to quicken the pace of money-printing for the third time in four months is merely the latest attempt by rich countries’ central banks to revive growth by resorting to unconventional policies.