THE data flow since the start of the year has been spooky.
Many nations, swept away by the tidal wave of economic woes, are facing a technical recession with deep slump in exports, rising job losses, massive wealth destruction and this – a highly uncertain prospect. Globally, to halt the downward spiral, policy makers have resorted to the traditional tool of slashing interest rates; many nations have also exhausted their rates ammunition, including the US, which rates are hovering near zero. Still, governments, throwing out of the window fiscal conservatism, are pouring billions of dollars to prop up their sagging economies, the outcome of which is not yet certain.