ECONOMIC AND MARKET OVERVIEW
Global
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published their bi annual World Economic Outlook with the main message that the global economy is on firmer footing than a year ago.
However, they also report that global prospects remain highly uncertain one year into the pandemic New virus mutations and the accumulating death toll raise concerns, even as growing vaccine coverage lifts consumer and investor sentiment Economic recoveries are diverging across countries and sectors, reflecting variations in pandemic induced disruptions and the extent of policy support The outlook depends not just on the outcome of the battle between the virus and vaccines it also hinges on how effectively economic policies deployed under high uncertainty can limit lasting damage from this unprecedented crisis.
Following an upward revision, global economic growth is now projected at 6 %(up from 5.5% in 2021 moderating to 4.4% in 2022 This revised figure reflects additional fiscal support in a few large economies (the Biden support package of USD 1.9 trillion for instance), the anticipated vaccine powered recovery in the second half of 2021 and continued adaptation of economic activity to subdued mobility High uncertainty surrounds this outlook, related to the path of the pandemic, the effectiveness of policy support to provide a bridge to vaccine powered normalization, and the evolution of financial conditions
