The International Monetary Fund, in a World Economic Outlook released on Wednesday, slashed growth projections for the United States, the epicenter of the woes, and the global economy as a whole. Even so, growth in China and India will remain strong, even as the two nations are expected to post lower growth rates in 2009. Economic growth in the United States is expected to slow to a crawl of just 0.5 per cent this year, which would mark the worst pace in 17 years, when the country last suffered through a recession, the global finance body said. The United States will not fare much better next year; the IMF projected the U.S. economy will grow by a feeble 0.6 percent in 2009, when measured by an annual average. "The US economy will tip into a mild recession in 2008 as the result of mutually reinforcing cycles in the housing and financial markets," the IMF said.
Looking at other countries, the IMF trimmed its projection for Germany, with economic growth slowing to 1.4 percent this year and weakening to 1 per cent in 2009. In Britain, growth will slow to 1.6 per cent this year and next. France also will see growth decelerate to 1.4 percent this year and 1.2 percent next year. Japan's economy will expand by 1.4 per cent this year and 1.5 percent next year, which would mark a loss of momentum from last year. Canada's growth would slow to 1.3 percent this year and pick up slightly to 1.9 per cent next year.
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