Silver linings in global jitters

Is the US headed for a recession? Or has it simply hit a rough spot? What could be the potential implications of a US recession for Pakistan? Recent US economic indicators are, according to analysts, pointing to a direction where the American economy could be in recession early next year as a worldwide selloff jolted equity markets in the wake of a weaker-than-expected jobs report. This was despite the US having defied many such predictions in recent years. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also slightly downgraded its forecast for US growth to 2.6pc in 2024 in the July World Economic Outlook update from the 2.7pc it had predicted in April. The weak US employment report, featuring a post-pandemic high in the jobless rate, has rekindled worries that a potential recession might dash the Federal Reserve’s desired soft landing for the economy. A projected hard landing of the US economy amid recession risks caused stock markets across the globe to tumble.