Even without US ‘cliff,’ world economy on the edge

At the same time, many emerging markets are hurting. India is likely to log its weakest growth in a decade this year and Brazil’s economy is also sputtering. Luckily, growth in China appears to be firming. In the United States, the economy faces growing challenges even without the ongoing political wrangling over the $600 billion in government spending reductions and expiring tax cuts set to kick in at the start of next year.

The coming week brings a slew of reports expected to show the US economy struggling. Data on Friday will likely show employment growth slowed to just 1,00,000 jobs last month from 1,71,000 in October, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The United States’ travails come against a troubling global backdrop.

Europe is still a mess. Greece’s latest debt deal quelled immediate concerns of a financial market meltdown, with terms of the country’s bond buy-back plan likely to be announced early this week. But the country remains mired in a deep depression, with little prospect for recovery, and not everyone is convinced it will be able to remain a part of the single currency.

“We expect the euro to come under pressure again soon, and continue to forecast that the exchange rate against the dollar will tumble to

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