February 17, 2012

2012 will be a worse year for equities than 2011: Jim Walker

MUMBAI: Warning that negative signs persist in the global economy, Jim Walker, Founder of Asianomics on Tuesday said that he could see a re-run of the beginning of 2008 financial crisis.


With the Eurozone debt crisis continuing to drive global markets, Walker said that 2012 would be a worse year for equities as compared to 2011. "I expect emerging markets to outperform developed markets in 2012," Walker said. He also cautioned against the rush of liquidity currently hitting the global markets.

Walker expressed concern over the excessive liquidity being pumped into the markets by the central banks. Even though Walker opined that de-leveraging would be a major feature for the European economies in 2012, he didn't expect a similar scenario for the US economy in the current calendar year.

Moody's on Monday chopped the debt ratings of Italy, Spain and Portugal and put France, Britain and Austria on warning, saying they were increasingly vulnerable to the eurozone crisis.

Casting doubt over whether Europe's leaders were doing enough to reverse the downslide of the region's economy and financial sector, Moody's also cut its ratings for Slovenia, Slovakia and Malta.

The ratings agency cited the region's weak economic prospects as threatening "the implementation of domestic austerity programs and the structural reforms that are needed to promote competitiveness."

Walker believed that the US economy is resilient and that a 2-2.5% growth is achievable. He further added that no signs of recession were currently visible in the US economy.

Few months ago economists were all but certain the US economy would slow sharply at the start of this year, with many warning that recession risks were growing.

That pessimism has been shaken off by a string of surprisingly solid data that paint a picture of an economy with building momentum.

The jobs market is picking up, manufacturing is accelerating and the service sector is also flexing its muscle - good news for President Barack Obama, who faces an election battle in November.

The main reason for this newfound optimism is rising employment, which should help support the consumer spending that drives two-thirds of US economic activity.

indiatimes.com

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