Weekly Economic Outlook: Andrew Hilton's take on the world economy - and the threats thereto...

Why you should watch: Well, there were the Bank/Fund/G20 meetings in Washington - though not much was achieved, except a greater recognition that the short-term economic outlook is cloudy (at best). The problem is the war in Ukraine - and the uncertainties over Putin's endgame (and, indeed, of just what the West wants as well). A protracted conflict exacts maximum damage from all involved. As for recent economic releases, the story is the same: inflation is a clear and present danger (and central banks must act accordingly), while the evidence of recession is still patchy - though the consensus is that it is a very real threat indeed. In the meantime, the dollar's up, sterling and the yen are down - and equity markets have finally started to wobble. As for the French election... no surprise there. Despite the MSM bigging up the threat posed by Le Pen, it was always going to be a piece of cake for Macron. Good for NATO, good for the EU. Vive l'Empereur.

Andrew Hilton is the co-founder and former director of the CSFI. A PhD economist, he spent five years at the World Bank, before setting up an economic consultancy in Athens. He also spent a number of years in NY as a journalist, before returning to Blighty, where he set up the CSFI with David Lascelles (then of the FT).

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Produced/edited by Alex Treptow