After the early end to the war in Iraq, the economies of the U.S. and Japan have shown clear signs of a recovery. Euroland has not yet shaken off its recession, but there too indicators of consumer and business confidence are picking up. China is again seeing strong economic growth now that SARS has been contained.
All in all, the general outlook for the global economy is brightening. In addition, hopes are growing that the North Korean nuclear issue can be peacefully resolved as, prompted by the holding of multilateral talks, all the countries involved have stepped up their efforts to bring this about.