It is not surprising that coping with this is politically difficult and it remains a point of considerable uncertainty what the ultimate resolutions in the various major countries will look like.
This may be leading to precautionary behaviour and, as a result, the global growth outlook does not look as strong as it did six months ago, even though it is not necessarily as weak as some of the pessimists fear. In our own region, indicators suggest some moderation in growth in the Chinese economy, but it appears to be still pretty solid.