Overseas economies have continued to grow firmly on the whole, although the global business sentiment of manufacturing firms has declined somewhat recently. As for the U.S. economy, business sentiment has been favorable and private consumption has been on an increasing trend, partly supported by improvements in the employment and income situation, as well as in consumer sentiment.
I have been reminded that economic predictions should always be taken with a grain of salt. It is no exaggeration to say that things have developed somewhat contrary to the predictions. The economic forecasts for the USA and Europe have gradually been adjusted downwards over the last year or so.