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Financial markets started 2015 in cautious mood. Worries about
deflation in Europe, weakness in emerging markets and geopolitical
risk in the Middle East and Ukraine were to the fore. Those risks
remain, but lately financial markets have been more focussed on the
good economic news from the US and the euro area.
A discussion last week with Deloitte's economists in New
York left me feeling even more upbeat about the American economy.
My colleagues think the US will grow by around 3.6% this year, a
sharp acceleration from last year's rate of 2.4%. A 3.6% growth
rate would be the fastest since 2004 and would put the US at the
top of the league of growth among industrialised
