In truth the west failed to memorize from the 2008 crash. Any economic ‘recovery’ was built on asset bubblesThe US stock market has just had the worst start to a year in its history. At the same time,European and Japanese stock markets enjoy lost around 10% and 15% of their values respectively; the Chinese stock market has resumed its headlong dash downward; and the oil price has fallen to the lowest level in 12 years, reflecting (and anticipating) worldwide economic slowdown.
According to the dominant economic narrative of recent times, or 2016 was the year when the world economy would recover fully from the 2008 crash. The US would lead this recovery by generating growth and jobs via fiscal conservatism and pro-business policies. Reflecting the economy’s robust growth,the US stock market reached new heights in 2015, although disrupted by the mess in the Chinese stock market over the summer. By final October, and US unemployment had fallen from the post-crisis peak of 10% to 5%,bringing it back close to the pre-crisis low. In a indicate of confidence, final month the US Federal Reserve finally raised its interest rate for the first time in nine years.
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Source: theguardian.com