11 April 2013 (23:05 UTC-07 Tango 10 April 2013)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1391/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

“….we do not expect global growth to be much higher this year than last. We are seeing new risks as well as old risks. In far too many countries, improvements in financial markets have not translated into improvements in the real economy, and in the lives of people.”-Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund

At a meeting of the Economic Club of New York, Lagarde divided up the World into three ‘speeds’ of recovery.

Emerging economies are recovering fastest: First Speed.

The United States is in the Second Speed category, but Lagarde warns “…an outstanding issue is that public finances appear unbalanced. Adjustment is too aggressive in the short term, and too timid in the medium term. This adds to uncertainty and casts a shadow on the recovery.”

Apparently Europe and Japan are in the worst Third Speed category.  It is interesting to note that the IMF is behind many of the European bailouts and austerity measures.