Pi-Consulting

Research indicates once again that the sun is rising in the East, but could be setting in the West. How are the two hemispheres feeling about the immediate future? Don’t ask the French or the Germans, say respondents in an 18-country survey by Seattle’s Global Market Institute. They are convinced there is much to fear. In those two countries, around three-quarters of respondents viewed their domestic economies as being in a mess, while over half were convinced that the immediate future for their countries can only get worse. The third- and fourth-most-pessimistic countries were the USA and the UK, both with just above 40% expecting a further downturn in 2006. By contrast, around four-fifths of respondents in China and India are expecting further economic advance this year. (Source: Admap).