Flash Dance

Following a week in which the risks to the global economic outlook suddenly skewed to the downside, the pendulum has swung back again over the past few days. Confidence in a soft landing for the world economy has instead now re-surfaced partly thanks to firmer-than-expected global economic data, together with some solid corporate earnings reports from the United States. In our charts this week we delve into:

·         The global business cycle

·         Copper prices

·         Semiconductor trade

·         Monetary policy transmission

·         US fiscal policy support

·         Euro area financial balances