ING senior economist Martin van Vliet said in the eZonomics economic update video for January 2012 that emerging economies held up relatively well and “even the United States has recently been outperforming Europe”.

Cautious first half
But van Vliet highlighted several factors – including an expected slowdown in trade that would have knock on effects to central and eastern Europe and Asia – that lead to a more cautious outlook for the first half of this year. He said forecasts suggested a gradual pick up in global economic growth from the middle of 2012 but it depended on how quickly the Eurozone delivered “convincing action” for its debt woes.