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A delicate moment for the global economy

A lackluster start of the year for the global economy has prompted the International Monetary Fund to downgrade its predictions for growth in the coming months, the WSJ reports.

• “The I.M.F.’s latest economic forecasts cut the outlook for growth in 2019 to 3.3 percent from estimates of 3.5 percent in January and 3.7 percent in October. The decline has been broadly felt, with all major advanced economies, including the U.S., and most major emerging-market economies seeing deterioration in their outlook.”

• The I.M.F. pointed to “trade tensions and tariff hikes between the United States and China, a decline in business confidence, a tightening of financial conditions, and higher policy uncertainty across many economies” as reasons for the slowdown.

Don’t panic. As Daniel Moss of Bloomberg Opinion points out, the numbers aren’t so bad:

• “Yes, it’s a cut. But not a dramatic one. These numbers are a ways from one I.M.F. definition of recession, 2.5 percent, and miles from the contraction recorded in 2009.”