Davos, Switzerland (CNN Business) Business leaders in Davos aren't thrilled about the global economic slowdown. But they're even more worried about how central banks will respond.

"What scares me the most longer term is that we have limitations to monetary policy, which is our most valuable tool," Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, said Tuesday at the World Economic Forum.

Central banks took dramatic and unusual steps to prevent economic collapse during the 2008 financial crisis. One decade later, most of the world's big central banks are only just starting to reverse those moves, limiting their ability to respond to a new downturn.

Interest rates remain at historically low levels, giving central banks little room to make new cuts. Now that the economy is softening, it's probably too late to get rates much higher.

"The only bank that has any room to maneuver is actually the Federal Reserve," said Axel Weber, chairman of Swiss bank UBS ( UBS ).

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