Nov 10th 2025|4 min read
By Henry Curr, Economics editor, The Economist
FOR YEARS the world economy has defied doomsayers. When the coronavirus pandemic struck, many people expected a long slump; instead there was a fast and inflationary rebound. When central banks then raised interest rates to quell prices, a widely forecasted recession never came. And after President Donald Trump slapped “Liberation Day” tariffs on trading partners in April, markets tanked. Investors feared an enormous trade war and a deep crisis. But the tariffs were watered down and stockmarkets began an astonishing bull run. At the same time America’s real economy has grown at a rate that, though noticeably slower than before, is far from recessionary. Globally, too, growth has slowed but not stopped.
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Nov 10th 2025|4 min read
By Henry Curr, Economics editor, The Economist
FOR YEARS the world economy has defied doomsayers. When the coronavirus pandemic struck, many people expected a long slump; instead there was a fast and inflationary rebound. When central banks then raised interest rates to quell prices, a widely forecasted recession never came. And after President Donald Trump slapped “Liberation Day” tariffs on trading partners in April, markets tanked. Investors feared an enormous trade war and a deep crisis. But the tariffs were watered down and stockmarkets began an astonishing bull run. At the same time America’s real economy has grown at a rate that, though noticeably slower than before, is far from recessionary. Globally, too, growth has slowed but not stopped.
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LeadersEconomyThe World Ahead 2026
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2026 under the headline “Rolling with the punches”