Nouriel Roubini RGE Monitor

The recession will continue until at least the end of 2009 for a cumulative GDP drop of over 4%; the unemployment rate will likely reach 9% The prospect of a short and shallow 6-8 months V-shaped recession is out of the window; a U-shaped 18-24 months recession is now a certainty and the probability of a worse multi-year L-shaped recession (as in Japan in the 1990s) is still small but rising The world economy will experience a severe recession: output will sharply contract in the Eurozone, UK and the rest of Europe, in Canada, Japan, and Australia/New Zealand; there is also a risk of a hard landing in emerging market economies. Expect global growth – at market prices – to be close to zero in Q3 and negative by Q4. Leaving aside the effects of the fiscal stimulus China could face a hard landing growth rate of 6% in 2009. The global recession will continue through most of 2009. The advanced economies will face stag-deflation (stagnation/recession and deflation) rather than stagflation as slack in goods markets, slack in labor markets and slack in commodity markets will lead advanced economies inflation rates to become below 1% by 2009. Downside risks to global equities of the order of 20-30% Credit losses will be well above $1 trillion and closer to $2 trillion Expect a US fiscal deficit of almost $1 trillion in 2009 and 2010 In this economic and financial environment it is wise to stay away from most risky assets for the next 12 months: they are downside risks to US and global equities; credit spreads – especially for speculative grade – may widen further; commodity prices will fall another 20% from current level; gold will also fall as deflation sets in; the US dollar may weaken further in the next 6 to 12 months as the factors behind the recent rally weather off while medium term bearish fundamentals for the dollar set in again; government bond yields in US and advanced economies may fall further as recession and deflation emerge but, over time, the surge in fiscal deficits in the US and globally will reduce the supply of global savings and lead to higher long term interest rates unless the fall in global real investment outpaces the fall in global savings. Expect further downside risks to emerging markets assets (in particular equities and local and foreign currency debt) especially in economies with significant macro, policy and financial vulnerabilities. Cash and cash like instruments (short-term dated government bonds and inflation-indexed bonds that do well both in inflation and deflation times) will dominate most risky assets.

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