The expert panel addresses vexing questions of investor interest:
Carl Berrisford, analyst, UBS Wealth Management Research, is asked: Is the US finally recovering? If yes, what is the implication for Asian markets?
The latest economic data out of the US shows a gradual decline in unemployment and better industrial production than expected. This seems to confirm a modest but stable growth recovery of the US economy against a backdrop of a deteriorating Europe.
This renewed optimism has prompted some US economists to bump up US GDP growth forecasts to more than 2 per cent for 2012.
Others claim that the US has decoupled from Europe. Although the domestic consumer famously drives the US economy, making up more than 70 per cent of GDP, exports still contribute about 11 per cent. And while Europe comprises about one-fifth of total US exports, demand growth for US products and services from other regions of the world (like Asia) may fall as these regions suffer more directly from the European debacle.
It seems unlikely that the US economy could emerge completely unscathed from a contracting Europe. That said, confidence can be a powerful force in a consumer-driven economy and collective belief in the economy may rally the US consumer.