Growth will rise to 3% on average over the next 40 years, up from 2% over the last decade, as the rising powers of Asia, the Middle East and Latin America become major players in the world economy, it said.
In a sweeping report entitled “The World in 2050”, the bank said China would snatch the top slot as expected, but only narrowly, reports the Telegraph.
China, at $24.6trn (constant 2000 dollars) and the US at $22.3trn will together tower over the global economy in bipolar condominium – or put simply, the G2 – with India at $8.2trn far behind in third slot, and parts of Europe slithering into oblivion.
Crunching everything from fertility rates to schooling levels and the rule of law, HSBC predicts that the world’s economic output will triple again by 2050, provided the major states can avoid conflict – trade wars, or worse – and defeat the Malthusian threat of food and water limits.
Fed unmoved by improving economic data
The US Federal Reserve will push ahead with its $600bn (£385bn) stimulus programme – dubbed QE2 – as it is not convinced by improved economic data in the US, meeting notes show.
Speculation had been mounting the Fed might scale back its controversial stimulus measures given recent signs of an economic recovery in the US.
Factory order figures for November, released yesterday, showed a return to growth.
The Fed minutes from its 14 December policy meeting revealed that “the pace and size of the overall purchase programme” would depend on the strength of the recovery, writes the BBC.
“However, some members indicated that they had a fairly high threshold for making changes to the programme,” the notes said.
“While the economic outlook was seen as improving, members generally felt that the change in outlook was not sufficient to warrant any adjustments.”
