AS THE effects of the credit crunch spread, economic forecasters have become more pessimistic. A report published on Thursday May 1st by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister company to The Economist, considers a riskier economic future for the world as a result of the crunch. Its central forecast sees a 60% chance of a slowdown in growth in 2009, but it now predicts a 30% likelihood that things will get really nasty, with the dollar falling to new lows against the yen and euro and commodity prices plunging as demand slows. America could see GDP growth contract by 1.5%, while growth in the big developing economies could slip to the lowest levels in years.
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