HONG KONG — They trooped out for their five minute photo-op, gray men in gray suits — plus this time one woman, also in a gray suit — and then huddled again for their discussions and finally painted a rosy economic picture of a world of turbulence.
The "they" were the financial masters of the globe, the finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven (G7) rich industrialized countries, with bonus places for the European Union. Their public account of the state of the world today was more or less a case of God being in his heaven and looking after us all, we hope.
"The global economy is in its fifth year of robust growth. Recent financial market turbulence, high oil prices, and weakness in the U.S. housing sector will likely moderate this growth. Nevertheless, our overall economic fundamentals continue to be strong and emerging markets are providing critical impetus to the strength of the world economy," was their statement.