Global growth plummets to just 0.1pc, says OECD

There's quite a lot of optimism but little to show for it. Here's the OECD estimating growth of the relevant countries at just 0.1 per cent. The growth that has been seen is only been achieved by way of heavy intervention from central banks worldwide. Stimulus and more stimulus. Even China has had to resort to monetary easing via lowered bank Reserve Ratio Requirements though they are still plagued with high inflation. The reality is of course, countries are taking evasive action to avoid what would otherwise become a global economic meltdown. Anyone really think that the current financial system is viable while the only way to keep this patient alive is through ongoing indefinite stimulus money and bailouts (life support)? The writing is on the wall surely.

UK Telegraph

Growth among the world's leading nations fell sharply to just 0.1pc in the final three months of last year as the eurozone crisis triggered fears of a second credit crunch, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD).

The Paris-based think-tank estimated the level of output for the OECD region from each country's provisional estimate. The UK was one of a clutch of economies to shrink in the final quarter of 2011, the largest of which were a 0.7pc decline in Italy and a 0.6pc decline in Japan. Britain contracted by 0.2pc, the same as Germany.

The backward-looking data reflected the mounting fears of the euro crisis spinning out of control. Economists have since grown more sanguine about prospects, largely as a result of the "Draghi bazooka" – the European Central Bank's emergency funding scheme for lenders named after ECB chief Mario Draghi.

The ECB pumped €489bn into the banking system in December through its three-year funding operation, and is expected to do as much again on February 29. The move is widely considered to have staved off a banking crisis, preventing a catastrophic repeat of the credit crunch of 2008 and 2009.