A stellar rally in equities and bonds suggests market confidence is high for the world economy to reach a soft landing after a run of aggressive interest rate hikes. Yet labour markets are softening, the euro zone faces recession and China's property sector is in crisis.The U.S. economy grew 5.2 per cent in the third quarter, defying dire recession warnings.
But unemployment is rising, nearing a closely-watched 'Sahm rule' threshold, that has shown historically a recession is underway when the three-month rolling average unemployment rate rises half a point above the low of the prior 12 months. The picture is bleaker elsewhere. China grew faster than expected in the third quarter but manufacturing activity shrank for a second straight month in November. Britain's economy avoided the start of a recession in the third quarter but still failed to grow. The euro zone contracted