New York, August 16, 2010
By John Stephenson

The powerful economic growth of the first half of 2010 appears to have fizzled as economies around the world have slowed to a crawl. No longer will economists have to warn about the prospects of a dramatically slower second half of 2010, as it appears that the dreaded slowdown has already arrived. For many, this has come as a surprise. Low interest rates, boatloads of fiscal stimulus and a recovery in world trade were expected to propel global growth for at least the first half of this year.

In the U.S. , weaker-than-expected export numbers and slower inventory restocking caused the U.S. economic engine to sputter in June. The result was a revised second quarter growth rate for the American economy of just one and a half percent. And that's sparked fears of a double-dip recession in the U.S. , as stimulus expires and austerity measures begin to take hold in Europe.

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