Going deep....

IMF is telling us: The global economy should turn in an energetic performance this year, even though its biggest player, the United States, is expected to experience its weakest growth in five years.

This is wishful thinking! The real estate and mortgages issue in US, will spread in a major way. Even the IMF will assume that risk: Although there have been some "tentative signs of stabilization" in the troubled housing sector, the "housing correction still has a way to run," the IMF said. "A turnaround in residential construction is still several quarters away."

In a scenario like this, IMF speaks in a world economy growing at 4.9%. This is bullshit! Especially, if we look to the main driver's growth:

• The U. S. economy is expected to grow by 2.2 percent this year.
• In Europe, the IMF is projecting Germany to expand by 1.8 percent this year, an improvement from a previous projection of 1.3 percent growth.
• Britain should see economic growth of 2.9 percent this year.
• Japan, meanwhile, continues to recover from a decade-long stagnation. It is expected to post economic growth of 2.3 percent this year.

The emerging markets are doing well, but their weight is not so big in the world economy:

• China, is expected to log blistering growth of 10 percent this year.
• Russia is expected to see economic activity increase by 6.4 percent this year.
• India, which grew by 9.2 percent last year, will moderate to 8.4 percent this year.

How could it be possible, to grow 4.9% in 2007?

The day after

The market is a little bit dull, even with the positive signs from Bernanke: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told members of Congress Wednesday that U.S. financial markets appear to be "working well" and are functioning normally.

But this: New home sales saw their steepest plunge in 13 years in January.

And this: The gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, grew at an annual pace of 2.2 percent in the last three months of the year, according to the Commerce Department, down from the 3.5 percent rate the government estimated a month ago and still a bit better than the 2 percent growth rate seen in the third quarter.

Make us, a little bit worry!