The global economy is under siege. A near perfect storm of troubling events have conspired to create a challenging and, more worryingly, uncertain environment for the world’s businesses. The collapse of the U.S. housing market, the resulting change in the global market for credit, and rising food and energy prices have led to economic slowdown, rising inflation, and a more difficult framework for policymakers. What can companies expect and how can they engage in meaningful planning?

Starting with this publication, Deloitte Research hopes to address these issues in quarterly updates on the state of the global economy. While many financial institutions offer frequent economic forecasts, our goal is to offer quantitative forecasts of asset prices, with the goal of providing clients with a more strategic perspective. Our global economists, based in four countries on three continents, have endeavored to explain the major issues facing the global economy and offer a meaningful and actionable point of view.

In this issue:

• Carl Steidtmann, Deloitte Research chief economist, and Ira Kalish, Deloitte Research director of global economics, address the challenge of rising inflation from two points of view. 
• Elisabeth Denison, European economist and director for Deloitte Research, examines the performance of house prices in several global markets and offers an analysis of the outlook for housing and the potential economic impact.
• Sunil Rongala, Deloitte Research’s Asia Pacific economist, compares the slowing U.S. economy with Asia's continued rapid growth and examines whether the notion of Asia decoupling fromt he United States is myth or reality.
• Ira Kalish also examines the causes, impact, and future outlook of rising global food prices, which have roiled financial markets, challenged policymakers, shifted consumer behavior, and led to political turmoil in some countries.

This issue also provides outlooks for the economies of the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, China, and India.  Future issues will cover other economies such as Russia, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.