Global economy facing a 'five-finger discount'

Sees lower inflationary pressure ahead

Erik Weisman, chief economist at MFS Investment Management, discusses the five "growth-robbing challenges" threatening the global economy.

Global markets lurched into 2016 on the wrong foot, leaving many investors wondering if the recent slowdown in global growth is a sign of deeper troubles ahead. And while we naturally look at the most recent data points to establish our bearings, a longer-term look back frequently serves as a useful reality check. In the 1970s, as the US struggled through a deep recession, shopkeepers were constantly on the watch for stretched consumers looking to employ the so-called "five finger discount", a euphemism for shoplifting. Today, central bankers around the world need to be mindful of fiv...