The US ranked first three months ago in the last quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll. Along with the slipping perceptions of US markets in the most recent survey, conducted last week, poll respondents say the Federal Reserve is likely to take further steps to try to bolster the economy.
In the poll of 1408 investors, analysts and traders, respondents rate the US fourth for potential returns over the next year, behind Brazil and China, tied for first, and India, in third place. The US economic situation "is obviously unsustainable, and the concerted attempt to suspend disbelief is playing increasingly poorly abroad", says Eric Kraus, chief strategist at Otkritie Brokerage in Moscow. "One can delay, but no one can forestall the unwind of a multidecade credit bubble." Economic reports released since the June poll show US gross domestic product growth slowed to 1,6 percent in the second quarter from 3,7 percent in the first . In the final quarter of last year, GDP grew 5 percent . Expectations for GDP growth next year have dropped to a median forecast of 2,5 percent this month from 2,9 percent in June, according to Bloomberg's survey of economists.
