Next Economic Crisis? A Global Manufacturing Slump

Whether the global slowdown will continue is anyone's guess. Some analysts think U.S. manufacturing will rebound, since, while businesses haven't been spending on jobs, they've continued to spend on equipment and upgrading their operations. But the real question is: who's going to buy the stuff? Global consumer confidence is at a lower level than it was at the height of the global recession in 2009. And the pessimism is only bound to increase as bigger fiscal cuts in Europe and the U.S. take their toll on the world's biggest spenders. Looming debt downgrades for Europe and the U.S. could make life even harder for their businesses and consumers by increasing costs. If there's one saving grace for the U.S., it's that, for at least the next decade, it will continue to hold the world's reserve currency, which will make U.S. borrowing and investing relatively cheap.