USATODAY.com - World Bank: Economy peaked in '04

USATODAY.com"World Bank: Economy peaked in '04

U.S. and worldwide economic growth peaked in 2004, the World Bank said Wednesday in a report that predicted a gradual economic slowdown, while not entirely ruling out a global recession.

Global economic activity is projected to slow fairly sharply in 2005 before stabilizing in 2006 and picking up somewhat in 2007, the World Bank said in its annual Global Development Finance report. But the bank called that the relatively benign scenario and warned it could be worse.An abrupt increase in interest rates, a further large and precipitous depreciation of the dollar, a larger-than-anticipated hike in oil prices or a resurgence of protectionist sentiment could provoke a significant slowdown or even recession in the global economy, the World Bank said in its report.

Regarding the dollar issue, the World Bank said the currency was expected to decline another 10% in the next few years. Interest rates are rising in the USA while remaining largely unchanged in other major economies, such as in Europe."