WEF ranks US among most economically unstable nations
The United States fared badly in a new assessment of world economies, with the financial crisis accentuating its weakness as one of the most economically unstable nations, the World Economic Forum said Tuesday. In contrast with its overall ranking second only to Switzerland in the WEF's 2009 Global Competitiveness Report, the United States now placed 93rd among the 133 countries in terms of macroeconomic stability. "The United States has built up large macro-economic imbalances over recent years," said the WEF, which hosts the annual Davos pow-wow of business and political leaders. "Repeated fiscal deficits have led to burgeoning levels of public indebtedness, which are presently being exacerbated by significant stimulus spending," it added.
The United States also scored badly for the soundness of its banks, in 108th place, just ahead of Venezuela, Serbia and Vietnam. Like the United States, the banking industries of Britain, Ireland and Iceland brought up the rear, as their financial centres all suffered in the crisis. Iceland's banks were ranked the fourth most unsound, rivalled only by Zimbabwe, Mongolia and Ukraine, while Britain was the ninth from last and Ireland the 13th worst. While major Swiss banks also suffered in the economic crisis, Switzerland managed to come out top overall, overtaking the United States to lead the global competitiveness chart this year.
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