The year 2022 tossed several curve balls at consumers and investors. Supply chains remained in turmoil, Russia invaded Ukraine, inflation spiked to levels not seen since the early 1980s, and interest rates soared rapidly as the Federal Reserve took a whatever-it-takes strategy to rein in surging prices.
Unfavorable predictions for the global economy for 2023 are expected to drive consumer and market sentiment in the upcoming months. IMF chief Christine Lagarde has warned that this year will be “tougher than the year we leave behind” with a third of the world's economy in recession since the major drivers of global growth, the United States, Europe, and China, all experiencing declining activity.
