Third Oil Crisis

Asian and European finance ministers said Monday that the global economy faces “downside risks” from inflation, the U.S. economic slump and tightened credit conditions.

But the finance ministers, wrapping up a one-day meeting, also said that Asia and Europe are “less vulnerable and significantly more resilient to sharp external shocks” than they were 10 years ago, citing structural reforms and economic policies.

The gathering is held every two years as a part of the broader Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, a dialogue and cooperation body that brings together the 27-member European Union and 16 Asian countries, including China and Japan.

ASEM countries represent 51 percent of the world economy as measured by gross domestic product, and account for 62 percent of global trade.

The ministers said that while they remain “positive about the long-term outlook of the global economy” they “recognized that the short-term economic prospects have weakened,” according to a statement issued at the close of their meeting on the South Korean resort island of Jeju … read this article

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