HSBC downgraded its global growth forecast on Friday, citing risks to emerging markets from the slowdown in China and the prospect of a scaling back of the Federal Reserve"s bond purchasing program.
"The Fed might be thinking of monetary tapering but, for us, the only tapering is of our growth forecasts," warned Stephen King, HSBC's chief economist, and Madhur Jha, HSBC's global economist, in their third quarter global outlook.
HSBC cut its forecast for world growth to 2.0 percent in 2013, down from an earlier prediction of 2.2 percent. It also downgraded its 2014 outlook to 2.6 percent.
In a blow to those hopeful that emerging markets can propel global economic growth and boost anemic demand in the developed world, King and Jha said the downgrade was entirely due to concerns about the outlook in developing countries.
"While dominated by the reduction in our forecasts for China, the new numbers also reflect further sizable reductions in our projections for Brazil and India, among others. They are consistent with the idea that, even allowing for the emerging nations' obvious long-term growth advantages, there is no easy escape from deteriorating near-term economic fundamentals."
