The West faces a long hangover

America's Federal Reserve scaled down its growth forecast yet again after the US released disappointing employment figures. And elsewhere in the developed world, recovery fell short of expectations.

Scaling down American growth forecasts has become "a depressing routine" for America's Federal Reserve, says The Economist. A year ago the US central bank expected growth of 4% this year. Now the figure is 2.8%.

Last week's lousy employment report, with only 18,000 jobs created in June, is the latest disappointing milestone in a lacklustre recovery. In other developed countries, too, the recovery has fallen short of expectations and previous post-war economic rebounds. "Lacklustre", says Telegraph.co.uk's Philip Aldrick, "is the new normal."

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