2014: A User's Guide to the Global Economy

Goodbye to images of sailing ships and maidens, oak trees and the Daugava River. The little Baltic nation is shucking a piece of its national heritage because its leaders think that joining Europe’s somewhat troubled common currency zone will lead to more trade, investment, and prosperity. “We are looking to growth,” Finance Minister Andris Vilks told reporters in June.

There aren’t many other events in 2014 that we can forecast with as much confidence as Latvia’s scheduled adoption of the euro. For decision-makers in global business, some big unknowns await. Things you’d like to know: Will the U.S. economy add jobs or asset bubbles with Janet Yellen as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve? Will German Chancellor Angela Merkel become more generous toward Southern Europe if she forms a coalition with the Social Democrats? Can Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang defeat the forces of reaction and repair the slowing engines of the world’s second-largest economy? And how about Shinzō Abe, the iconoclastic Japanese prime minister: Can he shrink budget deficits without pushing the economy back into deflation?

Read More: www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-14/2014-a-users-guide-to-the-global-economy