In the course of last year, the economic climate cooled down world-wide; it was placed under additional strain in late summer by the Gulf crisis. In some industrialized countries, especially the USA, recessive trends have recently gained prevalence. Do indications for 1991 therefore point to a...

For two years now the international raw materials markets have been characterised by a lasting slump. The weak and short-lived reactions to the Falklands crisis and to the intensification of hostilities between Israel and its Arab neighbours are indicative of the situation. During this year's...