The world economy is entering the second half of 2020 still deeply weighed down by the coronavirus pandemic with a full recovery now ruled out for this year — and even a 2021 comeback dependent on a lot going right.
It’s a scenario few if any predicted at the start of the year, when most economists were banking on another year of expansion and a U.S. and China trade agreement was meant to give corporate and investor confidence a shot in the arm.
Instead, the rare pandemic forced large portions of the global population into what the International Monetary Fund dubs "The Great Lockdown." Central banks and governments responded with trillions of dollars in unprecedented support to prevent markets from melting down and to keep furloughed workers and struggling companies afloat until the virus passed.