World Bank: China to help offset 2008 slowdown

In its annual forecast the World Bank said China, India and other developing nations will help prevent a deeper slowdown of the world economy in 2008, Bloomberg reported. Elsewhere, the bank expects tighter credit conditions and rising oil prices to constrain growth in the US, Japan and Europe. China will be the world’s fastest-growing economy this year, expanding 10.8%, a decrease on 11.3% growth in 2007. The bank set its global growth estimate  at 3.3%, down from 3.6% in 2007, and said the declining US dollar represents a "risk factor" for the global economy.