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The situation in the United States, where the economy is in a cyclically more advanced position and employment levels are close to their structural low, is conducive to the Federal Reserve normalising monetary policy. However, the absence of inflationary pressure, the downturn in and uncertainty over the global economy, and doubts about when interest rates will begin to rise all cast a shadow which has prompted very mixed expectations. As for developments in emerging economies, the slowdown in China, sharp adjustments to its share prices and the depreciation of its currency during the summer have heightened the risks of a steeper-than-expected fall in activity, with effects on the global economy through trade and commodity prices and via indirect contagion effects owing to higher risk aversion in international financial markets. The main issue regarding the Chinese economy is not whether it slows by a fraction of a percentage point more than projected, but rather the external consequences of such a development. For example, a slowdown in growth to around 6% of GDP, compared with 7.3% in 2014, is no grave cause for concern. In principle, these figures, which largely reflect the change in China’s production model to an economy more geared towards consumption, can be managed by the authorities. The uncertainty lies in the difficulty of evaluating the external effects of such changes, and the fact that the differing forecasts of private and public agents are reflected in greater volatility in financial markets.