Beware, New Doubts Emerge Over BRICs

The 2008-9 recession centered on the wealthy Western economies, with emerging markets suffering significantly shorter, less painful downturns. Then in 2009-11 the emerging markets, particularly the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China - so named by Goldman Sachs' Jim O'Neill in 2001) soared ahead of the wealthy West, leading to considerable talk of global economic realignment. However, as we enter the second half of 2011 new doubts have emerged: are the BRICs overheating, and will they cease bringing growth to the rest of the world?