The questioner asked whether under a less malign scenario, which would still include fiscal contraction that could shave 2 percentage points off of GDP, the Fed had any arrows left in its quiver.

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Add in the exhaustion of the last funds from Barack Obama's 2009 stimulus package, and the implied fiscal contraction could be as much as 2.6 percentage points of GDP in the first half of the year.

ECONOMIST: America��s fragile recovery

Between 2010 and 2050 China's workforce will shrink as a share of the population by 11 percentage points, from 72% to 61% a huge contraction, even allowing for the fact that the workforce share is exceptionally large now.

ECONOMIST: Demography

With Kim already nine percentage points ahead of closest rival Rhee In Je in popularity polls, the so-called DJP alliance (a contraction of the given-name initials of the two men) can only further strengthen his position.

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