According to Reuters, the head of the international monetary fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, warned on the 24th that the world is in danger of falling into a low-growth, high-debt path, which will reduce the resources that governments can use to improve opportunities for their people, tackle climate change and other challenges. The upcoming US Presidential Election on November 5 has raised concerns that Americans, who have been stimulated by high inflation during the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden, may return Republican candidate Donald Trump to the White House, thus ushering in a new era of protectionist policies and a new trillion dollars in US debt. In its latest European Economic Outlook report, the IMF said an ageing workforce and slow productivity growth would reduce the continent's average annual GDP growth to just 1.45 per cent in the decade to 2029.