Government help reaches its limit

In the coming months, the US has the almost impossible task of slowing domestic consumer spending without damaging broader economic growth, according to Bill Mott, UK strategic advisor at Credit Suisse Asset Management. The problem is that even if the authorities manage to achieve their goal, a positive outcome has already been largely discounted by the markets. He feels that the US government and the Federal Reserve have probably reached the limit of the help they can offer the economy through fiscal and monetary stimulus, both of which are at unprecedented levels. "If fiscal and mone...