THE world economy is not in a really bad shape. That was the latest prediction in a report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week. The world economy is predicted to shrink by 4.4 percent in 2020. This is an optimistic take, better than the IMF’s June projection at minus 5.2 percent. Unfortunately, a new development just set in, directly threatened that optimistic prognosis.

Almost simultaneously with the publication of the IMF