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Given the grim global economy ravaged by mounting inflation, a near-recession in the U.S., and slowing growth rates in Europe and Japan, anxiety is rising. In a news conference given by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris on Thursday (March 20), concerns were amplified as global growth prospects weakened more than previously projected by the OECD last December. According to Jorgen Elmeskov, the acting head of the economics department at the OECD, growth rates had to be rounded down to accommodate continued turbulence in financial markets. "The financial turmoil is obviously the most evident source of headwinds in the current situation. It all started with subprime and the financial products that were based on subprimes, but it has spread beyond its origins and I guess there's a generalized sense of 'what's next'?," said Elmeskov. Stung by what could be the worst housing slump since 1982, the U.S. economy is grinding to a halt. The declining investment in U.S. residential property construction, if continued at the pace of the past 18 months, could reach a low of 3.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Coupled with a depreciating currency and an inflation rate at 4 percent last month, American markets are far from healthy. "For the U.S., the factors which I've just mentioned, they have clearly been breaking the economy since the onset of financial turmoil nine months ago," said Elmeskov. The OECD forecast that the U.S. e...