World Stocks Down Ahead of U.S Government's Growth Estimates

Expected to announce 1.8 percent growth for third quarter

BANGKOK: World stock markets fell Friday ahead of the US government's estimate of economic growth in the latest quarter, which is expected to show improvement but not enough to jolt the global economy out of its doldrums.    

Economists expect the government to report growth at an annual rate of 1.8 per cent for the third quarter.

While that would be an improvement over 1.3 per cent in the April-June quarter, it would not be enough to reduce unemployment perceptibly or increase US demand for imports.