All well for world economy at mid-year? Up to a point

Policymakers and economists seem to believe that the world is enjoying a broad expansion

So strong is the belief in the growth momentum of the global economy as it enters the second half of 2017, the point has been reached in the economic cycle where data not meeting expectations is dismissed as an aberration.
 
Flash purchasing managers’ indexes for services in Europe in June, for example, were weaker than anyone in a Reuters poll had predicted, but the market paid scant attention. “Way below expectations, but let’s not worry,” was the mantra.
 
Such economic Panglossianism — all for the best in the best of all worlds —is based on what seems to