The threat of global recession remains evident in the December Sales Managers Survey data. The Business Confidence index fell particularly fast, which is not usually a good sign, "animal spirits" being essential to foster economic activity and growth. In fact three out of four growth related indexes fell, and two out of the group are now in negative territory, below the "no change" 50 mark, reflecting difficult current conditions. Continuing price inflation, the war in Europe, geopolitical uncertainty, and the lingering problems of covid all continue to impact on the three biggest growth drivers of global economic activity (China, the USA and India), albeit in different ways.