US growth will be among world's best

Investors are turning increasingly bullish on US markets as they declare its economy in better health than major rivals from Europe to Asia, according to the Bloomberg Global Poll. As the World Economic Forum's annual meeting began yesterday in Switzerland and Federal Reserve policymakers convene in Washington, 48 per cent of respondents predict the United States will be among the world's best-performing markets this year. That's the highest rating for the US since the poll began in 2009 and it's more than twice that of Brazil and China, the second-ranked markets. The US is improving in the eyes of half those surveyed, compared with 18 per cent who are positive about world growth. Investors have yet to embrace tentative gains in fighting Europe's debt crisis, with 48 per cent identifying the euro-area as one of the worst to invest in and 67 per cent predicting that any perceived improvement is temporary and the crisis will deepen again. "The difference between the United States and Europe is almost night and day," said Paul Winghart, a poll respondent and senior fixed-income strategist at RBC Wealth Management in Minneapolis. "We have been recommending that investors stay within the US." Americans were the most optimistic about their own markets, with 62 per cent citing it one of the best investment opportunities, up from 53 per cent in December. Twenty-five per cent of euro-area residents also picked the US, compared with 40 per cent who chose the EU. The US economy will grow 1.8 per cent this year, while the euro-region will shrink 0.5 per cent, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.