NO SOONER had the global economy started to put the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic behind it than a whole new set of challenges opened up for 2025.

In 2024, the world’s central banks were finally able to start lowering interest rates after largely winning the battle against inflation without sparking a global recession.

Stocks hit record highs in the United States and Europe and Forbes declared a “banner year for the mega-wealthy” as 141 new billionaires joined its list of the super-rich.

But if this was supposed to be good news, someone forgot to tell voters. In a bumper election year, they punished incumbents from India to South Africa, Europe and the United States for the economic reality they were feeling: a merciless cost of living crisis brought on by cumulative post-pandemic price rises.

For many, it might get tougher in 2025. If a Donald J. Trump presidency enacts US import tariffs that spark a trade war, that could mean a fresh dose of inflation, a global slowdown or both. Unemployment, currently near historic lows, could rise.

Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, political logjams in Germany and France, and questions over the Chinese economy further cloud the picture. Meanwhile, rising up the rank of concerns for many countries is the cost of climate damage.

According to the World Bank, the poorest countries are in their worst economic state for two decades, having missed out on the post-pandemic recovery. The last thing they need are new headwinds — for example, weaker trade or funding conditions.

In richer economies, governments need to work out how to counter the conviction of many voters that their purchasing power, living standards and future prospects are in decline. Failure to do so could feed the rise of extremist parties already causing fragmented and hung parliaments.

New spending priorities beckon for national budgets already stretched after COVID-19, from tackling climate change to boosting armies to caring for aging populations. Only healthy economies can generate the revenues needed for that.

If governments decide to do what they have been doing for years — simply piling on more debt — then sooner or later they run the risk of getting caught up in a financial crisis.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR 2025
As European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said in her press conference after the ECB’s final meeting of the year, there will be uncertainty “in abundance” in 2025.

It is still anyone’s guess whether Mr. Trump will push ahead with tariffs of 10-20% on all imports, rising to 60% for Chinese goods, or whether those threats were just the opening gambit in a negotiation. If he goes ahead with them, the impact will depend on what sectors bear the brunt, and who retaliates.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, faces mounting pressure to begin a deep transition as its growth impetus of recent years runs out of steam. Economists say it needs to end an over-reliance on manufacturing and put more money in the pockets of low-income citizens.

Will Europe, whose economy has fallen further behind that of the United States since the pandemic, tackle any of the root causes — from lack of investment to skills shortages? First, it will need to resolve political deadlocks in the two biggest euro zone economies, Germany and France.

For many other economies, the prospect of a stronger dollar — if Trump policies create inflation and so slow the pace of Federal Reserve rate cuts — is bad news. That would suck investment away from them and make their dollar-denominated debt dearer.

Finally, add in the largely unknowable impact of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East — both of which may have a bearing on the cost of energy which fuels the world’s economy.

For now, policymakers and financial markets are banking on the global economy being able to ride all this out and central bankers completing the return to normal interest rate levels.

But as the International Monetary Fund signaled in its latest World Economic Outlook: “Brace for uncertain times.” — Reuters

SEOUL — South Korea’s main opposition party threatened on Monday to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo if he failed to proclaim a law to launch a special counsel investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law.

Prime Minister Han has taken over from the suspended Mr. Yoon, who was impeached on Dec. 14 and faces a Constitutional Court review on whether to oust him.

With a majority in parliament, the opposition Democratic Party passed a bill this month to appoint a special counsel to pursue charges of insurrection, among others, against the conservative Mr. Yoon and to investigate his wife over a luxury bag scandal and other allegations.

The party, which has accused Mr. Han of aiding Mr. Yoon’s martial law attempt and reported him to police, said it would “immediately initiate impeachment proceedings” against the acting president if the legislation was not promulgated by Tuesday.

“The delays show that the prime minister has no intention of complying with the constitution, and it is tantamount to admitting that he is acting as a proxy for the insurgent,” Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae told a party meeting, referring to Mr. Yoon.

Mr. Han is a technocrat who has held leadership roles in South Korean politics for 30 years under conservative and liberal presidents. Mr. Yoon appointed him prime minister in 2022.

Mr. Han’s office could not immediately be reached for comment. He has previously said he had tried to block Mr. Yoon’s martial law declaration but apologized for failing to do so.

Mr. Park also accused Mr. Yoon of hampering the Constitutional Court trial by repeatedly refusing to accept court documents.

“Any delay in the investigation and impeachment trials is an extension of the insurrection and an act of plotting a second one,” Mr. Park said.

A joint investigative team including police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials has made a second attempt to call Mr. Yoon in for questioning on Dec. 25, though it was unclear whether he would appear. 

Woo Jong-soo, investigation chief of the national police agency, told parliament on Monday that police had tried to raid Mr. Yoon’s office twice but the presidential security service denied them entry. Mr. Woo said his team sent a request to preserve evidence, including a secure phone server. — Reuters

ROME — A restored Trevi Fountain was unveiled on Sunday after more than two months of cleaning and restoration, part of Rome’s preparations for the 2025 Roman Catholic Holy Year.

The work, for which the city of Rome set a 327,000 euro budget, included removing dirt, pollution, iron oxide and limescale from the 18^th-century monument, one of the best-known of Rome’s many tourist attractions.

During that time, the fountain had been drained but visitors were able to view it from a temporary footbridge.

To avoid a return of the big crowds that customarily engulfed the small square housing the fountain, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said visitors will have to form a queue with 400 people at a time allowed by the fountain.

Tourists won’t have to rush, with no time limit set to walk from one end of the fountain to the other, but they won’t be permitted to sit on its border. In the future, the city of Rome may consider introducing a ticket for the monument, Mr. Gualtieri added.

The Vatican expects up to 32 million tourists will descend on the Italian capital for the Jubilee, putting Rome’s antiquated infrastructure under enormous strain and adding to the headaches of managing the flow of visitors.

Completed in 1762, the fountain is a late Baroque masterpiece, with statues of Tritons guiding the shell chariot of the god Oceanus, illustrating the theme of the taming of the waters.

Tradition dictates that visitors toss a coin into the fountain to guarantee their return to Rome. During the works, visitors had to throw coins into a temporary pool.

It is also remembered for one of cinema’s most famous scenes when in Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” Anita Ekberg wades into the fountain and beckons her co-star Marcello Mastroianni to join her: “Marcello! Come here!” — Reuters