Davos Pitch for Resilient Dynamism Meets Gordian Knot on Growth

Over the course of 2012, the U.S. economy rebounded with all the vitality of a slug waking from a long nap. In debt-strapped, recession-hit Europe, investors fret about a Spanish bailout, a Greek default and whether the euro itself will shatter.

In Asia, slowing growth in China and India has called into question the national narratives of the two emerging-markets giants -- and dragged down earnings and commodities prices around the globe.