War, Inflation Knock World Economy Off Balance

The global economy is sputtering and financial markets are flashing red, reflecting a sense on Wall Street that a sharper slowdown in worldwide economic activity is likely inevitable.

The culprits are surging inflation, a robust central-bank response, anxious investors and the impact of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. The U.S. economy has largely escaped the worst of these ills, but a rising dollar is punishing the rest of the world at a time when price increases in many places are already outpacing incomes.