Crude oil now trades at below $50 , another psychological threshold for the market. Experts now predict oil could go as low as $40 or even $ 30 a barrel. While that's great for U.S. consumers, there comes a point when sustained low prices begin to really hurt energy company stocks and jobs in the U.S. and other countries around the world. Lower prices are also pinching the oil industry, including the previously red –hot Texan economy and high-cost U.S. shale and Canadian oil sands producers. Several thousand layoffs in the energy sector have already been announced.

Russia relies on oil and gas for half its tax revenue and needs the price of a barrel to be at $100 to balance its books. Instead, the price is closer to $60. The value of the rouble has plummeted pretty much in tandem, leading to a sense of panic in the markets.

 Russia's Main Economic Problems?

Downside risks are clouding the Euro area outlook. The Euro area economy is expected to expand 1.1% in 2015

Expected GDP Growth by Country

National elections in Greece will probably be held on Jan. 25, 2015, that’s just weeks before Greece’s € 240 billion bailout expires.. The trigger for the elections was the failure at the third and final attempt of Samaras’s bid to push through his nominee for president, Stavros Dimas. Dimas attracted the support of 168 lawmakers in the 300-seat chamber, short of the 180 votes required

Russia's Central Bank is running down its stash of foreign cash to try to stop its currency from plunging and contain the crisis threatening its economy. So far this year the Central Bank has burned through more than $110 billion in foreign currency supplies. That's more than a quarter of what it has in reserves right now. Russia's total international reserves, which also include gold and other liquid foreign assets, had fallen to $398.9 billion by December 19, 2014.

Improving fundamentals, successful reform programmes and, last but not least, lower oil prices will make emerging Asia once again the fastest growing region in the world in 2015, according to forecasts by international economic institutions such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Studies show that the region will enjoy average GDP growth of nearly 7% in the coming year, which is by far stronger then the forecast for the entire Asian continent at 4.5%.

Entering 2015, Europe faces a number of new challenges from both within and abroad. Popular discontent with austerity is growing and fueling rejectionist political movements, and with a number of elections on the calendar including in Greece, Spain, Portugal, and the U.K.there will be ample opportunity for voters to express their displeasure.

Contrary to popular belief, lobbyists have a useful function. Lobbyists with ties to specific industries gather input from their members and communicate the pulse of the industry. Lobbyists also augment a legislator’s research staff by providing information on industry statistics, product data and research projects. Lobbyists are professionals whose role is to educate elected leaders on issues that affect their industries. Lobbyists should be respected for their knowledge and not characterized as criminals.

Their purpose is to expose and challenge the so-called privileged access and influence enjoyed by corporations and their lobby groups in EU policy making. They particularly attack lobbying or lobbyists if they come from industry . They do not attack NGO lobbying campaigns, or NGO activists that take positions in governments.  They lobby against corporate lobbyists at the height of EU policy debates.

Every year the World Economic Forum taps into the knowledge, observations and experiences of its Global Agenda Council Members, asking them to identify the issues that they believe will have the biggest impact on the world over the coming 12 to 18 months. The resulting insights, gathered with the help of the Survey on the Global Agenda, ultimately generate the Top 10 Trends - a forecast of the social, economic and political flash points that reside on our collective horizon.