The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that investment banks and asset managers have wildly varying stock market and currency calls for 2024, reflecting deep division over whether the U.S. economy will enter a long-heralded recession and drag the world with it. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that the lack of consensus among forecasters is a stark contrast to a year ago, when most predicted a U.S. recession and rapid rate cuts that failed to materialize. The world's largest economy expanded by 5.2 per cent in the third quarter of this year. The divisions this year have produced a scattergram of projections for the U.S. interest rate path and how global assets that are influenced by the Federal Reserve's actions will perform. Market participants are therefore bracing for a bumpy start to the new year after a strong rally last month for both stocks and bonds. "Whether the U.S. has a hard landing or a soft landing will dominate the market," said Sonja Laud at Legal & General Investment Management. "The narrative isn't clear yet," she added. Options trading data show that investors are becoming increasingly interested in protecting their portfolios from heightened stock market volatility ahead.