Double whammy: EMs brace for long struggle as Fed hikes meet trade war

The prospect of a deepening rout in emerging markets was underscored this week with the IMF cutting its outlook for world growth for the first time since 2016

Policy makers across emerging-markets, already rattled by an exodus of capital and tumbling currencies, are bracing for a protracted struggle in the face of rising US interest rates and a deepening trade war between the world's two biggest economies. 

Finance officials from Colombia and Mexico meeting in Bali for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's annual meetings pointed to rough times ahead, and even the risk of a full-blown crisis for the unprepared. Indonesia's central bank vowed to stay "ahead of the curve" on monetary policy as the US Federal Reserve continues on its tightening path.

The prospect of a deepening