Because of the unexpected strength of the European economies and worries over the fiscal extravagance of some governments, forecasters are predicting a rate hike by the European Central Bank next spring. Increases are also predicted for China, Britain, and Australia and by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. The only holdout may be Japan; whose economic growth has been hampered.
See "A Global Tightening", Justin Lahart, CNN, December 10, 2003