Jobs are scarce, and the future looks bleak everywhere.

Given the centrality of orthodox stalwarts like Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner in the Obama administration, the prospect of serious reform appears dim.

In terms of per capita income, the picture is bleak, with the Palestinian people's welfare falling by more than one third between 1999 and 2004.

This is a dismal picture.

The picture is a sombre one, and we are all affected.

But growth prospects remain grim.

Income inequality casts a long shadow.

With Sonia Gandhi in ill health, Rahul unable to connect to the electorate even in his historically safe constituency, and the Nehru Gandhi brand name having lost its appeal, the prospects for the Congress in 2014 look bleak.

Economic hardship combined with threats of terrorism paint a gloomy outlook for much of the country.

Vast, vivid landscapes are being gutted, left monochromatic gray.

So it s not all gloom and doom.

The picture for Europe, however, is not as bleak as pessimists assume.

It's a big deal. It sounds big, it sounds important, it sounds solid. It sounds American. Ballsy, serious, male.

Even so, the picture for Europe is not as bleak as pessimists assume.

The Chinese are comforted in their self image by the world s combination of admiration for their dynamism, greed for the market they constitute, and apprehension for the competition they represent.

Africa does indeed present a gloomy picture, with countries virtually crumbling to dust as a result of autocracy and stagnation.

But in times of slow economic growth, policymakers options are grim.

The policy and move of Japan throws dark clouds over the future peace and security of the region.

Writing several days after the law's adoption, MindNasty painted a grim picture of the efficacy of the ban

Medium term growth prospects for the American and European economies range from moderate to bleak.

A more grim outlook is found in Ian Rankin's stories and the psychological horror comedy of Iain Banks.

As a result, a credibility deficit has developed, which casts a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations system as a whole.

The picture is especially grim for the UK, with the official interest rate at 0.5 and inflation at 3.3 .

It looks like an apple.

You look tired.

You look tired.

You look gloomy.

You look busy.

You look down.

She seems to be sick.

You look sick.

It looks like you are from India.

You look happy.

You look stupid.

You look pale.

You look very tired.

The meals a pregnant woman consumes constitute a kind of story, a fairy tale of abundance or a grim chronicle of deprivation.

Unless the authorities embrace a growth strategy and do so quickly the eurozone s prospects will become increasingly bleak.

And the material looks something like this.

Jane looks happy.

The ground seems wet.

She's very innocent.

She's very innocent.

You're looking down.

Mary looks beautiful.