The economy is starting to show green shoots of recovery, but the holiday-shopping season will be key, Ken Kamen, president of Mercadien Asset Management told CNBC Thursday. Julian Pendock from Senhouse Capital joined the discussion.

"I think that recovery is coming back," Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, told CNBC Thursday when discussing the outlook for the US economy. "Even so, the crisis is not over," he added.

The US is likely to have to borrow substantially less than initially anticipated as banks are repaying the government funds they received during the crisis with interest and significant repayments are ahead, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told CNBC Thursday.

"It's top-line growth that counts, becaues of course you can't cut your way to a bull market," Julian Pendock from Senhouse Capital told CNBC Thursday.

South Korea's central bank held its key interest rate steady at a record low of 2% Thursday. Marco Bardelli from BDG Singapore told CNBC that holding off on rate rises was the right move.

The Nikkei 225 closed 0.7% lower Thursday, smapping a 4-day winning streak. Makiko Utsuda from The Nikkei has the details.

"We have a split at the moment between high-end and low-end retailers," Peter Dixon from Commerzbank Securities said Thursday ahead of Wal-Mart's earnings and after Macy's earnings disappointed on Wednesday. "The consumer will not rebound quite as quickly as they have in previous recessions as they continue to deleverage."

My outlook for markets is positive for the next 7 months, Tat Auyeung from Apex Capital Management told CNBC Thursday. "Within the next 7-9 months I don't think anything major is going to be upsetting the market," he said. Alexis Dawance from Global-Cap joined the discussion.

The growth potential of China is "real," but that doesn't mean there won't be bumps in the road, Amy Falls from Phillips Academy told CNBC Wednesday. Falls shares her investment strategy and looks ahead to the US trading day.

“China is very important because it’s the fastest-growing country in the world in terms of oil demand,” Neil Atkinson from KBC Financial Services told CNBC Wednesday. Commodities are also “getting a kick… from the weakness of the dollar,” he said, adding that “they are a safe haven for people fleeing the dollar.”

“There is a danger that (asset bubbles) is the way we are going,” Derek Halpenny from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ told CNBC Wednesday. Inflation expectations continue to rise due to a weak dollar and rising asset, gold and commodity prices, he said, adding that this rise is “going to signal concerns.”

“Everything is going to move forward again, the problem is when,” Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president of the World Travel & Tourism Council, told CNBC. There are “definitely signs of hope and recovery,” but unemployment is still low, and “we are looking very carefully at the jobless rates because that will trigger a new optimism,” he said.