Public sector infrastructure projects are on hold across the developed world, according to new research. Law firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has found the end of the slump will depend on the start of the majority of 1,397 pending global project finance deals β collectively worth $1trn β but only 8% of them are expected to come to fruition this year or next. The firm claimed political leaders calling for an infrastructure-led global economic stimulus were misdirected. It also found Europe is set to reap an earlier infrastructure boost than the US, partly because of US's poor track record in the public-private partnership arena. Edward Braham, co-head of the firm's global infrastructure and transport group, said: βFrom [US president] Barack Obama to PM Gordon Brown, world leaders have called on the infrastructure industry to get the world economy motoring again, and while direct government intervention and the unblocking of some key projects will go some way to jump-start the system, the trillion dollar stimulus is, in large part, years away from entering the real economy.