Category Archive: 5) Global Macro
Labor Costs to Total Expenses, Global Comparison
The conflict between labor and capital is a long and illustrious one, and one in which ideology and politics have played a far greater role than simple economics and math.
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Ukraine: About Street-Elected Overthrowers and Democratically Elected Dictators
It only needs a few years until democratically elected presidents become so-called “tyrants” and “dictators”. The bad economic situation in many emerging markets and Russia, and therefore also in Ukraine, has taken its toll. Demonstrators and Ukrainian nationalists toppled a president that has a Russian mother tongue. But Yanukovych was a protector of the country’s …
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Last Week’s Sell-Off: More on the Discrepancy between Developed and Emerging Markets
Last week’s decline in stock markets was probably caused by the HSBC manufacturing PMI for China that contracted for the first time in months, and possibly also by the rapid fall of UK unemployment rates and Bank of England’s response to it. As the rising gold price showed, Fed “tapering fears” were not at the …
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Our March 2013 Analysis: “Volcker Moment Redux”: Upcoming Weakness of Emerging Markets
The 2010 QE2 is a reason why many emerging markets started to slow considerably in the course of 2012. We reckon that this weakness will continue. Bizarrely QE2 helped to reduce global imbalances.
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2013 Posts on Global Macro
What Does It Take To Be Middle Class?
By standards of previous generations, the middle class has been stripmined of income, assets and purchasing power. What does it take to be middle class nowadays? A recent paper, The Distribution of Household Income and the Middle Class, used Census data to discuss what sort of income it takes to qualify as middle class, but reached no firm conclusion: people tend to self-report that they belong to the middle class based on income, but income is not...
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Japan Beats the United States in GDP Growth per Capita for Last Decade
GDP Growth per Capita in Developed Nations in the following order: Australia Sweden Germany Switzerland Netherlands Japan Canada United States France United Kingdom Ireland Spain Italy Greece
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Japan Beats the United States in GDP Growth per Capita for Last Decade
Mainstream economists speak of two Japanese lost decades(s) between 1990 and 2009. Often the United States and the UK are seen as leader in growth. Some statistics might confirm this: When we look on a more subtle criteria, namely GDP growth per capita, available at the world bank, we see a different picture. China and … Continue reading...
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The Great Disinflation Continues, How Wonderful!
Recently investors moved out of bonds in the expectation that inflation will rise soon. But strangely inflation rates have continued to fall. The great disinflation continues.
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Charles-Hugh- Smith- Nearly- Free- University
Prolific author and owner of the popular alternative financial blog “Of Two Minds” Charles Hugh Smith discusses his latest book “The Nearly Free University and the Emerging Economy”With the soaring cost of higher education, has the value a college degree been turned upside down? College tuition and fees are up 1000% since 1980. Half of …
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Charles Hugh Smith: The Nearly Free University
For full description and comments: http://www.peakprosperity.com/podcast/82941/charles-hugh-smith-nearly-free-university Our broken education model is ripe for creative disruption The cost of higher education has skyrocketed in recent decades. The average cost of tuition is up over 1,000% since the 1980s, far outstripping price inflation and most other goods and services. Yet despite the accelerated cost, the value of …
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Global Purchasing Manager Indices: Europe and China Recover while other Emerging Markets Still Struggle
Emerging markets: Years of strong increases in wages combined with tapering fears have taken its toll: Higher costs and lower investment capital available. EM Companies have issues in coping with developed economies. Some of them even need to shed jobs.
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The U.S. “Oil Trade Deficit” Narrows
The United States trade balance has strengthened to a deficit of only -34.2 bln USD in June 2013. This is nearly half the record-high trade deficit of 62 bln. $ in August 2008 and not too far from record-lows of 26 bln. $ in July 2009, when oil was really cheap. In the first six … Continue reading »
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Abenomics Succeeding? Don’t Believe the Mainstream Media, Just Energy and Import Prices Are Higher
While the FT says: Abenomics is succeeding in bringing inflation back to Japan. The preferred core CPI measure, which excludes volatile food prices, rose a higher-than-anticipated 0.4 per cent in June (year-over-year), the highest reading since November 2008 and the first positive reading since April 2012. (The reading was flat in May). Overall inflation …
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Charles High Smith–Acquire New Skills Or Become A Mover 24.Jun.13
www.FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com presents Charles Hugh Smith and I discussed the increasing knowledge gap in America. If you aren’t in a position to make connecitons and network with people who can help you get ahead, then you must increase you skill set. In previous eras you could only acquire those skills in college. Now, however, you can …
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