From Bloomberg: Trade accounted for about 29.2 percent of U.S. economic activity in 2010. That makes the U.S. the most closed of all developed nations according to “trade intensity,” which is calculated as the sum of exports and imports, divided by gross domestic product. […] Standard measures of trade intensity, if anything, probably understate the…
The ninth month of the year 2012 has seen a series of quantitative easing and stimulus announcement from a sundry of major government and central banks. First off the block was the ECB, which announced a commitment to buy unlimited amount of sovereign debt of up to three years in maturity. Then China’s central government…
In his Monthly Insights for September, Jim O’Neill, Chairman Goldman Sachs Asset Management is out with a revised forecast for leading economies of the world: We revised down our UK growth forecast for 2012 to -0.2%, from 0.2%, in line with consensus. We made two downward revisions in the BRICs. For China, we reduced our…
Back in July in a London investment conference, ECB President Mario Draghi pledged to do “whatever it takes” to protect the Eurozone from collapsing. Though he mildly disappointed the market in ECB’s August meeting, President Draghi delivered on his pledge is September. One of the observers was Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who hinted of…
Downside pressure on prices has only begun You’ve heard (and probably used) the phrase, “I’d rather watch the game on television.” It’s what a sports fan says if he doesn’t want to face traffic jams, inadequate parking, overpriced tickets, noisy crowds, and possibly a poor view of the game. These days, however, something else is…
Here is what I am reading: Weak Japan exports, hit by Europe, raise questions on recovery (Reuters) BHP mothballs $30b Olympic Dam expansion (The Sydney Morning Herald) Drawing the Wrong Inferences from Economic Data (A Dash Of Insight) Put Inflation Fears Aside (The New York Times) “Uncertainty” Is Nothing More Than Wall Street Whining (Capital…
Federal Reserve is starting its two-day meeting today. A Bloomberg survey says that a number of economist do not expect Fed to announce a third round o large-scale asset purchases this week. Eighty-eight percent of economists say the Federal Open Market Committee will refrain from starting new purchases at a two-day meeting beginning today in…
Irwin Kellner says that the weakening economy has brought with it falling prices, which may not necessarily be a bad thing. The Economist magazine’s weekly all-items commodity index priced in dollars has fallen by about 30% since the beginning of 2011. Compared with this time last year, the magazine’s measure of all items prices is…
The monetary policy objective of Federal Reserve Board is to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. But, if after seeing Fed’s economic projections you find it hard to believe in its commitment to these objectives then you would be forgiven. Fed is projecting very high unemployment rate for the…
China was one of the major engine for the global growth after the 2008 crisis. When Chinese economy stumbled in 2008, she responded with a stimulus package which also lifted other economies. Now Chinese economy is slowing down too with signs that current manufacturing slump may match that of 2008 crisis. China’s manufacturing may shrink…
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