Recessions are generally negative for equity returns. During recessions, economic contraction leads to lower production and consumption leading to hurt sales for companies. Currently the US economy is holding up but nobody knows if it will slip into a recession later this year or early next year. As a consumption-based economy, the US consumer hasn’t …
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Semiconductor manufacturing is one of the highly technical and complex process in the world. Very few nations have the capability to make them. In fact, according to a report by Matrade agency of the Malaysian government, just 11 countries manufacture them. Out of these 6 of them are Asian countries as shown in the graphic …
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Cigarette Taxes in Europe are high and vary widely across countries. In fact, smokers pay more in taxes than on the cigarettes themselves. The EU requires member states to charge a minimum excise tax which is a fixed amount per pack of on cigarettes and other tobacco products. In addition EU countries add an additional …
Many investors worry about the debt-to-GDP ratio when evaluating a country’s economy. For example, the US national debt is over $34.5 Trillion according to the US Treasury. The debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 124.7 % of the nominal GDP in March 2024. The record low was at 31.8%. The cost service the debt amounted to 2.4% of …
Fast food used to cheap in the US many years ago. That is no longer the case. Fast food which is basically “junk” and unhealthy food has become incredibly expensive in the past few years especially since the pandemic. Multiple factors have led to menu prices soaring. These include higher labor costs, inflation, rising food …
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