New Car Registrations Down for 14th Consecutive Month in the EU

Auto sales in the U.S. recovered strongly this year with sales in November increasing by 21.9% relative the same month in 2011. After a strong start in January sales declined earlier in the year but has been on an upward trend from the middle of the year according auto sales data compiled by The Wall …

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Welcome to The Asian Century

The 20th century is widely called as the “American Century” in honor of the role the U.S. played in world politics. The Wikipedia definition of the term: American Century[1][2] is a characterization of the 20th century as being largely dominated by the United States in political, economic and cultural terms. The United States’ influence grew throughout the 20th century, but …

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Dividend Tax Rate and Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rate: U.S vs.Other Countries

The long-term capital gains tax rate is currently at 15%. This rate was implemented as part of the tax cuts package during the Bush administration and is set to expire on Dec 31, 2012. The long-term capital gains rate is applied on gains realized from stocks held for over one year  60 days. Though the …

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U.S. Tax Revenue as Percentage of GDP 2000 to 2011

With the election over, the U.S. is now currently bogged in the over-hyped political issue called the “fiscal cliff“. We can expect the media to focus on this political drama as the lead story for the rest of the year. An important measure to describe a country’s finances is the measure of tax receipts, the …

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Inequality of Income Between Select Countries

The Gini Coefficient measures inequality of income or wealth between countries. The higher the ratio the higher the inequality.Countries such as Brazil, Russia, China, India, USA, etc. have high Gini coefficients due to the extreme disparity in wealth and income between the elite and the rest of the population. The following chart shows the Gini …

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