Comparing the Unemployment Rate in Brazil and USA

As an emerging market economy Brazil has a lower unemployment rate than the U.S. In May, the unemployment rate in Brazil stood at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.4%. Unemployment has been trending  downwards since the peak of over 13% in 2002 as shown in the chart below: Click to enlarge Source:  Brazil’s Economic Chart Pack, …

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Why U.S. Runs Chronic Budget Deficits

The U.S. Federal government runs large deficits year after year. This is because total government expenditures far exceed total revenues. For example, under the Obama administration the Federal deficit was $1,293 billion and $1,300 billion for the fiscal years 2010 and 2011 respectively. For the fiscal year 2012 it is projected to reach $1,327 billion. Federal government expenditures rose …

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Two Reasons Why the U.S. Tax System Needs Reform

The current U.S. corporate tax rate at approximately 40% is among the highest in the world. This figure includes the marginal federal corporate income tax rate of 35% and state and local taxes according to KPMG. As many U.S. companies are multinationals with strong presence in overseas markets, some of them earn more profits abroad than in the …

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External Debt of the G7 Countries

The graph below shows the external debt of the G7 countries: Click to enlarge Source: Finance and Development, June 2012, IMF From the G7 Borrowing from Abroad article in the IMF magazine: The United States has the most external debt of the world’s richest countries (the Group of Seven major industrial countries, or G7), but as a …

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How Much Do Americans Pay in Insurance Premiums Each Year?

The insurance industry in the U.S. is dividend into Property & Casualty (P&C) and Life/Health Insurance companies. In other countries, the industry is split into life and non-life or general insurance companies.The insurance industry employs over 2.2 million or about 2% of the total U.S. workforce in the private sector .There were about 2,689 P&C companies and 1,061 Life&Health companies in 2010 …

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