U.S. vs. Emerging and Other Developed Markets

The following is a neat chart compares the US with other markets in terms of key factors like populations, GDP, stock market capitalization and bonds outstanding. Click to enlarge The US accounts for just 5% of the world population. But generates 15% of the global GDP. In terms of stock market capitalization it is even …

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The World’s Largest Energy Producers: Infographic

The World’s Top Energy Producing Countries in coal, oil, gas, nuclear and hydro are shown in the chart below. China is the world’s top producer and consumer of coal. France is one of the top producers of electricity from nuclear power. Together with the U.S., just these two countries account for about half of the …

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Interesting WSJ Article on American Middle Class and Debt

The American middle is going deeper into debt to maintain their middle class lifestyle, according to an article in the journal earlier this month. The article discusses a few sample families that are struggling to stay in the middle class. One of the main reasons for the current state of the working class is that …

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Why Fines Have Negligible Impact On Companies

When companies are fined by the government for violating some laws or regulations the goal is to change their behavior. While the goal is noble, very rarely fines have the desired effect on firms. This is because fines imposed are tiny compared to how much a firm makes in profits or has in the bank. …

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Business Cycle Phases and Sector Performance

During the different phases of a business cycle, the performance of different sector varies. For instance, during recessions, consumer staples, utilities and health care tend to perform better. In periods of economic expansions,tech, financials, real estate and consumer discretionary perform well. The following graph shows the four phases of business cycle and the sector preferred …

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