An interesting chart of Real GDP Growth by Year (%) from 1970 for Advanced Vs. Emerging Economies from Global Finance magazine. Emerging markets are projected to have the best growth moving forward as per estimates from IMF.
Source: Global Finance Magazine
Like a latter-day Tom Joad, one of America’s last Okies ponders a question that… Has anyone seen the American Dream?
German discounting pioneer Aldi is using the economic crisis to expand its presence in the US. The move could help mitigate the company’s troubles on its home turf.Aldi advances on Wal-Mart’s home turf
Many SMEs across China’s most prosperous province are currently locked in a struggle for survival. With a US recovery still in the balance and most European Union countries forecast to go through an economic contraction this year, many analysts say export orders are likely to…No quick-fix in Guangdong crisis
The financial panic of 2007-08 and the ensuing great recession have changed the balance of wealth in the global financial arena. The big question is whether Asian institutions can take advantage of the change and step up into a leadership role – or hold back and further delay parity between East and West.Historic moment for Asian finance
Chocolate is just as much a part of Switzerland as the Alps. Now, global market leader Barry Callebaut has developed the product that competitors have been hopelessly puzzling over for 60 years — chocolate that doesn’t melt and is low in calories.Chocolate Company Promises Melt-Free Revolution
Many of the U.S. banks diversified in the past few years to get into the insurance field. Some started their insurance operations while the majority of them acquired insurance companies or agencies.
Today large banks such as Well Fargo (WFC) derive a large amount of income from their insurance divisions. The following chart lists the Top 50 U.S. Bank Holding Companies Ranked by their Total Insurance Income for year 2008:
Click to Enlarge
Source: Michael White Associates and American Bankers Insurance Association
China’s foreign-exchange reserves exceeded $2 Trillion for the first time as per the data released this week.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
From the WSJ:
“The stockpile — the world’s largest currency reserves — grew by $177.87 billion in the quarter to $2.132 trillion, the largest quarterly rise on record. In May, China also increased its importance for U.S. policy makers, lifting its Treasury holdings by $38 billion to a total of $801.5 billion.
While Japan and Russia cut their Treasury holdings in May, China ramped up its purchases, posting the biggest one-month increase since October. China now has more than 20% of total Treasury holdings among foreign central banks and nearly matches the total amount Japan and Russia hold together.”
The top five commodity exports of Australia are: Iron Ore, Coal, Gold, Crude Oil and LNG. As a resource-rich country commodities form the major portion of Australian exports. China, India, Japan are some of the major export Asian markets for Australia. Japan is the major export market for Oil and Gas, Coal, Aluminum and Copper. China is the largest importer of Australian Iron Ore and UK is the largest market for Australian Gold.
Graph
Source: Australian Commodities, June quarter 09.2
The total value of all Australian commodity exports is forecast to be around A$160.5 billion in 2009-10, a fall of 18.1 %Â in 2008-09. Out of this metals and energy exports are projected to account for A$124.4 billion.
More detailed information on Australian Commodities and Export Markets can be found by clicking on Australian-Commodities-Report-June-2009
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