Economic Overviews

Minor tidbits of good news, combined with manipulated and seasonally adjusted economic figures, are giving politicians worldwide reason for spreading their optimistic gospel of recovery that has nothing to do with reality. [They are nothing but] false hope and total misunderstanding of the real state of the world economy.

To what extent do residents of these 39 countries think their country's economy will improve or worsen by the spring of 2014? Take a look.

We have not seen so many financial trouble signs all come together at one time like this since just prior to the last major financial crisis in 2008. It is almost as if a "perfect storm" is brewing, and a lot of the "smart money" has already gotten out of stocks and bonds. Could it be possible that we are heading toward another nightmarish financial crisis?

There are four main macro issues shaping the investment climate: 1.the tapering anticipation in the U.S.; 2.the stabilization of the Chinese economy; 3.a cyclical recovery in Europe and 4.the long awaited Japanese purchases of foreign bonds.

There is nothing dry and boring about economic and politics when you have a sense of humor, an understanding of the realities of the situation and are prepared to let it all hang out. Peter Schiff did just that recently in a hilarious stand-up comedy routine at the NY's Funniest Reporter Show in which he talked about Bernie Madoff (Ponzi 101), Ben Bernanke (QExit) and using the name Peter Stiff.

With wage growth suppressed and consumers still driving over 70% of the nation's GDP, weak economic growth should not be a surprise.

New research shows that forecasters tend to underestimate the expected outcome of anticipated economic data for several months in a row, and then overestimate it for several months in a row thereafter. Why does that matter? Read on.

The Eurozone economy (and currency) – which was once on the brink of complete and utter disaster – is finally on the road to recovery....[Here is] a safe way for skittish investors (i.e. – the non-contrarians) to take advantage of the opportunity in Europe before it disappears. Words: 503; Charts: 1

So much has been written about what various authors refer to as the economic (in alphabetical order) abyss, apocalypse, Armageddon, avalanche, catastrophe, chaos, cliff, collapse, crisis, disaster, downturn, endgame, meltdown, pain, reality, risks, situation, train wreck, tsunami, turmoil that faces the nations of the world I thought a source article of what has been said about the situation would be of interest. Have a look.

5 years into the official economic “recovery” the labor participation rate is still lower than when the recession was declared over in June 2009 by almost a percentage point. It is still over 4 percentage points lower than when the recession officially began. The Federal Reserve chart of employment as a percentage of working age adults proves the point that sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words - sometimes much more. Words: 388; Charts: 1