http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/growth/ en-us Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:36:57 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416690/posts Chinese Economy Overtakes JapanChina has almost certainly overtaken Japan to become the world's second-biggest economy after state officials dramatically upgraded their estimates for the country's growth last year. By Edmund Conway, Economics Editor Published: 9:29PM GMT 26 Dec 2009 The fast-growing emerging economy had been expected to surpass Japan next year, but the transition looks to have happened in 2009, based on China's new growth estimates. Its statistics bureau said that China grew by 9.6pc – rather than 9pc – in 2008, meaning its economic output was 31.405 trillion yuan, or $4.6 trillion (£2.9 trillion), last year. According to the... The Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416690/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:36:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413755/posts What's a yield curve and why is it so important? Well, the curve itself measures Treasury interest rates, by maturity, from 91-day T-bills all the way out to 30-year bonds. It's the difference between the long rates and the short rates that tells a key story about the future of the economy. When the curve is wide and upward sloping, as it is today, it tells us that the economic future is good. When the curve is upside down, or inverted, with short rates above long rates, it tells us that something is amiss -- such as a credit crunch... RealClearMarkets http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413755/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:39:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410416/posts California's population growth slowed over the past year as tens of thousands of residents moved away - many of them heading to other Western states, according to the state Department of Finance. The Golden State's population grew by 353,000 to 38.4 million from July 2008 to July 2009. The only years with lower growth rates since 1900 were 1994-96, according to a report released by the department Thursday. More people left the state for other parts of the country than moved here, a difference of about 142,000 people. While that number is outweighed by people moving from other countries to... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410416/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:29:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410376/posts <p>In the popular view, the economy is not in recovery until the unemployment rate, the most political of lagging indicators, begins to decline. Finally now it has, slipping from 10.2 to 10 percent in November. US output has already been on the rise since the spring, in the face of sagging employment. Increases in productivity are offsetting diminishing man-hours of input. Conclusive signs of a turning point have yet to shake most commentators out of their gloom, and the vigor of the recovery continues to be questioned. All too typically, it's input (i.e. employment) rather than output that receives attention from politicians or ink from journalists.</p> RealClearMarkets http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410376/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:46:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403911/posts Negative Data For Global Growth By Chris Gaffney 12/09/09 St. Louis, Missouri – The dollar continued to gain strength throughout Tuesday, but gave back some of these gains overnight. The big story yesterday was the downgrade of Greece’s debt rating by Fitch Ratings, and warnings of possible rating downgrades for the US and UK. The sell off in oil has also weighed on some of the commodity-based currencies, but I’ll start today’s Pfennig with some data releases. Japan’s economy expanded less than a third of the pace initially reported as companies slashed spending. GDP rose an annualized 1.3% in the... The Daily Reckoning http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403911/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:14:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396868/posts India economy grows 7.9%, shatters forecasts By Penny MacRae (AFP) – 5 hours ago NEW DELHI — India reported its best growth figures in 18 months on Monday as government spending and record low interest rates helped Asia's third-largest economy rebound from the global financial crisis. The 7.9-percent expansion in the quarter to September from a year earlier far eclipsed market forecasts and prompted the government to raise its growth expectations for the financial year to March 2010. The growth figures, which underscored Asia's role in spearheading the global recovery, also stoked speculation about when India would begin exiting stimulus... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396868/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:33:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388466/posts The road north across the Golden Gate leads to some of the prettiest counties in North America. Yet behind the lovely rolling hills, wineries, ranches and picturesque once-rural towns lies a demographic time bomb that neither political party is ready to address. Paradise is having a problem with the evolving economy. A generational conflict is brewing, pitting the interests and predilections of well-heeled boomers against a growing, predominately Latino working class. And neither the emerging "progressive" politics nor laissez-faire conservatism is offering much in the way of a solution. These northern California counties--which include Sonoma, Napa, Solano and Marin--have become... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388466/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:08:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381635/posts Excerpt:Master the soft sell. Intoxicating as rapid growth is, don't let the urge to sell to everyone, everywhere, every time get the best of you. Stan Steinreich, founder of Steinreich Communications, says 90% of his company's $10 million in revenue comes through networking and word of mouth--but that doesn't mean barging into a room and shaking as many hands as possible. "The over-aggressive guys are quickly labeled as creepy," says Steinreich. The best strategy: Let prospects do the most of the talking, and sprinkle in bits of relevant advice every so often. If they liked what you had to say,... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381635/posts#comment Sun, 8 Nov 2009 19:25:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2375771/posts Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has a problem. The world's biggest retailer tips the scales at just over $400 billion (U.S.) in annual sales. It is a perpetual growth machine. But it doesn't have a stock valuation to match. At Wal-Mart, repeatedly held out as a winner in this recession as consumers traded down, sales will barely budge in the current fiscal year, ending Jan. 31. Despite the bargain hunters and the demise of weaker rivals, Wal-Mart revenues will edge up just 1 per cent in fiscal 2010. Wall Street fell out of love with "The Beast of Bentonville" (for its Arkansas... Toronto Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2375771/posts#comment Sun, 1 Nov 2009 11:07:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373976/posts Is economic growth the highest priority in Obama's Washington? That's not a trivial question: in 1972, the Club of Rome, a global think tank whose current members include Mikhail Gorbachev, issued a report entitled The Limits to Growth, challenging the primacy of wealth creation. In arguments later taken up by President Jimmy Carter, the book's sub-text is that unbridled growth leads to population expansion, but also pollution, resource depletion, famine, and capitalist exploitation... Real Clear Markets http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373976/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:02:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369491/posts China’s Growth Picks Up Speed but Raises Concerns By ANDREW JACOBS and BETTINA WASSENER BEIJING — The Chinese economy, already one of the fastest-growing in the world, picked up more speed during the third quarter, adding fuel to a debate over whether, and when, the Chinese authorities might start reining in stimulus measures. Prompted by vastly increased bank lending, generous government support for exports and a $585 billion stimulus package that is spurring a dizzying array of building projects, the Chinese economy grew 8.9 percent from July to September, up from the year-ago period, according to government figures released Thursday.... NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369491/posts#comment Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:25:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369223/posts On Oct. 22, Beijing announced that gross domestic product grew by 8.9% in the third quarter of 2009 compared with the corresponding period last year. The National Bureau of Statistics also reported that growth for the first three quarters was up 7.7%. The 8.9% figure confirmed the economy's upward trend. Growth, according to official statistics, tumbled to 6.1% in the first quarter, well off the double-digit figures seen in 2007 and the first half of last year. The economy picked up during this year's second quarter, when it expanded 7.9%. Now it is clear that China will attain for 2009... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369223/posts#comment Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:31:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368602/posts Unintended Consequences By Ian Mathias 10/22/09 Baltimore, Maryland – Follow this one… how the recent rise in retail sales might bust the housing “recovery”: “Retail sales growth is understandably proving meager and hard to regenerate,” writes our macro sage Rob Parenteau, “in a nation where private debt deleveraging is under way and net job generation has yet to return. The early read on consumer expectations for October shows a seven-point drop, which is very indicative of the hesitancy that we suspect will characterize the tentative return to higher spending by U.S. households. Too many rugs have been ripped out from... The Daily Reckoning http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368602/posts#comment Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:23:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368214/posts Few things cause the eye to glaze over more than economic statistics, particularly when discussing all but incomprehensible sums in the billions and trillions of dollars. There are two statistics which the public should be aware of more than others; they are 1) Gross Domestic Product (total economic output of the country); and 2) The Net Gross Domestic Product per Person (The GDP less the amount of government spending at all levels divided by the total population). The Net GDP per person recognizes the impact of federal, state and local spending on the economy. Ideally the net amount each citizen... The American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368214/posts#comment Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:37:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361736/posts Recovery To Be Moderate, Not V-Shaped: KohnOct. 13, 2009, 2:34 p.m. EDT Greg Robb, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The economy recovery will be moderate and not a quick snap-back commonly referred to as a V-shaped growth path, said Donald Kohn, the vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday. "All told, I expect that the recovery in U.S. economic activity will proceed at a moderate pace in the second half of this year before strengthening some in 2010," Kohn said in a speech to the National Association of Business Economics meeting in St. Louis. Difficult labor market conditions are a... Market Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361736/posts#comment Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:04:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2359687/posts Introduction Over the past decade and a half, Americans have been presented with two radically different visions of the role of government. The first vision, articulated and implemented by President Reagan in the 1980s, declares that government taxation and burdensome regulations are harmful to the natural market forces that generate economic growth. Since economic growth is the only way to truly create jobs and raise incomes, policies that reduce taxes and government intervention are the keys to higher living standards for all Americans. President Clinton espouses the second vision, which maintains that the expansion of government does not have harmful... house.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2359687/posts#comment Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:07:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2340224/posts Apple's September quarter Mac sales are ahead of consensus after July and August, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says in a note today, based on analysis of NPD Group stats. Meanwhile, iPod sales are trending below estimates, but international growth and new iPod models will help. Munster says NPD data from July and August show Mac sales up 7% year-over-year through August, while the Street is expecting 5% year-over-year growth for the quarter. Back-to-school sales in the first two months of the quarter probably helped, but at least Apple could handle some deceleration this month and still meet expectations. (And... Business Insider http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2340224/posts#comment Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:46:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2339287/posts From its headquarters in a modest office park outside Sunnyvale, Calif., Bridgelux is hoping to spark a revolution in light fixtures for homes and offices across the U.S. It's ready to ramp up production of tiny light-emitting chips that blaze as bright as some incandescent bulbs but consume a fraction of the energy. To meet surging orders for its chips, it's prepared to spend $250 million over three years on gleaming cleanrooms. The question is, where should it put its plants? BusinessWeek/YahooNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2339287/posts#comment Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:24:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327226/posts India has announced measures to help its exporters, as it warned that the rate of growth of the country's exports would continue to slow. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said the government expected growth to slow from 25% in the year to 31 March 2009 to 15% for the year ending March 2011. To help exporters, the government will introduce tax breaks, and waive some import duties on capital goods. The rate of India's export growth has slowed for 10 straight months. "This year we are witnessing one of the most severe global recessions in the post-war period," he said. "Fortunately... British Broadcasting Corporation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327226/posts#comment Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:46:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2307124/posts Think about it. Chinese banks are lending three times as much during the most severe world economic downturn since the depression as they did when the Chinese economy was booming last year. A tripling of lending would inevitably lead to the financing of numerous negative net present value projects even in normal times. In current circumstances, the waste of resources must be astounding. As I’ve written before, massive government stimulus like that being undertaken in China and being funneled through the banks can lead to increases in measured output. But the return on the projects funded is usually negative, and... Seeking Alpha http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2307124/posts#comment Mon, 3 Aug 2009 15:59:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2293249/posts Yet, we are supposed to believe Obama's projections for the cost and benefits of Health Care or Cap and Tax?The bloom is coming off the rose. Obama's poll numbers continue to slide across the board. Rasmussen's approval index has a gap of -8. Only 48% of those asked to rate his handling of the economy in a CBS July 13 poll approved of Obama's handling of the economy. 44% disapproved. Those trends are likely to worsen for Obama as stories like this one in Time Magazine begin to sink in with the average public which pays little attention to the... Flopping Aces http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2293249/posts#comment Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:40:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283655/posts WASHINGTON, July 1, 2009 – U.S. forces demonstrated their ongoing commitment to improving security and development throughout Afghanistan in recent days, as several units took on new tasks and a reconstruction team helped to celebrate the opening of a new school. First graders at the newly opened Haish Saidqi Girls' School answer questions about what they want to be when they grow up. The school, funded by Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir, opened June 23, 2009, and will serve more than 500 girls, and a few young boys, from nearby villages in the Rokha district of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province. U.S. Air... On the Ground http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283655/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 22:56:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264422/posts Corporate ‘I don’t know’ factor rises By Peggy Hollinger in Paris Published: June 4 2009 02:53 | Last updated: June 4 2009 02:53 Business leaders have lost their sense of direction in the face of the global economic crisis and 40 per cent are unable to pick growth opportunities for their companies, according to a survey of the world’s top corporate decision-makers. “We have never experienced such a big ‘I don’t know’ before,” said Marc Lhermitte, Ernst & Young partner. “These are people who like to have opinions.” The findings, published in E&Y’s European attractiveness survey, reveal the depth of... FT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264422/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 05:46:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256785/posts Where will the growth come from? Economy may move forward, but only on one cylinder By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy will begin to grow again in the next few months, most economists agree, but it may not feel like much of an improvement to the millions who've lost their jobs, businesses or homes. By almost all accounts, the recovery from the worst recession in several generations will be sluggish for the next year or two or three, with the economy firing on just one cylinder - the Bernanke-Obama stimulus. Even the most optimistic analysts believe... Market Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256785/posts#comment Sat, 23 May 2009 09:16:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2235856/posts President Obama's model for spending the nation out of recession is Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. A better example is the Reaganite bearing of post-communist Poland. In the midst of the global financial crisis, Poland's economy is forecast to grow by almost 1 percent. According to business economists and the Economist magazine, Poland likely will be the only European country with a growing gross domestic product in 2009. Germany's GDP is expected to shrink by more then 5 percent, Britain's by almost 4 percent, France's by 3 percent and the Czech Republic's by 3 percent. With a projected GDP drop... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2235856/posts#comment Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:20:02 GMT