Archive for September, 2009
Germany’s Top Trading Partners in 2008
Which countries are the top trading partners of Germany in 2008?
For USA, the top trading partners are her neighbor Canada and Mexico. Germany is the largest economy in Europe and is a manufacturing powerhouse in many industries. Any European economic recovery is heavily dependent of the growth of Germany economy.
Similar to the US, Germany’s top trading partners are nearby countries. For Imports, the top three countries are the Netherlands, France and China.The top three countries for Germany’s exports are France, USA and the UK in 2008.
Source: Federal Statistic Office, Germany
China does not appear in the top 10 countries importing German goods. Last year Germany imported goods worth 59B Euros from China. Holland was the top country for sourcing goods and services with a total of 72B Euros.
France was the top destination for German exports with a net total of 97B Euros followed by US at 71B Euros.
From the Stats Office release:
“About three quarters of exports of goods “made in Germany” were shipped to European countries. 64% of all goods were delivered to the member states of the European Union. The second important sales market for German goods in 2008 was Asia with a share of about 12%, followed by America, with a share of approximately 10%. Africa and Australia / Oceania only accounted for small percentages of German exports (2% and 1%, respectively).
The majority of German imports also came from Europe (72%), followed by Asia (16%) and America (9%). Goods from Africa and Australia / Oceania played just a subordinate role in imports too (3% and 0.4%, respectively).”
Financial Asset Types Held by Households in France
Among the financial assets held by French households, equities (stocks) make up just under 20% as per the latest data by Banque de France.
Financial Asset Types Held by Households in France in 2007:
Compared to the USA, the French hold very low financial assets in stocks. The French consider the stock market to be risky and have traditionally saved for their retirement as opposed to investing. However compared to 1997 the French have increased their appetite for stocks in 2007.
Nearly 35% of households’ assets is held in life insurance.Similarly liquid assets and saving deposits also make a large percentage.
From the Banque de France report:
“Between 2003 and 2006, the value of households’ net assets grew by more
than 10% a year. However, the growth rate eased from 2007 owing to the
slowdown in housing and financial asset prices. There will probably be a
decline in 2008 (of around 3%) –the first in 30 years– because of the slide
in stock markets and the beginnings of a reversal in real estate.
In 30 years, household preferences in terms of financial investments have
changed in response to policies aimed at promoting the French financial
market, including tax incentives and employee savings schemes. Liquid
investments and fixed-term deposits (including home savings plans) were
largely preferred in 1978, with cash and cash equivalents making up 63%
of households’ financial assets, compared with 29% in 2007 (cf. Chart 4).
These savings have been supplemented by more or less risky long-term
investments, with life insurance now representing over one-third of total
financial investments. Households are now investing more in equity
and bond markets: the number of individuals holding securities rose
from 1 million in 1978 to 12 million in 2007, due to the appeal of sales of
shares in major public corporations. Securities portfolios accounted for
27% of households’ financial assets in 2007 compared with 10% in 1978
(although their share fell below 20% in 2008).”
Source: France’s national economic assets, 1978-2007: 30 years shaped by real estate and stock market capital gains
ADR Dividend History – L Stocks
Loreal Dividend History
| Record Date | Pay Date | Dividend Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Apr-08 | 21-May-08 | $0.30 |
| 2-May-07 | 24-May-07 | $0.22 |
| 9-May-06 | 1-Jun-06 | $0.17 |
| 10-May-05 | 2-Jun-05 | $0.14 |
| 10-May-05 | 26-Jul-06 | $0.01 |
| 13-May-04 | 17-Aug-04 | $0.01 |
| 13-May-04 | 7-Jun-04 | $0.12 |
Lan Airlines S.A. Dividend History
| Record Date | Pay Date | Dividend Amount |
|---|---|---|
| May 05, 2008 | May 23, 2008 | $0.01 |
| Jan 11, 2008 | Jan 29, 2008 | $0.23 |
| Aug 17, 2007 | Oct 10, 2007 | $0.18 |
| Aug 14, 2007 | Aug 15, 2007 | $0.00 |
| Apr 20, 2007 | May 14, 2007 | $0.55 |
| Jan 12, 2007 | Feb 05, 2007 | $0.68 |
| Aug 18, 2006 | Sep 12, 2006 | $0.48 |
| May 11, 2006 | Jun 09, 2006 | $0.02 |
| Feb 23, 2006 | Mar 23, 2006 | $0.35 |
| Aug 26, 2005 | Sep 26, 2005 | $0.38 |
| May 16, 2005 | Jun 03, 2005 | $0.07 |
| Dec 31, 2004 | Jan 13, 2005 | $0.35 |
| Aug 24, 2004 | Sep 16, 2004 | $0.41 |
| May 17, 2004 | Jun 10, 2004 | $0.07 |
Legal & General Group PLC Dividend History
| Record Date | Pay Date | Dividend Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Apr-08 | 29-May-08 | $0.38 |
| 7-Sep-07 | 11-Oct-07 | $0.17 |
| 20-Apr-07 | 31-May-07 | $0.36 |
| 8-Sep-06 | 12-Oct-06 | $0.14 |
| 21-Apr-06 | 1-Jun-06 | $0.32 |
| 9-Sep-05 | 13-Oct-05 | $0.13 |
| 1-Apr-05 | 13-May-05 | $0.31 |
| 10-Sep-04 | 12-Oct-04 | $0.13 |
| 2-Apr-04 | 14-May-04 | $0.28 |
Liberty International PLC Dividend History
| Record Date | Pay Date | Dividend Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 9-May-08 | 9-Jun-08 | $0.33 |
| 17-Aug-07 | 14-Sep-07 | $0.24 |
| 11-May-07 | 13-Jun-07 | $0.32 |
| 18-Aug-06 | 15-Sep-06 | $0.24 |
| 21-Apr-06 | 23-May-06 | $0.26 |
| 19-Aug-05 | 16-Sep-05 | $0.22 |
| 8-Apr-05 | 2-May-05 | $0.25 |
| 20-Aug-04 | 17-Sep-04 | $0.20 |
| 16-Apr-04 | 17-May-04 | $0.22 |
Lloyds TSB Group PLC Dividend History
| Record Date | Pay Date | Dividend Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 7-Mar-08 | 19-May-08 | $1.93 |
| 10-Aug-07 | 15-Oct-07 | $0.91 |
| 9-Mar-07 | 14-May-07 | $1.87 |
| 11-Aug-06 | 16-Oct-06 | $0.80 |
| 10-Mar-06 | 15-May-06 | $1.73 |
| 12-Aug-05 | 17-Oct-05 | $0.75 |
| 18-Mar-05 | 16-May-05 | $1.78 |
| 13-Aug-04 | 18-Oct-04 | $0.76 |
| 19-Mar-04 | 17-May-04 | $1.68 |
Lukoil Dividend History
| Record Date | Pay Date | Dividend Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 8-May-08 | TBA | $1.49 |
| 11-May-07 | 28-Sep-07 | $0.35 |
| 11-May-07 | 5-Nov-07 | $0.15 |
| 11-May-07 | 3-Dec-07 | $0.49 |
| 11-May-07 | 21-Dec-07 | $0.30 |
| 11-May-06 | 6-Oct-06 | $0.38 |
| 11-May-06 | 1-Nov-06 | $0.33 |
| 11-May-06 | 6-Dec-06 | $0.32 |
| 12-May-05 | 2-Sep-05 | $0.36 |
| 12-May-05 | 4-Oct-05 | $0.46 |
| 3-May-05 | 4-May-05 | $0.00 |
| 7-May-04 | 15-Nov-04 | $0.94 |
| 7-May-04 | 13-Dec-04 | $0.96 |
| 7-May-04 | 19-Jan-05 | $0.97 |
ADR Dividend History – K Stocks
Kingfisher PLC Dividend History
| Record Date | Pay Date | Dividend Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Apr-08 | 23-Jun-08 | $0.12 |
| 5-Oct-07 | 26-Nov-07 | $0.14 |
| 10-Apr-07 | 18-Jun-07 | $0.25 |
| 22-Sep-06 | 20-Nov-06 | $0.13 |
| 7-Apr-06 | 12-Jun-06 | $0.23 |
| 23-Sep-05 | 21-Nov-05 | $0.12 |
| 1-Apr-05 | 13-Jun-05 | $0.23 |
| 24-Sep-04 | 22-Nov-04 | $0.12 |
| 2-Apr-04 | 21-Jun-04 | $0.20 |
Komercni Banka (Level-1) Dividend History
| Record Date | Pay Date | Dividend Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 29-May-08 | 10-Jul-08 | $3.12 |
| 25-May-07 | 5-Jul-07 | $1.96 |
| 26-May-06 | 6-Jul-06 | $3.09 |
| 27-May-05 | 8-Jul-05 | $1.10 |
| 16-Jul-04 | 27-Aug-04 | $2.18 |
Tier 1 Capital Adequacy Ratios of Asian Banks
Due to regulatory constraints many Asian banks hold abundance of capital reserves. This protected the banks during last year’s financial crisis. In some ways Asian banks were insulated from the crisis that almost sank the western financial system. Only with extraordinary government bailouts were some of the western banks able to survive.
One of the ways the a bank’s strength can be measured is the Tier 1 Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR). Asian banks’ have high Tier 1 CARs as shown in the chart below. The data is from mid March of 2009.
Source: CLSA Asia Pacific Markets – Research on Public Bank 9/3/09
For example ICICI Bank of India (IBN) has nearly a 10% Tier 1 CAR compared to under 4% for Citibank (C). Simiarly other Asian banks like ICBC of China, Maybank of Malaysia, DBS of Singapore have much higher Tier 1 Ratios than western banks.
Norway Government Expenditures by Sector 2008
The following chart shows the Government Expenditures by Sector of Norway for 2008:
Source: Statistics Norway
