Author Archive

Charts: Largest Power Producers, Markets, Nordic Power Distributors

1. Largest Power Markets in the World

2. Largest European and Russian Power Producers

3. Largest Nordic Power Distribution Companies

Source: Fortum, Finland

Mark Vitner: Reflections on 25 Years Following The U.S. Economy

Mark Vitner, Senior Economist at Wells Fargo Securities recently expressed his views on following the U.S. Economy for 25 years. The points mentioned by him are very thoughtful and informative. Hence I am listing those 25 points below:

1. Economics is just common sense made difficult
2. It is important to distinguish between what you think the Fed will do and what you think they should do
3. Recessions are caused by the build up of imbalances and some sort of event or policy change that causes investors, consumers, businesses and regulators to become more risk averse
4. Imbalances can build up far longer than seems logical
5. Persistent inflation is always a monetary phenomenon
6. Rising food and energy prices by themselves are deflationary if they are not accommodated by a loose monetary policy
7. Conditions do not have to be perfect in order for the economy to grow
8. There is a tendency for forecasters to focus more attention on what is wrong with the economy than what is right
9. The natural tendency for the U.S. economy is to grow
10. the greatest forecasting mistake economists have made is to underestimate economic growth
11. A trend will continue until is stops
12. You can learn an awful lot by simply observing
13. Never be overly eager to change your forecast
14. Do not be afraid of making mistakes
15. Rapid growth nearly always sows the seeds of its own destruction
16. booms generally lead to unforeseen problems
17. Capital will always flow to the highest available risk-adjusted rate of return
18. The economy does not simply grow and contract, it is constantly evolving
19. Soft landings are extremely hard to pull off
20. Changes in political leadership matter
21. View the economy through the eyes of a business owner, consumer, and policymaker
22. Always look for consistencies and inconsistencies
23. Write your reports and give presentations as if you were explaining economic concepts to your mother
24. Do not outrun your headlights
25. Listen to those who have opposing views

You can download the full report by clicking here.

Which is the World’s Largest Mobile Phone Market?

I have written before about the explosion of cell phone growth subscriptions in emerging markets. A new study by Euromonitor confirms that Asia Pacific is te world’s largest mobile phone market.

Some key points from the report:

• China has the world’s largest cell phone subscribers at 707 million in 2009
• Asia Pacific had 46% of the global total subscriptions
• The mobile phone penetration rate remains below global average in China and India
• In 2009, Asia Pacific had 2.1 billion phone subscriptions

Charts

Mobile phone subscriptions and population penetration rates in Asia Pacific: 2009

Real growth of per capita consumer expenditure on communications: 2004-2009

Economic Charts of Brazil

Last year the Bovespa index of Brazil surged 83% and the real shot up by 33%. After a decline of 0.50% in GDP last year, this year Brazil is projected to grow by 5.8%. The following charts from Banco  Central Do Brasil shows the economy is on track grow further this year.

Brazil’s Export Diversification

Brazilian Banks’ Capital Adequacy Ratio

Brazil’s Retail Sales

To download the complete Brazil’s Economic Chart pack click here.

The Best and Worst Logistics Performers 2010

The graphic below shows the Top and Bottom 10 Logistics Performers for 2010 based on research by The World Bank:

Source: Connecting to Compete 2010, Trade Logistics in the Global Economy, The World Bank

These countries are ranked by the Logistics Performance Index(LPI).
“Based on a worldwide survey of global freight forwarders and express carriers, the Logistics Performance Index is a benchmarking tool developed by the World Bank that measures performance along the logistics supply chain within a country. Allowing for comparisons across 155 countries, the index can help countries identify challenges and opportunities and improve their logistics performance. The World Bank conducts the survey every two years.”

Germany takes the top spot followed by Singapore and Sweden.Somalia, Eritrea and Sierra Leone are some of the low ranked countries. Generally high-income countries have quality infrastructure for trade and commerce. Low-income countries lack basic infrastructure which is a major impediment to growth.

Germany Experienced Serious Recession in 2009

Germany, the  largest economy in Europe experienced serious recession in 2009. The economy shrank for the first time in 6 years and the decline in the price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) was the largest since World War II according to latest data from Destatis.

From the news release:

“This is shown by first calculations of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The economic slump occurred mainly in the winter half-year of 2008/2009. Over the year, there were signs that the economic development would slightly stabilise on the new, lower level. In 2008 the GDP had slightly been up by 1.3%, in 2007 by 2.5% and in 2006 even by 3.2%.

What was striking in 2009 is that both exports and capital formation in machinery and equipment slumped heavily. Foreign trade, which in previous years had been a major driving force for growth in the German economy, slowed down economic development in 2009. While exports were down a price-adjusted 14.7%, the decrease was just 8.9% for imports. Hence the balance of exports and imports made a negative contribution to GDP growth, as it had done in 2008.”

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