Economic Overviews

In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide. Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they went bankrupt. What happened to Kodak will happen in a lot of industries in the next 10 years - and most people don't see it coming. Welcome to the 4th Industrial Revolution. Welcome to the Exponential Age.

The gap between the retirement ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ has grown since the recession ended and it is only going to continue growing unless people are provided with enough financial guidance so they can plan accordingly.

The rising gold price is a warning signal for the coming economic crisis.

The U.S. and China have typically had a long-standing trade relationship going back decades and the table below shows the top imports and exports between the U.S. and China.

Today’s graphic, using data from JOC, highlights the companies behind the United States’ import–export numbers.

Even though federal debt has soared relative to GDP in the past decade, the burden of the debt is about as low as it's ever been. Still, the growth in debt does reflect some structural problems that are working to keep the economy from achieving its full potential.

We’re in a demographic and fiscal dead end. It’s a very dangerous prospect and one with no obvious answer on how to escape. The first thing to do is to stay out of the financial market—stocks, bonds, and everything else.

...I am feeling a bit sick after updating my monthly economic outlook...[which shows] that things are getting worse...[and] now dealing with expectations at 2009 lows. Yes, that's not a mistake unfortunately. In this article, I am once again reiterating my growth slowing call and tell you what's next.

Truck tonnage is a reasonable proxy for the overall economy, and stock prices tend to rise as the economy grows as the chart below so clearly illustrates.

The latest Purchasing Managers’ Indexes from around the world forecast weak growth to negative growth in manufacturing, and weak to moderate growth in services over the near term, with the composite of manufacturing and services forecasting weak growth. See the major country specifics below.