Friday , 29 March 2024

Economic Overviews

Desperate Venezuela: The Moment Of Financial Reckoning Looms Larger

It’s somewhat understandable - but highly regrettable - that Venezuela is parting with its gold so readily in the midst of this economic turmoil. Gold has traditionally been a source of security for countries looking to hedge against currency volatility; and heaven knows Venezuela has had more than its share of that. The bottom line? They’re giving up the only security they have left.

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Gold/Copper Price Ratio Is A Clear Sign of a Slowing, Weakening Global Economy (+2K Views)

The Gold/Copper price ratio is a way to examine the state of the economy through the relative performance of the "pro-growth" copper price and the "anti-growth" gold price. This filters out the distorting effect of currency inflation/deflation, and allows us to focus only on gold and copper themselves. In 2016 we have a historically high Gold/Copper ratio, the likes of which we have only seen before in the Great Depression, the "stagflation" of the 1970s, and the 2008 Great Recession. This is a clear sign of a slowing, weakening global economy. Below are the details.

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Could Brexit Be the Beginning of a Brave New World?

Brexit could be the beginning of a brave new world, in which trade becomes freer and business becomes less burdened by taxes and regulations. The only politician here who is talking about such "radical" ideas is Trump, but he is gaining traction, as did the "leavers" in the UK. There is room for hope.

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The Misery Index Says These Countries Are the Most Miserable In The World (Almost 2K Views)

Every year, the Cato Institute publishes a list of the world’s most “miserable countries” by using a simple economic formula to calculate the scores. Described as a Misery Index, the tally for each country can be found by adding the unemployment rate, inflation, and lending rate together, and then subtracting the change in real GDP per capita. The infographic below visualizes the 10 "most miserable" countries in the world.

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