Economic Overviews

The global economy is perched on the edge of an abyss, and averting our gaze doesn’t actually lessen the risk, it increases it because problems which aren’t faced directly and addressed directly fester and rot the system from within.

[This article takes] a look at the state of the U.S. economy by assessing the tightness of the "economic screws" (i.e. the key economic metrics) that hold the economy together [and concludes that, despite the slowing growth rate of the economy, the majority of the important economic screws remain tight enough to prevent a recession and to keep the stock market from falling into a bear market. [Let me explain.] 

Every few years, the World Bank takes on the task of measuring the world's wealth that include endowments of nature, ranging from wilderness to oil wells, as well as the human capital embodied in the education and skills of its people, in addition to the more traditional measurement of based on the value of houses, or the stock market, or retirement accounts.

The proverbial...hit the fan here and it is going to result in reduced shipments out of China, further exacerbating supply chain issues around the world. In addition, the economic and social impact on China's population is becoming severe. Here is what has been happening here for the past few days.

The next few weeks in China should be interesting: if a COVID-19 break-out occurs in mainland China like it already has in Hong Kong the effect could be catastrophic!

In response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and EU have imposed heavy sanctions aimed at crippling the Russian economy. However, these bold actions also come with some potentially messy complications:

The top 10% of the richest people in the United States held 69.8% of total U.S. net worth (which is the value of all assets a person holds minus all their liabilities) as of Q1 of 2021.

Commodities everywhere have soared in price - oil, gas, base metals, precious metals, and grains and as well fertilizers - and these high costs, along with higher costs for just about everything else, are squeezing disposable incomes and that in turn could lead to a recession.

What are the economic implications going to be for Russia and the rest of the world and for your investments regardless of what assets they are allocated to? This post provides insights into that question with links to 10 very interesting articles and charts.

What are the economic implications going to be for Ukraine and the world at large including your investments regardless of what assets they are allocated to? This post provides insights into that question with links to 5 very interesting articles and charts.