Economy

As the globalization movement matures, countries like Mexico are becoming more capable and competitive. Its exports to the U.S. have grown at the expense of China over the past few years but it is questionable if such performance will be as good in the future. Here's why. Words: 470

The warnings that the fiscal cliff will cause a recession are delivered as if the government can decide whether or not we have a recession. In fact, the government does not have that power, or we would never have recessions. At the most, the government can influence when, not if, we have a recession. We will most likely undergo a recession when we wean ourselves off the unsustainable deficit spending of the last four years. The choice is not recession or no recession. The choice is recession now or recession later. [Let me explain.] Words: 542

Booms — and the boom in Canadian commodities is no exception — are seldom without their unintended costs....[As the Canadian dollar appreciates versus the U.S. dollar, and with the U.S. as] its largest trading partner, falling Canadian exports could well induce a secular decline in the Canadian manufacturing base. Indeed, as the loonie soars, the inevitable question is: "How much higher before its economy gets singed?" Words: 528

It's the shrunken tax base, not lower tax rates, which is responsible for today's revenue shortfall. A healthier economy and faster jobs growth would do much more to close the deficit than any amount of higher tax rates on the rich. Raising tax rates might weaken the economy further, and that would make it much more difficult to generate higher tax revenues. [The truth of the matter is that] nobody's taxes need to be raised, and nobody's spending needs to be cut—the U.S. economy is already on a glide path to the restoration of fiscal sanity. Washington: are you listening? Words: 1190

The Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Commission has released the latest report on Traffic Volume Trends, data through September. Travel on all roads and streets changed by -1.5% (-3.6 billion vehicle miles) for September 2012 as compared with September 2011. The 12-month moving average of miles driven increased a tiny 0.27% from September a year ago and the civilian population-adjusted data (age 16-and-over) has set a new post-financial crisis low of -8.6%. Words: 732

Long the champion and beneficiary of free trade and the free flow of capital, the United States has enacted legislation that becomes effective on January 1, 2017 that a growing number of commentators and professionals believe could be the start of capital controls in America and have serious unintended consequences. Let me explain...... Words: 1252

The International Monetary Fund said today that it is considering classifying Canada’s dollar, nicknamed the loonie for the image of a loon on the C$1 coin, and Australia’s dollar, as reserve currencies. Words: 285

"Trying to do business internationally for Americans is becoming a real nightmare. The once land of the free & home of the brave has been transformed into George Orwell’s 1984 nightmare squared....The damage to international capital flows is off the charts. This single law has wiped out whatever international trade advantages Americans once enjoyed." ~ Martin Armstrong Words: 692

Now that President Obama has been re-elected, Obamacare will become reality and that means that a lot more people in the United States will have health insurance and, if the program works as it is supposed to, it also means that the growth of healthcare spending overall will eventually slow. Both of those are good but, in the near term, Obamacare also means a lot of people will be paying more taxes and higher insurance premiums. (You didn't think Obamacare was free, did you?) Below are some of the new taxes you're going to have to pay to pay for Obamacare. Words: 565

If I had to guess, I would say that a majority of people in the country still view the housing market in a negative light. They note: •the still-large overhang of foreclosed properties, •the still-low rate of new housing starts, and •the still-depressed level of housing prices in many parts of the country but that is looking at the market from a static viewpoint. There have been some very important improvements in the housing market over the past 18 months...that have all the makings of a clear turnaround that is underway and likely to continue. [Let me explain.] Words: 388