Japan is the 4th largest economy in the world. It is a leader in electronic innovation, high-speed trains and robots. Yet, in the past two decades, it has seen an unprecedented decline in real wages. Whilst most economies have been trying to reduce inflation, Japan has been desperately trying to do the opposite – to …
After the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, western countries imposed a series of sanctions on Russia. Some claimed this would cripple Russian economy and led to a deep recession. But, the Russian economy seemed to shrug this off growing at 3.6% in 2023 making it own of the fastest growing economies in the G20. And …
Recently the ONS produced a long-term forecast for spending and taxation. It makes for grim reading. Assuming policy doesn’t change, they forecast UK debt will rise to levels last seen in the Napoleonic Wars. This forecast also assumes there are no external shocks like Covid or the Ukraine war. At the same time, bond investors …
Is American Economy Now Set to Decline?Watch this video on YouTube The US economy has been outperforming the rest of the world. It has left the European economy in the dust. In the 1990s with everyone buying a Sony Walkman, it was Japan which was going to overtake the US, but it never did. The …
The Australian economy is unique. 35% of the country is practically desert and geographically it is isolated. 98% of its trade is exported by sea. Yet, it has become one of the richest countries in the world. Richer than the UK, France and Germany. From 1991 to 2020, it experienced the world record for the …
The current account on the balance of payments measures the inflow and outflow of goods, services, investment incomes and transfer payments. The main components of the current account are: Trade in goods (visible balance) Trade in services (invisible balance), e.g. insurance and services Primary income account – includes – compensation of employees, investment income from …
In 1913, Britain was the largest trading nation in the world. 50% of global capital investment came from London. It was an economic powerhouse which defied its small size. But, in the past 100 years, the pound has devalued and the UK has seen a steady decline in relative importance. Some of this was inevitable, …
When displaying time series data, it often makes sense to use index numbers. Index numbers are a simple way of making it easier to compare numbers over a period of time. Index numbers measure relative changes in the price of a sum of representative data. For example, the FTSE-100 is an index displaying the average …