Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Is the USA immune from the current economic recession? It seems to be.

January 26, 2016
By Sarah Zervos

...The top 5 oil-consuming countries (click here) in the world (at least in the last few years) are the U.S., China, Japan, India, and Russia. Combining all the member countries in Europe would bring this region high in the ranks. None of these have shown stellar economic growth By Sara the past few years. In fact, many emerging markets such as Russia are suffering significant recessions. The U.S., while not in a recession, appears to be in the midst of a soft patch. Japan and Europe still have weak economies, and policymakers are trying – with little success – to boost growth. Investors are focusing their fears on China, the #2 consumer of oil in the world as the country’s economic growth rate continues to inch lower, and for once, its government apparently isn’t able to turn around the decline....

Housing is only one measure of economic growth. Australia is reporting today after years of increased value in housing, the market is experiencing the loss of value. In the USA, the real estate industry is reporting increases in home values. There is every indication, while USA growth is about 2 percent; it is exceeding that of the rest of the world.

The industry did it to itself. Unlike Saudi Arabia and Russia, US oil is not accessed by the sovereignty. US Oil is extracted by Wall Street. 

This commodity is not going to increase in value. Wall Street carries out their oil production differently and has proven to disregard their own corporate integrity. Wall Street is up to their eyeballs in debt over oil production and are now racing to maintain cash flow to pay the bill REGARDLESS of the market price of the commodity. 

After the global economic collapse in 2008, which was entirely induced intentionally by Wall Street, the USA moved to a different economic model, the local economy. Local economies give control to the people and are far more manageable with 'new markets' such as the non-GMO demands which is a wildly growing market. It was always my hopes the USA would build a sovereign protection for it's people in removing Wall Street from their economy. It seems to be working. This local economy also moves away from issues such as the climate crisis and in kind the petroleum industry.

Fossil fuel energy is ancient and diminishing. It has been interesting to watch the commodity tumble. I didn't think it was going to occur overnight, but, basically it has. Americans are independent to make choices other people are not. In that is a huge benefit for the country's economy and it's people. It is also a benefit for the global economy. Balanced trade with the USA will at least provide a basement to the global economic structure. 

Sovereign authorities that export oil for the purpose of supporting their economies have a reason to continue to export at the current rate. Their overhead is static. The income for oil even at a lower rate is still an income to it's treasury.

Case in point. A $100 billion in debt is nothing when measuring against the USA national debt. The sovereignty/kingdom could probably pay the national debt today if it wanted to, but, Saudi Arabia is building the future.

January 27, 2016
By Aamna Mohdin

Saudi Arabia, (click here) once the world’s largest energy producer before the US took over with huge amounts of shale gas, is facing its biggest economic challenge in a decade. Oil prices continue to crash with no clear end in sight; last week, the price of oil fell below the price of an actual barrel. The IMF says Saudi Arabia is in danger of draining its financial reserves within five years.

So the energy-dependent nation—oil made up 73% of revenues last year—will try to tackle its almost $100-billion deficit with ambitious new plans to strengthen other industries, which range from information technology to tourism, and diversify away from oil.
But can Saudi Arabia wean itself off its most precious resource?...

Saudi Arabia may be lagging in economic growth in it's non-petroleum sector, but, that was due to an aging monarch and the fact this fall in oil values occurred overnight. The sovereigns didn't see it coming either and if they did they didn't and do not care about it.

It is noted Russia has been experiencing some citizen unrest. I don't think that is necessarily new so much as more noted in the face of it's loss of income from oil. 

Countries such as Brunei has a real chance at changing their direction of their future. It is a small country that when direction changes occur takes effect immediately. Brunei has to grow it's tourism industry and they can open it's artisan markets when it's people can grow cottage industries. Cottage industries have never been more popular in the world. There is a genuine aspect to the manufacturing in homes. When a person purchases an item they know the income it going to the household and not some darn stockholder that could not care less about people so much as their own pockets.