U.S. stocks rallied, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 14,000 for the first time in five years, as data on the labor market and manufacturing boosted confidence in the world’s biggest economy. “You’re going to see this economy driven by capital being put to work,” Robert Lutts, president and chief investment officer of Cabot […]
Britain’s economy is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, but this much is clear: it’s a disaster. After its Olympics-fueled growth, such as it was, lifted it out of recession in the third quarter of 2012, Britain might be headed back after its economy fell 0.3 percent at the end of the year — the […]
Multinationals operating in China have been setting up factories deep in the interior in search of affordable labor. The drawback: These plants can be more than a thousand kilometers (621 miles) from the coast. For companies exporting to Europe—still one of the largest markets for Chinese goods—shipping by air from Chongqing or other inland cities […]
Global attention is increasingly turning towards Asia as the concurrent rises of China and India signify the nascent stages of the Asian 21st century. As part of this focus, greater reflection is being given to the standing that India and China have held in the past; their natural primacy as great powers in terms of demographics, economic clout […]
Between 2010 and 2020, Chinese and Indian consumers will spend some $64 trillion on goods and services. Chinese consumers will spend approximately $41.5 trillion, with annual expenditures reaching more than $6 trillion in 2020. Indians will spend $22.5 trillion, with annual spending hitting an estimated $3.6 trillion by 2020. Combined, they will be spending some […]
With his trip to Shenzhen and other places in southern China, Xi Jinping, the new leader of China’s Communist Party, has all but declared himself to be a reformer in the vein of Deng Xiaoping. Chinese politics is always full of signs, symbols, and suggestions. After a year characterized by a confusing mix of “signs […]
Six cities in Liaoning province, including Shenyang and Anshan, recently announced they are converting abandoned industrial sites to farmland. Dongguan, once a booming factory center, is on the verge of bankruptcy as companies close, leaving the local government severely cash-strapped. Just two years after China overtookthe U.S. to become the world’s largest manufacturer, the country faces the […]
The news that several manufacturing giants are planning to bring some of their production back to the United States has dominated the headlines in recent months. Perhaps that’s because Americans see it as a bellwether of economic recovery, or perhaps it simply reflects their collective yearning for America’s past industrial dominance. Either way, the interest in these moves demonstrates the unique […]
China’s growth rebound, forecast to have gathered pace in November, is bypassing smaller businesses in a sign the government may need to step up policy support to secure a more broad-based recovery. Industrial production growth probably accelerated for a third month to 9.8 percent from a year earlier, while retail sales probably rose 14.6 percent, […]
Despite all the attention the trade deficit receives each month, little heed has been paid to the rapid expansion of U.S. exports, which have been growing nearly three times faster than gross domestic product since 2005. As a share of the U.S. economy, exports are at their highest point in 50 years. Rather than slow […]
looking beyond borders 