It sounds like a Christmas gift but China
has said it is willing to bail out debt-ridden countries in the euro zone using
its $2.7trillion overseas investment fund.
It was reported in late November that not
only did the banks bail out American Banks but also European banks as well. - It
will be a long time before all debts are paid.
China and Russia have decided to renounce
the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade,
Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced on
November 23.
Ireland longtime thought to be one of the
hot economies in Europe, is found to be bankrupt and is bailed out by the
European Union.
Mid November, Ireland's financial troubles
loomed large as investors - betting that the country soon could join Greece in
seeking an EU bailout are dumping bonds this drove the interest rate on the
country's 10-year borrowing to a new high. The yield on 10-year bonds rose above
8 percent for the first time. Also many cities in Britain have cut down on
their usage of street lights to try to cut their expenses.
In Mid October, Britain slashes its budget
in order to try to reduce their debt. This includes 490,000 public
sector jobs which likely to be lost.
France is also attempting to put their
financial house in order and is suggesting raising the retirement age from 60 to
62 years. This issue has caused the French citizens to go on a general strike.
The French government finally passes the change in retirement age and the
general strike fades.
Announced at the end of September in the
US - Household incomes plunged for the second year in a row in 2009, as fewer
families earned over $100,000 a year while the ranks of the poor rose, according
to census statistics.
End of August and the economic situation
in the US looks pretty grim with housing prices dropping to new lows and
unemployment figures not getting better. Obama now says that job creation
will be his #1 priority.
Mid July and Obama finally passes
his financial reform bill which will provide limits on raises to chief bank
officers and also provide provisions that will not allow the US government to
bail out banks that are in trouble.
Early May and Greece is in big financial
problems as they have requested a $170 billion and the people especially the
civil servants are pissed because they will lose a lot of their benefits.
With interest rates of 15% on the bailout money from Germany and other EU
countries this will cause a decrease in their quality of life for a very long
time. Under terms of the bailout deal, Greece's government has announced a €30
billion package that will slash public-sector wages, cut pensions, freeze
public- and private-sector pay, liberalize Greece's labor laws and raise some
taxes. The story doesn't end here with some EU countries lending Greece money
but it triggers a question on whether or not US currency and stock traders were
selling short to drive down the Euro which at mid month was only worth $1.23 US.
Late April and Greek prime minister George
Papandreou requested the activation of a €40-billion-plus bailout package as the
country's financial health spirals downward.. Also noted was that the
U.S. economy grows 3.2 percent in the first
quarter - Car sales seem to be driving this growth as GM says they have paid
back their loans from the US and Canadian government 5 years ahead of time.
Chinese annual growth soared by 11.9 per cent
in the first quarter - the fastest rate since 2007
Almost one third of Canadians aged 35-54 expect
to be working in their retirement years. as the concept of traditional
retirement disappears in Canada - a country which is one of the leaders in
global financial stability
China is expected to deliver 8% GDP growth
in 2010, with the US, Japan, and the UK coming in at less than 2%.
Early March the US announces that job loses has become stable at 36,000 in
February with a jobless rate holding steady at 9.6 % - it looks like they have bottomed out the curve.
Bad news for the new home purchasing in United States as sales of new homes
plunged to a record low in January, underscoring the formidable challenges
facing the housing industry as it tries to recover from the worst slump in
decades. The American dream doesn't seem to be happening anymore!
Good news sort of for Obama as in late January it was reported that this year's
federal budget deficit will improve slightly thanks to lower spending on the
Treasury Department's bank bailout and stronger than expected economic growth,
falling to $1.35 trillion from the nearly $1.4 trillion previously projected,
It is early in January and the unemployment rates are announced in the US and
Europe with the jobless rate at 10 % . This is disappointing both to the
US and to Europe who have put enormous amounts of cash into their systems to try
to slow or stop the economic recession. It is clear now that the
manufacturing sector now belongs to Asia and India
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