Singapore Economy Expected to Slow In

Singapore Economy Growth

First Published Date: August 31, 2015

As Singapore reaches 50, it rises from a poor state to the 5th highest GDP per capita in the world. The average income for Singaporeans is now $56,000, which is far than the $600 figure from just 50 years ago.

Singapore is now one of the world’s top financial centres, holding 40 percent of the Asia-Pacific headquarters (319 out of 500 global fortune 500 companies).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that Singapore’s economy will grow 2.9 percent in 2015, supported by external demand, macroeconomic policies, and lower energy costs. The Asian Development Bank predicts the growth to be 2.8 percent, Bank of America predicts the growth to be 2 percent, and the Singapore government predicts between 2 and 4 percent.

For 2016, Bank of America predicts GDP growth will be 2.2 percent. The new growth outlook for Singapore appears to be closer to 2 percent than the old growth rate of 4+ percent. Global weaker economic growth – especially weaker growth in Singapore’s neighboring countries such as China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia – will contribute to slowing down Singapore’s economy.

Singapore ranks very well in international competitive rankings. For example:

2014 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness – Ranks 2 out of 144 countries
2015 World Bank Ease of Doing Business – Ranks 1
Transparency International Corruption Perception Index – Ranks 7 out of 175 countries

Canada – The First Nation To Step Out Of The Recession

Good News – Growth Is Here!

First Published Date: July 26, 2009

It is slightly too early to say that the recession is in its final throes, and those of us who wish to avoid tempting fate would never dream of creating such a hostage to fortune, but the announcement by Finance minister Jim Flaherty on Thursday that stability and recovery have arrived must at least be a positive sign for those of us who had begun to wonder if the positive forecasts blowing around were part of some mirage. Of course, until we see two consecutive periods of stability and growth it will be hard to say for sure that the recession is receding. At the present time, however, it is good to hear the central bank issuing positive news on growth.

The projections by the Bank of Canada are that after three consecutive quarters of contraction in the national economy, this quarter will see growth of 1.3%. The figures may not be earth-shattering, but it is what they represent that means good news for the country. After a sustained period of contraction, any quarterly growth can be seen as a sign that things are warming up. With better growth, the opportunity for new jobs to be created will be higher, and Canadians left unemployed by the effects of the recession can begin to look ore hopefully for jobs.

This means a welcome vote of confidence for the reading which argued that due to Canada’s more reserved economic approach, the nation would be among the first to step out of the recession and do it in a stronger way. It does not, however, mean that the global recession is over or that a domino effect will see growth kick off in the United States, Europe or Japan. Indeed, some of the financial systems in the world’s other countries may cause more ripples in the global economy for a while yet – meaning that international trade may be stymied somewhat.

The central bank has been keen to point out that the recovery in Canada is, as yet, in its infancy and not something to be taken for granted. This may not yet be the time to take even a calculated financial risk. The financial recovery is at the moment still reliant on stimulus spending from the government – the equivalent of a sportsman whose knee injury has healed but still requires crutches.

The US, meanwhile, is believed by its bankers to be on its way to recovery, with the pace of decline slowing and growth predicted to begin by the end of the year. As Canada’s nearest neighbour this will undoubtedly affect the recovery here, so it is worth keeping an eye on the financial news from south of the border. Although the economy is still vulnerable it is looking in much better shape than a year ago. The global recovery may yet be painfully slow, but the good news is that it is at least set to happen, and that the contraction is beginning to die down. Given the doom and gloom in the immediate aftermath of the credit crunch in 2008, that we may be out of recession by the end of 2010 is positive news.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Canadapersonalfinancewebsite.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on July 26, 2009.

Global Millionaires Number Hits Record High

New Stats About Millionaires

First Published Date: June 24, 2015

How many people became millionaires last year? About a million, at a record pace for the sixth consecutive year. A recent report published by the consultant Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management.

India may be a poor country, but millionaires seem to be shining in India more than anywhere else. Millionaires rose at a record pace at 26 percent, which is the biggest percentage increase among all other countries.

Here are some other highlights from the report:

– World millionaires rose by 920,000 to a record high of 14.6 million.
– One third or more of the new millionaires live in the US (345,000).

– Global assets held by the millionaires reached a record high $56 trillion.

– The richest millionaires, those have $30 million or more, held 35 percent of the wealth, but only 1 percent of the total millionaires.

– The U.S. is where the most millionaires live followed by Japan, Germany, and China.

Financial Speculation & Reading the Signs

Financial Speculation Is Generally Not To Be Encouraged

First Published Date: May 17, 2009

As a child, a lot of your early reading practice comes from signs. There is only so long you can get away with walking on the grass in direct defiance of a sign before the groundskeeper asks you, often quite forcefully “Can’t you read?” and points to the sign in question. The meaning of the “Wet Paint” sign is often learned in a manner more practical than academic, and results in the need for one’s parents to buy a new pair of trousers. But we learn from these signs and we learn to look out for them. As we get older, the signs change in a practical sense – sticking to speed limits, age restrictions at clubs and so forth – and also in a figurative sense.

We are in a global recession as things stand. As much as some of us will have seen it coming, there will be many more who did not. It is hard to blame them, as there were very few messages coming from a high level saying “Look out – there’s a recession afoot”. Lots of us were busy doing something else and didn’t see the sign until it was too late. In order to avoid compounding our mistakes, the most important thing we can do is be more careful about looking for signs and ensuring we understand them. The problem with economic signs is that they are not plastered everywhere that we might spend money, quite unlike the road signs that adorn every intersection. We need to be actively seeking them out.

Being aware of the financial situation at home and abroad takes work. Some of it may be outright boring. There are, many of you will agree, only so many stories about x industry in y country that you can read before the only letters you see are clusters of zzz – it does not help that economic news is treated by so many in one of two ways. Either it is delivered in a solemn baritone with countless abbreviations that make sense only to investment bankers, or it is dumbed down to insulting levels on news broadcasts and in newspaper articles that may as well be entitled “Finance for Cretins”. The average citizen is not, contrary to popular myth, a cretin. Nor are they a financial whiz kid. Hence the unsurprising lack of information that you feel you can use.

It is clear enough that now is a time when speculation is generally not to be encouraged. If you have a “can’t miss” prospect lined up then it would be positively rude not to investigate it further, but vagueness on how it will pay out, when it will pay out and why this is a certainty – or at least a probability – are the least you should be looking out for. Anything less and you need to proceed with extreme caution. At some point, the signs will change, and when they do there will be scope to take advantage of the new, encouraging signs. These will be things like employment levels rising, a boost in the travel industry or fresh investment coming to the local area. These are the kind of signs anybody should be happy to see.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Canadapersonalfinancewebsite.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on May 17, 2009.

Asia Will Be 53% of World Economy

China Economy Will Lead the World by 2026

First Published Date: July 2, 2015

A recent report published by the Economist Intelligence Units predicts that in just 10 years China will overtake the US in terms of nominal GDP and will stay there at least until 2050. Also, Asia will account for 53 percent of world economy; it is currently at only 33 percent.

Here are some highlights from the report:

– Mexico and Indonesia will be among the top ten economies by 2050, surpassing Russia and Italy.

– The top ten economies in 2050 will be China, US, India, Indonesia, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, UK, and France.

– Within the top ten, China, US, and India will hold more wealth than the next five countries combined. This enormous scale of wealth will be nothing like the world has seen before.

– Currently the top ten economies are US, China, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Brazil, Italy, India, and Russia.

– China is almost expected to catch Japan in terms of per capita incomes by 2050.

– Nigeria is projected to triple its labour force, followed by Pakistan, in the next decades.

– Japan, Germany, and Thailand will decline in labour force, dragging down their growth.

The full report can be reviewed here.