Global House Price Indicators (January 2013)

The Economist posted this overview of global house price indicators in January 2013. Some points of interest:

• Hong Kong saw the biggest rise in housing prices: 22 percent compared to year ago, while Spain saw its house prices contract the most.
• Hong Kong was also the country that saw its house prices increase the most after the start of the global financial crisis in 2007, while Ireland saw the biggest correction; house prices were slashed in halve. 
• Housing markets in Canada and France are most overvalued according to rent and income measures, while those in Japan and China are quite undervalued compared to their long term average values.

The Economist

Changing Top Manufacturing Countries (1980-2010)

The developing countries have made their way more and more in the top 10 of global manufacturing countries. While you might expect China on the first spot, the United States as being the world's biggest economy is still the largest manufacturing producer. Brazil has advanced up to the sixth place. India just entered the top 10 in 2010 and Russia especially made a big jump from place 12 in 2000 to 11 in 2010.

ZeroHedge

Will Mexico Overtake China In U.S. Imports?

The Economist constructed this chart with data from the U.S. Department Of Commerce and HSBC. In 1990 China was still a small player in the international trade. Imports from the U.S. out of China were only 3.1 percent of the total U.S. imports. At the time Mexico was twice as big in the percentage of imports from the U.S. The biggest trading partners in terms of exports were Canada and Japan, both with a share of 18 percent. Especially Japan saw its share decline since the continuing crisis the country has been in from 1990. Today the import share that Japan has is lower than Mexico in 1990.

With the high economic growth in Japan before the 90s Japanese wages increased a lot. This gave opportunities to countries like China which at the time had an enormous potential cheap labor force to manufacture goods for exporting to the Western world. With the high economic growth in China wages are rising. Mexico seems the next country to benefit from low wages.

A likely reason why Canada is still a relatively big player is it's favorable location.

Due to a request by the Economist this graph has been removed. 

View the graph here

Economist Poll of Forecasters (July 2012) for 2012, 2013

This graph shows the average forecast for economic data (2012 & 2013) of the main economies in the world. Except for Australia and Japan all the average real GDP growth figures in July have been lowered since June. Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the Euro Area are expected to have a minus growth for 2012. For 2013 only Italy and Spain are expected to see it's economy contract. Italy's inflation rate is expected to stay relatively high though, while Japan and Switzerland keep having low inflation rates. Spain is expected to see it's current account deficit shrink more and more.

Due to a request by the Economist this graph has been removed. 

View the graph here

Where are the Top 500 International Companies Located?

The United States is the only country where more than 100 of the top 500 international companies are located. China is a great second, with Japan, Canada and the big three European countries following shortly. From Business Insider: 'Total revenue at the 500 gained 13.2 percent from 2010, to $29.5 trillion, while profits hit $1.6 trillion'.

Business Insider

Oil Consumption (consumers+companies) Per Capita

As you were able to see in the post a few days ago, The United States consumes the most oil of all the countries. Perhaps surprisingly enough, it is not the country with the highest oil consumption per capita. Singapore takes the first spot, with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia second and third. The U.S. only takes the ninth place after two more oil producing countries, two European countries and Canada. Perhaps also surprisingly, Germany is on the bottom of the developed countries.

Update: this chart also shows consumption of companies, like aviation and oil refinery. That's why consumption per capita may be a bit misleading.

Oil Consumption Per Capita

OECD: Official Versus Effective Retirement Age

The official retirement age is rarely equal to the effective retirement age, the average age the people actually retire. As you can see in this chart the official retirement age can be both higher and lower than the effective retirement age. What is the same for all countries is that the life expectancy was raised and that (assuming an equal or declining birth rate) the work force needs to finance more elderly people. A very reasonable option to do that is by raising the effective retirement age (with the official retirement age).

Japan and Sweden had the highest effective retirement age in 2010, while Austria, France and Belgium (and not Greece) had the lowest effective retirement age.

The Economist

Oil Production Versus Consumption

Saudi Arabia produces the most oil in the world, as you can see in this chart from the Financial Times. The United States is the country with the highest consumption in barrels, but also produces quite a lot. Japan sticks out in that it does consumes relatively much, but doesn't produce any oil. For Iraq it is the other way around.

Financial Times

Long Term Pension Age (OECD Countries)

OECD published this graph with the long term pension age in OECD countries. Denmark and Italy have their pension age linked to life expectancy, which means it will almost reach 69 in 2050. Iceland and Norway are already at 67, and increasingly more countries will reach that age in the next years. In some countries there are differences between woman and men.

OECD Pensions Outlook 2012

Leading Indicator Index (Beginning 2012)

EconompicData make a nice graph with data from the OECD. It shows the leading indicator index. This index is a total of all the economic data for a country which are identified as the best indicators for future economic growth. Examples of such indicators are industrial production, trade volumes and private consumption.

Especially Italy and Germany (which may be surprising) saw the leading indicator drop the most. The United States and Japan are more and more going in the positive direction.

Econompic

Most Expensive and Cheapest Cities Around the World

This graph from The Economist shows the cost of living for several cities around the world. New York was taken as a benchmark, for which the cost of living index is 100. As you can see Zurich, Tokyo and Oslo are the most expensive cities in the world. Notice that these three cities are all not in the European Union.

Mumbai and Karachi are among the cheapest cities around the world.

Due to a request by the Economist this graph has been removed. 

View the graph here

Non-Financial Corporate Debt

You can see in the graph from The Economist (with data from Mckinsey) that Spain, France and the United Kingdom have the highest non-financial corporations debt of the selection countries. Again the emerging countries have the lowest debt. Non-financial corporation debt is a lot higher in Europe than in North America.

Due to a request by the Economist this graph has been removed. 

View the graph here

Financial Sector Debt as a Percentage of GDP

You can see in this graph from The Economist (with data from Mckinsey) that the United Kingdom, Japan and France have the highest Financial Debt for the selected countries. As for household debt are the emerging countries the ones with the lowest financial debt. Also for financial debt the United Kingdom is the country with the highest amount, as is the case with the total debt (which you were able to see in this post.

Due to a request by the Economist this graph has been removed. 

View the graph here

Household Debt as a Percentage of GDP (Developed and Emerging Countries)

You can see in the graph from The Economist (with data from Mckinsey) that the Anglo-Saxon countries have the highest household debt of selected countries. The emerging countries have the lowest household debt. As you were able to see in this post with total debt (government, household, financial and non-financial) Britain was also the country with the highest total debt.

Due to a request by the Economist this graph has been removed. 

View the graph here

Countries With Biggest Pension Assets As a Percentage of GDP

Not every country has as much pension assets. In the table presented here constructed by Towers Watson the 13 countries with the biggest pension assets in the world are shown. These pension assets are the money that pension funds have for current and future retirees. On average these countries had in 2011 pension assets of 72% of GDP. The Netherlands had relatively the most pension assets: 133% of GDP. France had relatively the least from the 13 countries with the most pension assets in the world: 5% of GDP. The United States has nominally by far the most pension assets in the world: 16 trillion dollar.

For future retirees these assets can ofcourse grow larger given some return if these assets are invested. The next graph shows the allocation of the assets for the 7 countries that had the biggest pension assets in 2011. On average (world) these countries had their assets invested for 41% in equity, 37% in bonds, 20% in other and 2 percent they held in cash. The Anglo-Saxon countries had relatively more invested in equity compared to Japan, Netherlands and Switzerland. The Netherlands and Japan held a relatively high share of the assets in bonds, while Switzerland held a relatively high share in other.

Tower Watson

The World's One Percent

You can see that half of the world's richest 1 percent live in the United States! Four live in Germany, three in France, Italy and the United Kingdom. To be part of the world's richest one percent you 'only' need to make 136.000 dollars as a household of four (including two children).

CNN Money

OECD Countries: How much does the one percent earn?

The one chart which the global occupy-er needs.

In this chart you can see what share of total income the one percent of earners have in several countries. The light blue is the share which it was in 1990. The dark blue is the share which it was in 2007. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland and Ireland saw the biggest increases in inequality.

Off The Charts

As you can see the United States has by far the highest inequality among OECD countries.

The next chart shows which occupation the richest 0,1 percent (not the 1 percent) in the United States have.

This chart shows the change in occupation in the total 0,1 percent richest earners. You can see that finance increased dramatically.

EconomPic

Euro Zone Bond Spreads Above Historical Levels

This chart shows the Government Bond Spreads (difference between interest rates of 10 year government bodns of the selected countries verser the interest rate of german bonds). You can see that for some of the countries these spreads are higher than they were in the years before. So you may ask as the FT did: Why did we bother?

FT

House Prices Around The World (1970-2008)

This chart shows the development of the house prices around the world. In Europe, Belgium, UK, Netherlands, Ireland and Norway had the highest increases in the house prices. Germany, Switzerland, Swden, Italy and France had the lowest increases.

Outside Europe, Australia and Canada had relatively has relatively high house prices and relatively lower in Japans and the U.S.

Especially notice 1995 when in many countries house prices started to rise dramatically.

Business Insider

Elderly/Population in 2007 and 2040

This chart shows the population aging as the elderly (aged 60 and over), as a percentage of the population in a country for 2007 and 2040. Japan and the Western European countries have the biggest aging problems and in the United States, United Kingdom and the BRIC countries have relatively less problems.

This graph shows the growth in total public benefits to the elders from 2007 to 2040 as a percentage of the countries' GDP. Spain, Brazil and the Netherlands see the highest increase in the costs of public benefits to the elderly.

CSIS