Quarterly EU House Prices (2005-2013Q4)

With new data from Eurostat for the percentage change in q4 2013 of the house prices in the EU I constructed this graph. During the last quarter of 2013 the United Kingdom and Sweden saw big increases in their house prices, while house prices in the Netherlands and Cyprus decreased. For the EU as a whole house prices decreased with 0.1 percent compared to Q4 2012.

Eurostat

Euro Zone Inflation 2008 - Q1 2014

This graph by the Wall Street Journal shows inflation in the Euro Zone from 2007 until the most recent data. Since 2012 a downward trend has started. With Spanish inflation even becoming negative, the inflation rate in the Euro Zone is nearing it's lowest rate since 2010. Will the ECB act to get inflation closer to it's target of just below 2 percent?

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History of EU/Euro Zone (1929-2013)

Large overview of the history of the EU and the implementation of the Euro. From the first suggestion for a common European currency in 1929 until Croatia joining the EU in the beginning of 2013.

Euro Zone Unemployment Spreads Q4 2012

When people talk about Euro Zone spreads they normally refer to the difference between the government borrowing interest rate of a particular Euro Zone country in comparison to the interest rate for the German government. German government bonds are taken as the benchmark since lending to the German government is basically seen as risk free. When lending to other countries, especially the southern Euro Zone countries, a risk premium is added on top of the German interest rate to reflect the higher default rate of those countries.

Besides this financial interpretation of spreads, a different form of spreads can be constructed to show the differences in the real economy between the Euro Zone countries: unemployment spreads. Unemployment spreads for the Euro Zone are defined as the difference between the unemployment rate in a particular Euro Zone country and the unemployment rate in Germany. As can be expected Euro Zone countries most hit by the Euro crisis have the highest unemployment spreads, with Greece and Spain even above 20 percent. This is a lot higher than the Euro Area average of 5.8 percent and the EU average of 5,3 percent. Austria, the Netherlands and Finland on the other hand have unemployment rates comparable to that of Germany.

OECD Yearly 2012 GDP Growth

More and more countries have been reporting their fourth quarter GDP growth for 2012 lately, and hence the yearly 2012 GDP growth rate. For the countries that have reported their figures China had the highest yearly growth rate of 7.8 percent. Indonesia and Norway are following China with 6.2 and 3.0 percent respectively. Yet, most countries had a growth rate of less than 2 percent, with most all European countries on the lower end. Portugal and Italy saw their economy's decline the most, in Portugal even with 3.2 percent.

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

Household Debt Versus Disposable Income (1995-2011)

This graph gives the ratio of total household debt divided by the total of disposable income of the households in countries of the Euro Area and the USA. On average the household debt to income rate was relatively stable in the Euro Area approaching the 100 percent just before the credit crisis from around 70 percent at the beginning of the Euro. The household debt to income ratio was already higher in 1999 in the USA and saw a much bigger increase, but unlike in the Euro Area the ratio has come back quite a lot already in the United States.

The average of around 100 percent currently in the Euro Area is mainly formed by the bigger economies: Germany and France, who have a ratio close to the Euro Area average. There are notable outliners, especially Denmark, The Netherlands and Ireland that have a way bigger ratio of 200 to almost 300 percent.

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Credit Ratings, U.S., Japan and Euro Zone (Oct 2012)

Thompson Reuters created this graph with the long term sovereign debt ratings for the Western countries. For the three major credit rating institutions the ratings are listed.

Thompson Reuters

IMF Euro Zone Inflation Forecasts to 2017 (WEO Fall 2012)

Greek inflation is slowing down tremendously, from more than 4 percent in 2010 to expected deflation in 2013 and 2014. The other countries are expected to have their inflation rates to be relatively close to the EU average. Lower in Spain and Italy and higher in Germany.

Bondvigilants

Some Convergence Actually Took Place In The Euro Zone

This graph, from a presentation of the ceo of the Dutch Central Bank, shows that some convergence actually  took place since the implementation of the Euro. The graph shows the difference in the growth of the listed countries with the growth of Germany. Especially Ireland, Greece and Spain grew a lot faster than Germany. In 2007 that difference was even 40 percent for Ireland, cumulatively. Portugal and Italy were not able to generate more growth than Germany.

DNB

One of the causes for this convergence may be that Ireland, Spain and Greece saw their real interest rate decline significantly. This graph shows that the extra growth was actually partly financed with borrowed money:

DNB

Also this was accompanied by inflation:

DNB

IMF Euro Zone GDP Forecasts (WEO Fall 2012)

This graph shows the latest IMF forecasts for the GDP growth rates for a number of selected countries. For most countries the next few years won't be easy, but will see GDP growth rates get out of negative territory gradually. Greece is even expected to grow by more than three percent from 2016.

Bondvigilants

IMF Euro Zone Unemployment Rate Forecasts (WEO Fall 2012)

This graph shows the unemployment rates the IMF has projected for several Euro Zone countries. Note that the institute expects the high Greek unemployment to go down faster than the high unemployment in Spain.

Bondvigiliants

Big Euro Zone Countries GDP Since 2007

The previous post showed the quarterly growth for selected countries. Here I will show a bigger picture for some Euro Zone countries: the growth or decline of the economy since 2007. As you might have expected the German economy has grown the most since 2007, although it also saw one of the biggest declines during the credit crisis. Italy saw the lowest growth of the big four in the Euro Zone, while France fared slightly better than the Euro Zone average and Spain is doing slightly worse since the credit crisis.

Reuters

Developed Countries GDP Growth (2nd Quarter 2012)

This chart show the quarterly economic growth (second quarter versus the first quarter of 2012) for the countries in the Euro Zone, compared with the United States and Japan. What is interesting is that most Euro Zone countries saw their economic growth far below the U.S. and Japan, especially Portugal and Italy. Not being in the Euro Zone is not a guarantuee for economic growth though, as you can see with the -0.7 percent contraction in the United Kingdom.

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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

EU VAT-Rates Compared

The value added tax raises the price on consumer goods. Almost all EU countries had a higher VAT-rate in 2012 compared to 2000. Perhaps surprisingly, Hungary has the highest VAT-rate, followed by Scandinavian Denmark and Sweden. Cyprus, Portugal, Greece, Spain and Romania particularly saw their VAT rising in the last twelve years. Except for Cyprus, all of these countries have now a higher rate than the average for the EU of 21 percent.

Reuters

German trade surplus increased fourfold Since Euro

This graph illustrates the positive effects of the monetary union Germany enjoyed since the introduction of the Euro. Germany's trade surplus increased by a fourfold since 1999.

Sudden Debt

Manufacturing Activity Down Around the World

This chart from The Economist compares manufacturing activity around the world for last june compared to the last two years. Most countries saw a shard decline this year, compared to last year, although less in the Emerging Markets.

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

View the graph here

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