This little schematic could add as much as 0.5% percentage points to GDP, according to the analysts at JPMorgan. Though the investment firm has made a bad bet or two in recent times, this call appears to be right in line with the projections of other economists and consistent with the red-hot pace of early sales (2M in 24 hours).
China isn’t doing so bad itself from the Apple-boost, with estimates that as much as 1/3 of its export growth is Apple related.
Sources: CNBC, Slashgear
If you have watched the U.S. debt clock thing-a-ma-bob spin out of control the U.S. financial situations seems almost hopeless. But is it really that bad? According to the good folks at the CIA, the U.S. ranks as having only the thirty-fifth worst public debt-to-GDP ratio on the entire planet with the following 20 at the top of the list:
1. Zimbabwe 220.10 (public debt as % of GDP)
2. Japan 211.70
3. Saint Kitts and Nevis 200.00
4. Greece 161.70
5. Lebanon 134.00
6. Iceland 128.30
7. Jamaica 125.50
8. Italy 120.10
9. Eritrea 118.50
10. Singapore 118.20
11. Portugal 112.80
12. Ireland 105.40
13. Belgium 99.70
14. Barbados 95.90
15. Sudan 93.70
16. Canada 87.40
17. United Kingdom 86.30
18. Belize 84.80
19. Sao Tome and Principe 84.70
20. France 84.70
and so on until…..
35. United States 67.70
Could we cope at this level? After all, during WW II it was even higher. The U.S. also benefits as the world’s safety currency and from the paradox that large debt holders, think China, probably can’t dump their holdings without sparking a global selloff that cuts into their own returns.
But still that’s some pretty lame company to keep for a supposed economic superpower. And do we want to sit back and stay beholden to the China for eons. Savvy, not draconian, debt management could help solve the problem. So could a highly employed work force and more free trade. The world’s most impressive countries sport a debt-to-GDP ratio below 50: China 43.10
Source: Central Intelligence Agency
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What is Baidu? And why should you care?
Baidu is the search engine for China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan that is beating Google at their own game. Baidu will censor content in line with the strict guidelines of China’s government, but the most important thing to consider about Baidu is that close to two billion individuals are being targeted to conduct their internet searches on Baidu and their affiliate sites and communities.
Many American sites and companies are putting politics aside and submitting their site to Baidu and optimizing their site for inclusion. This could involve creating an encoded separate Chinese-version of their site or merely submitting their English-version to Baidu. If your product or service is something that absolutely cannot be sold to a customer in China, perhaps Baidu is not for your company. But, if there is any conceivable way that the China market of billions of consumers may someday be targeted by your company then getting into the Baidu search engine index is advisable.
Baidu trades on the NASDAQ under the stock symbol BIDU.
Clark Schultz Blog 