What will the iPhone 5 add to U.S. GDP this year?

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

The U.S. Debt Dilemna: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

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
Sweden 37.50
South Korea 33.60
Hong Kong 30.10
Australia 26.80
Luxembourg 16.90
Russia 8.30

There’s isn’t any singular tax policy or level of social program slashing that put those nations on the list. The common denominator is each country is highly productive with its resources – oil, tech, or financial – and competitive overseas.

 

Source: Central Intelligence Agency

Keynesian Economics Meets Darth Vader

Zero Hedge stumbles on the answer as to how to boost U.S. GDP beyond 3% with a massive project to build the Imperial Death Star. A project that inflates the debt beyond all comprehension and incorporates extremely hostile foreign policy is sure to draw praise from both parties.

Cost = $852 quadrillion give or take

Cool factor = Unlimited

 

Original post from Zero Hedge