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Page added on June 23, 2013
10 Reasons Why America Will Continue To Dominate The Global Economy
Sure, investors have been spooked by Fed taper talks, the Bank of Japan’s unprecedented economic experiment, persistent jitters out of Europe, and concerns of a credit crisis in China.
But by in large, investors should be pleased with the way things are going domestically, according to a new report from Joseph Quinlan, Chief Market Strategist for U.S. Trust.
We walk you through U.S. Trust’s 10 theses that show “what’s right with America.”
1) The U.S. economy is the largest and most productive in the world – The U.S. accounts for one-fifth of global GDP with only 4.5% of the world’s population. America’s economy is nearly twice the size of China’s in nominal dollars. Plus, the U.S. is one of just a few developed countries with real GDP higher than it was before the crisis, according to the report.
2) The U.S. leads the world in manufactured goods – Nominal manufacturing output totaled $1.9 trillion in 2012, a rise of 27% from 2009. Employment in the sector has increased by 500,000 workers since 2010, according to U.S. Trust.
3) The U.S. is among the largest exporters of goods and services – Exports since the recession have taken off. In 2012, total exports totaled $2.2 trillion, nearly a 40% rise from 2009 levels, according to the report.
4) Foreign investors still love the U.S.- U.S. Foreign Direct Investment inflows in the post-crisis years racked up $736 billion. That’s 15% of the global total, according to U.S. Trust. And while people talk about investment in China, America is still on top by a landslide.
5) America has the top global brands – In 2008, eight out of 10 of the world’s top brands were American.
6) The U.S. is the world leader in technology – People still flock to America to become tech innovators. The U.S. is home to the major social media players and beats out other countries in spending levels.
7) America has the world’s best colleges – American college kids fill their minds with kegs worth of knowledge at some of the world’s best universities. Six out of the top 10 universities in the 2012 Quacquarelli Symonds World Rankings’ were American.
8) The U.S. dollar is king – It’s the world’s reserve currency. From the U.S. Trust report: “The greenback accounted for roughly 62% of global central bank reserves as of the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the IMF, a share down slightly from 2008 but relatively constant over the post-crisis years.” It crushed the beleaguered Euro.
9) The U.S. has one of the most competitive economies – In the latest competitiveness survey from the World Economic Forum, the U.S. slipped to seventh place, down two spots, according to the report. Still, U.S. Trust guesses America will head north on the list in the future.
10) America is in the middle of an energy Renaissance – Much to the chagrin of some environmentalists, U.S. domestic oil production is in revival mode. It exceeded imports for the first time in 16 years, according to the report. Thanks to “fracking” that unlocked shale in North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas, the U.S. has seen a major surge in production, the report notes.
20 Comments on "10 Reasons Why America Will Continue To Dominate The Global Economy"
jeyeykei on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 1:10 pm
lol
dave thompson on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 1:14 pm
McDonalds, Marlboro, Coca Cola, Visa, Top US companies? In the world? Great no wonder the world loves US.
J-Gav on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 1:26 pm
The title should read “Why the US still dominates global trade but probably won’t for much longer.” That, however, would have required an incisive final paragraph to explain why -exactly what this journalist wanted to avoid doing.
Ed on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 2:03 pm
or “10 reasons why the US will continue to dominate f***ing up the planet”. Something to be proud of and rejoice.
No mention of quality of life, equality, health. Not sure whether to laugh or cry.
rollin on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 2:14 pm
Yes, the article is correct about foreign investment (ownership) in the US. Many big companies here are foreign owned and have been for many years. The US was top dog in many areas but if you look closely it is foreign owned companies here that are producing the big GDP.
Notice the loss of over 1.5 million manufacturing jobs since 2008.Manufacturing jobs have fallen from a high of over 30% of total jobs to a current low of less than 10%. Manufacturing jobs fell off a cliff in 2000 and 2008. There has been a loss of over 5 million manufacturing jobs since 2000.
Power to the machines and computers. Down with the people. That is the US motto.
Our top companies are electronic gadgets (not even manufactured here), software, fast food and soda, and debt. What a world.
BillT on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 2:16 pm
Actually, Bernanke is getting nervous as nothing he does improves the financial situation. The guy above is obviously signed up for the propaganda mill profession. A lot of so-called experts/professionals are whoring themselves for profit or a paycheck. Reminds me of the ‘doctors’ that used to claim that smoking does not cause cancer, long after the rest of the world knew it did. A degree does not prove intelligence. Often it proves a closed mind.
The US is on the verge of the predicted crash. It will likely happen right after Europe tanks and the people there realize that their banks only hold toilet paper. Japan may be the first domino or it may be someplace not even on the radar. We shall see. It’s going to be a very exciting summer, I think.
Arthur on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 2:29 pm
“1) The U.S. economy is the largest and most productive in the world ”
That is true (if you ignore the existence of the EU)
“3) The U.S. is among the largest exporters of goods and services”
“among” is good. Wikipedia “List of countries by exports”
1. EU 2.2T$ (460m)
2. China 2.1T$ (1300m)
3. US 1.6T$ (330m)
4. Germany 1.5T$ (80m)
5. Japan 0.8T$ (150m)
6. France 0.6T& (60m)
7. Netherlands 0.5T$ (17m)
If you correlate these figures with population numbers then the conclusion is inescapable: the focus of economic and technological development is in western Europe, before the US. Now that Europe is united under one currency and economic coordination, expect the gap to grow with every passing year.
“4) Foreign investors still love the U.S.”
Direct consequence of owning a reserve currency. You have got to spend your surplus dollars somewhere. Foreigners investing in your country is not necessarily a sign of strength. People from Uganda do not invest in Europe or America. It is the other way around. Now who do you prefer to be?
“5) America has the top global brands”
Yep: Coca-Cola (sugar water) and MacDonalds. That’s bulky allright. Boeing is on par with Airbus. The US is admittedly strong in standard software. But engineering is a different story. The car industry lost the competition with Europe and Japan. The US no longer dominates space engineering, ESA is number one in satellites. Intel designs chips on computer screens but the wafer steppers are made in Holland (ASML). I love Apple products and my house is littered with the latest desktops, laptops, ipad-1-2-3, iPhones, but the technology is from Korea. Solar cells are made in China, with machines from Germany. High speed trains come from Europe and Japan. Europe clearly leads in the implementation of renewable energy. Sure, the US was number one between 1950s-2000, but that position is now challenged.
“6) The U.S. is the world leader in technology”
Absolutely untrue, see above.
“7) America has the world’s best colleges”
There is quit some scepticism even in the US itself about the value of going to college in the US, not in the least in the light of absurd high college fees, burdening students for years to come with extreme high college debt. It is cultural marxism where ever you look, but engineering?
“8) The U.S. dollar is king ”
Yep, true. But kings are known for regularly getting their heads chopped off. The unfair competative advantage of being able to buy real values for printed money is now common knowledge around the entire planet since the advent of the internet, at least where it counts: at elite level. And many parties are working towards attempting to abolish that privilege.
“9) The U.S. has one of the most competitive economies”
One look at the systemic trade deficit for decades now shows that this is not true.
“10) America is in the middle of an energy Renaissance”
Or in a dangerous detour/diversion. Most people here know that fossil fuel is merely a short lived blib in the history of mankind and that we need to abandon that dirty stuff sooner or later. It is better to go to where you have to go anyway in a straigth line than arrive late. By that time other countries will have developed a new economy and will have products and skillsets on offer, you do not have. Instead you will have to deal with a poisoned ground water table.
———
Look, this is not to bash or ‘diss’ the US or its people. The overall prospects for the US are not bad at all. Huge area, lot of resources, fertile land, skilled population, free atmosphere. But the US is no longer the ‘exceptional nation’ and the rest of the world certainly does not need ‘leadership’, let alone military intervention or grandiose illusions of world empire.
Juan Pueblo on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 2:44 pm
I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless!
bobinget on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 4:04 pm
Arthur hits most of the nails head on.
Both he and and the Huston Chronicle Puff Piece missed the most expensive military in history of planet.
Never mind Korea was a draw, Vietnam, pure tragedy,
Iraq and Afghanistan bankrupting, America still exits one set of wars with the best killing technology. WE should be proud.
Health Care: Note, Huston also neglected to mention the world’s most expensive health care system.
When comparisons with another North American nation would be embarrassing, it’s just as well forgotten.
What is America doing about the most serious crisis facing wealthy people today, higher taxes ?
Anyone want to mention Climate change, alternative energy?
America; super lucky geographically.
DC on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 5:38 pm
Arthur did a pretty good job taking down this nonsense but I have to at least take a crack @ comment#1+6
The U.S. economy is the largest and most productive in the world
Really? the US mostly exports death these days, weapons, and those go mostly to to its satraps supporting continued US domination of the worlds resources. And productive? By what measure? GDP? That measure is pretty well on its way to discredited now. Even some ‘mainstream’ economists now admit GDP does not really measure anything very useful. Its only being used still because its so vague and can be easily manipulated, but also because no one has proposed a replacement metric acceptable to the 1%. GDP is become widely acknowledge as a useless measurement. Since amerikans always assume Bigger automatically=Better, its not hard to see why pointing at easily manipulated GDP numbers remains so popular.
Again Arthur is quite right to point out the European and Asian Technology are in fact, superior to Amerikas. In Europe’s case, its been that way for a long time. Even far back as WWII, German military and civil technology was in most all cases, superior to the US’s. We all know after the war ended, it was European scientists and engineers that got the US and Russian missiles into space, and eventually to the moon. Not amerikan ones. Today, most ‘cutting’ edge N.A. industries plants are filled with precision machine tools built by guess who, yea Europeans.
But I cant help but wonder, how many amerikans picking up the Houston Chronicle and reading that patent nonsense will look at it and go USA USA! And be totally convinced the US is still #1 in every imaginable way? How many will read that and say, utter nonsense? 2%?
socrates1fan on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 6:44 pm
10) America is in the middle of an energy Renaissance
-_-
Everyone here knows what is wrong with this.
Plantagenet on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 7:14 pm
Huston does a nice job summarizing the successful adaption of the USA to the post peak-oil world.
dissident on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 7:49 pm
Adaptation to 3rd world living conditions. And the bottom has not been hit yet.
I don’t see any evidence of abandonment of the BAU religion.
Lucky Luck on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 9:48 pm
Enjoy this opportunistic list:
2) “The U.S. leads the world in manufactured goods”
In Europe we learn most of the created jobs are LOW WAGE jobs. Hi, hi,
8) “The U.S. dollar is (McD) King (Size)”
Yes, by printing toilet paper. Wall Street loves it. Cheap money, carry trade…pocket money for the 2% rich. King Bernanke tells we stop the printing machines, stock markets fall -5%.
10) “America is in the middle of an energy Renaissance”
Renaissance of decline: 90% decline in 2 years of shale wells worth 10 million dollar investment each. Take your profit or biiiiiig lost.
And poor rural people: you will get thirsty. Big oil dictatorship dries your water banks.
And let’s go for 500 ppm CO2 in our gentile atmosphere. Warmer, warmer, warmer…
Let’s wrap up:
US is betting on the wrong short term horse. The leader US sooner or later becomes loser!
CAM on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 10:06 pm
1. US GDP Growth: How much of this is Bernanke’s monopoly money? (QE).
2. Manufactured Goods: How much of this is weapons ingeniously designed to blow people to kingdom Come?
3. Largest Exporter of Goods and Services: See above + targeted execution services via drones and CIA in support of dictatorships.
4. Investors love us: Well, with Bernanke’s free money for banks and the rich, why not?
5. Top World Brands: Really? Seems to me that the companies listed make most of their products overseas!
6. World leader in technology: Well I guess that might be right if you include blowing people up with drones!
7. Best Universities?: Filled with rich foreign students who can afford the tuition. Also really need to double check some of Universities in India and China!
8. The US Dollar is King: For maybe a little bit longer, but the entire edifice is starting to shake!
9. One of the most competitive economies: Well yes, if you want to brag about being seventh behind Switzerland, Singapore, Finland (really), Sweden, The Netherlands, and Germany!
10. In the middle of an energy renaissance: Really! Well I guess yes if you believe that burning faster and faster through our remaining finite (yes finite) resources constitutes an energy renaissance!
Shaved Monkey on Sun, 23rd Jun 2013 10:36 pm
In fairness to the author he didnt say how long for.
Ricardo on Mon, 24th Jun 2013 1:24 am
I wonder what are the people doing here to solve international problems, write at peakoil.com? You guys are a joke, while you whine here, there are tons of people outside doing money and working to get out of this mess, we should follow them instead that eco-guerrillas and doomers.
BillT on Mon, 24th Jun 2013 4:07 am
Ricardo, there is no way out of this mess. The entire West is going down and hard. I see some supporting Europe, but they are deep into the debt trap with the US and their numbers are mostly BS just as in the US. If the US stopped pumping those fFed dollars into their banks they would already be gone. And, when the SHTF, the EU will dissolve and the US will close bases all over the world … OR start World War 3. My bet is WW3.
Arthur on Mon, 24th Jun 2013 8:24 am
Ricardo, not everybody is a doomer here. Discussing energy issues is necessary work, based on reading and battling out informed positions.
Bill, Europe and America are not going to evaporate if the financial system comes domes, which might very well happen. Similar things happened in recent years in Russia, Argentina and Iceland. So what? you get a beating and you stand up again. Savings are gone, but life goes on. We probably have to work a few extra years of our lives to compensate for the loss of earlier unrealistic expectations. It is unpleasant, tiresome even, but hey, the comfort is that we can rest in our graves for all eternity. 😉
BillT on Mon, 24th Jun 2013 11:45 am
Arthur, you will not be working when it happens. All of the countries had: Low populations and/or plenty of natural resources. Europe is burnt out and over populated. Your banks are tied to the US like Siamese twins, but there is no surgery possible that can save one when the other dies.