Author Archives: Claudia Soria

Will China Dominate the World Beer Market?

According to a report by the Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle, in 2010 China remained the largest consumer of beer for the eight consecutive year. China’s beer consumption increased 5.9% with respect to 2009, with a share of 24.5% of total world beer consumption.

In the world trade arena, though, China is still a small player. China’s imports of beer for 2010 amounted to only 0.56% of total world beer imports, way below the United States (37%), France (6.8%) and the UK (6.6%). China’s exports for the same year amounted to only 1.4% of total world beer exports, below Mexico (21%), the Netherlands(19%), Germany (13%), and the United States (3.4%) to name a few. However, because of the size of China’s economy, there is a huge potential for the world’s largest beer exporters to see China with a lot of optimism. Read more…

 

The Role of Social Media in Politics

The role of social media in the political arena has increased considerably as of lately. During the Democratic National Convention, last week, it was clear that social media was an important channel for disseminating information as events were taking place. According to the online site TechCrunch, first lady Michelle Obama’s speech had generated 28 thousand tweets per minute.

A report published by the Pew Research Center, based on a survey on social network site users, states that Democrats are more likely to consider the use of social media important or very important in keeping up with political news, recruiting people for their cause, discussing political issues with other people and finding other people who share their political views, compared to their Republican or Independent counterparts.

Freedom of the Press Around the World in 2012

2012 has seen positive and negative changes in freedom of the press around the world. Reporters Without Borders, the largest organization that advocates freedom of the press worldwide, compiles a Press Freedom Index where countries ranking at the top score high in press freedom, and countries at the bottom constitute the most repressive in terms of freedom of information and violence against journalists.

Some countries ranking at the top include Finland, Norway and Estonia. Countries at the bottom include Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan. Countries showing improvements worth noting include Tunisia, South Sudan and Niger. In Latin America, Brazil showed the biggest decline.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties Around the World for 2012

2011 and 2012 have been years full of changes in the level of political rights and civil liberties around the world, primarily due to the Arab uprisings. Freedom House, an organization that supports democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights around the world, has identified which countries have improved and which countries have declined in their level of freedom. The Freedom House Index (FHI) designates countries and territories included in the index as “free”, “partly free”, and “not free”.

As shown in the map above, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Burma are among the countries that have improved the most, while Ecuador, Sudan and Yemen are among the worst performers.

Do You Live in a “Healthy” State?

According to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most states have become healthier in terms of physical activity for the years between 2001 and 2007, excluding Louisiana and Mississippi which have less than 40% of healthy residents.

The CDC defines as “healthy people” those who engage in moderate-intensity physical activity at least 5 days a week for 30 minutes a day, or those who engage in vigorous-intensity physical activity at least 3 days a week for 20 minutes a day.

It is interesting to note, though, that data displayed on these maps tells a different story than data for the obesity rate in the United States. As we showed on a previous post, the obesity rate in the U.S. has been rising steadily since at least 1991. There is a clear contradiction between the rise in obesity rates and the rise in the percentage of healthy people.

 

Industrial Production, Producer Prices and Consumer Confidence

Industrial production is up for the month of July, with a 0.6% increase. So is the core Producer Price Index (excludes energy and food) with an increase of 0.4%. Consumer confidence varies from state to state, with optimistic states located around the District of Columbia area and the Midwest, and pessimistic states mostly in the southern part of the country. Read below:

  1. Three Numbers to Watch: US Industrial Production,CPI; UK Unemployment – Yusuf Yassin [TradingFloor.com]
  2. Industrial Production Climbs 0.6% in July – Steve Goldstein [Market Watch]
  3. Producer Prices Come In A Bit Higher Than Expected – Sam Ro [Business Insider]
  4. Consumer Confidence Varies from State to State – Interview with Frank Newport [Marketplace]
  5. U.S. Durable Goods Orders Drop in June – Agence France-Presse [IndustryWeek]

Obesity in America: An Upward Trend

Obesity Trends Among US Adults 1991-2010
(BMI ≥ 30 lbs, or 30 lbs overweight for 5’4″ women)

Obesity has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. Mississippi has the highest percentage of obese adults, 34.9 %, followed by other twelve states with percentages higher than 30%. Most of these states are located in the Midwest and South. Is your state among the “fattest” states? Read more:

  1. STUDY: Mississippi Is The Fattest State – Ian Simpson, Reuters [Business Insider]
  2. Obesity Related Statistics in America [Get America Fit Foundation]
  3. Obesity could affect 42% of Americans by 2030 – Nanci Hellmich [USA Today]
  4. Adult Obesity Facts [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
  5. Junk Food Laws May Be Answer to Kids’ Obesity, Study Says [Fox News Latino]
  6. Childhood Obesity Facts [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

 

World Supply of Biggest Crops Decline and Food Prices Rise

The worst drought in fifty years has caused a decline in the stockpiles of crops such as corn, soybeans, rice and wheat, with the subsequent all-time increase in the prices of corn and soybeans. Good news for commodities investors.

The drought has also affected fuel and power production which, in turn, have a negative effect on food prices. Read more…

  1. Unfavourable weather behind the July rebound of the FAO Food Price Index – FAO Food Price Index [Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations]
  2. America’s disastrous corn harvest will hit world’s poor hardest [The Guardian]
  3. World food prices rising in response to drought damage in the US – Ole Hansen [TradingFloor.com]
  4. Global food reserves falling as drought wilts crops – Tony C. Dreibus and Elizabeth Campbell, Bloomberg [Futures Magazine]
  5. USDA slashes corn yield, production forecast – Bill Tomson [Market Watch]

 

Africa’s Resource Curse or Blessing

Energy Production for Select African Countries  (1960-2010)

The discovery of resources in developing countries has usually been more of a curse than a blessing for their economies, benefiting certain groups but not most of the population. Will this be the case for some African countries where resources have been recently discovered? Read more below:

  1. Energy Production of Select African Countries [IndexMundi]
  2. From Resource Curse to Blessing – Joseph Stiglitz [Project Syndicate]
  3. Beating the Resource Curse in Africa: A Global Effort – Terra Lawson-Remer and Joshua Greenstein [Council on Foreign Relations]
  4. Can New Oil States in Africa Avoid the ‘Resource Curse?’ Gabe Joselow [Voice of America News]
  5. Africa Must Tap Into Unused Resources – Kibaki – Wambui Ndonga [AllAfrica.com]
  6. Mining could spur Africa’s industrialization, but resource-curse risks persist – Terence Creamer [Engineering News]

Rare Earth Metals and Their Importance in Today’s Economy

  1. Rare-earth mining in China comes at a heavy cost for local villages [The Guardian]
  2. Rare earth metals: North Korea’s new trump card [The Korea Herald]
  3. EU Fights to Catch Chinese in Greenland Rare-earths Gold Rush – Agence France-Presse [Industry Weekly]
  4. World Trade Organization to Investigate China’s Limits on Rare-Earth Exports – Marketwire [SYS-CON Media]
  5. Rare Earth Elements – Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh [Canada Free Press]