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Post by Kassandros on Sept 15, 2009 18:03:56 GMT -5
www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=europe-overtakes-n.-america-as-wealthiest-region-2009-09-15Europe overtakes N. America as wealthiest regionEurope replaced North America as the world’s richest region last year as measured by assets under management, a survey by the Boston Consulting Group said. North America, defined as the U.S. and Canada, had $29.3 trillion in assets under management, compared with $32.7 trillion in Europe in 2008, according to the survey released Tuesday by the Boston-based firm. The U.S. remains the wealthiest country at $27.1 trillion and has the highest number of millionaires - almost 4 million. Japan’s global wealth is No. 2 with $13.5 trillion and more than 1 million millionaire households. Global wealth dropped for the first time since the survey started in 2001 as assets under management decreased 11.7 percent to $92.4 trillion last year from $104.7 trillion a year earlier. The credit crisis sent stock indexes to their worst annual losses since the Great Depression and slashed the value of real-estate holdings, hedge-fund and private-equity investments in 2008. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 38 percent last year, the steepest annual decline since 1937. “For the last few years, the industry was blessed with very substantial growth, markets kept rising and people kept getting richer and pumping more money to wealth managers,” said Monish Kumar, a partner and managing director in the firm’s New York office. “That era came to a crashing halt in 2008.” The biggest drop occurred in North America, where wealth plunged 22 percent, according to the survey. The second-biggest decline was Japan, where wealth fell almost 8 percent in local currencies. Latin America, defined by the survey as Mexico, South America and Central America, was the only region where wealth grew, by 3 percent. Expecting a slow recovery: Wealth is expected to begin a “slow recovery” in 2010, according to the survey. Assets under management will grow at an average annual rate of 3.8 percent from the end of 2008 through 2013 to $111.5 trillion. “We believe wealth will come back, but we remain conservative,” said Peter Damisch, a partner and managing director in Boston Consulting Group’s Zurich office. “Before 2013, we won’t get back to 2007 levels.” The number of millionaire households globally fell to 9 million from 11 million, with North America and Europe both experiencing decreases in the number of millionaire households by 22 percent, according to the report. The results are similar to a survey released in June by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch that found the number of millionaires slipped 15 percent to 8.6 million. Singapore has the highest concentration of millionaires with 8.5 percent of the nation’s households having more than $1 million in assets under management, the report said. The amount of offshore wealth declined to $6.7 trillion last year from $7.3 trillion in 2007 as regulators pressured countries such as Switzerland to cut down on bank secrecy Toskali.. as it seems... EU does not seem to decline according your wishes eh? ..and all this.. from a Turkish newspaper so as to feel comfortable, right?
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Post by todhrimencuri on Sept 16, 2009 10:25:20 GMT -5
US and Canada alone constitute north America and most of the wealth is totally centralized in the US, a united nation. Europe is not a nation, is a amalgam of nation-states each jealous of the other. It cannot pass a single constitution through, cannot form a single frame of mind, cannot centralize in any federal way to match the US. The EU is a quasi-union that pretty much serves the interest of a single few top nations, with the peripheral nations only being there for the good image.
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Post by insomniac on Sept 16, 2009 12:26:34 GMT -5
^ That's true and proved even more by the Lisbon Treaty....
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Post by Kassandros on Sept 16, 2009 16:04:32 GMT -5
^ That's true and proved even more by the Lisbon Treaty.... Yes.. this is what it seems to be (with UK and former commounist puppet US countries)... but the results is what it counts. The hard core of EU countries rules as it seems and not the puppet countries.
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Kanaris
Amicus
This just in>>>> Nobody gives a crap!
Posts: 9,589
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Post by Kanaris on Sept 16, 2009 16:47:36 GMT -5
Listen to these 2 financial geniuses talk..blah blah blah.... Greece is in the EU for image..never mind the billions it got from the other top nations....
You albos are envious of something you cannot become part of... it's understandable....
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Post by insomniac on Sept 16, 2009 17:08:44 GMT -5
It's only a matter of time before we become part of the union.
In the end scheme neither Albania or Greece matter in the EU.
Decisions about its future will be taken in France, Germany and UK.
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Post by macmako on Sept 16, 2009 18:36:55 GMT -5
US and Canada alone constitute north America and most of the wealth is totally centralized in the US, a united nation. Europe is not a nation, is a amalgam of nation-states each jealous of the other. It cannot pass a single constitution through, cannot form a single frame of mind, cannot centralize in any federal way to match the US. The EU is a quasi-union that pretty much serves the interest of a single few top nations, with the peripheral nations only being there for the good image. Excellent post, Toskali. The USA was able to unite as one Nation, instead of 13 Nations, or 2-3 Confederacies when the Federal government was enpowered as the Central governing body over the States when the people voted Yea for the Constitution. At the time, Great Britain and France knew the UNION of the American States would make a powerful nation, and tried to persuade the American people that the Constitution would fail. With the UNION, arguments and decisions were and still handled much easier. The EU is not a UNION, as the USA is. It is not complete. It is merely a confederecy of Nations. The EU can never achieve a complet Union, and will always have difficulty in making decisions AS A WHOLE BODY. The EU will always have Germany and France make the decisions for the rest. This will never work, and will only benefit the few. So in this sense, the USA is the only country of its kind with such a perfect UNION, therefore the wealthiest in the world.
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Post by Username on Sept 16, 2009 22:14:06 GMT -5
The EU is not complete yet.. but there is a chance that it will become like the US in the future. Don't be so quick to dismiss it.. I think there are very influential people working towards that goal.. And a union like the US takes a while to develop.. And just like in the US, the big states have the most leverage power - i.e. California, NY, Texas etc.. the same thing follows suit in the EU... that's a normal thing for federal states.
There's are reason why the states that make up the US decided to give up their sovereignty and join together.. so why is it crazy to suggest that Europe can't do the same?.. but yes, at this point, it is not a country, although there are political scientists who argue that it is (I don't agree... although it does have certain aspects of a federal state, but it lacks other important ones).
As far as wealth in monetary terms means.. it doesn't mean everything. From what I've seen, I honestly think life in some parts of Europe is better than here (by here, I mean Canada, where I was born and raised).. and definitely better than the US.
As far as why GDP is not necessarily the best indicator of quality of life, I'll throw some examples out there: -if crimes go up, GDP goes up. Why? Because people would be encouraged to spend money on things like - handguns (in the states where it's legal), alarm systems, etc. -when a natural disaster happens - e.g. an earthquake, GDP goes up. Why? Because the reconstruction after is a huge contributor to the economy. -People work less in the Mediterranean countries (it's warmer, they like to have fun!), and have way more holidays than in North America.. that's why their economies are a bit smaller. But more leisure is seen as a positive factor of quality of life. Working all the time like in the states isn't so great is it? -in certain countries, the income gap is huge. e.g. in the US.. I believe 1/3 of the population was under the poverty line in 1990 (if I recall the stat correctly).. why is their economy so big then? Because the rich are rich enough to pull up the average income up. But let's face it, for most of them, life is pretty hard. In the EU, incomes are more balanced.
Those are just a few examples of how GDP can distort the reality of quality of lives.. so it is NOT the perfect measure.
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Post by hellboy87 on Sept 16, 2009 23:28:53 GMT -5
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Europe rulezzz!!!!!
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Post by macmako on Sept 17, 2009 6:34:08 GMT -5
Username, there is one big difference between the UNION of the States of the USA and the UNION of countries of the EU. While the original 13 States consists of Americans belonging to a divided country, the EU consists of already established countries in existence for centuries with their own governments under one confederacy. The EU is not the primary authority above the EU member countries governments.
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Patrinos
Amicus
Peloponnesos uber alles
Posts: 4,763
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Post by Patrinos on Sept 17, 2009 8:23:05 GMT -5
If our neighbors don't like EU they can stay outside...none would feel sorry... already it was a mistake that we allowed all that US puppet-countries to join....
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Post by macmako on Sept 17, 2009 8:26:15 GMT -5
If our neighbors don't like EU they can stay outside...none would feel sorry... already it was a mistake that we allowed all that us puppet-countries to join.... Oh, is that what it is? I would not know. I am not paranoid about all that.
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Patrinos
Amicus
Peloponnesos uber alles
Posts: 4,763
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Post by Patrinos on Sept 17, 2009 8:30:08 GMT -5
If our neighbors don't like EU they can stay outside...none would feel sorry... already it was a mistake that we allowed all that us puppet-countries to join.... Oh, is that what it is? I would not know. I am not paranoid about all that. I don't get you...write in in greek...i'll do it with pontian too... ;D
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Post by danceswithpoodles on Sept 17, 2009 9:22:56 GMT -5
I would hate for another country to make decisions for my country but I guess that's the price you pay for receiving money and benefits.
France is ok, always sided with Greece Germany, not sure but I think they are a bunch of weirdos British, colonial jackasses with lots of blood on their hands. Hate'em!
Personally, I hate the fact that Greece has to oblige with this illegal immigrant crap with no help what-so-ever from those 3 countries.
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Post by todhrimencuri on Sept 17, 2009 10:17:03 GMT -5
The EU is not complete yet.. but there is a chance that it will become like the US in the future. Don't be so quick to dismiss it.. I think there are very influential people working towards that goal.. And a union like the US takes a while to develop.. And just like in the US, the big states have the most leverage power - i.e. California, NY, Texas etc.. the same thing follows suit in the EU... that's a normal thing for federal states. There's are reason why the states that make up the US decided to give up their sovereignty and join together.. so why is it crazy to suggest that Europe can't do the same?.. but yes, at this point, it is not a country, although there are political scientists who argue that it is (I don't agree... although it does have certain aspects of a federal state, but it lacks other important ones). As far as wealth in monetary terms means.. it doesn't mean everything. From what I've seen, I honestly think life in some parts of Europe is better than here (by here, I mean Canada, where I was born and raised).. and definitely better than the US. As far as why GDP is not necessarily the best indicator of quality of life, I'll throw some examples out there: -if crimes go up, GDP goes up. Why? Because people would be encouraged to spend money on things like - handguns (in the states where it's legal), alarm systems, etc. -when a natural disaster happens - e.g. an earthquake, GDP goes up. Why? Because the reconstruction after is a huge contributor to the economy. -People work less in the Mediterranean countries (it's warmer, they like to have fun!), and have way more holidays than in North America.. that's why their economies are a bit smaller. But more leisure is seen as a positive factor of quality of life. Working all the time like in the states isn't so great is it? -in certain countries, the income gap is huge. e.g. in the US.. I believe 1/3 of the population was under the poverty line in 1990 (if I recall the stat correctly).. why is their economy so big then? Because the rich are rich enough to pull up the average income up. But let's face it, for most of them, life is pretty hard. In the EU, incomes are more balanced. Those are just a few examples of how GDP can distort the reality of quality of lives.. so it is NOT the perfect measure. In order for America to become as centralized as it is today it had to suffer a devastating 5 year civil war in which 600,000 of its people were killed and entire portion of its territory destroyed to near entirety. In order for American federalists to win the state aspect of the nation were completely eradicated. The EU will never be anything more than a paper confederacy until it can suffer a similar revolution. Not to mention American states have far more in common with one another than European countries. They are not divided by language, do not have a long history of independence as powers of their own, etc. etc.
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PARIS DIO_MYSUS!
Amicus
It's Nice to be Important but It's more Important to be Nice!
Posts: 3,681
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Post by PARIS DIO_MYSUS! on Sept 17, 2009 11:01:40 GMT -5
Besides BALKAN there is not europe at all. In Albanian Balkan means Forehead.
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PARIS DIO_MYSUS!
Amicus
It's Nice to be Important but It's more Important to be Nice!
Posts: 3,681
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Post by PARIS DIO_MYSUS! on Sept 17, 2009 11:11:36 GMT -5
England never been part of europe.
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Kanaris
Amicus
This just in>>>> Nobody gives a crap!
Posts: 9,589
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Post by Kanaris on Sept 17, 2009 17:05:00 GMT -5
Puppet states for sure... and the biggest puppet of them all is that virus called Turkey..... The relation between America and Turkey is that of a master and his rabid pitbull..kept on a leash with foam running down it's mouth... Kanaris and waiting the day when this rabid dog gets a bullet in the head..
Oh yeah Albania reminds me of a dog flea on Turkeys a$$...
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Post by insomniac on Sept 17, 2009 17:18:29 GMT -5
Actually United States and Turkey are much much more indepedent than Greece would ever be. They can pursue their own interests.
Back to European unity...
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Kanaris
Amicus
This just in>>>> Nobody gives a crap!
Posts: 9,589
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Post by Kanaris on Sept 17, 2009 17:58:23 GMT -5
Actually United States and Turkey are much much more indepedent than Greece would ever be. They can pursue their own interests. Back to European unity... Thats what I said,Sherlock.... you prolly failed in a lot of subjects.
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