SolidarityEconomy.net

by Jerry Harris

. S. Korean president hits US

President Roh Moo-hyun hit out at the US in strong language saying that S. Korea was “clinging to the crotch of the US’s pants and hiding behind the US’s ass.” Polling extremely low perhaps Roh is returning to his leftist roots that got him elected in the first place.

. China keeps growing

China’s growth is replacing the US as the engine of the world economy. China is the world’s largest consumer of steel, cement, copper, aluminum and zinc and the second largest oil consumer. Says Robin Bhar of UBS, “The fact that growth in the developing world will offset the decline in demand from the US represents a turning point for commodity markets, which have been historically tied to the expansion and contraction in the US economy.”

Acknowledging China’s growth and technological advances DaimlerChrysler has signed a joint venture with Chery Automobile to build small cars for sale in Europe and NAFTA countries. This means China will become an auto exporter for the first time producing under the Chrysler Dodge brand.

China’s stock market experienced the world’s fastest growth in 2006 at 94%, followed by Russia at 60%, India at 46.7% and Brazil at 32.9%. In the US, Dow Jones finished 16% higher than last year and Europe’s FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 16.3%.

. Europe passing the US

For the first time the euro has overtaken the dollar in terms of the value of notes in circulation, roughly hitting $787 billion. About 10 to 20% of euros are held outside the eurozone.

Meanwhile London continued to grow as a center for companies raising capital. Overall the 2006 figure was $91 billion with 38% of the funds coming from outside Europe. Of this amount between 40 to 45% was raised by corporations from emerging markets such as Russia, China and India. The largest listing was by Russia’s oil giant Rosneft, which raised $10.7B.

. United Nations assets report

The UN estimated the richest 2% of the world’s adult population own more than 50% of the global assets while the poorest 50% own only 1%. Says Francis Wheen, the British biographer of Karl Marx, “Far from being buried under the rubble of the Berlin Wall, Marx may only now be emerging in his true significance. He could yet become the most influential thinker of the twenty-first century.”