The strength of the U.S. dollar is attributed to U.S. economic health, interest rates, safe-haven status, and global reserve currency. The strong U.S. economy, which is currently stronger than many other major economies,
makes the dollar more attractive to investors around the world. The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised interest rates to combat inflation, this attracts many foreign investors to seek higher returns, which increases demand for the dollar.
The U.S. dollar is considered as a safe-haven currency for investors, who flock to the dollar when other markets are volatile. The dollar’s status as the world’s primary reserve currency is widely used in international trade
and finance, further bolstering its strength. These factors combined have contributed to the dollar’s recent strength against other major currencies.
A strong dollar can attract foreign investment into U.S. assets, such as stocks and bonds, as investors seek stability and higher returns. It also helps lower inflation, which brings cheaper imports that can help lower costs for
imported goods and lower prices for consumers.
The U.S. dollar, which has been the dominant reserve currency, plays a crucial role in the global economy. It is widely trusted as a store of value, and comprises 60% of globally disclosed official foreign reserves, surpassing
other currencies like the euro, yen, and pound. A stronger dollar can boost demand for products worldwide, benefiting both domestic and foreign companies. However, it can also negatively affect low-income countries with
dollar-denominated debt.
The U.S. economy is a complex machine fueled by various industries. The Professional and Business Services sector, which includes legal, consulting, design, and administrative services sector, contributes $3.5 trillion to the economy.
The Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing sector, encompassing property management, leasing, and sales, has a value of $3.3 trillion. The Manufacturing sector, despite declining shares, still matters; durable goods (like metals and computers)
contribute $1.6 trillion, while nondurable goods (such as food and chemicals) add $1.3 trillion1. The combined Healthcare, Education, and Social Assistance sector, which includes hospitals, schools, and social services, accounts
for $2.3 trillion. The Finance and Insurance with a value of $2.0 trillion plays a crucial role in the economy. The Wholesale and Retail Trade sector, which involves buying, selling, and distributing goods contribute $1.7 trillion
and $1.5 trillion, respectively. The Information industry, including tech and media, adds $1.5 trillion. The Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, Accommodation, and Food Services sector,
collectively, contribute $1.2 trillion. The Construction sector, valued at $1.1 trillion, builds the U.S. infrastructure. Other Private Industries sector contributes a total of $2.6 trillion to the economy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines the official unemployment rate as the number of active job seekers divided by the labor force. Active job seekers are individuals who are not working and have submitted a job application at least
once in the past four weeks; as of June 2024, the unemployment rate in the US was 4.1%.
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U), produced by the BLS, is a common measure of inflation. It reflects the price paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.
Inflation measures the increase in prices over time. In May 2024, prices had increased by 3.3 percent compared to May 2023 according to the 12-month percentage change in the consumer price index — the monthly inflation rate for goods and
services in the United States.
In 2023 the federal government collected around $4.44 trillion in revenue and spent $6.13 trillion, the deficit for FY23 was $1.70 trillion. From the 2018 to 2021 fiscal years, the government collected $14.3 trillion in revenue,
and spent $21.9 trillion. In that time, mandatory spending on programs such as Social Security and Medicare totaled $14.7 trillion alone. Discretionary spending totaled about $5.8 trillion. During Trump administration, tax cuts
added roughly another $1 trillion to the federal deficit from 2018 to 2021, even after factoring in economic growth spurred by the tax cuts. The first coronavirus stimulus package, which received near unanimous support in
Congress, added $2 trillion to the deficit over the next two fiscal years. Three additional spending measures contending with Covid-19 and its economic ramifications added another $1.4 trillion.
In the United States, the middle class took home approximately 43 percent of all income.
In New York, while banks earn billions of dollars in profits, 40 percent of their bank tellers are on some form of public aid like
food stamps.
Around 51 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year.
Approximate 40 percent
of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.
Today around 48.8 percent of all 25-year-old Americans and
approximate 19 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 still live at home with their parents.
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred between 2007 and 2009.
The causes of this Great Recession include a combination of vulnerabilities that developed in the financial system, along with housing prices falling in the U.S. and homeowners
abandoning their mortgages, and the value of mortgage-backed securities held by investment
banks collapsed; the household net worth, which reflects the value of both stock markets and housing prices, fell $11.5 trillion (17.3%) and did not regain its pre-recession level of $66.4 trillion until Q3 2012.
One of the purposes of manipulation of currency is to weaken currency. In order to manipulate currency the country sells its own currency and buys foreign currency – usually U.S. dollars.
Following the laws of supply and demand, the result is that the manipulating country reduces the demand for its own currency while increasing the demand for foreign currencies.
The International Monetary Foundation (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have provisions prohibiting the use of currency manipulation to gain trade advantages.
As of May 2018, about 41 American million people live in poverty, of which 18.5 million of them in extreme poverty and over 550,000 people are homeless in America.
African Americans are almost 2.5 times more likely than whites to live in poverty and their unemployment rate is more than double.
The World's Top 10 Economies are United States, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, India, France, Brazil, Italy, and Canada.
Based on the 2017Index of Economic Freedom Hong Kong, with its extremely low
tax rates, minimal regulations on businesses, and highly capitalist system of economics, ranks as 89.8% economically free,
which is the highest rating in the world. Singapore, which imposes no tariffs, and there are few restrictions on investments, ranks second and is 88.6% free. New Zealand and Switzerland are ranked in the top 4 segment, having 83.7% and 81.5% free economies, respectively.
Australia, which ranks fifth as 81.0% free, has very low tariffs and strong private property rights. The U.S., featuring the world's most advanced financial markets, is 75.1% economically free as of 2017.
The bottom 5 countries with little to no free market economies include North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, Republic of Congo, and Eritrea.
The strong signs of economic crisis include massive layoffs; non affordable accommodation surplus; halt or cancellation of construction activities; real estate value dips; restructuring or closure of businesses; retail, travel, hospitality and technology falling; and fall in oil prices.
As of October 2016 the population of Dubai, the most populouscity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
is around 2.643 million, of which
approximate 85% is Asian (chiefly Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan); about 25% of the total Dubai population has Iranian origin.
Norway's Government Pension Fund holding $873 billion as of June 2015 is the largest fund; its profits are from the state-owned North Sea oil drilling operation; a drop in oil prices has costed the fund billions since March 2015.
As of 12/2015 At this point 62 percent of all Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts, and 21 percent of all Americans do not have a savings account at all.
The S&P 500 gained 135% from March 2009 through January 2013; it gained the exact same amount from 1996 to 2000.
According to a study by Harvard, 46.1% of Americans die with less than $10,000 in assets.
In 2013 the U.S. economy is 2.9% larger than it was in 2008 while the U.K. economy is 3.3% smaller than it was.
The current U.S. minimum wage is $7.25, which is lower than those of Canada ($9.40), United Kingdom
($10.47), Netherlands ($11.38), Ireland ($11.48), New Zealand ($11.66), Belgium ($11.90), France ($12.64), Luxembourg ($14.75), and Australia ($14.98).
Greece's GDP has shrunk by 25% in six years since 2009;
the unemployment rate went from 10% in 2010 to 25% in March, 2015; the young are hit the worst, with one in two under the age of 25 having no job; and over 3% of its population (11 million) has left the country since 2010.
During a global financial crisis in 2008 the U.S. Federal government bailed out $182 billion to American International Group, Inc. – also known as AIG
- an American multinational insurance corporation with more than 88 million customers in 130 countries, to prevent the company's collapse. As of today it received a repaid amount of $205 billion, which is a 13 percent return on the funds it provided to AIG.
During a global financial crisis in 2008 in order to prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from
bankruptcy the U.S. government bailed out $187 billion to these giant mortgage companies and placed them into conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
As of today the government received a repaid amount of $225 billion, which is a 20 percent return on the funds it provided to these companies.
Prior to 1970, the total amount of debt in the United States, which include government debt, business debt, consumer debt, student debt, etc, was less than $2 trillion; today it is over $56 trillion.
Around 44% of American homeless people are employed.
There is about 7% of all non-farm workers in the United States are self-employed.
During the period of 2008 to 2012 Americans have donated $19.1 million to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the national debt.
Constituting less than 5 percent of the world's population, Americans generate and earn more than 20 percent of the world's total income.
The U.S. is the world's largest national economy and leading global trader. From the 2nd quarter of 2009 to the 3rd quarter of 2014, U.S. real GDP is up 2.3% at an annual rate, and exports have contributed one-third
(0.7 percentage points) to this growth. Jobs supported by U.S. exports of goods and services are up an estimated 1.6 million since 2009, to an estimated 11.3 million in 2013.
In the U.S., as of November 2012 more than 16% of the population lived in poverty, including almost 20% of American children, up from 14.3% (approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993.
According to the World Bank, U.S. GDP accounted for 32% of all global economic activity in 2001 and dropped to 22% in 2011.
According to the US Census, in 2007 5.8% of all people in married families lived in poverty, as did 26.6% of all persons in single parent households, and 19.1% of all persons living alone; more than 75% of all poor households are headed by women (2012)
More than 300,000 California workers at big companies like Wal-Mart and Costco, qualify for medical, the state's health insurance for the poor.
The U.S. government assistance for families whose incomes flutter just above the poverty line nearly doubled from 1983 to 2004 after taking inflation into account.
The minimum wage of Bangladesh is 1,500 taka (or $19 USD) per month.
More babies were born in the U.S. in 1956 than they were born in 2009, 2010, or 2011.
The World Bank is an international organization that helps emerging market countries reduce poverty. It is not a bank in the ordinary sense but a unique partnership to reduce poverty and support development, instead, it consists of two development institutions.
One is the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The second is the International Development Association. The Bank's 189 member countries share ownership. The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. It provides low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants. It focuses on improving education, health and infrastructure. It also uses funds to modernize a country's financial sector, agriculture and natural resources management.
Established in 1944, the World Bank Group is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It has more than 10,000 employees in more than 120 offices worldwide.