Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/241540
Thoughts and Projections! EDITOR'S NOTES Nancy Estes, MBA, CAE Executive Director/Editor T he year 2013 will be remembered for so many things: mobile reached the tipping point in terms of digital marketing; American scientists created the first lab-grown body part using a 3D printer, and a great man, Nelson Mandela, passed away. Let's peruse some thoughts on 2014 from popular websites Bloomberg, Business Week, Wall Street Journal and The Economist: • Some of the world's fastest-growing economies will be in Africa. For the first time in living memory, inflation will drop below GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa. • American firms will begin the year accounting for most of the global Top 10 and nearly two-thirds of the Top 50 by market value. • Germany's dominant centrist status will face the rise of a populist fringe. • In France, the National Front will prosper in a grim year. • At age 15, the euro will remain a difficult adolescent. • U.S. economic worries won't get blown away by a solid recovery. • The Scots will vote no to independence. Whether Scotland votes yes or no, Orkney and Shetland aim to gain. • Markets in the poor world will go from copying new technology to creating it. • Asia's Mongolia, Macau and Bhutan are among the world's fastest growers. • Innovative ways to tackle the world's urgent water and sanitation needs will multiply (Water. org). Philanthropic collaboration will grow as the economic value of water climbs steeply. • America will add more to global economic growth than China (at market exchange rates) and Japan will add more than India. • India's vote will produce more fragmentation and will involve an electorate of 800 million, with potentially 150 miilion first-timers (largest election on earth). • Bloomberg asked these questions: Will the U.S. economy add jobs or asset bubbles with Janet Yellen running the Federal Reserve? Will German Chancellor Angela Merkel become more generous toward Southern Europe? Can Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang repair the slowing engines of the world's second-largest economy? Can Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, shrink budget deficits? • The American Road & Transportation Builders Association forecasts U.S. infrastructure construction market will grow five percent. • Asian economist at Capital Economics in London dubbed Turkey, Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa as the "Fragile Five." These countries were the worst hit by the summer currency sell-off and are all due important elections. • Africa and Asia share the GDP honors in the coming year. • Rising societal tensions in the Middle East and North Africa; • Aon Insurance Company anticipates taking over $1 billion in cyber-insurance premiums; many will still ignore the threat. • Widening income disparities; • Persistent structural unemployment; • Intensifying cyber threats; 4 • Lack of values in leadership; • The expanding middle class in Asia; • The growing importance of megacities; • The rapid spread of misinformation online. Go To: www.weforum.org/reports/ outlook-global-agenda-2014 • Mining equipment manufacturers in Germany expect sales to decline by a double-digit percentage, as mining companies cut costs. • EPA's greenhouse gas emission standards (GHG14) for heavy-duty vehicles begin with model year 2014. NHTSA's fuel consumption standards become mandatory with model year 2016. • European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton claimed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will sign an association agreement with the EU. • At the annual BofA Merrill Lynch "Year Ahead Outlook" conference in New York, analysts summarized "In 2013, we saw the 30-year bull market in bonds wind down and stocks soar, with a stronger recovery since 2009 than in the last five market cycles." As we move into 2014, we expect this trend to moderate but continue forward, even with Federal Reserve tapering mid-year." Go to: http://newsroom. bankofamerica.com/pressreleases/economic-and-industryoutlooks/2014-market-outlookbofa-merrill-lynch-global-research. The future holds many intriguing possibilities! • The "Outlook on the Global Agenda 2014" provides trends ranked by global significance: • Robots that help people get things done will proliferate. • Diminishing confidence in economic policies; All the best to you and yours, Nancy IDA UNIVERSAL January-February 2014