When Starbucks (SBUX) announced the closure of all of its 379 Teavana stores by the spring of 2018, it came as a warning signal to many analysts. But for long-term investors, Starbucks future growth prospects […]

A visual view of economics, finance and basic investing fundamentals
Central Banks are the backbone of an economic system. Any fracture can create serious concerns for the financial future of the country. In recent years, there have been numerous articles raising questions about the credibility of central banks. This article focuses the basics of central banks with a strong focus on its relation with the financial crises.
By the end of 2014, Greece owed “troika”(European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission) €253.3bn. In 2014, many talks were doing the rounds of a possible exit of Greece from the Eurozone. With snap elections in January 2015, Greece is again put on a spot. There is a lot of speculation as to how things could change for Greece in case radical left-wing party Syriza wins. Sunday Elections for Greece could either make or break the future of Greece depending how the elected government handles rising tensions between the troubled nation and its creditors, Eurozone government and IMF.
With the talks of a New Development Bank in China, BRICS has managed to raise some questions. Will the association of emerging markets manage to create stir in the the global economy or will it be another alliance of economies that just have meetings over nothing. Amidst many criticisms, economies of Brazil and Russia can pose more complication than contribution to the group. But it is definitely too early to completely write off BRICS.
If Brazil has ever suffered from a financial turmoil, it was more of a contagion effect due to 1997 Asian Crisis and 1998 Russian Crisis. It has been considered one of the strongest emerging markets and a large contributor towards global growth. However, things started looking a bit hazy for Brazil since 2008 financial crisis. It was observed that a country that could be a potential contributor to global growth could also pose an equal threat to global financial stability. But before we reach any conclusion for 2014, it is important to look back as to how Brazil evolved as a country and stood strong even when everything around her was in financial turmoil.
On October 30, 2014 Paul Krugman wrote in New York Times ” Japan used to be a cautionary tale, but the rest of us have messed up so badly that it almost looks like a role model instead.” Japan’s economy has been in coma for the past 20 years and its revival has been the focus of many debates and case studies (and many criticisms). With promising reforms like Big Bang and Abenomics, it is important to check whether Japan has overcome some hurdles or whether the reforms proved to be a complete failure.
The Arab Spring was the second strongest historical wave in the Middle East since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. There are debates about it being a success or a failure. In 2014, we look back to analyse whether the revolution was actually worth all the losses of lives or were these sacrifices an awakening call for a new democratic beginning for the region.
This article focuses on three economies that have been discussed a lot lately : India, China & USA. India and China are considered as emerging economies but have issues like population and poverty. We compare India & China to USA using IMF reports released in April, 2014 and information provided in Index of Economic Freedom, an annual guide published by The Wall Street Journal ,IMF data and The Heritage Foundation.
2014 witnesses general election in nine phases in India. Of course, no party ever wins with a majority and usually alliances form the government. However, the battle amongst Indian National Congress (Congress), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) & debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has created headlines. Indian markets keep a close watch on may 16 since it will decide the fate of the country.