US Benefits From China Stimulus

(NEWSER) - The net worth of US households—assets minus debt—fell $1.33 trillion in the first quarter to $51.71 trillion, the Wall Street Journal reports. The 2.6% drop is smaller than the 8.6% of 2008’s fourth, a Fed report says. The first-quarter data don’t include the recent market rally. Household debt crept up 1.1% after a 2% drop in last year’s fourth quarter. More»

Chinese revert to cheaper, healthier options amid recession

(NEWSER) - The dollar menu thrives when times are tough in the US, but in China—where Western fast food is no bargain—the American chains are facing tough competition. Price is the main sticking point, but not the only one. "It's fast food," one diner in Shanghai told the LA Times; "it's not good for you" More»

Delivery is driving sales growth from Cairo to China

(NEWSER) - McDonald's and KFC are surging ahead in emerging markets like China and India with a service available to few American customers: home delivery. In crowded cities across Asia and the Middle East where pricey real estate makes drive-through restaurants a rare sight, fleets of motorbikes make their way through traffic to deliver American fast food, the Wall Street Journal finds. More»

... and it's still rising faster than before recession

(NEWSER) - News that the US gross domestic product jumped 3.5% in the third quarter cheered investors and others, but the cheers will ring hollow if unemployment keeps rising, John Authers writes. Consumer spending rose even as disposable income fell—“ not a pattern that can be sustained for long, and it is inconsistent with the need for US families to pay down their debts,” he notes in the Financial Times. More»

How one country ducked the economic downturn

(NEWSER) - Australia has weathered the financial crisis better than any other developed country. Last week its central bank raised interest rates, indicating its primary concern is now inflation, not growth. What were the keys? Phil Dobbie of BNET explains:

• Befriending China: Australia used to export much of what it made to the US and UK, but over the last decade much of that trade has shifted to China. In fact, some economists argue that Australia didn’t need a stimulus package—Beijing’s stimulus was enough.