U.S. regains crown as most competitive economy for first time since 2008: WEF

By Katanga Johnson

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 26, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy sits atop of the World Economic Forum's annual global competitiveness survey for the first time since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, benefiting from a new ranking methodology this year, the Swiss body said on Tuesday.

 

In its closely-watched annual Global Competitiveness Report, the WEF said the U.S. is the country closest to the "frontier of competitiveness," an indicator that ranks competitive productivity using a scale from zero to 100.

 

The U.S. beat off Singapore, Germany, Switzerland and Japan, the other top four markets, with a score of 85.6 out of 100, the report said, due to its "vibrant" entrepreneurial culture and "strong" labor market and financial system.

 

The World Economic Forum, the same organization that runs the Davos meeting of global powerbrokers each January, bases its rankings of 140 economies on a dozen drivers of competitiveness, including a country's institutions and the policies that help drive productivity.

 

This year the WEF changed its methodology to better account for future readiness for competition, such as a country's idea generation, entrepreneurial culture, and the number of businesses that disrupt existing markets.

 

The last time the U.S. topped the list was 2008.

 

The WEF said it was too early to factor in how the Trump administration's recent trade policies would affect its ranking.

 

"While it is too early for the data to filter through in this year's report, we would expect trade tensions with China and other trading partners to have a negative impact on the US’ competitiveness in the future, were they to continue," Saadia Zahidi, the managing director at the World Economic Forum, said in an email.

 

"Open economies are more competitive."

 

(Reporting by Katanga Johnson; Editing by Michelle Price)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-10-17

They have nearly recovered from the previous administration.  They should be proud

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The last time the U.S. topped the list was 2008

And what happened after that...

44 minutes ago, Topdoc said:

And what happened after that...

Obama.

3 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

They have nearly recovered from the previous administration.  They should be proud

"The U.S. economy sits atop of the World Economic Forum's annual global competitiveness survey for the first time since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, benefiting from a new ranking methodology this year, the Swiss body said on Tuesday."

 

People should read the topic they are posting about.

13 minutes ago, zydeco said:

Obama.

Obama did not put the US and world economy in freefall, that was Bush.  You remember Bush don't you?  Rising debt, two unfinished and unfunded wars, claiming the world had a savings glut so it made sense to borrow lots of money, etc.

1 hour ago, heybruce said:

Obama did not put the US and world economy in freefall, that was Bush.  You remember Bush don't you?  Rising debt, two unfinished and unfunded wars, claiming the world had a savings glut so it made sense to borrow lots of money, etc.

obama destroyed the us middle class and trump corrects it now only 3.7 % unemployed, wages are growing etc...

 

wbr

roobaa01

4 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

They have nearly recovered from the previous administration.  They should be proud

From the OP...

 

The WEF said it was too early to factor in how the Trump administration's recent trade policies would affect its ranking.

26 minutes ago, roobaa01 said:

obama destroyed the us middle class and trump corrects it now only 3.7 % unemployed, wages are growing etc...

 

wbr

roobaa01

Unemployment was in a long term decline under Obama, it continued under its own momentum for the first year of Trump's term.   https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate

 

Trump can take credit for the 0.5% decline in unemployment since then, but it came at the expense of a huge deficit increase.  Now the Republicans are insisting that the only way to fight the deficit increase is by cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  https://www.newsweek.com/deficit-budget-tax-plan-social-security-medicaid-medicare-entitlement-1172941

 

Anyone who is surprised by this is a fine example of willful ignorance; this has been the Republican playbook since Reagan.

 

Care to offer any support for your claim that "obama destroyed the us middle class".

roobaa01 - Wasting your breath on heybruce.  The insane Liberals will never accept the truth.

5 minutes ago, thaipo7 said:

roobaa01 - Wasting your breath on heybruce.  The insane Liberals will never accept the truth.

The truth is that Obama created more jobs in his last 18 months than Trump did in his first 18 months. Job growth has slowed under Trump.

Go Trump !!! or whoever gets things going good.

24 minutes ago, thaipo7 said:

roobaa01 - Wasting your breath on heybruce.  The insane Liberals will never accept the truth.

Yeah, I rely on referenced, credible facts.  Facts and reality don't support the Trump narrative so must be irredeemably liberal.

 

The fact that a Trumpie is describing reality as insane doesn't surprise me at all.

It was a rough time under President Obama for small to medium size businesses. Things are looking up now under President Trump.

 

 

Obama started the upward trend~Trump put the already rising economy into overdrive by giving the rich and corporations over 1 trillion dollars.  Wages have risen very little, and the boom is subsiding.  Why do you think he is blaming the Federal Reserve?  Most of his base have seen no benefit~I love it

May not be due to anything Trump has done but sure has everything to do with the riddance of Obama!

 

The NPC's are not going to be happy about this! MAGA!

 

The naysayers are probably crying at home right now because Trump is making America great again. Great news and a great President!

One word:. Pocahontas...bwahahaha.

The WEF officials who came up with this tripe are obviously dunderheads. How do you render this kind of judgement on a nation with the debt levels America has? Take away the dollar's reserve currency status, and all you've got left is a train wreck. The Chinese and Russians are working on that as we speak.

Competitive? Absolute BS. I can remember when the Australian steel industry ( unsubsidised ) was shipping cold rolled steel into the West Coast of America, all the way across the Pacific Ocean, at about $100 a tonne less than American steel mills could rail the stuff from Chicago. Don't get me started on the US automotive industry. It's been a basket case for decades.

 

Part and parcel to the ongoing fantasy and subsequent dumbing-down.

 

To be expected.

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

The WEF officials who came up with this tripe are obviously dunderheads. How do you render this kind of judgement on a nation with the debt levels America has? Take away the dollar's reserve currency status, and all you've got left is a train wreck. The Chinese and Russians are working on that as we speak.

Competitive? Absolute BS. I can remember when the Australian steel industry ( unsubsidised ) was shipping cold rolled steel into the West Coast of America, all the way across the Pacific Ocean, at about $100 a tonne less than American steel mills could rail the stuff from Chicago. Don't get me started on the US automotive industry. It's been a basket case for decades.

 

Care to comment on the Australian auto industry?  Pop's new American made Camry is tight as can be..20% less than they sell for here.

2 minutes ago, moontang said:

Care to comment on the Australian auto industry?  Pop's new American made Camry is tight as can be..20% less than they sell for here.

Since you ask, yes. The Australian auto industry was lunacy - 5 manufacturers trying to make a buck with a population of 20 million people. We might have scraped through with just one manufacturer, but Abbott and Hockey killed that off.

Your Pop's new Camry's quality is unconnected to American manufacturing practices. It's ironic that an American, W. Edwards Deming, taught the Japanese how to make quality products. The tightness of your Pop's Camry is due to the fact it's made to Japanese quality standards, not American or Australian.

If by here you mean Thailand, everyone knows the auto market is rigged.

3 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

It was a rough time under President Obama for small to medium size businesses. Things are looking up now under President Trump.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, rgraham said:

May not be due to anything Trump has done but sure has everything to do with the riddance of Obama!

Can you give a credible sources for these claims?  Otherwise they are nothing but an unsubstantiated, biased opinions.

1 hour ago, vinegarbase said:

 

The NPC's are not going to be happy about this! MAGA!

 

The naysayers are probably crying at home right now because Trump is making America great again. Great news and a great President!

Seriously?  This is the best evidence you have of greatness?

 

The only crying is in despair that so many people have been taken in by such a corrupt con man.

 

Wait until the next recession, which will hit and hit hard because Trump's massive deficit increases (increases during a strong economy, when deficits are supposed to go down) restrict fiscal responses and his alienation of allies will prevent a global coordinated response.  It could truly be a "Great" recession, or worse.

A business (wo)man will always be good at running a country. They think about what is best, and not the protests which always abound. With a budiness (wo)man in charge, profits will be made and everyone will benefit - to the detriment of their compeditors , other countries. Look after your own first and do what has to be done to make your country great. Well done, Donald!

17 minutes ago, heybruce said:

 

Can you give a credible sources for these claims?  Otherwise they are nothing but an unsubstantiated, biased opinions.

well as a small business owner I gave you my opinion. Opinions to the contrary are as unsubstantiated and as biased as mine I reckon. So why argue, you arent going to convince me and Im not going to convince you.

13 minutes ago, heybruce said:

Seriously?  This is the best evidence you have of greatness?

 

The only crying is in despair that so many people have been taken in by such a corrupt con man.

 

Wait until the next recession, which will hit and hit hard because Trump's massive deficit increases (increases during a strong economy, when deficits are supposed to go down) restrict fiscal responses and his alienation of allies will prevent a global coordinated response.  It could truly be a "Great" recession, or worse.

Last year you were struggling to get a visa..something about not wanting to bring it out of the US.  Now, you are talking deficits and doomsday. So what continent are you parking your money, assuming an illegal worker has it?  You really can't have it both ways.

32 minutes ago, moontang said:

Last year you were struggling to get a visa..something about not wanting to bring it out of the US.  Now, you are talking deficits and doomsday. So what continent are you parking your money, assuming an illegal worker has it?  You really can't have it both ways.

What are you rambling about? 

 

Our Donald is following Hoover’s playbook with a sprinkling of treason and dictator worship you guys follow him if you like not me he is unamerican a cad and a traitor to boot and let’s not forget his favorites attacks on children insulting pows attacking gold star family’s stabbing allies in the guts tax breaks for the rich and trade wars that’s our Donald!!

26 minutes ago, amdy2206 said:

A business (wo)man will always be good at running a country. They think about what is best, and not the protests which always abound. With a budiness (wo)man in charge, profits will be made and everyone will benefit - to the detriment of their compeditors , other countries. Look after your own first and do what has to be done to make your country great. Well done, Donald!

Let's take a look at the past US businessmen Presidents:

 

Andrew Johnson--placeholder president after Lincoln

Harry Truman--authorized use of atomic bomb, otherwise not noted for anything

George W. Bush--took a country at peace and with a budget surplus and left it in economic crisis with two unfinished wars and the largest by far deficit in US history.

 

History does not support your assumption.