Will Y Euros soon be worthless?

Each euro note starts with a letter, and euros that start with a Y are from Greece.  Will the Y euros soon be worthless?  Probably, but I'm not sure. Or maybe they would be worth the same as a newly introduced Greek currency.  Just in case, anyone with a euro starting with a Y would be smart to exchange it.  Here is a link to a German article about it:

Was wird aus den Griechen-Euros in meinem Portemonnaie?  (link from http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/breaking-bild-goes-into-euro-scare-hyperdrive-on-greek-banknotes-9-2/)

Dubai-Sharjah

Dubai and Sharjah are part of the same metro area, as shown by the above map.  Dubai has about 1.7 million residents, and Sharjah has about 1.2 million, totalling 2.9 million in the area.  At a nominal GDP/person of $67,000, the area's total GDP is about $194 billion.

Update:  Dubai has a GDP of about 306 billion dirhams (source).  Sharjah has a GDP of about 72 billion dirhams (source).  So the total is about 378 billion.  At the rate of 3.6725/dollar that comes out to $US 103 billion.

Top Cities, version 19

1. Tokyo 1584 [s/b Tokyo $923 bn; Yokohama $320 bn; Saitama $211 bn; Chiba $197 bn]
2. New York 1407 [s/b $1281 bn]
3. Los Angeles 882 [s/b Los Angeles $556 bn; Orange County $180 bn; Riverside-San Bernadino $110 bn; Ventura $36bn]
4. Osaka (552, was 771) [a better number is $389 bn]
5. Paris 717 (EU 552) [another source says $764 bn nominal]
6. London 606 (EU 466) [another source says $752 bn nominal ]
7. Seoul 601 [s/b Seoul $343 bn; Gyeonggi $289 bn; Incheon $71 bn]
8. Washington/Baltimore 570 [s/b Washington $383 bn; Baltimore $145 bn]
9. Chicago 532 [agreed]
10. San Francisco/San Jose 515 [s/b San Francisco/Oakland $296 bn; San Jose $168 bn]
11. Rhine-Ruhr 430 (EU 331) [s/b Ruhr $203 bn; Dusseldorf $105 bn; Cologne $96 bn]
12. Shanghai/Suzhou 410 
13. Philadelphia 404 [s/b $347 bn]
14. Nagoya 386 [a better number is $372 bn]
15. Houston 385 [agreed]
16. Boston 380 [s/b $314 bn]
17. Dallas 374
18. Randstad 352
19. Milan 313 (EU 241) [s/b $177 bn]
20. Sydney 308
21. Toronto 292
22. Melbourne 275
23. Atlanta 272
24. Sao Paulo 270
25. Singapore 260
26. Miami 258
27. Beijing 248
28. Hong Kong 243
29. Guangzhou/Foshan 243
30. Mexico City 237
31. Seattle 231
32. Moscow 225
33. Buenos Aires 225
34. Madrid 215 
35. Abu Dhabi 204
36. Rio de Janeiro 201
37. Minneapolis 200
38. Montreal 199
39. Detroit 198
40. Phoenix 191 
41. Frankfurt 185 (EU 142) 
42. Tianjin (near Beijing) 178
43. Brussels 178
44. Taipei 178
45. Barcelona 177
46. Kuwait City 177
47. Denver 176
48. San Diego 172
49. Chongqing 159
50. Riyadh 154
51. Munich-Augsburg 149
52. Naples 149
53. Shenzhen 146
54. Doha, Qatar 145
55. Berlin 142 (EU 109)
56. Istanbul 141
57. Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota, FL 138
58. Brisbane 138
59. Oslo 136
60. Cleveland/Akron, OH 134
61. Cincinnati/Dayton, OH 134
62. St. Louis, MO 130
63. Portland, OR 125
64. Lisbon 122 (EU 98)
65. Vancouver, Canada 121
66. Rome 120 [s/b $130 bn]
67. Stockholm 120
68. Perth 117
69. Pittsburgh 116
70. Copenhagen 116
71. Sapporo 116
72. Fukuoka 115
73. Charlotte 114
74. Hamburg 114
75. Hangzhou (south of Shanghai) 111
76. Wuxi (near Shanghai) 108
77. Kansas City 106
78. Indianapolis 105
79. Orlando 104
80. Qingdao (near Beijing) 104
81. Dubai/Sharjah 103
82. Birmingham, UK 103
83. Monterrey 102
84. Vienna 102 
85. Mumbai 100
86. Salt Lake City/Ogden/Provo 98
87. Zurich 97
88. Nanjing (near Shanghai) 97
89. Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC 95 
90. Athens 94
91. Brasilia 94
92. Sacramento 93
93. Colombus, OH 93
94. Tel Aviv/Jaffa 92
95. Las Vegas 90
96. Jakarta, Indonesia 89
97. Dublin 89
98. Hartford, CT/Springfield, MA 88
99. Santiago, Chile 88
100. Leeds, UK 88
101. Stuttgart 87
102. Busan, South Korea 87
103. Austin, TX 86
104. Tehran, Iran 86
105. Manchester, UK 85
106. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 85
107. Milwaukee, WI 85
108. Manila 84
109. Johannesburg/East Rand/West Rand 83
110. Wuhan, China (central China) 82
111. San Antonio, TX 82
112. Chengdu, China (near Chongqing) 82
113. Dalian, China (near Beijing) 81
114. Nashville, TN 81
115. Virginia Beach/Norfolk, VA 81
116. Shenyang, China (near Beijing) 80
117. Bangkok 75
118. New Orleans 71

Ranked by nominal GDP.
=============
Update: here is a better source for US GDP figures

Brussels

The greater Brussels area, known as the Flemish Diamond, has a population of about 3.8 million.  I can't find any good figures for GDP. At a nominal GDP/person of $46,900, this leads to an estimated GDP of  $178 billion.

New List of US Cities by GDP

Here is a new list.  I'm not going to going to revise my latest list, as I have to stop somewhere, but I am interested in cities over $20 billion GDP that were not on the previous list.  So here it is:

Akron OH [28]
Albany NY [41]
Albuquerque NM [38]
Allentown-Bethlehem, PA [30]
Anchorage AK [27]
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX [86]
Bakersfield, CA [29]
Baton Rouge, LA [39]
Birmingham AL [53]
Boise City ID [26]
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT [85]
Buffalo NY [45]
Cape Coral-Ft Myers FL [20]
Charleston SC [28]
Chattanooga TN [21]
Colorado Springs CO [26]
Columbia SC [32]
Columbus OH [93]
Dayton OH [33]
Des Moines [39]
Durham-Chapel Hill NC [38]
El Paso TX [27]
Fresno CA [29]
Grand Rapids MI [33]
Greensboro-High Point NC [35]
Greenville SC [26]
Harrisburg PA [29]
Hartford CT [88]
Honolulu HI [51]
Huntsville AL [21]
Indianapolis [105]
Jackson MS [24]
Jacksonville FL [60]
Knoxville TN [30]
Las Vegas NV [90]
Lexington KY [23]
Little Rock AK [33]
Louisville KY [59]
Madison WI [36]
Manchester-Nashua NH [21]
Memphis TN [65]
Milwaukee WI [85]
Nashville TN [81]
New Haven CT [41]
New Orleans LA [71]
Sarasota FL [24]
Oklahoma City OK [58]
Omaha-Council Bluffs NE-IA [48]
Portland ME [26]
Poughkeepsie NY [22]
Providence RI [66]
Raleigh-Cary NC [57]
Reno NV [20]
Richmond VA [64]
Rochester NY [45]
Sacramento CA [93]
Salt Lake City UT [66]
San Antonio TX [82]
Shreveport LA [22]
Springfield MA [22]
Syracuse NY [27]
Toledo OH [27]
Trenton NJ [27]
Tucson AZ [32]
Tulsa OK [45]
Virginia Beach-Norfolk VA [81]
Wichita KS [26]
Winston-Salem NC [23]
Worcester MA [29]

Is a recession beginning?

Officially, we don't know when a recession has begun until after it is over.  However, there are several indicators that seem to show a recession is brewing.

First, a China index dropped from 49.3 to 48.7. 

The HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index, the earliest indicator of China's industrial sector, retreated to 48.7 in May from a final reading of 49.3 in April. It marked the seventh straight month that the index has been below 50, indicating contracting economic activity.
The figures signal that the sluggish economic conditions of the first quarter are set to continue throughout the first half of the year in China's longest slowdown since the global financial crisis.
--http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/24/us-china-economy-pmi-idUSBRE84N08B20120524

Second, the DJIA hit 13,279 on May 1st and has been dropping ever since. It closed on May 25th at 12,455 and seems to be drifting downward.

Third, and probably most important, is the Weekly Leading Index published by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.  They publish a number each Friday for the preceeding week.  It is unknown how they get their data, but it seems to be pretty good.  For the week ended May 4, the WLI rose to 125.4.  For the week ended May 11, it dropped to 124.5.  For the week ended May 18, it dropped again to 123.1.  If this number drops below 120.0 then we are probably in a recession.  So, this is an important number to watch.  If it falls for the 3rd straight week, then we have a problem.

Top 100 Cities, version 18

This is basically a tweak of version 16

1. Tokyo/Yokohama ($1479)
2. New York (1281 was 1056)
3. Los Angeles/Riverside/Ventura  (882 was 766)
4. Paris (695)
5. Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto (618)
6. London (592)
7. Chicago (532 was 574)
8. Seoul/Incheon (560)
9. Nagoya (Chukyo) (558)
10. Washington/Baltimore (570 was 466)
11. Rhine-Ruhr (420)
12. San Francisco/San Jose (495 was 409)
13. Mexico City (390)
14. Sao Paulo (388)
15. Buenos Aires (362)
16. Moscow (321)
17. Houston (385 was 316)
18. Dallas/Ft. Worth (374 was 315)
19. Milan (306)
20. Philadelphia (347 was 295)
21. Boston (314 was 275)
22. Randstad (274)
23. Shanghai (270)
24. Singapore (260)
25. Toronto (253)
26. Hong Kong (243)
27. Atlanta (272 was 242)
28. Brussels (Flemish Diamond) (178 was 239)
29. Miami (258 was 232)
30. Beijing (222)
31. Sydney (213)
32. Mumbai (209)
33. Rio de Janeiro (201) 
34. Detroit (198)
35. Madrid (185)
36. Seattle (231 was 182)
37. Istanbul (182)
38. Frankfurt (180)
39. Taipei-Keelung (178)
40. Fukuoka (175)
41. Melbourne (172)
42. Minneapolis/St. Paul (200 was 171)
43. Guangzhou (Canton) (169)
44. Delhi/New Delhi (167)
45. Johannesburg/East Rand (164)
46. Phoenix (191 was 160)
47. Dubai (154)
48. Shenzhen (151)
49. Munich-Augsburg (149)
50. Manila (149)
51. Montreal [148]
52. Denver-Boulder [176 was 147]
53. San Diego [172 was 146]
54. Suzhou (145)
55. Cairo [145]
56. Tianjin (145)
57. Hamburg [141]
58. Barcelona [140]
59. Rome [138]
60. Berlin [137]
61. Brisbane [137]
62. Naples (133)
63. Athens [128]
64. Tehran [127]
65. Chongqing [125]
66. Vienna/Bratislava [122]
67. Tel Aviv [122]
68. Busan, South Korea [121]
69. Santiago, Chile [120]
70. Birmingham,UK [119]
71. Bangkok [119]
72. Stuttgart [118] 
73. St. Louis [130 was 116]
74. Kuwait City [115]
75. Brasilia [110]
76. Lima, Peru [109]
77. Riyadh [107]
78. Charlotte NC [114 was 106]
79. Kolkata [104]
80. Perth, Australia [104]
81. Cape Town, South Africa [103]
82. Pittsburgh [116 was 102]
83. Monterrey, Mexico [102]
84. Tampa/St. Petersburg [114 was 101]
85. Stockholm [101]
86. Bogota, Colombia [100]
87. Copenhagen [99]
88. Cleveland [106 was 99]
89. Lisbon [98]
90. Portland [125 was 96]
91. Vancouver [95]
92. Hangzhou [94]
93. Jakarta, Indonesia [92]
94. St. Petersburg, Russia [91]
95. Kansas City [106 was 91]
96. Cincinnati [101 was 91]
97. Wuxi (91)
98. Orlando [104 was 89]
99. Dublin [89]
100. Qingdao [89]

Update 5/26/12:  I changed the GDP of the US cities but didn't change any rankings.

List of Top Cities, version C1

I'm going to start a new list of top cities, from a Chinese perspective.  The ranking is strictly by GDP.  Each new version will gradually include more cities.  The number is the city's GDP in billions of yuan.

1. Tokyo-Yokohama ($1479) [9392]
2. Seoul-Incheon (23.6 million x $23,750 *6.35) [3559]
3. Osaka-Kobe ($418) [2654]
4. Nagoya ($329) [2089]
5. Shanghai [1717]
6. Singapore ($260 billion x 6.35) [ 1651]
7. Hong Kong ($243 billion x 6.35) [1545]
8. Beijing [1411]
9. Sydney ($213 ( [1353]
10. Fukuoka (175) [1111]
11. Taipei-Keelung (6.9 million x $25,000 *6.35) [1095]
12. Melbourne, Australia [1092]
13. Guangzhou (Canton) [1075]
14. Shenzhen [958]
15. Manila, Philippines ($149) [946]
16. Suzhou [923]
17. Tianjin [922]
18. Brisbane, Australia [870]
19. Chongqing [793]
20. Busan, South Korea [768]
21. Bangkok [756]
22. Perth, Australia [660]
23. Hangzhou [595]
24. Jakarta, Indonesia [584]
25. Wuxi [579]
26. Qingdao [567]
27. Foshan [565]
28. Wuhan [557]
29. Chengdu [555]
30. Sapporo, Japan (83) [527]
31. Ningbo [516]
32. Dalian [516]
33. Nanjing [513]
34. Shenyang [502]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_municipalities_and_prefecture-level_cities_by_GDP

Dalian

Dalian is one of the top cities in China, and probably one of the top 100 in the world.  It is in Liaoning (Lion King) province, with a population of 6.2 million, and a GDP of 516 billion yuan ($81 billion USD).

The Dalian Greenland Center is under construction and will have a height of 518 m (1699 ft) when completed.  It has the 56th best skyline in the world.

I have ranked it variously as #150 (v15), #70 (v14), #128 (v12), #125 (v11), #123(v10), #109 (v9), #108 (v8).

Shenyang

Shenyang is the capital and largest city in Liaoning (Lion King) Province to the north of Beijing.  It has 8.1 million people in its metro area with a GDP of 502 billion yuan ($79 billion).

I have ranked it variously as #159 (version 15), #98 (v14), #221 (v11), #194 (v10),#153 (v9),#148 (v8), #143 (v4).  It probably belongs among the top 100 cities worldwide.

The 10 Megapolitan Areas of China

1. Hong Kong, Pearl River Delta. Includes Macau. 
2. Shanghai, Yangtze River Delta
3. Beijing, Bohai Economic Rim.  Includes Sinuiju, North Korea.
4. Fujian-Taiwan.  Includes Xiamen, as well as the Taiwanese cities of Taipei and Kaoshiung.
5. Beibu.  (I don't recognize any of the city names).  Includes the Red River Delta region of Vietnam.
6. Central Plain.  (I don't recognize any of the city names).
7. Harbin-Changchun
8. Sichuan basis.  Includes Chongqing and Chengu
9. Wuhan area.
10. Changsha area.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_regions_of_China

Top 25 Cities, version 17

Here are the top 25 metropolitan areas in the world.  I am influenced by the paper "Global Metropolis".  I will raise GDP estimates but not lower them. These are enormous areas.  The "city" of Greater Beijing has 244 million people in it, yet this is still not the biggest city economically.  New York includes the entire states of New Jersey,Connecticut, and Delaware and a good chunk of New York and Pennsylvania.

1. Tokyo-Yokohama [1998] 
2. Beijing-Tianjin/Shandong/Liaoning [1852] 
3. New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia [1650]
4. Shanghai [1502] 
5. Hong Kong-Guangdong [1085] 
6. Los Angeles/Riverside (766) 
7. Paris [695]
8. Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto [618]
9. London [592] 
10. Chicago [574]
11. Nagoya (Chukyo) [558]
12. Washington/Baltimore [466] 
13. Seoul/Incheon [440]
14. Rhine-Ruhr [420] 
15. San Francisco/San Jose [409]  
16. Mexico City [390] 
17. Sao Paulo [388] 
18. Buenos Aires [362] 
19. Brussels/Antwerp/Gent/Lille [336] 
20. Moscow [321] 
21. Houston [316] 
22. Dallas/Ft. Worth [315] 
23. Milan [306] 
24. Boston [275] 
25. Randstad [274]

Top 100 Cities, version 16

GDP in billions of US dollars in brackets. This is based on nominal GDP not PPP.  This is the first time Shanghai has ever made it to the top of the list.

1. Shanghai [1502] 
2. Tokyo-Yokohama [1275] 
3. Hong Kong-Guangdong [1085] 
4. New York [1056] 
5. Beijing-Tianjin [800] 
6. Los Angeles/Riverside (766) 
7. Shandong province [711]    
8. Paris [695] 
9. London [592] 
10. Washington/Baltimore [466] 
11. Chicago [461] 
12. Rhine-Ruhr [420] 
13. Osaka-Kobe [418]
14. San Francisco/San Jose [409]  
15. Mexico City [390] 
16. Sao Paulo [388] 
17. Buenos Aires [362] 
18. Liaoning province [341]
19. Nagoya (Chukyo) [329] 
20. Moscow [321] 
21. Houston [316] 
22. Dallas/Ft. Worth [315] 
23. Milan [306] 
24. Philadelphia [295] 
25. Seoul [291] 
26. Randstad [274]
27. Boston [261] 
28. Toronto [253]
29. Atlanta [242] 
30. Miami [232] 
31. Singapore [215] 
32. Sydney [213] 
33. Mumbai [209] 
34. Rio de Janeiro [201]  
35. Detroit [198] 
36. Madrid [185] 
37. Seattle [182] 
38. Istanbul [182] 
39. Frankfurt [180] 
40. Taipei-Keelung-Taoyuan, Taiwan [178] 
41. Fukuoka [175] 
42. Melbourne [172] 
43. Minneapolis/St. Paul [171] 
44. Delhi/New Delhi [167] 
45. Johannesburg/East Rand [164]
46. Phoenix [160]
47. Dubai [154]
48. Munich [149] 
49. Manila [149]
50. Montreal [148]
51. Denver-Boulder [147] 
52. San Diego [146]
53. Cairo [145]
54. Hamburg [141] 
55. Barcelona [140] 
56. Rome [138] 
57. Berlin [137]
58. Brisbane, Australia [137]
59. Athens [128]
60. Tehran [127]
61. Vienna [122]
62. Tel Aviv [122]
63. Busan, South Korea [121]
64. Santiago, Chile [120]
65. Birmingham,UK [119]
66. Bangkok [119]
67. Stuttgart [118] 
68. Chongqing, China [117] 
69. St. Louis [116]
70. Kuwait City [115]
71. Brasilia [110]
72. Lima, Peru [109]
73. Riyadh [107]
74. Charlotte NC [106]
75. Kolkata [104]
76. Perth, Australia [104]
77. Cape Town, South Africa [103]
78. Vienna [102]
79. Pittsburgh [102]
80. Monterrey, Mexico [102]
81. Tampa/St. Petersburg [101] 
82. Stockholm [101] 
83. Bogota, Colombia [100]
84. Copenhagen [99]
85. Cleveland [99] 
86. Lisbon [98]
87. Portland [96] 
88. Vancouver [95]
89. Jakarta, Indonesia [92]
90. St. Petersburg, Russia [91]
91. Kansas City [91] 
92. Cincinnati [91]
93. Orlando [89] 
94. Indianapolis [88] 
95. Dublin [89]
96. Sacramento CA [85] 
97. Manchester,UK [85]  
98. Brussels [83]
99. Sapporo, Japan [83] 
100. Columbus OH [83]

Top Cities in China by GDP

There are really only 8 cities in China that are of note, if we are looking at it from a metropolitan perspective:

1. Shanghai Area (Shanghai, Jiangsu province (Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing), Zhejiang province(Hangzhou)).  GDP: 1502 billion;  pop: 156 million.
2. Hong Kong Area (Hong Kong, Guangdong province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen), Macau). GDP:  1085 billion; pop. 112 million.
3. Beijing Area (Beijing, Tianjin,  Hebei province).  GDP: 800 billion; pop. 104 million.
4. Shangdong province. (This is between Shanghai and Beijing). Cities: Jinan, Qingdao, Weihai, Yantai.   GDP:  711 billion; pop. 96 million.
5. Liaoning province. Dalian-Shenyang.  GDP: 341 billion; pop. 43.7 million.
6. Chongqing. GDP: 117 billion; pop. 28.8 million.
7. Chengdu. GDP  GDP: 82 billion; pop. 14 million.
8. Wuhan. GDP: 82 billion; pop.  9.8 million.

Top European Cities by GDP

1. Paris 695 (pop. 11500)
2. London 592 (pop. 11900)
3. Rhine-Ruhr 420 (pop. 10200)
4. Milan 306 (pop. 4600)
5. Randstad 274 (pop. 4200)
6. Madrid 185 (pop. 5800)
7. Frankfurt 180 (pop. 3800)
8. Munich 149 (pop. 2500)
9. Hamburg 141 (pop. 3100)
10. Barcelona 140 (pop. 4200)
11. Rome 138 (pop. 3400)
12. Berlin 137 (pop. 4900)
13. Athens 128 (pop. 4000)
14. Birmingham 119 (pop. 2400)
15. Stuttgart 118 (pop. 2700)
16. Vienna 102 (pop. 2200)
17. Stockholm 101 (pop. 1900)
18. Copenhagen 99 (pop. 1800)
19. Dublin 89 (pop. 1500)
20. Manchester 85 (pop. 2600)

Source: modified from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_in_the_European_Union_by_GDP

Top Japanese Cities by GDP

1. Tokyo-Yokohama 1275 (pop. 35.7 million)
2. Osaka-Kobe 418 (pop. 11.3 million)
3. Nagoya (Chukyo) 329 (pop 8.9 million)
4. Fukuoka 175 (pop 5.6 million)
5. Sapporo 83 (pop. 2.6 million)

Top US Cities by GDP

List of US Cities by GDP (billions) as of 2005

1. New York 1056 
2. Los Angeles/Riverside/Oxnard 766 
3. Washington/Baltimore 466 
4. Chicago 461 
5. San Francisco/San Jose 409 
6. Houston 316 
7. Dallas/Ft. Worth 315 
8. Philadelphia 295 
9. Boston 261 
10. Atlanta 242 
11. Miami 232 
12. Detroit 198 
13. Seattle 182 
14. Minneapolis/St. Paul 171 
15. Phoenix 160 
16. Denver-Boulder 147 
17. San Diego 146 
18. St. Louis 116 
19. Charlotte NC 106 
20. Pittsburgh 102 
21. Tampa 101 
22. Cleveland 99 
23. Portland 96 
24. Kansas City 91 
25. Cincinnati 91 
26. Orlando 89 
27. Indianapolis 88 
28. Sacramento CA 85 
29. Columbus OH 83 
30. Las Vegas 80

Source: http://www.demographia.com/db-metrogdp2005.pdf

Will the Yuan be backed by gold?

"I know for a fact that Beijing wants its yuan to eventually become a gold-backed currency, much like the Swiss franc was originally. Backing the yuan with some gold will certainly help it become a major international currency."
--http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/05/will-china-make-the-yuan-a-gold-backed-currency.html

Angola is booming

"Since a peace agreement was signed 10 years ago, Angola has developed into a major African oil producer. In the first quarter of this year, the country produced 1.8 million barrels a day at offshore wells at depths of up to 1,500 meters (4,920 feet). Angola is China's second-largest supplier of the black gold. Its economic growth rates are the envy of the entire continent, partly because it also has rich diamond deposits and fertile soil.

Now Angolans are buying up shares in Portuguese media companies and they are purchasing prime property along the Atlantic beaches as well as luxury real estate in Lisbon and designer clothing. They are also snapping up workers. Close to 150,000 Portuguese have already obtained visas for Angola."
--http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/tens-of-thousands-of-portuguese-emigrate-to-fast-growing-angola-a-833360.html

Top 200 Cities, version 15

This is based entirely on GDP, with no adjustments for reputation, political power, or livability.

1. Tokyo (5)
2. New York (2)
3. Los Angeles (13)
4. Chicago (26)
5. London (1)
6. Paris (4)
7. Washington DC/Baltimore (22)
8. Osaka/Kobe (35)
9. Hong Kong/Shenzhen (3)
10. Mexico City (21)
11. Sao Paulo (20)
12. Philadelphia (62)
13. Boston (54)
14. Buenos Aires (37)
15. Dallas/Ft. Worth (57)
16. Moscow (12)
17. Atlanta (48)
18. Nagoya/Chukyo, Japan (112)
19. San Francisco/San Jose/Oakland (55)
20. Houston (43)
21. Miami (9)
22. Seoul (27)
23. Taipei (64)
24. Toronto (30)
25. Detroit/Windsor (105)
26. Seattle (77)
27. Shanghai (6)
28. Madrid (18)
29. Singapore (8)
30. Sydney (25)
31. Frankfurt (17)
32. Mumbai (23)
33. Rio de Janeiro (33)
34. Phoenix (106)
35. Minneapolis/St. Paul (108)
36. San Diego (114)
37. Istanbul (38)
38. Barcelona (81)
39. Melbourne (41)
40. New Delhi (51)
41. Beijing(7)
42. Denver (117)
43. Johannesburg/East Rand (78)
44. Manila (50)
45. Montreal (65)
46. Cairo (84)
47. Rome (14)
48. Guangzhou (Canton) (29)
49. Milan (59)
50. Yokohama, Japan (98)
51. Berlin (11)
52. Tehran (80)
53. St. Louis
54. Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL (122)
55. Vienna (24)
56. Tel Aviv (109)
57. Busan, South Korea (45)
58. Santiago, Chile (71)
59. Bangkok (28)
60. Kuala Lumpur (32)
61. Cleveland
62. Brasilia
63. Portland,OR
64. Lima, Peru (89)
65. Dubai (15)
66. Riyadh (66)
67. Orlando
68. Kaohsiung, Taiwan (102)
69. Kolkata (86)
70. Cape Town, South Africa (121)
71. Monterrey, Mexico
72. Kuwait City (115)
73. Bogota, Colombia (90)
74. Pittsburgh,PA
75. Lisbon (104)
76. Athens (88)
77. Amsterdam (61)
78. Vancouver (19)
79. Las Vegas (69)
80. Jakarta (36)
81. Sacramento, CA
82. Charlotte, NC
83. St. Petersburg, Russia (68)
84. Birmingham, UK (110)
85. Fukuoka, Japan
86. Manchester, UK (124)
87. Harbin, China
88. Incheon, South Korea (94)
89. Brisbane, Australia (93)
90. Brussels/Ghent/Antwerp (58)
91. Cincinnati, OH
92. Guadalajara, Mexico
93. Kansas City, KS/MO
94. Indianapolis, IN
95. Karachi (85)
96. Dhaka, Bangladesh (126)
97. Columbus, OH
98. Hamburg (87)
99. Tianjin (7)
100. Jeddah
101. Qingdao, China (96)
102. Hangzhou, China (101)
103. Stockholm (60)
104. Perth, Australia
105. Bangalore, India (123)
106. Lyon, France
107. Warsaw (79)
108. Turin
109. Austin, TX
110. Raleigh-Durham, NC
111. Nanjing, China (70)
112. Dongguan, China
113. Chennai, India (125)
114. Porto Alegre, Brazil
115. Milwaukee, WI
116. Salt Lake City, UT
117. Munich (83)
118. Nashville, TN
119. Belo Horizonte, Brazil (118)
120. Dublin (107)
121. Hyderabad, India (119)
122. Leeds, UK
123. Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
124. Ho Chi Minh City
125. Helsinki, Finland (103)
126. Ankara, Turkey
127. Chongqing (31)
128. Auckland (56)
129. Jinan, China
130. Rotterdam
131. Budapest (113)
132. Louisville, KY
133. Wuhan, China (42)
134. Zurich (53)
135. Naples, Italy
136. Medellin, Colombia
137. Memphis, TN
138. San Antonio
139. Oklahoma City
140. Ottawa
141. Prague (111)
142. Copenhagen (82)
143. Grand Rapids, MI
144. Bonn/Cologne, Germany (52)
145. Ahmedabad, India
146. Hartford, CT
147. Adelaide, Australia
148. Pune, India
149. Doha (75)
150. Dalian, China (72)
151. Greenville/Spartanburg, SC
152. Edmonton, Canada
153. Alexandria, Egypt
154. Birmingham, AL
155. Buffalo, NY
156. New Orleans, LA
157. Algiers, Algeria
158. Curitiba, Brazil (47)
159. Shenyang, China (100)
160. Abu Dhabi (67)
161. Albany, NY
162. Daegu, South Korea
163. Rochester, NY
164. Fresno, CA
165. Puebla, Mexico
166. Izmir, Turkey
167. Hanoi, Vietnam
168. Dortmand/Essen, Germany
169. Caracas (49)
170. Luxembourg
171. Calgary (76)
172. Lahore, Pakistan
173. Dayton, OH
174. Knoxville, TN
175. Oslo (63)
176. Sharjah, UAE (99)
177. Tulsa, OK
178. Tucson, AZ
179. Surat, India
180. Omaha, NE
181. Honolulu (44)
182. Recife, Brazil (39)
183. Khartoum, Sudan
184. Lagos (91)
185. Chengdu, China (97)
186. Luanda, Angola
187. Lille-Kortrijk, France/Belgium
188. Casablanca, Morocco
189. Albuquerque, NM
190. Xiamen, China (74)
191. Xian, China
192. Macao (34)
193. Jacksonville, FL
194. Quebec City
195. Bern, Switzerland
196. Bucharest, Romania (116)
197. Changchun, China
198. Kanpur, India
199. Tijuana, Mexico
200. Fortaleza, Brazil (92)
201. Baghdad, Iraq
202. Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)

Update:  here is a similar list - http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/richest-cities-2005.html

The top 20 skyscrapers in 2020

1. Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia  (1000m or 1007m) (proposed)
2. Burj Khalifa, Dubai (828m) (completed 2010)
3. Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen (660m) (under construction)
4. Seoul Light DMC Tower (640m) (cancelled)
5. Signature Tower, Jakarta (638m) (proposed)
6. Shanghai Tower (632m) (under construction)
7. Wuhan Greenland Center (606m or 636m) (proposed)
8. Makkah Royal Clock Tower (601m) (completed 2012)
9. Goldin Finance 117, Tianjin (597m) (under construction)
10. Lotte World Tower, Seoul (556m) (under construction)
11. Doha Convention Center Tower (551m) (construction stopped)
12. One World Trade Center, New York (541m) (topped out)
13. The CTF Guangzhou (East Tower) (530m) (under construction)
14. Tianjin CTF Binhai Center (530m) (under construction)
15. Dalian Greenland Center (518m) (under construction)
16. Pentominium Dubai (516m) (construction stopped)
17. Busan Lotte Town Tower (510m) (under construction)
18. Taipei 101 (508m) (completed 2004)
19. Kaisa Feng Long Center Shenzhen (500m or 518m) (proposed)
20. Shanghai World Finance Center (492m ) (completed 2008)
21. International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong (484m) (completed 2010)
22. Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur (452m) (completed 1998)

Source: http://ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/HeightStatistics/BuildingsinNumbers/TheTallest20in2020/tabid/2926/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Additional proposed buildings:
Nakheel Harbour and Tower, Dubai (1400m) (abandoned)
Azerbaijan Tower, Baku (1050m) (proposed)
Lagoons Tower, Dubai (1000+m) (proposed)
Miapolis, Miami (975m) (proposed)
Sky City, Changsha (847m or 838m or 666m) (proposed)
Suzhou Center Plaza, Suzhou, China, (780m) (proposed)
Wuhan Riverfront Erqi Project (707m) (proposed)
777 Tower, Qingdao (700m) (proposed)
India Tower, Mumbai (700m or 720m) (construction stopped)
Zhuhai Shizimen CBD Tower (680m) (proposed)
Caiwuwei Financial Center, Shenzhen (666m) (proposed)
Park Square Tower, Dubai (666m) (proposed)
Wuhan Hanzheng Jie (666m) (proposed)
Dream Tower, Yongsan, Seoul (665m) (proposed)
Pagcor Tower, Manila (665m) (proposed)
Wuhan Wangjiadun (660m) (conceptual)
Bangalore Turf Tower (660m) (approved)
City Tower, Sao Paulo (650m) (proposed)
Guangzhou Baietan Diamond Tower (650m) (conceptual) 
Tower of Russia, Moscow (648m) (proposed)
Financial Street Concord City Tower, Chongqing (639m) (proposed)
Wuhan Hua's Tower (638m) (proposed)
Jinan Tower (638m) (proposed)
Tianlong Fortune Center, Nanning (628m) (proposed)
Triple One, Seoul (620m) (proposed)
Nanping Twin Towers, Chongqing (620m) (proposed)
Xiamen Harmony 888 (620m) (proposed)
Russia Tower (612m) (construction stopped)
Chicago Spire (610m) (construction stopped; abandoned)
BUMN Tower, Jakarta (610m) (proposed)
Lanco Hills Signature Tower, Hyderabad (604m or 630m) (under construction proposed)
Incheon (South Korea), 151 Tower (601m) (proposed)
Guangzhou International Financial City (600m) (proposed)
Port Tower Complex, Karachi (593m) (proposed)
Rose Rock Center, Tianjin (588m) (proposed)
Evergrande IFC, Jinan, China, 560m (proposed)
The Diamond, Phnom Penh (555m) (proposed)
Shanghai World Financial Center (550m) (proposed)
Hyundai Global Business Center, Seoul (540m) (proposed)
Jiangyin Dragon Tower (538m) (conceptual)
Menara Warisan Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur (525m or 600m) (proposed)
China Resources Headquarters; Shenzen, China (525 m) (proposed)
Shenzhen KFL Center (518m or 500m) (proposed)
Zhongguo (China) Zun, Beijing (510m, 520m, 528m or 536m) (under construction)
Burj Al Alam, Dubai (510m) (construction stopped)
Qatar National Bank Tower (510m) (construction stopped)
Federation Tower, Moscow (506m) (under construction) (only 360m)
Dalian International Trade Center (500m) (proposed)
Beijing Citic Plaza (500m) (approved)
Tianjin Yujiabao (500m) (approved)
Wuhan International Business Center (500m) (conceptual)
Chongqing Danzishi (500m) (conceptual)
Al Quds Tower, Doha (500m) (on hold)
Suzhou Century Plaza (500m or 700m) (proposed) 
Lakta Center, St. Petersburg (473m) (proposed)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/tallest-proposed-buildings-in-the-world-2012-5?op=1 and
http://www.skyscraptercenter.com

National Debt at $15.7 trillion

The national debt first broke $15.7 trillion on May 15, 2012. It first broke $15.6 trillion on April 2, and $15.5 trillion on March 1. The next major milestone is $11 trillion of debt held by the public, which should occur about June 1. The debt limit is $16.394 trillion, which should be reached about December 1.

Obama - the first gay president

Failbook

IPOs are typically priced to provide about a 30% pop on the first day.  Instead, the underwriters had to step in to support the $38/share price.  Epic fail.

Republicans in favor of Violence Against Women, Democrats oppose

In headlines that could be straight from the Onion:

"The House of Representatives passed the Republican version of the Violence Against Women Act on Wednesday, despite strong opposition from Democrats.
The GOP version, passed 222-205, offers a stark contrast from the bill passed by the Senate in late April, which will lead to further political fighting as both chambers attempt to work out a compromise over the law's reauthorization.Wednesday's vote fell largely along party lines, though 23 Republicans voted against their own party and opposed the bill. Meanwhile, six Democrats defected and voted in favor of the Republican version."
--http://www.10news.com/politics/31071399/detail.html

Student Loan Debt Clock

This number is currently at $1,002,232,000,000 (over $1 trillion).  This is up from $833 billion in June 2010.  It is increasing at the rate of $2,853.88 per second, or about $7.4 billion/month.  Most of this money is owed to the Federal government and will never be repaid.

Obama will be more fiscally prudent

"So again, it's clear that if you want higher spending and a prevention of cataclysmic self-inflicted wounds out of Washington, Romney is the choice."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/only-mitt-romney-can-stave-off-a-new-debt-ceiling-fiasco-2012-5#ixzz1v3iPQjWA

If Obama wins, the Bush tax cuts will be repealed, and the sequestration will go into effect, thus cutting the deficits.  If Romney wins, there will be no restraints to spending and the deficits will continue to soar.

I don't think I can vote for Obama, but I think the above is a compelling argument.

Florida Law Schools

Florida now has 12 law schools.  These are ranked in approximate order of prestige:

1.  UF (Gainesville)
2.  Miami
3.  FSU (Tallahassee)
4.  Stetson (Tampa)
5.  Nova Southeastern (Ft. Lauderdale)
6.  St. Thomas (Miami)
7.  Florida Coastal (Jacksonville)
8.  Florida International (Miami)
9.  Florida A&M (Orlando)
10. Barry (Orlando)
11. Ave Maria (Naples)
12. Thomas Cooley (Tampa)

The End is Nigh for Europe

"Greek euro exit, very possibly next month ... guarantees or End of the euro. And we’re talking about months, not years, for this to play out."
--http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/eurodammerung-2/

Illegal aliens do not have a constitutional right to own a firearm

"How, historically, has this country regulated weapon possession by foreigners? Are we to understand gun ownership as among the private rights not generally denied aliens, like printing newspapers or tending a farm, or one of the rights tied to self-government, like voting and jury service, largely limited to citizens?
 .. courts must defer to Congress as it lawfully exercises its constitutional power to distinguish between citizens and non-citizens, or between lawful and unlawful aliens, and to ensure safety and order."
--"US v HUITRON-GUIZAR, 11-8051 (10th Cir. 2012)"

Surplus!

The Treasury actually ran a surplus of $58 billion in April 2012.  That's the first time since August 2008 that the US had more receipts than expenditures.

Update:  Wait a minute.  The total national debt was $15.582 trillion on March 30, 2012 and was $15.692 trillion on April 30.  So the surplus wasn't used to pay down the debt.

Red Dawn

The Russians are invading, with the consent of Obama.  Anyone who resists will be sent to a FEMA concentration camp.  It's going down on May 21.

According to reports, the U.S. and Russian military will be engaging in an anti-terrorism exercise that will involve Russian paratroopers using U.S. weapons to “take and hold” the main facilities of the CIA and Denver International Airport in Colorado and the National Security Agency in Utah."
--http://votingamerican.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/red-dawn-russian-paratroopers-to-invade-cia-and-denver-international-airport-in-war-games-with-us-troops/

"Airborne troops from Russia and the Untied States would hold joint anti-terror drills in the U.S. state of Colorado between May 24 and 31, spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry Col. Alexander Kucherenko said on Thursday. According to the spokesman, it will be the first time that the Russian airborne forces have held exercises with the U.S. airborne forces on the U.S. territory.
"According to the exercise scenario, soldiers of the two countries will hold a tactical airborne operation, including the reconnaissance of imaginary terrorists' camp and a raid," Kucherenko said.
"After the operation, a helicopter will evacuate the soldiers," Kucherenko said, adding that the Russian soldiers will also exercise with the U.S. special service weapons in the drills in Fort Carson, Colorado.
Besides, the spokesman said, the Russian group will arrive a week ahead of the drills and attend a baseball game in the city of Colorado Springs."
--http://english.cri.cn/6966/2012/04/20/189s694306.htm

New Projection: 2033

I ran the numbers again, using the latest official projections for SS, Medicare and Medicaid.  I am projecting higher revenue, but also higher interest rates, rising to 4.5% after 2024.  This crosses the 150% line in 2033.  As you can see, the deficit still never drops below $1 trillion, coming the closest in 2015, before rapidly exceeding $2 trillion in 2023.  The biggest problem is interest.  I think the Fed may be able to keep the rates low for an extended period of time, but I am following the OMB trends on what they think interest is likely to be.

Revenue Projections

The CRFB projects revenue (as a percent of GDP) as follows:

2013 17.3%
2014 18.2%
2015 18.3%
2016 18.2%
2017 18.4%
2018 18.4%
2019 18.4%
2020 18.4%
2021 18.5%
2022 18.6%

The Military Retirement Fund

It's projected to grow 300% over the next 10 years.  This is because the MRF gets special treatment:
"MRF uniquely benefits from a special law that obligates the Treasury Department to pay MRF an annual amount equal to a portion of the unfunded obligations of MRF. The law requires the Treasury to make the payment in “Warrants” (decidedly non-cash). The annual amount is calculated using a complex actuarial formula that is designed to eliminate 100% of the unfunded portion at MRS by 2026."

Social Security and the FERS also have large unfunded liabilities, but they are not entitled to have them covered with Treasury warrants.  "Those dependent on SS or FERS do not have the legal protection that MRS has. How can this be? As the annual cost of protecting military pensions skyrockets over the next few years, there will have to be political fallout. This will be an interesting war: the Retired American People versus the US Military. Who will win?"
--http://brucekrasting.blogspot.com/2012/05/military-winning-war-over-pensions.html

Projected Interest

I don't know how OMB calculates projected net interest, but it is higher than mine for 2016 onward.  So here are the numbers:

2013 246
2014 305
2015 384
2016 480
2017 570
2018 645
2019 716
2020 782
2021 846
2022 915

"Fiscal Year 2013, Budget of the U.S. Government", OMB Budget, pg 208.