When I write in these daily columns, I try to give my readers insights and ideas they will not find in the mainstream financial news sites. The media likes to harp on what they believe is a popular news story. Right now, for the financial media, the focus is on the fiscal cliff—but the reality is that the effects of the fiscal cliff happening or not happening have been discounted by the stock market long ago. Here’s what I believe the real news is… As we enter 2013, the global economy is facing an economic slowdown . No matter which continent you look at, countries are facing economic pressures. And what happens when individual countries facing economic slowdowns reduce their purchases of exports from the U.S. economy? Or what happens to the profits of U.S.-based multinational companies when world demand for their goods or services softens? Japan, the third-largest economy in the world, has fallen back into recession, joining debt-infested eurozone regions. As the Japanese economy—or any other economy for that matter—sees further economic slowdown, its demand for goods and services from the U.S. will decrease. To put it into context, in 2011, the U.S. economy exported $66.2 billion of goods and $47.6 billion worth of services to the Japanese economy. (Source: Congressional Research Services, May 29, 2012.) These figures will be lower this year and lower in 2013 as Japan grapples with another economic slowdown—its fifth recession in less than 20 years. (See “ Following the Example: Eight Rounds of Money Printing Later, Japan Falls into Recession for the Fifth Time .” ) Right now, Japan and the eurozone are not the only regions in the global economy facing severe economic slowdown. Other major countries are slowing, but not to the degree of the slowdown in Japan and the eurozone. The Chinese economy is slowing—exports are falling, corporate profits are declining—but it will still see economic growth this year (albeit, at the slowest pace since 2009). It doesn’t stop there; Australia has been going through an economic slowdown. Australian retail sales in October were stagnant from the prior month, as consumers cut back on spending. (Source: Reuters, December 2, 2012.) Up to October of this year, the U.S. economy has exported $26.1 billion worth of goods to Australia. (Source: Census Bureau, last accessed December 13, 2012.) With what you have just read above, is it realistic to think that the U.S. economy to get going in 2013? The answer isn’t a difficult one. Negative earnings growth for the S&P 500 companies in the third quarter of 2012—the first time that has happened in 11 quarters—is a signal of how American companies are starting to suffer ... Read More