These maps of the world's economies will make you forget about China

It has been a turbulent few months for the markets, led by China's economic rebalancing.

But with all the talk of Asia's slowing growth, it's easy to forget about two of the other big drags on on the global economic outlook – Brazil and Russia.

HSBC has put together a few handy maps to illustrate how the world is doing.

Admittedly, Brazil and Russia have large land masses so may look disproportionately bad in bright red. But they are also the largest two of only a handful of economies to experience negative growth.


Here's the map of gross-domestic-product (GDP) growth:

 
Brazil contracted 2.6% in the past year, while Russia's economy shrank by 4.6%.

The two countries have also been the hardest hit by inflation out of the big global economies. Russia's inflation rate is up at 15.6% (coupled with an 11% interest rate), while Brazil's inflation is over 9%.


The inflation map:

But perhaps even more worrying for Russia is the country's demographic problem. Russia's working-age population growth is expected to stay stagnant while accelerating in the rest of the world.

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After months of experimenting with all-day breakfast in several markets, McDonald's will make it available nationwide starting October 6.

McDonald's is making a host of changes in a bid to turn around slumping sales. Now comes breakfast all the time.

Customers will be offered a selection of muffins or biscuits, depending on the location of the restaurant. The menu also includes hotcake platters and sausage burritos. McDonald's has been testing all-day breakfast since March and told franchisees to prepare for an October launch.

The company is juggling two objectives at odds with one another: appeasing unhappy franchisees who want to cull the menu, while launching new offerings to boost sales. In July, a McDonald's spokesperson said all-day breakfast "is likely the number one request" from customers.

McDonald's (MCD) CEO Steve Easterbrook took the reins in March, inheriting a 15% profit decline in 2014. He outlined a turn around strategy about two months later, focusing on an internal reorganization and plans to franchise more restaurants. He offered few details on how the company would improve food quality and enhance its brand image -- two of its biggest challenges.

The latest announcement comes as competitors ramp up their breakfast offerings. Taco Bell launched an ad campaign that targets millennial customers, urging them to "shake off the shackles of boring breakfast."

LeAnn Richards, a franchisee who owns eight restaurants in Arizona, led the task force that studied the implication of the expanded menu. Richards said restaurants needed a dedicated egg griddle so that the kitchen could cook eggs at the same as chicken and burgers. Restaurants that offer McMuffins also needed a toaster exclusively for the muffins.

Mike Andres, president of McDonald's USA, said the changes will cost between $500 and $5,000 for each franchisee and that McDonald's will help pay for them. He declined to provide a specific breakdown of the split.

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A major global financial crisis takes place every now and then. But what determines the timing of their appearance? Is it just a matter of coincidence? Or does it involve a mystical reason? An ancient biblical custom may answer this question.

In his most recent book, Jonathan Cahn has pointed out that almost all of the major financial crashes in U.S. history were very closely tied to a ‘seven year’ pattern known in the Bible as “the Shemitah”.

A written in the Bible, the people of Israel were commanded to let the land lie fallow every seven years. There would be no sowing and no reaping, something that people at the time took very seriously. In fact, the failure to observe these Shemitah years was one of the main reasons cited in the scriptures for why the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon in 586 BC.

But there was more to the Shemitah year than just letting the land lie fallow. On the last day of the Shemitah year, the people of Israel were instructed to perform a releasing of debts. This happened at the end of every seven years on Elul 29 – the day right before Rosh Hashanah on the Biblical calendar.

So what does this have to do with us today?

Well, if you go back to the last day of the Shemitah year in 2001, you will find that there was an absolutely horrifying stock market crash.

At the end of the next Shemitah year in 2008, another horrifying stock market crash took place.

And now we are in another Shemitah year. It began last fall, and it will end next September. So is it possible that we will see another historic market crash?

We are going to find soon. The last day of the year, Elul 29 on the Hebrew calendar, which will occur on Sept. 13, 2015, is the most dreaded day, if something would to happen that will be the time.  

This mysterious explanation is gaining momentum and making people fear from the near future to come. It is most widely discussed at India, where people are preparing for the worst.

We here at SignalsBinary have our doubts about this mystical argument. At the same time, if this theory will gain further momentum it could affect the Markets. Remember, every movement in the stock market is determined by people and people are moved by their feelings. In this case things can play out as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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Apple wants to make its own TV shows and movies, according to a new report.

Apple has been meeting with Hollywood executives with an eye toward making its own original TV shows and movies, Variety reports.

The news comes just more than a week before Apple's September 9 event, where it's expected to launch the next version of its Apple TV set-top device.

According to Variety's sources, a division of Apple that reports to iTunes frontman Eddy Cue has been sounding this out for a while. While accounts vary, apparently Apple is looking to make Netflix-style long-form TV content.

In fact, the report says, Apple made an "unprecedented bid" for "Top Gear" hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond after they left the BBC car-enthusiast show in July. Apparently, Apple ultimately lost to Amazon, which offered $36 million for Clarkson alone.

This move would ratchet up competition with Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon in an effort by Apple to strengthen its own content platform and make the Apple TV a more differentiated device in a crowded marketplace.

Currently, the iTunes store only sells episodes a la carte, but given Apple Music's monthly all-you-can-stream subscription fee structure, it's certainly feasible that it could move to a Netflix-style subscription plan for this content, too.

The news comes as Apple is also reportedly seeking to create an over-the-top streaming television service, which would bundle several cable channels and be available through the Apple TV device. Apple has apparently been negotiating with various media companies for quite some time, but a streaming video service could arrive as soon as next year for a starting price of $40 a month, 9to5Mac recently reported.

Apple's plan to create its own original content is apparently still in the early phase, and will likely not get announced at next week's event. Still, if this report pans out, it's a sign that Apple is even more serious about its TV ambitions.

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In a documentary-style video, the group presented its new currency, claiming to circulate its own gold coins.

The Islamic State militant group has claimed to have started its own currency by minting coins and described the move as a “second blow” to the U.S. after 9/11, according to a newly released video.

In the documentary-style video, the radical group presented its new currency, claiming to have started minting and circulating its own gold coins.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), in the video, described the step as a “second blow to the United States and its capitalist financial system of enslavement”, after the 9/11 attacks, according to SITE intelligence group.

In the video entitled “The Rise of the Khilafah and the Return of the Gold Dinar” released on Saturday, the ISIS shows the smelting of gold, silver and copper coins.

The new ISIS currency comes in several denominations of gold, silver and copper, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The coins are imprinted with Islamic symbols and “are completely void of human and animal images in accordance with Shariah law,” according to the narrator in the propaganda video. The reverse side of one coin shows seven wheat stalks, “representing the blessing of spending in the path of Allah,” says the narrator.

The video, narrated in English with Arabic subtitles, begins with an extensive analysis on “the capitalist financial system of enslavement, underpinned by a piece of paper called the Federal Reserve dollar note,” and the corruption that allowed for the American destruction of the monetary system.

Last year in November, ISIS had announced its plans to mint its own currency in gold, silver and copper. It had stated back then that the aim of the currency was to stay away from the “tyrant’s financial system“.

ISIS is considered to be one of the richest terror groups in history. Theft, oil smuggling, extortion and human trafficking are considered some of the sources of income for the extremist group that has taken over large territories in Syria and Iraq.

The U.S. officials say that ISIS has become a self-sustaining financial force, as the group earns more than $3 million a day.

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We saw the good, bad and ugly side of fear over the global economy last week.

The Dow fell 1,000 points shortly after it opened Monday as global markets nosedived and fears about the scale of China's economic slowdown rippled across the world.

The Dow also had its best 2-day rally in its history on Thursday, after finding out that the U.S. economy is doing pretty well.

And, oh, the Fed sent mixed signals -- again! -- about a possible interest rate hike in September, less than three weeks from now.

The solid and steady U.S. economy still stands out against all the global turmoil. And next Friday's crucial jobs report will provide an important check-up on America that could confirm the strength of the economy.

This jobs report is especially key because it plays a big role in the Fed's decision -- the central bank could raise its benchmark interest rates for the first time in a decade in September.

If the American job market looks strong, it could push Fed committee members towards a September rate hike, despite the latest turmoil in the global stock market.

A good amount of job gain is anything above 200,000 jobs.

Everyone will pay extra attention to wage growth Friday -- it's a key measure of inflation, one of two key yardsticks for the Fed to justify a rate hike.

The Fed's committee holds a key meeting 10 days after the jobs report comes out. There are only two other important pieces of data (retail sales and inflation) coming after this. So this jobs report holds a lot of weight.

We just learned that the U.S. economy had a better first half than previously thought -- the Commerce Department significantly revised U.S. economic growth between April and June from 2.3% to 3.7%.

"If you look at the U.S. economic numbers, there is a pretty good case for September," says Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

A rate hike would be a vote of confidence from the Fed on the U.S. economy's health and its future direction. However, investors fear a Fed rate hike could hinder momentum for the 6-year old bull market. The global economy -- specifically China and its impact -- could outweigh any good U.S. economic progress.

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Facebook hit an unprecedented benchmark: One billion users in a single day.

That happened for the first time on Monday, and co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the milestone on Thursday. He noted in a Facebook (FB, Tech30) post that a billion users is equal to about 1 in 7 people on Earth.

"When we talk about our financials, we use average numbers, but this is different," Zuckerberg wrote. "This was the first time we reached this milestone, and it's just the beginning of connecting the whole world."

The company reported in July that it had about 1.5 billion people logging on at least once a month.

Zuckerberg said Monday's achievement is significant because it's a platform that lets users interact.

"A more open and connected world is a better world. It brings stronger relationships with those you love, a stronger economy with more opportunities, and a stronger society that reflects all of our values," he said.

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Virginia TV journalists killed by suspect with 'powder keg' of anger.

Two television journalists were shot to death during a live broadcast in Virginia on Wednesday, slain by a former employee of the TV station and who called himself a "powder keg" of anger over what he saw as racial discrimination at work and elsewhere in the United States.

The suspect, 41-year-old Vester Flanagan, shot himself as police pursued him on a Virginia highway hours after the shooting. Flanagan, who was African-American, died later at a hospital, police said.

The journalists who were killed were reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27. Both journalists were white, as is a woman who they were interviewing. The woman was wounded and was in stable condition, a hospital spokesman said.

Social media postings by a person who appeared to be Flanagan indicated the suspect had grievances against the station, CBS affiliate WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Virginia, which let him go two years ago. The person also posted video that appeared to show the attack filmed from the gunman's vantage point.

Flanagan sent ABC News a 23-page fax about two hours after the shooting, saying his attack was triggered by the June 17 mass shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, the network said. Nine people were killed, and a white man has been charged in that rampage.

The network cited Flanagan as saying he had suffered racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work. He had been attacked by black men and white women, and for being a gay black man, he said.

"The church shooting was the tipping point ... but my anger has been building steadily," ABC News cited the fax as saying. "I've been a human powder keg for a while ... just waiting to go BOOM!"

The on-air shooting occurred at about 6:45 a.m. EDT at Bridgewater Plaza, a Smith Mountain Lake recreation site about 200 miles (320 km) southwest of Washington.

The broadcast was abruptly interrupted by the sound of gunshots as Parker and the woman being interviewed, Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, screamed and ducked for cover.

Hours after the shooting, someone claiming to have filmed it posted video online. The videos were posted to a Twitter account and on Facebook by a man identifying himself as Bryce Williams, which was Flanagan's on-air name.

The videos were removed shortly afterward. In one video, a handgun was clearly visible as the person filming approached the female reporter.

The person purporting to be Williams also posted, "I filmed the shooting see Facebook" as well as saying one of the victims had "made racist comments."

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Finally, some good news this week. the U.S. economy was in even better shape than we thought between April and June.

The U.S. economy grew 3.7% in the second quarter, a very big upward revision than the first official estimate, 2.3%, according to the Commerce Department's measure of gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity. Economists projected the new number to be 3.2%.

Thursday's upward revision is welcome news as China's slowing economy is sparking volatility in stock markets, plunging currencies in emerging markets and potentially delaying a rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Construction and business spending rose in the three months, helping drive the overall GDP number up.

The good economic data only increases the speculation about when the Fed will raise its key interest rate. For much of the summer, economists believed the Fed would do a rate hike in September. But with China's devaluation of the Yuan, and the recent turmoil in U.S. stock markets, the consensus is gradually shifting to December for a rate hike.

New York Fed President William Dudley says a September rate hike is "less compelling," now, but he didn't completely rule it out either.

Even Dudley mentioned on Wednesday that he anticipated GDP going higher, and he said the U.S. economy is still doing well.

Rate hike rumblings aside, the revised GDP figure shows that the U.S. economy is still having a solid year despite all the headwinds abroad.

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After looking like they were going to make it six losses from six sessions, Chinese stocks staged a ridiculously large rally in the final 45 minutes of trade, closing Thursday’s session with mammoth 5% plus gains.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index, having traded higher for most of the session, looked like it was going to fall yet again into the close, slipping into negative territory with less than an hour to trade.

Then, just when it looked like all hope was lost, it began to surge higher, then higher, and then higher again. In the space of just 46 minutes, the index staged a turnaround of 6.11%, eventually closing the session up an enormous 5.39%. It was ridiculous, and reeked of government intervention.

Whatever the reason, it was the largest one-day percentage increase since July 9 this year, and trimmed the index’s weekly loss to only 12.04%.

Yes, it’s been that kind of week. Unsurprisingly, all sectors finished in the black with financials, up 6.16%, leading the charge higher.

Given chatter yesterday that government-backed bodies – China’s so-called “national team” – were buying heavily in state-owned banks, this fits with the theory that the government were likely responsible for the breakneck late rally.

As was the case on Wednesday, large-cap stock indices outperformed their smaller peers. The SSE 50, comprising large-cap stocks listed in Shanghai, surged by 7.87% while the CSI 300 added an equally-impressive 5.95%.

While they lagged their larger compatriots, the CSI 500, Shenzhen Composite and ChiNext indices – brimming with small-cap stocks – all rose by more than 3%. So the five-day, 20% plus losing streak for stocks has come to a spectacular end.

However, with the benchmark Shanghai composite index still down 40.42% from its June 12 peak, it’s unlikely to convince many that the rout in stocks is over yet.

One day does not make a trend, and there’s little doubt that extreme oversold conditions, coupled with likely government intervention, played a significant role in the late rally today.

It will be interesting for many observers to see whether the extreme gains can be sustained tomorrow.

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