The Cupertino Courier
News
Tough times ahead for world economy
By Crystal Lu
Mitchell Levy, an expert in predicting economic trends, told the Rotary Club of Cupertino on Jan. 16 that he believes the United States will not be considered the world's No. 1 economic power in five years.
"A couple of years ago I thought this would happen in 10 to 20 years," said Levy. "But now I think it's going to happen sooner."
Levy, director of the Silicon Valley Executive Business Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said China is likely to exceed the U.S. One reason, he said, is that China has 700,000 graduates annually in science and engineering.
Levy, who has been publicizing annual predictions on the economy since 1998, also talked about the top 10 business trends of 2008 based on a survey of 1,500 executives worldwide. The trends are a summary of their views on the U.S. and world economy in 2008.
Levy said this will be a difficult year of more banking crises and rising gas prices, and outlined the other nine business trends of 2008 as:
*Global warming and environmental concerns will affect business.
*The U.S. dollar will continue to decline.
*Home ownership, the largest asset most people have, will become somewhat of a liability, as loans become harder to get and mortgages are less affordable.
*The Internet will continue to grow.
*The rise of China and India will continue to threaten the U.S. as the leader of the world economy.
*The Internet will bring about change in marketing and advertising.
*More mobile devices will hit the marketplace.
*Market pressures will foster more innovation.
*High-tech and software products will evolve dramatically.
To cope with these trends, Levy advised businesses to watch their spending, invest in environmentally friendly ventures, invest out of the country, find new ways of marketing and advertising, continue outsourcing and develop mobile products. He also suggested making more use of the Internet by experimenting with Facebook and YouTube.
Levy serves as chief executive officer of Happy About, a Cupertino-based publisher that publishes a book on economic forecast every year among other books on business and issues of public concern.
In addition to Happy About Knowing What to Expect in 2008, Happy About has published two more books for the year, Global Warming and A Female or an African American President? Levy edited all three books.
When a Rotary member asked Levy about his survey of executives on the presidential election, Levy said the East Coast and West Coast are more ready for a female or an African American president than the Midwest. But some bi-coastal responses questioned if Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are the right candidates regardless of their gender or ethnic background.
For more information about the business trends of 2008, visit www.happyabout.info.