Blog Posts by Stacy Curtin

China's economy will be bigger than the U.S. economy by 2016, says the IMF, using a special measure of economic size called "purchasing price parity."

Measured in dollars, the U.S. GDP will still be 70% bigger than China's by then, but the trend is unmistakable: At some point, barring a wreck of China's economic freight train, China will eclipse the U.S. to become the largest economy in the world.

What will this mean?

Well, psychologically, it will mean that Americans will have to get used to the idea that they're not the biggest kid on the block anymore. For most participants in the global economy, China will have become the most important trading partner and market, and China's economic policies, not America's, will dominate the global conversation.

Similarly, and perhaps more momentously, China's military will eventually be larger than the U.S.'s, which will mean the U.S. will no longer be the most powerful country in the world. It's easier to have influence over other countries

Europe's sovereign debt crisis just got a bit bleaker today. Both Greece and Portugal's 2010 budget deficits came in worse than expected.

Greece was expected to ring up a deficit equaling 9.4% of gross domestic product. But when the finally tally was in, the country's actual deficit totaled 10.5% of GDP, according to Eurostat, Europe's statistics agency, which just released it annual debt figures for the Eurozone. And the country's overall debt climbed to 142% of GDP, a level not seen in over a decade.

As for Portugal, its deficit was expected to equal 7.3% of GDP, but came in much higher at 9.1%. The country has a total debt-to-GDP ratio of 93% and is very likely to be next in line (behind Ireland and Greece) for a bailout.

This news comes after Greece took drastic austerity measures as part of its bailout agreement last year to rein in its deficit and overall debt load, begging the question: Is austerity all it's cracked up to be?

The Daily Ticker asked the same question last month

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline stands at $3.86 -- more than 30 cents higher than just one month ago, according to AAA's fuel gauge report.

In an effort to combat rising prices, and presumably sway public opinion, President Obama last Thursday tasked the Justice Department with investigating the oil markets for evidence of fraud and manipulation that could artificially push up the price of gas, including the role of speculators.

Just a week before Obama's announcement of the new task force, Goldman Sachs released a note to clients that put a number on the impact speculators were having on the price of crude oil. The report indicated that, at the time, the speculation premium was $27 per barrel of crude oil, which hit $113.46 during early trading that same day.

That translates into 70 cents per gallon at the pump, according to Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy Program and a longtime consumer advocate for better regulation of the oil markets.

From big cars to little cars, to cars with no roofs and cars that can run with little or no gas, there is something for everyone at the New York International Auto Show, which starts today at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan.

And with the value of a dollar more important than ever these days, lest one forget the importance of comparing luxury and affordability.

The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task is actually in the market for a new car and wanted to find out just how much bang he can get for his buck on both ends of the price spectrum.

The Mission: Find the most expensive and exotic car and compare it to one of least expensive and more realistic cars on display.

Aaron met up with the president of the show Mark Schienberg to find some answers. Watch the video and read on for what he found!

The 2011 New York International Auto Show kicks off Friday at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Nearly 1,000 cars will be displayed for both car enthusiasts and those in search of the perfect new car to check out.

The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task got a sneak peek yesterday and met up with Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl who says the big theme at this year's show is fuel efficiency.

With the average price for a gallon of gas approaching $4 this may come as no surprise. But, beyond the large focus on hybrid and electric cars, a comeback of sorts is in the making.

"If you look beneath the headlines, there has been a lot of progress in terms of just the plain old internal combustion engine," Anwyl says. Many of these smaller cars are offering better mileage per gallon (mpg) and fewer emissions at really competitive prices.

He points to these three examples:

• Chevrolet's Cruze Eco which offers 42 mpg on the highway, 28 mpg in the city and has a starting market sticker price of $16,525.

Gold, silver and other commodities continue to fly higher as concerns over sovereign debt in Europe and here in the U.S. intensify. The spot price for gold hit $1500 for the first time ever on Tuesday before settling slightly lower. And, silver hit a 31-year high.

These record prices came a day after Standard and Poor's reduced its outlook on U.S. debt from stable to negative. (See: "Reasons for Concern": Stocks Tumble After S&P Cuts U.S. Debt Outlook)

More evidence today that the digital age is here -- and here to stay, in case there was any doubt in your mind.

E-book sales topped sales of paperbacks for the first time ever in February, according to the Association of American Publishers. In fact, e-book sales tripled -- soaring 202 percent -- to $90.3 million when compared with February 2010. Adult trade paperback sales trailed at $82.1 million.

The one-month surge in e-book sales is largely due to the post-holiday season, as consumers who received e-readers or tablets as a gift loaded up on new reading content. Also factoring in was the horrible winter weather that hit several parts of the country and prevented consumers from getting to brick and mortar stores.

The U.S. housing market has been hit hard over and over again since the subprime mortgage bubble burst. Several years later, things have yet to look up. (See: The Housing Market Sucks — And Could Take Years to Correct)

Today RealtyTrac reported foreclosure activity actually slowed by 15% in the first quarter of this year from last quarter to nearly 700,000 foreclosures. And, that drop was 27% lower when compared to the same period in 2010.

But as The Daily Ticker has reported before, bad news lies beneath these seemingly rosy numbers.

"[The housing market] is still facing the dual threat of a looming shadow inventory of distressed properties and the probability that foreclosure activity will begin to increase again as lenders and servicers gradually work their way through the backlog of thousands of foreclosures that have been delayed due to improperly processed paperwork," said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

To add insult to injury, as foreclosures continue to