World EconomyDr. Nisit Panthamitnisitp@gmail.com

1. Will Iran ready to take off?

Oil Price

Which Western companies are taking a hit in Russia?

‘Time bomb’: Aging population may explode global economy by 2050

• The number of people over 60 years old has doubled in the past 30 years and is expected to grow at the same pace by 2050. Increasing pension payments at a time of massive layoffs could result in an unsupportable burden for the world’s economies.

• By the middle of the century more than 3 million people will be older than one hundred years, says the business daily RBC, quoting a United Nations report. Today the number of 100-year-olds is about 300,000.

• Improved quality of health care, intensive developments in medicine, expanding access to education and economic well-being make a longer lifetime possible. But while mankind may rejoice in the opportunity of long-life, the aging population brings new challenges.

Declining Population Could Reduce Global Economic Growth By 40%

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Examples of regional trade agreements

• Among the best known are • - The European Union, • - The European Free Trade Association (EFTA), • - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), • - The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), • - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area

(AFTA), and • - The Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

Educating the World

China Just Overtook The US As The World's Largest Economy

• Inbound travel to Japan has more than doubled to 13.4 million travelers in the 10 years ended 2014, according to Japan National Tourism Administration; travelers from Asia accounted for 81% of that total, with those from China numbering 2.4 million, four times the number of a decade earlier. The share of Chinese households with annual disposable income over $55,000 has tripled just in five years, according to data provider Euromonitor.

• At Bic Camera, Mr. Endo said rice cookers for foreign travelers range from ¥20,000 to ¥100,000, but most foreign customers buy models costing more than ¥50,000—and purchases of more than 10 at a time aren’t uncommon.