2008 was a mess. Everything changed from great to being a disaster. The markets were down and most of the world’s leading economies slipped into recession.

For most of the world 2009 is not looking any brighter. The United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and Japan are all expecting a standstill of their economies or a recession.

For the first time in decades we are facing a situation where the fastest growing economies will be countries that are virtually unheard of in the western world.

5 fastest growing economies in 2009

Here is a list of top 5 fastest growing countries as predicted by The Economist.

5. China – 8% GDP Growth

China is the only superpower that makes the list of fastest growing countries in 2009. This second largest exporting country (Germany is no 1) has the world’s largest population of 1.3 billion potential consumers. While the rich world is in recession and Chinese exports are taking a hit – China is relying on the growing demand for products from its own people. Thanks to the expanding middle class Chinese economy is as strong as ever.

4. Malawi - 8.3% GDP Growth

This small southeast African country is one of the poorest in the world. For the last few years it has had a democratic government that is rapidly increasing living conditions throughout the country. In addition to having large uranium deposits Malawi is mostly known as an exporter of tobacco, coffee, sugar and tea.

After president Bingu wa Mutharika started a fertilizer program intended to boost crop production Malawi is doing better than ever. The program has radically improved agriculture and allows to export more goods – thus leaving Malawi unaffected from the global recession.

3. Congo (Brazzaville) – 8.5% GDP Growth

This central African country gets most of its income from selling oil, gas and petroleum. Most people live in the capital Brazzaville or in one of the small cities along the countries one and only 332-mile (534 km) railway.

In 1997 a 5 month civil war erupted in Congo – when it ended, president Sassou Nguesso expressed interest in economic reforms with the intent to take the country out of poverty. This reforms are still taking place today.

2. Angola – 9.8% GDP Growth

Just like in the rest of the world – economy in Angola is actually slowing down. In 2005 and 2006 it boasted with economic growth of around 20%. Almost all of the countries economic growth comes from oil and Angola’s ability to sell more of it every following year.

Angola has increased its oil production so much that as of 2007 it is the largest supplier of oil to China.

1. Qatar – 13.4% GDP Growth

It seems that being one of the richest countries in the world is not enough for Qatar. While being a poor country in the past, Qatar discovered huge reserves of oil and gas in the 1940-s,that completely transformed its economy.

Qatar offers most of its services to its citizens for free and has no income tax. The amount of money they get from selling oil is more than enough for their small yet thriving economy.

Never heard about most of these countries?

Don’t worry – neither have your friends. If you leave China out of this list then the combined gross domestic product for Qatar, Angola, Congo and Malawi is about the same as the GDP of Hong Kong (and Hong Kong is just 1 city – although very large).

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“Never make predictions, especially about the future.”
Casey Stengel

One of the worst things you can do is to predict the future. Your predictions will almost always be wrong and you will look like a fool. Looking back – you have no idea how you couldn’t even predict the simplest of things.

Regardless, here are the predictions of Financial Jesus for 2009.

1. The dollar will fall 20% or more against the Chinese yuan.
2. The price of gold will be up 10% by the end of the year, as uncertain investors will be looking to gold for support.
3. The price of oil will stay between 40 and 60 dollars for the most of the year and will rise to as high as 75 dollars per barrel by the end of 2009.
4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average will be up about 15%. If you correlate this with the falling dollar it will actually mean that those investing in the US will actually lose money.
5. The world economy will not recover from the financial crisis by the end of 2009. We will see the making of an economic crisis that has its roots in the credit crunch of 2008.
6. There will not be any more major bank failures. The governments of the world will not let that happen. We will possibly see governments taking proactive steps to save banks and other major companies before they are in actual trouble.
7. None of the three big US auto companies will fail in 2009. They will get enough help to just “hang in there” for a year or possible more – only then will we see a failure among the big three.
8. The housing market does not bounce back. We will see falling prices throughout next year.
9. Inflation in the US rises. Fears of deflation are largely without grounds and are only fueled by the falling real estate prices. Oil and gas will be on the rise and will therefore help to fuel the inflation.
10. Obama’s stimulus package passes in his first months in office but it fails to address the real problems. This is sadly realized only toward the end of 2009.
11. More bailout money will be needed by large companies. The government can’t deny their help because “everyone will already expect them to help”.
12. US economy will not come out of recession.
13. There will be an assassination attempt on Barack Obama. If you won’t hear about it, it is because it will be kept secret. (Yes, I just made sure that at least 1 prediction will become true)
14. Apple will launch a smaller version of the iPhone. Let’s call it the iPhone nano.
15. Financial Jesus will end the year with more than 1000 subscribers.

“My predictions are notably inaccurate.”
Robert Caro

“I figure lots of predictions is best. People will forget the ones I get wrong and marvel over the rest.”
Alan Cox

What are your predictions for the coming year? Let us know in the comments so we can find the best fortune teller when we sum things up in the end of 2009!

Have you noticed how everyone is talking about the high gas prices lately? Aren’t you fed up already? I am!

Talking about high gas prices seems to be the new national past time. A lot of people offline and even more online, are suddenly talking about how much they have to pay for gas.

There is also a growing number of people telling you that the current prices are nothing – you should see the gas prices in Europe! It’s true that the gas in Europe costs about $8 to $9 per gallon on average and even a bit more in some countries.

High prices make me feel bad.

If you know that it’s even worse somewhere else, it won’t make you happy. Just the opposite – It makes me feel even worse!

10 countries with cheapest gas

Today I am trying to make everyone a bit happier! Here is a list of 10 countries that have the cheapest gas prices in the world!

10. United Arab Emirates – $1.40/gallon or $0.37/liter

United Arab Emirates is a nice country to live in. In addition to having one of the cheapest gas prices in the world they are also the 4th rich country in the world.

Did you know that Ferrari Enzo takes a lot more gas than Toyota Prius? Thinking about it this way, makes it only logical to have super cheap gas for super rich people and there super expensive cars!

9. Egypt – $1.21/gallon or $0.32/litre

Starting from 1979 Egypt has gotten an average of $2.2 billion a year as foreign aid from the US. It’s only fair – the money to buy all that cheap gas has to come from somewhere!

8. Bahrain – $1.02/gallon or 0.27/liter

This small island country has a total area of only 266 mi² (665 km²). If you decide to drive around the island you should know that this trip will be about 100 miles (161 km). So why not give the people gas with dirt cheap prices? How much gas do they need anyway? It’s not like there are some far away destinations you could drive to.

7. Qatar – $0.83/gallon or $0.22/litre

If you would be the government of this second richest country in the world you wouldn’t want the people to pay too much for gas. After all – they can get mad at you if they don’t have enough money to buy their second airplane! So of course, it makes sense to keep gas prices really low in Qatar.

6. Kuwait – $0.79/gallon or 0.21$/liter

It’s pretty much the same deal in Kuwait as in Qatar! But Kuwait is only the 4th richest country in the world, so it makes sense that gas in Kuwait is a bit cheaper than in Qatar! People in Kuwait probably can’t afford the prices Qatar has!

5. Saudi Arabia – $0.45/gallon or $0.12/litre

When King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visits foreign countries he usually goes with 6 planes – 1 for himself and his sons and another 5 for his closest friends. Everyone knows that planes consume a lot of fuel! Now if they would only lower the price a little bit they could afford to take with them that 7th personal Boeing 747.

4. Iran – $0.42/gallon or $0.11/liter

At current rate of production it is estimated that Iran will run out of oil in 74 years. They are trying to get rid of it faster by giving it away with really cheap prices.

3. Nigeria – $0.38/gallon or $0.10/litre

Nigeria has the 10th largest oil reserves in the world. They also have about 150 million people and a history of violence. Mix this with a government that is corrupt and want to keep the money they get from selling oil to other countries for more than $4/gallon (about $1.1/liter) it makes sense that they keep the local prices down. You don’t want to make the people mad, overthrow the government and kill everyone they don’t like! You can’t use the money after you die, can you?

2. Turkmenistan – $0.30/gallon or $0.08/liter

Turkmenistan is by far the coolest country on the list. Until December 2006 it was ruled by president for life Saparmurat_Niyazov. Some cool things he has done:

• Officially named the months of the year after his family members
• Won a “democratic election” with 99.9% of the votes!
• Closed down all rural libraries – “Ordinary Turkmenistan people don’t read books”

1. Venezuela – $0.19/gallon or 0.05$/litre

Venezuela is run by president Hugo Chavez – a quite well known guy for those who are following international politics. He is a lot into socialism. This includes having the state take control of privately held companies and doing pretty much whatever he thinks helps his people to have a better life.  The nice thing is that when he does something major he always asks the opinion of the people! If you had to vote would you rather choose high or low gas prices?

Take a road trip

Next time you are going on a road trip consider these countries. Cheap prices and guaranteed experiences!

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If you live on any of the above countries there is probably no need to check out the following post

10 ways to cut down on fuel costs

A huge marketing campaign started across Europe today with the goal to save fuel, money and the environment.

Over 40 oil companies, 45 000 gas stations and 29 countries are taking part.

Here are 10 things the marketing campaign is recommending people to do.

1. Service your car and check the oil level regularly
2. Check tire pressure once a month
3. Take everything that you don’t need out of the trunk and from your back seat.
4. Close your car windows when you are driving fast
5. Only use the air conditioner when it’s absolutely necessary
6. Start driving soon after starting the engine and stop the motor if the car is not driving for more than 1 minute.
7. Drive with a reasonable speed and smoothly
8. When accelerating shift to a faster car as soon as possible (Most cars in Europe use the “stick”)
9. Try to sense what is going to happen in the traffic before it happens
10. Share your car with others.

If you ask me, these recommendations are quite simple and can even seem somewhat stupid to a person who knows a little about saving gas.

I have a feeling that Europe needs this campaign badly – the average gas price is about 8 to 9 dollars per gallon.

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If you are fed up with tips about how to save fuel you should check out this post

10 countries with cheapest gas prices in the world