China is now the top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) Overtakes US

China is now the top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) overtaking the United States, for the first time since 2003.

In 2014, foreign direct investment to China reached $128bn (£84,8bn), while $86bn in the US, according to the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development.

The growth in China's foreign investment has helped the services sector while the manufacturing slowed down due to falling orders. Globally, foreign investment fell by 8% to a total of $1.26tn last year.

That was the second lowest level since the start of the financial crisis, partly due to the "fragility" of the global economy last year amid geopolitical risks.

In the United States foreign investment dropped. The FDI flows to developed countries is down by 14% to about $511 billion, significantly affected by a large divestment in the United States.

US investment fell by two-thirds last year, mainly due to US firm Verizon buying back $130bn worth of shares in a joint venture from Vodafone in the UK.

The US is now third in the world for foreign investment, behind China and Hong Kong.

Its foreign investment fell by 63% last year, compared to 2013.

Top destinations for foreign direct investment in 2014
Source: UNCTAD PDF
China	$128bn
Hong Kong	$111bn
US	$86bn
Singapore	$81bn
Brazil	$62bn
UK	$61bn
Canada	$53bn
Australia	$49bn
Netherlands	$42bn
Luxembourg	$36bn

Economic Ranking of 300 World Cities 2014

Macau topped the 300 economic performance among 300 world cities for 2014. Macau a territory of China that is famous for gambling. The ranking was done by Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase it is based on growth in employment and in economic output per person. Cities in China and Turkey dominated the top of the rankings.

Bangkok, Thailand is in the last spot mainly because of the political uncertainties in the country. Macau on the other hand enjoyed a tourism boom with visitors coming from all over the world enjoying their tourist spots and casinos.

Cities in rich countries usually lag behind. But U.S. and British cities showed improvement with 3 cities in the U.S. Austin and Houston, Texas, and Raleigh, North Carolina are in the top 50. In the United Kingdom, London came in No. 26, Manchester No. 60.

27 of the to 50 cities are in China. Increasingly, strong growth occurred in the traditionally underdeveloped cities of China's interior, rather than its booming coastal cities. Land-locked Changsha, for instance, enjoyed economic growth per person of 8.6 percent last year and wound up No. 15 in the overall rankings.

Four cities in Turkey made the top 10 namely, Izmir, Istanbul, Bursa and Ankara.

Check out the list below:

1 Macau Macau 8.00% 4.20% 10
2 Turkey Izmir 2.00% 6.60% 8
3 Turkey Istanbul 2.00% 6.50% 17
4 Turkey Bursa 1.80% 6.40% 20
5 UAE Dubai 4.50% 4.70% 172
6 China Kunming 8.10% 2.90% 9
7 China Hangzhou 7.00% 3.30% 6
8 China Xiamen 8.60% 2.60% 1
9 Turkey Ankara 1.10% 5.70% 27
10 China Fuzhou 8.00% 2.70% 13
11 China Wulumuqi 7.40% 2.70% 15
12 Hungary Budapest 2.40% 4.70% 160
13 China Wuhan 9.30% 1.90% 29
14 China Ningbo 6.80% 2.80% 21
15 China Changsha 8.60% 1.80% 25
16 China Chengdu 8.10% 1.90% 18
17 China Wenzhou 6.60% 2.50% 26
18 India Delhi 4.40% 3.30% 36
19 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 4.10% 3.40% 4
20 China Hefei 9.50% 1.00% 14
21 China Nanning 7.20% 1.90% 2
22 China Nantong 6.90% 1.90% 12
23 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City 3.90% 3.10% 46
24 China Xuzhou 6.90% 1.80% 5
25 Saudi Arabia Riyadh 1.90% 3.90% 79
26 United Kingdom London 2.50% 3.60% 85
27 China Jinan 7.10% 1.70% 53
28 China Suzhou 6.70% 1.70% 7
29 China Qingdao 7.10% 1.60% 24
30 Bulgaria Sofia 2.50% 3.40% 261
31 China Huhehaote 7.80% 1.20% 33
32 India Kolkata 4.70% 2.50% 68
33 China Changzhou 6.80% 1.60% 16
34 Indonesia Jakarta 4.30% 2.60% 42
35 Saudi Arabia Jeddah-Mecca 2.40% 3.40% 153
36 China Tangshan 6.90% 1.50% 37
37 China Dongying 6.50% 1.70% 11
38 USA Austin 1.90% 3.60% 65
39 USA Houston 1.60% 3.70% 74
40 China Chongqing 7.30% 1.20% 28
41 USA Raleigh 0.80% 4.00% 112
42 China Baotou 7.50% 1.10% 23
43 China Yantai 6.80% 1.40% 30
44 China Nanjing 6.50% 1.50% 22
45 China Zhongshan 5.80% 1.80% 19
46 Colombia Medellin 4.20% 2.40% 57
47 Malaysia George Town 3.80% 2.60% 52
48 Peru Lima 2.90% 2.90% 54
49 USA Fresno -0.90% 4.50% 196
50 China Zibo 6.60% 1.30% 35
51 China Wuxi 6.40% 1.30% 3
52 India Mumbai 4.60% 2.10% 67
53 Canada Calgary 3.10% 2.70% 115
54 China Zhengzhou 7.80% 0.70% 38
55 China Nanchang 6.60% 1.20% 40
56 China Shijiazhuang 6.50% 1.20% 45
57 India Chennai 5.20% 1.70% 66
58 China Foshan 5.60% 1.50% 61
59 South Korea Daejon 3.00% 2.60% 90
60 United Kingdom Manchester 2.60% 2.80% 236
61 Singapore Singapore 1.80% 3.10% 48
62 Canada Edmonton -0.60% 4.00% 71
63 USA Dallas 0.80% 3.40% 94
64 China Shenzhen 5.10% 1.60% 31
65 USA Baton Rouge 1.50% 3.00% 138
66 USA Oklahoma City 1.80% 2.90% 103
67 China Beijing 4.70% 1.60% 58
68 USA Las Vegas 1.30% 3.00% 210
69 USA Grand Rapids 0.60% 3.30% 73
70 China Dongguan 5.20% 1.40% 80
71 United Kingdom Edinburgh 1.50% 2.90% 187
72 USA San Jose 0.20% 3.40% 72
73 USA Orlando 0.10% 3.50% 147
74 Canada Vancouver 3.70% 1.90% 132
75 Australia Perth 3.40% 2.10% 64
76 India Hyderabad (IN) 4.20% 1.70% 82
77 China Guangzhou 4.90% 1.40% 34
78 Egypt Alexandria 0.90% 3.00% 170
79 United Kingdom Bristol 2.10% 2.50% 269
80 Canada Quebec City 2.10% 2.40% 145
81 United Kingdom Liverpool 2.40% 2.30% 217
82 Egypt Cairo 0.70% 3.00% 41
83 USA Jacksonville 0.60% 3.00% 194
84 United Kingdom Nottingham-Derby 2.60% 2.20% 226
85 China Taiyuan 5.60% 0.90% 55
86 USA Nashville 0.70% 2.90% 76
87 India Bangalore 4.30% 1.40% 98
88 Colombia Bogota 3.20% 1.80% 60
89 South Korea Gwangju 2.80% 2.00% 89
90 China Zhuhai 4.40% 1.30% 50
91 United Kingdom Portsmouth-Southampton 2.10% 2.20% 227
92 China Shanghai 5.20% 0.90% 129
93 South Korea Daegu 3.10% 1.80% 84
94 Taiwan Taoyuan 3.70% 1.50% 59
95 USA Denver 0.80% 2.70% 116
96 United Kingdom Birmingham (UK) 2.20% 2.10% 206
97 Kuwait Kuwait 0.60% 2.70% 77
98 China Xi'an 7.20% 0.00% 49
99 USA Knoxville 1.30% 2.40% 183
100 USA Atlanta 1.50% 2.30% 169
101 United Kingdom Glasgow 2.60% 1.80% 290
102 China Changchun 7.20% -0.10% 44
103 USA Riverside 0.20% 2.80% 182
104 USA Portland 0.60% 2.60% 91
105 South Korea Seoul-Incheon 2.70% 1.70% 88
106 United Kingdom Leeds-Bradford 2.00% 2.00% 271
107 Morocco Casablanca 1.90% 2.10% 146
108 Poland Cracow 3.70% 1.30% 257
109 China Shenyang 6.70% 0.00% 39
110 USA Charlotte 1.10% 2.30% 110
111 USA Greenville 0.70% 2.40% 121
112 United Kingdom Sheffield 2.10% 1.80% 273
113 United Kingdom Newcastle 1.90% 1.90% 240
114 Australia Brisbane -0.40% 2.80% 180
115 USA Seattle 0.10% 2.50% 137
116 USA Miami -0.50% 2.80% 161
117 Taiwan Hsinchu 3.50% 1.10% 70
118 USA Salt Lake City -0.20% 2.70% 97
119 Poland Katowice-Ostrava 3.50% 1.10% 163
120 China Dalian 6.50% -0.20% 32
121 South Korea Busan-Ulsan 2.80% 1.30% 106
122 USA Sacramento 1.10% 2.00% 216
123 Portugal Lisbon 1.30% 2.00% 292
124 United Kingdom Cardiff-Newport 1.70% 1.70% 272
125 USA San Francisco -0.50% 2.60% 118
126 China Anshan 6.30% -0.30% 47
127 Taiwan Tainan 3.60% 0.90% 93
128 Taiwan Taichung 3.10% 1.00% 87
129 Portugal Porto 1.00% 1.90% 294
130 Taiwan Kaohsiung 3.50% 0.90% 101
131 USA San Antonio -0.20% 2.40% 107
132 Poland Warsaw 1.90% 1.50% 127
133 USA Phoenix 0.70% 2.00% 159
134 Ireland Dublin 1.70% 1.50% 288
135 Taiwan Taipei 2.90% 1.00% 86
136 USA Milwaukee 1.30% 1.60% 211
137 UAE Abu Dhabi 0.30% 2.10% 78
138 USA Durham 1.20% 1.70% 231
139 Philippines Manila 4.10% 0.50% 69
140 USA Indianapolis 0.60% 1.90% 144
141 USA Tampa 0.70% 1.80% 171
142 USA San Diego -0.40% 2.30% 162
143 China Shantou 4.00% 0.40% 56
144 USA Madison 0.30% 2.00% 168
145 New Zealand Auckland 2.40% 1.10% 105
146 USA Des Moines 0.00% 2.00% 139
147 Mexico Mexico City 1.60% 1.40% 96
148 USA Los Angeles 0.10% 2.00% 164
149 USA Tucson 1.20% 1.40% 228
150 Mexico Guadalajara 0.80% 1.50% 114
151 USA Baltimore 1.00% 1.50% 157
152 China Tianjin 3.30% 0.50% 43
153 USA Boston 0.50% 1.60% 149
154 Sweden Stockholm 0.90% 1.50% 130
155 Norway Oslo 1.40% 1.20% 166
156 Kazakhstan Almaty 2.60% 0.70% 51
157 South Africa East Rand 0.10% 1.80% 131
158 USA Tulsa 0.80% 1.40% 202
159 USA Springfield 1.70% 1.00% 175
160 Chile Santiago 1.20% 1.20% 62
161 Czech Republic Prague 1.90% 0.90% 265
162 Brazil Rio de Janeiro -0.20% 1.80% 133
163 South Africa Pretoria -0.90% 2.00% 150
164 Israel Tel Aviv 1.40% 1.00% 75
165 Sweden Gothenburg 1.00% 1.10% 141
166 USA Minneapolis -0.10% 1.60% 148
167 Germany Munich 0.90% 1.10% 124
168 USA Honolulu 1.40% 1.00% 185
169 Germany Nurnberg-Furth 1.60% 0.90% 135
170 Switzerland Zurich 0.40% 1.30% 174
171 Germany Berlin 1.10% 1.00% 143
172 China Haerbin 6.10% -1.10% 95
173 South Africa Johannesburg -1.30% 2.00% 152
174 Brazil Fortaleza -0.20% 1.60% 158
175 USA El Paso, TX 0.60% 1.20% 109
176 USA New York 0.10% 1.40% 176
177 Luxembourg Luxembourg-Trier 1.40% 0.90% 181
178 USA Bakersfield -2.40% 2.40% 108
179 Germany Hannover 1.40% 0.80% 188
180 Austria Linz 0.80% 1.10% 167
181 Brazil Curitiba -0.50% 1.60% 119
182 Spain Madrid 1.40% 0.80% 295
183 Austria Vienna-Bratislava 0.60% 1.20% 213
184 USA Worcester 0.90% 1.00% 155
185 Switzerland Geneve-Annemasse 0.30% 1.30% 128
186 USA Louisville 0.20% 1.30% 142
187 Brazil Belo Horizonte -0.30% 1.50% 102
188 South Africa Cape Town -1.20% 1.90% 179
189 Germany Leipzig-Halle 1.50% 0.70% 156
190 USA Richmond -0.30% 1.50% 186
191 Germany Hamburg 0.80% 1.00% 199
192 Germany Karlsruhe 1.20% 0.80% 165
193 Brazil Grande Vitoria -0.10% 1.30% 122
194 Germany Braunschweig-Wolfsburg 1.40% 0.70% 92
195 Puerto Rico San Juan 0.40% 1.10% 289
196 USA Harrisburg 0.20% 1.20% 246
197 Canada Toronto 1.40% 0.70% 117
198 USA Akron -0.50% 1.40% 200
199 South Africa Durban -1.20% 1.70% 235
200 Brazil Recife 0.20% 1.10% 63
201 Japan Tokyo 0.70% 0.90% 204
202 Germany Bremen 1.20% 0.70% 190
203 USA Chicago 0.70% 0.80% 198
204 Spain Bilbao 1.70% 0.40% 297
205 Germany Frankfurt am Main 0.70% 0.80% 203
206 Australia Sydney 1.40% 0.50% 151
207 Germany Bielefeld-Detmould 1.20% 0.60% 134
208 Germany K÷ln- Dusseldorf 1.00% 0.70% 215
209 Brazil Brasilia -0.70% 1.40% 99
210 Germany Stuttgart 1.10% 0.60% 140
211 USA Oxnard -1.00% 1.50% 222
212 USA Greensboro 0.70% 0.70% 250
213 USA Cincinnati -1.20% 1.50% 178
214 USA Little Rock 0.50% 0.80% 224
215 Spain Barcelona 1.20% 0.40% 296
216 USA Omaha -0.10% 1.00% 191
217 USA Birmingham (US) 0.40% 0.80% 220
218 Russia Moscow 0.00% 0.90% 120
219 Mexico Monterrey 0.50% 0.70% 113
220 Germany Saarbrucken 1.40% 0.30% 225
221 Israel Haifa 1.50% 0.30% 81
222 Japan Hamamatsu 1.70% 0.20% 244
223 Japan Shizuoka 1.70% 0.10% 245
224 Japan Nagoya 1.00% 0.40% 252
225 USA New Haven 0.50% 0.60% 223
226 USA Providence -0.70% 1.10% 207
227 Australia Melbourne 1.10% 0.30% 154
228 USA Columbia -0.10% 0.80% 205
229 Canada Ottawa 0.10% 0.70% 238
230 Mexico Puebla 0.00% 0.80% 83
231 Japan Kumamoto 1.30% 0.20% 232
232 Japan Kitakyushu-Fukuoka 0.90% 0.30% 219
233 France Toulouse -0.10% 0.70% 197
234 USA New Orleans -2.00% 1.50% 229
235 USA Memphis -0.20% 0.70% 270
236 USA Albany 0.10% 0.60% 234
237 USA Detroit 0.80% 0.30% 104
238 USA Buffalo -0.10% 0.60% 230
239 USA Hartford 0.30% 0.40% 258
240 Spain Seville 0.90% 0.10% 299
241 Japan Sendai 0.80% 0.20% 268
242 Hong Kong Hong Kong 1.20% 0.00% 100
243 Japan Kagoshima 1.30% 0.00% 208
244 France Nantes -0.20% 0.60% 201
245 Japan Okayama 1.10% 0.10% 266
246 Denmark Copenhagen-Malm÷ 0.70% 0.20% 256
247 Japan Osaka-Kobe 0.60% 0.20% 267
248 Switzerland Basel-Mulhouse 0.40% 0.30% 214
249 USA St. Louis -2.10% 1.30% 253
250 USA Philadelphia -0.50% 0.70% 248
251 France Bordeaux -0.20% 0.50% 212
252 Spain Valencia 0.90% 0.10% 298
253 USA Pittsburgh 0.00% 0.40% 192
254 Japan Sapporo 0.90% 0.00% 274
255 Japan Niigata 1.20% -0.10% 242
256 USA Rochester -0.10% 0.40% 237
257 USA Bridgeport -0.20% 0.40% 241
258 USA Cleveland -0.90% 0.70% 189
259 France Marseille 0.10% 0.30% 263
260 France Paris 0.30% 0.20% 247
261 Russia Saint Petersburg -0.20% 0.40% 125
262 Belgium Brussels 0.40% 0.00% 262
263 Belgium Aachen-Liege 0.70% -0.10% 243
264 USA Kansas City -1.30% 0.70% 233
265 France Lille 0.40% 0.00% 264
266 Brazil Salvador -0.90% 0.50% 218
267 Japan Hiroshima 0.50% -0.10% 275
268 France Lyon -0.20% 0.20% 239
269 France Nice 0.00% 0.10% 277
270 France Strasbourg 0.00% 0.10% 260
271 Romania Bucharest 1.70% -0.70% 173
272 USA Allentown -0.30% 0.10% 193
273 USA Columbus -1.30% 0.40% 126
274 Italy Rome -0.80% 0.10% 284
275 USA Washington DC -1.50% 0.30% 251
276 Italy Bologna -0.40% -0.10% 255
277 Italy Milano -0.50% -0.20% 283
278 Italy Venice-Padova -0.60% -0.20% 280
279 Canada Winnipeg -0.20% -0.40% 221
280 Greece Athens 0.30% -0.60% 300
281 USA Virginia Beach -1.00% -0.10% 279
282 Finland Helsinki -0.50% -0.30% 278
283 Italy Turin -0.70% -0.30% 282
284 Brazil Sao Paulo -1.50% 0.00% 136
285 Canada Montreal 0.70% -0.90% 184
286 Argentina Buenos Aires -2.80% 0.50% 123
287 USA Dayton -1.70% 0.00% 254
288 Netherlands Eindhoven-Den Bosch 0.70% -1.10% 281
289 Italy Florence -0.60% -0.60% 291
290 Brazil Porto Alegre -1.70% -0.20% 177
291 Brazil Campinas -2.20% 0.00% 195
292 Netherlands Rotterdam-Amsterdam 0.30% -1.20% 287
293 China Daqing 4.00% -2.80% 111
294 USA Syracuse (US) -1.20% -0.70% 276
295 Netherlands Arnhem-Nijmegen 0.00% -1.20% 286
296 Venezuela Caracas -3.50% 0.10% 209
297 Italy Naples -0.70% -1.00% 293
298 USA Albuquerque -2.20% -0.60% 285
299 Australia Adelaide -1.20% -1.10% 249
300 Thailand Bangkok -0.50% -1.70% 259

Oil company Stocks Rally Put an End to 5-day losing streak

The prices of the crude were up that pulled the stock market out of a 5 day slump. Oil prices were up yesterday as a result of the International Energy Agency statement that drillers will be cutting production this year.

The S&P 500 index increase by 26.75 points or 1.3% that ended at 2,019.42. The Dow Jones industrial average increase by 190.86 points or 1.1% to close at 17,511.57, and the Nasdaq rose 63.56 points or 1.4% to 4,634.38.

Anastasia Amoroso, a global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management said that “There has been a lot of conflicting information to digest, recently”, “Are low oil prices a good or a bad thing?” “For stocks, deflation is not so great.”

Benchmark US crude were up yesterday by $2.44 to close at $48.69 a barrel in New York trading. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil used by many US refineries, added 31 cents to $50.17 in London.

UK markets Lost more than £30 billion, Euro dips to 9-yr low, Brent crude oil drops below $50

The world economy is in chaos as the value of UK firms plunge losing more than £30 billion on Monday as world markets felt the effects of Greece potentially leaving the euro currency.

London’s FTSE 100 index lost 130.64 points closing at 6417.16, wiping out around £33.2 billion from the UK’s leading blue chip firms.

The euro has fallen to a 9-year low since the beginning of 2015, as recessions continue to hit the weakest countries in Europe, which includes France, Portugal and Spain. The euro is now worth around $1.186 US dollars. The collapsing oil prices didn't help as investors put their money in safe-haven sovereign debt. Brent crude drops below the $50 barrier, losing more than a dollar to $49.92 a barrel just before 3. a.m. ET, it has reached the levels last seen in May 2009, although prices went back above $50 later.

U.S. futures CLc1 lost 75 cents to under $47.20 a barrel, their lowest since April 2009, after already completing the drop below $50 earlier in the week.