With yet another recession in the offing, most people are pretty scared as to how they can protect their jobs, their money and their investments. There are a good number of businesses that are not affected by recession, but do well even in economically hard times. Take a look at the following . . . 1) Healthcare . . . Healthcare is a basic necessity that will always be in demand, recession or not. This sector has always remained healthy over the years, even during the 2008 recession. 2) Food and beverages . . . Just like healthcare, Food and drink are necessities. People have to eat and drink, no matter what the economy was at high risk. Of course, restaurants are a bit on the risky side though. Make sure you offer good food at fair prices, and acquire more regular customers. 3) Funeral services [...] 

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Casual dining at western outlets such as Pizza Hut and McDonalds is fast becoming a hit at China and other Asian nations. This have taken care that there is a rising demand for cheese for use in food items such as pizzas and cheeseburgers which has lead to the cheese exports from the United States getting a substantial boost this year. This has also boosted the price of cheese, particularly by Kraft Foods Inc. The United States has been exporting more than twice as much cheese to Asia in the first quarter of the year 2011 than the year 2010. This has ensured that wholesale prices of cheddar cheeses have being rallying forty nine per cent this year. This was shown by data revealed by the US Dairy Export Council. South Korea is the biggest buyer in the area and has almost tripled its imports, [...] 

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Right about now, savers are complaining that they are getting virtually no joy by way of interest from their banks and some investors have gone so far as to pick up American government bonds that basically offered a negative rate of return instead. That might sound stupid and completely illogical, but it is the correct way to go. In an auction that was held to sell off a special type of 5 year Treasury bond, investors actually shelled out $105.50 for every $100 worth of bonds that were sold. In effect, they have agreed to pay the government for the ‘honor’ of having lent it money. The reason that investors have flocked to these instruments is very simple; they offer an absolute guarantee against times of inflation. Let us assume that inflation soars, as some pundits say might very [...] 

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The dollar value is falling, and as that happens, currency conflicts are on the rise. Nations with fast-growing economies are attempting to devalue the exchange rate in order to offer some succor to their exporters that drive on the growth. The dollar is already weak, but policy makers are already implementing measures that will further erode the value of the dollar. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the European powers that be are worried that a resurgent Euro will weaken their own prospects for growth. And as if concerns in the Western sphere aren’t enough, you’ve got everyone lambasting China for their currency manipulation and urging them to allow the playing field to level out instead of skewing it as they are. The problem is Beijing is just not willing to allow that to happen. As [...] 

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Iran is a very tough place to get any business done simply because of the number of sanctions that have been imposed on the beleaguered nation. In a similar vein, its neighbor Iraq is an equally stubborn place to get any business done, but that is not because of any sanctions but because of a whole host of other reasons, most of which have been very well documented by the international press and investors alike. However, there are still some firms that are seeing double-digit growth even in this economic climate and that is primarily because Iraq has some of the best prospects for oil of any nation in the world, and this there is no disputing. Indeed, Iraq can boast the second-largest reserves of oil in the world and the tragedy of it all is that its reserves are so underdeveloped as to betray [...] 

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Looking back in retrospect, how will history look back at the way we conducted ourselves as a global order and a financial force? What will be picked out as the one economic trend of the early 21st century? There are several candidates for this, from the great crash of 2008 that sent shockwaves throughout the financial world to the surfeit of debt we now find ourselves swimming in. But perhaps the single biggest thing to come out of all of this is the silent, almost undeniable shift of the shift of the center of power away from the Western world and more towards the east. A decade ago, the developed world and the richer countries dominated the global landscape. The Americans reigned supreme and were a force unlike any other, militarily, financially and commercially speaking a juggernaut no [...] 

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