What will happen in 2016?
It is
Britain is buzzing. A country which had been shaken to the core by the Credit Crunch is now perhaps the most successful and confident nation on the planet. Low commodity prices mean that petrol has now fallen to 90p a litre, and electricity and gas prices are cheaper too. Tumbling energy and transport costs have kept inflation close to zero all year long.
But the momentum in the economy has been building, as the employment rate has pushed to 75%. The most common complaint is that you cannot get a plumber or an electrician for love nor money. A transport system that is fit to bursting leads to calls to boost the UK's creaking infrastructure. The economy is not just recovering; it is booming.
Pay rises have remained well above inflation. However, the consensus has been that there is still no need to increase interest rates from the current 0.5%. The main debate has been as to whether interest rates should be raised not because of inflationary pressure, but quite simply to cool the almost euphoric boom. There is talk in political and business circles of Britain reaching full employment.
Stock markets, after the battering of recent years, have started recovering. The FTSE100 has been climbing slowly, reaching a highly respectable 6,600 at year-end. Beaten up blue chips have been pushing ahead. However, the real stars have been emerging markets, with China bouncing by 20%, and India by 15%.
In contrast, the US seems stuck in a malaise, with the stock market producing disappointing returns, and an employment rate stuck far below that of Britain. The mantle of world's greatest nation seems already to be moving to China. The spectre of long-term unemployment and a lost generation of American youth moves centre stage in the US presidential election. Is it a case of managing America's decline, or can its fortunes be revived?
Across the US and Europe, populism is a force fuelled by the many dispossessed and disenfranchised. The popularity of figures such as Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen remains high.
Europe, surprisingly, is gradually recovering, helped by a transfusion of QE and a weak euro. Particular bright spots include Ireland, Spain and Germany. Stock markets also recover. However, the European question does not go away, made worse by a global refugee crisis with its epicentre in the Middle East. Is it really feasible to have a Europe with free borders, which allows the free movement of labour? An EU referendum in Britain brings these issues into sharp, perhaps painful focus. People know that leaving the EU would be the most seismic event in the Union's history.
But the icing on the cake for Britain is more sporting success, from the Olympics, F1 and cycling to France 2016. It is a positive, happier, sunnier world. A world less likely to bawl, shout and fight, and more likely to sit back, smile and laugh.
One of the most tried and trusted routes to investing success is dividend investing. And you don't have to restrict yourself to the blue-chip giants that we all know about. We at the Fool have found a rapidly growing company which has all the attributes to be a good addition to your income portfolio.
Want to learn more? Well, just click on this link to read about "A Top Income Share from the Motley Fool", and it will be dispatched instantly to your inbox, completely free.
More reading
Should You Snap Up Last Week's Losers Anglo American plc & Vedanta Resources plc?
Oil Hits 11-Year Lows! So Should You Sell BP plc & John Wood Group PLC?
Why Savvy Stock Pickers Keep Giving Tesco PLC & Rio Tinto plc A Wide Berth!
Former WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC Chairman Supports J Sainsbury plc's Turnaround
