No abstract

The dynamics of the five fastest growing GDP per capita economies in Asia and the EU are studied between 2010 and 2014. This time frame was selected in order to avoid the height of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, but to include the stimulus and recovery periods which occurred afterward. The intent was not to compare the recoveries or the impact of the stimulus programs. The intent was to compare the economic growth rates of the two groups and also the absolute per capita income along with five topic areas on economies including: configuration, utilization, investments, demographics, and outcomes. A total of twenty measurements are used for assessment from the World Bank databank website. The findings are that the Asian economies grew faster while the EU economies had a higher per capita income. The workforces of the Asia economies are also younger and more flexible whereas the workforces of the EU economies are older, but more educated. Discussions include the links between effective governments and economic development and the links between democracy and economic levels.

The top seven low-cost airlines in the EU, as ranked by 2018 passenger travel, are evaluated over a 4 year time frame using stock market performance in order to ascertain which airlines provide superior performance in relation to the others in the group and in relation to the European stock market. Several topics are discussed relating to this group of airlines including business models, operating strategies, airline networks, regional airports, and standardized fleets. Three airlines emerge with superior stock market performance: Jet2, WizzAir, and Ryanair.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether premium services airlines in Asia offer better returns to investors as compared to normal services airlines. To accomplish this, portfolios are created for each airline group and compared against benchmarks in monthly assessments over a sixty two month period ending in October 2017. The benchmarks include the global market and the oil market. The global market offers a comparison to a baseline expectation while the oil market represents a major cost component for the airline industry. The findings point to the premium services airlines as being the superior performing group in relation to the normal services airlines as judged in six cases using various configurations of the benchmarks. These results are further confirmation that in some industry segments, service quality matters. Included is literature pertaining to service quality, loyalty, and profitability. Each of these topics is expanded to show the link between various facets of customer satisfaction and implications on overall company profitability.

The stock market performance of the US oil industry is evaluated against a combination of benchmarks before and after the US shale oil revolution, in order to ascertain whether the increase in US shale oil production had an adverse impact on oil industry stock market returns. In 2014, the dynamic of the global crude oil supply-demand situation was such that the oil price fell because of the increased US crude oil production. Saudi Arabia and the other major producers preferred to have low oil prices, at least temporarily, in order to penalize the US shale oil players. Any oil price increase since then is seen as leading to an increase in US crude oil supply which then further reduces oil prices. The oil industry outperformed the benchmarks prior to the ramp up of US crude oil production led by the shale oil revolution, but the industry underperformed the benchmarks after these production increases. Hence, the US shale oil revolution did ruin the oil industry stock market returns. Several topics for discussion are included: The US shale oil revolution; world crude oil markets; crude oil price dynamics in the US; and crude oil price impacts on oil companies.