Amazon

        The operation of Amazon.com in the global market gives rise to concerns that other companies within a strictly domestic market simply do not have. Amazon reports that in 2014 net sales from the international segment accounted for 38% of consolidated sales. That is to say that 38% of those consolidated sales are at the mercy of the global market. In 2014 Amazon reports that $580 million in net sales could not be realized due to currency fluctuation within the global market. This fluctuation occurred within the Japanese Yen, Chinese Yuan, Euro, and British Pounds. When looking at a trend such as this we are concerned with the overall growth that could be realized. There are few indications for coming years that such fluctuations may be stabilizing. The analysis is split into four segments: Domestic, Global, Eurozone, and Asia.

Domestic

        2015 has seen an overall reduction in domestic fuel costs, this decrease in fuel costs has helped to improve consumer spending. This discretionary spending is exactly the niche that Amazon resides in. It is speculated that the total GDP for The United States could rise as much as 3% for the year, even marginal growth in overall GDP is a positive indicator for a company such as Amazon. Another indication of economic uptick is the potential increase in Federal interest rates by the Federal Reserve. It is predicted that we could see the first increase to the rate in 9 years by September 2015. There is further speculation that the rate could increase two more times by the end of 2015 if the response to the initial increase is positive.  

Global

        In taking a look at the “Big Picture”, the global economy is for the most part still very much in the throes of a recovery. Global GDP growth is expected to be around 3.3% with the major outliers being Russia at a -3.5% and India at 5.9%. It is likely that 2015 could see the end of fiscal austerity in the Euro zone with an increase of debt build-up in the Asian markets.

Eurozone

        The Eurozone is facing a GDP growth somewhere between 1.5 and 2 percent. Quantitative Easing by the European Central Bank has not had quite the affect that economists had originally hoped for. It is still possible that consumer spending could create some progress within the labor market. If this is the end of fiscal austerity in the Eurozone this would help to improve the weak Euro in the exchange rate.

Asia

        In the Asian market, economic debt continues to be on the rise and this build up is expected to continue through 2015 and carry-over into the 3rd quarter of 2016. Sudden decreases in the fuel prices have had a positive effect on consumer markets worldwide, this is especially true in the Asian market where dependence on imported fuel is high. The strengthening of the US dollar recently has had a mixed effect on the Chinese Yuan, while the link between the two currencies is strong; there is a great deal of uncertainty in the Chinese stock exchange as a whole.