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Amanda Anna G

Centre for Policy Studies: Productivity is Key to Securing UK's Economic Recovery - 1 views

www.ibtimes.co.uk/-uks-economic-recovery-1437283

aggregate-demand

shared by Amanda Anna G on 18 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • Centre for Policy Studies: Productivity is Key to Securing UK's Economic Recovery
  • Yesterday saw the release of another good set of jobs figures. Employment rose and youth unemployment and long term unemployment fell. Nevertheless, to secure the recovery and generate sustainable real wage rises, we need to break the decade long stagnation in productivity which is holding back our economy.
  • These increases in employment and hours worked have been crucial in restoring economic growth.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • However, at some point the gains to be made from increasing the number of workers and increasing the number of hours will diminish. Education and welfare reforms combined with more robust growth in aggregate demand will cause the pool of available workers to shrink. When we reach that point, productivity will need to rise to support output growth and real wage rises.
  • Weak demand and labour hoarding have often been cited as the causes for this sustained weakness. However, stronger growth in demand in 2013 has not led to significant increases in output per hour. Rising aggregate demand must surely lead to some increases in productivity over time but it is clear that other structural reasons are holding back productivity growth.
  • Amanda Anna G on 18 Mar 14
     
    This article discusses how to secure the UK's economic recovery. It is suggested that increase in employment and hours worked could restore economic growth. At some point, this increase will diminish due to growth in the aggregate demand combined with education and welfare reforms that results in a decrease in the available workers. However, it is argued that rising aggregate demand would lead to increase in the productively over time, but other reasons are holding back productivity growth. 
Amanda Anna G

U.S. be warned: Default would cause global crisis - CNN.com - 0 views

edition.cnn.com/...index.html

Equilibrium- Price Mechanism

shared by Amanda Anna G on 11 Oct 13 - No Cached
  • The impact of default could be catastrophic, and not just economically. As Secretary of State John Kerry asserts, this would send a message "of political silliness" that we "can't get our own act together" so we need to "get back on a track the world will respect."
  • As the U.S. partial government shutdown continues into almost a third week, the stakes are growing
  • This builds on earlier studies by the organization, including in 2011-12 which highlighted "intensified speculation about America's long-term stability," partly as a result of the downgrade by Standard & Poor's of the country's credit rating. This was prompted by the last near debt default of Washington in 2011.
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  • Then, as now, however, the country retains attractive qualities for many foreigners, including its popular culture and economic innovation.
  • And the fact remains that, in times of major urgency, Washington can transcend partisan divisions and work in the national interest.
  • This was demonstrated, for instance, during the 2008-9 financial crisis when Congress and the administration acted more swiftly and comprehensively than many other countries to counteract the worst economic turmoil since at least the 1930s. This has been key in enabling the country to recover more quickly from recession than some other areas of the world. While current problems should therefore be put into context, the situation is nonetheless troubling. And this is not the first time this year that a Washington political impasse has threatened negative economic repercussions
  • Only at the 11th hour did Congress in January agree a deal to prevent the U.S. falling off the "fiscal cliff." It is estimated that the automatic tax increases and spending cuts might well have taken the U.S. economy back into recession.
  • Amanda Anna G on 11 Oct 13
     
    This article relates to equilibrium and price mechanism because it describes changes in impacts of the market. Stakes are growing, there are "intensified speculation about America's long-term stability" due to a downgrade in the country's credit rating, and an unstable state at the "fiscal cliff". These worries and a political impasse in Washington are some impacts that has threatened negative economic repercussions in the US, moving the market equilibrium. In response to changes in price, resources are allocated and re-allocated. However, profits are still able to be made making the equilibrium more stable without excess demand and supply, due to that the US has its popular culture and economic innovation, helping the country to retain attractive qualities for many foreigners.
  • Yassine G on 12 Oct 13
     
    I think this is a very serious matter, that could affect the world's over all economy if it goes on for a while. We can see that obviously a majority of the world's largest companies are american and based in america. If this effects any of those companies, the market they operate at will see a big change, both in the good way and the bad one.
Amanda Anna G

Energy efficiency investments reap three times the economic rewards - FierceEnergy - 0 views

www.fierceenergy.com/...2014-02-03

efficiency

shared by Amanda Anna G on 07 Feb 14 - No Cached
  • Energy efficiency investments reap three times the economic rewards
  • The research reveals that every million dollars invested in energy efficiency programs in the region generated $3.87 million in economic output and 17.28 new jobs.
  • "The remarkably positive economic impact that investments in energy efficiency have had on both economic growth and job creation in the Southeast are helping to create a fundamental change in perspective,"
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • "SEEA's unique analytical approach has yielded valuable insights into how investments in energy efficiency and conservation can also create jobs and other tangible benefits, even in regions that have historically shown little commitment to energy efficiency,"
  • Amanda Anna G on 07 Feb 14
     
    This article is about efficiency, as the investments in energy efficiency programs created revenue and new jobs. Resources are not being wasted by inefficient use. The efficiency could also be related to economies of scale, since the firm is experiencing increasing returns to scale- every million dollars invested resulted in revenue and new jobs, and hence the work is becoming more efficient and may cause decreases in the long-run average costs.
Haydn W

Taxing Carbon Is Like Taxing Diamonds | Mary Manning Cleveland - 0 views

www.huffingtonpost.com/...bon-is-like-tax_b_3965170.html

Huffington Post Price Elasticity Fossil Fuels Carbon Emissions Demand Supply

shared by Haydn W on 19 Oct 13 - No Cached
  • Taxing Carbon Is Like Taxing Diamonds
  • To reduce carbon emissions, we must tax fossil fuels -- but, say the pundits, we can't do so because the tax would be regressive, clobbering the poor.
  • Imagine that we impose a sales tax on diamonds. Would we worry about the burden on middle-class purchasers of one-fourth-caret engagement rings? What about the part of the tax "passed back" onto the DeBeers Group? Not much sympathy for global monopolists either.
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  • Surprisingly, a carbon tax would operate much like a diamond tax, for reasons both of demand and supply.
  • Demand: The wealthy actually consume a disproportionate amount of carbon. Discussions of a carbon tax usually focus on the price of gasoline. One gallon of gas produces about 17 pounds of CO2. One metric ton is 2,204 pounds. So a $100 tax on a ton of CO2 comes to $0.77 per gallon -- a significant cost to low-income commuters and small truckers.
  • A May 2013 federal study of the Social Cost of Carbon estimated costs of additional CO2 emissions for 2010 to 2050 ranging from $27 to $221 per metric ton in 2050, depending on assumptions.
  • Demand elasticity for oil is low, about 0.5; so a 1 percent increase in oil price would cause a 0.5 percent decrease in consumption. That makes sense, since in the short run, it's hard for people to cut energy consumption, especially if they must drive to work. But, though numbers are hard to come by, elasticity of supply is much, much lower, for two reasons. First, oil production takes decades and billions in capital investment; producers cannot quickly increase or decrease supply. Second, oil producers form an international cartel, an organized mega-monopoly, which holds down production to drive up prices. Since they're already charging what the traffic will bear, they can't much raise prices to cover a tax.
  • As economists long ago figured out, buyers and sellers share a tax in inverse proportion to elasticity. Therefore, if supply elasticity of carbon is, say, 0.1, while demand elasticity is 0.5, the suppliers will pay five times as much of the tax as consumers. That reduces that $0.77 per gallon gas tax to only $0.13. Moreover, precisely because most of the tax falls on suppliers, it will generate plenty of revenue to help those unfortunate long-distance commuters and small truckers, to build more public transportation, to invest in renewable energy, and even to cut super-regressive taxes like the payroll tax.
  • According to Edward Wolff, in 2007, the top 1 percent in the U.S. owned 43 percent of non-home wealth, mostly securities, including of course energy company stocks and bonds. The top 10 percent of wealth holders owned 83 percent.
  • But the very poor don't drive or travel or occupy much space; the rich fly planes, including private jets; drive to low-density suburbs; occupy and heat multiple houses and hotels; and buy lots of stuff. Clearly the rich consume much more carbon per capita than the poor.
  • So we have good news and bad news. Good news: The cost of reducing carbon emissions will fall hardest on the 1 percent, who consume the most energy and own the energy companies. Bad news: Ditto. Expect a fight!
  • Haydn W on 19 Oct 13
     
    This article talks about the economic implications of imposing a tax on carbon emissions and how this would affect the different social classes of society in different ways. The article makes specific reference to economic theory and the elements on elasticity.
  • Jakub B on 20 Oct 13
     
    Taxation almost always decrease the economic surplus and therefore it makes a decline in effectiveness. In this case, the energy companies will be the most affected group.
Haydn W

Falling oil prices offer the west a great chance to refashion itself. Let's seize it | ... - 1 views

www.theguardian.com/...west-chance-refashion-policies

The Guardian USA Russia Oil Prices Balance of Payments

shared by Haydn W on 05 Dec 14 - No Cached
  • Falling oil prices offer the west a great chance to refashion itself. Let’s seize it
  • For the past 18 months, the world’s biggest oil producer has been the US.
  • One first good result of this oil price shift, however, was witnessed at Opec’s meeting in Vienna last week. The once feared cartel of oil-exporting countries, with Saudi Arabia at its core, a cartel that at one time commanded more than half of global production, is now a shadow of its former self.
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  • the US will maintain this new standing for the foreseeable future, according to official projections.
  • It should be no surprise, then, that in the past rising oil prices were associated with recessions and falling oil prices with booms. If the oil price carries on falling back towards $50 a barrel, and if history is any guide, the western economy should respond – to the good.
  • But although particular companies may lose out, the first-round effect of this fall should provide good news. High oil prices depress economic activity. They suck money from consumer spending and redirect it to oil-exporting countries, which typically hoard it in elephantine foreign exchange reserves or unspent  bank deposits. It is a tax by the few on the many.
  • With the US needing to buy less oil on international markets and China’s growth sinking to its lowest mark for 40 years, there is now, amazingly, the prospect of an oil glut. The oil price instantly nosedived to its lowest level for four years, around $70 a barrel – down more than a third in three months.
  • Suddenly, the balance of economic advantage with Russia, no less dependent on oil and gas exports, will flip. Russia’s 2014 budget was based on an oil price of $100 a barrel. At $70 a barrel, the economy will contract by at least 3% in 2015, the country will run a balance of payments deficit and the government’s finances will spin out of control.
  • The chances of Russia sustaining a surrogate war in Ukraine have suddenly been reduced. All good news.
  • But western governments cannot hope that economic benefits will arrive automatically. These are new times.
  • Uncertainty and fear abound. Interest rates in Britain alone have been pegged at 0.5% for more than five years. But still business is reluctant to invest, not knowing what technologies to back or not knowing how much demand there will be for new products and services. We live in an era of stagnation, “secular stagnation”
  • So falling oil prices offer the world economy a great opportunity. But if it is not leapt upon purposefully by aggressively expansionary economic policy, secular stagnation might worsen.
  • Haydn W on 05 Dec 14
     
    The recent fall in oil prices, largely due to America's newfound dominance in the market, will cause Russia to experience a balance of payments deficit, according to this article from the Guardian. This is based on Russia's overestimate of the forecast for the global oil price and can be said to be an example of how global prices often influence balance of payments for countries, especially when it concerns national resources.
John B

Steve Jobs And The Economics Of Place | ThinkProgress - 1 views

thinkprogress.org/...obs-and-the-economics-of-place

externalities of production

shared by John B on 23 Nov 13 - No Cached
  • One of the most fundamental elements of the economics of cities goes by the oddball name “agglomeration externalities” which is basically the idea that individuals and firms obtain productivity boosts by clustering together.
  • You see this again during the development of the Apple I. Steve Wozniak is employed by Hewlett-Packard at the time
  • Silicon Valley is not only a hub of electronics and engineering but also geographically proximate to San Francisco and the arts and counterculture scene with the influence that has on Jobs’ life and the aesthetic orientation of his company over time. The story keeps going on like this. Jobs doesn’t build the company alone, or even build it with his formal partners. He also builds it with an array of formal and informal personal and professional associates that you only meet in certain kinds of places and that can only exist given the pre-existing high density of electronics firms in the area.
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  • Part of the moral of the story is about the role of luck and contingency in any successful person’s life. But an important part of it is about the importance of clusters as such and the way that past success can lay the groundwork for future success. America is home to many of the world’s most successful high tech companies today in large part because we were home to many of the world’s most successful high tech companies 35 years ago.
  • John B on 23 Nov 13
     
    This article is about the biography of Steve Jobs. It is talking about how Jobs used agglomeration externalities, "individuals and firms obtain productivity boosts by clustering together". By the use of the location, Jobs managed build up the company, but he is not alone building this company. He has his personal and professional associates that result in a boost in productivity. They use agglomeration.
Haydn W

Mexican Central Bank Head Warns of Spillover Effects of Dramatic Monetary Policies - WS... - 0 views

online.wsj.com/...702304811904579587782635533664

Mexico Central Bank Wall Street Journal Monetary Policy

shared by Haydn W on 27 May 14 - No Cached
  • SINTRA, Portugal—The head of Mexico's central bank said Tuesday that he supports the dramatic measures that central bankers in advanced economies have taken to stabilize their economies, but emerging markets must be mindful of the spillover effects these policies may have.
  • "The unconventional monetary policies have…established the ground for a recovery in economic activity," said Agustin Carstens, governor of Mexico's central bank
  • The inflows have led to higher exchange rates in emerging markets, Mr. Carstens said, weakening exports, as well as a compression of interest rates, leading to bubbles in some real-estate markets.
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  • One byproduct of these policies has been to pump new money into financial markets. Some of that money has found its way to emerging markets as investors sought higher-yielding assets.
  • "Authorities need to think about how they can spread, through time, the adjustment process,"
  • More broadly, emerging economies "shouldn't depend on advanced economies to generate growth," Mr. Carstens said.
  • Haydn W on 27 May 14
     
    Agustin Carstens, governor of the Central Bank of Mexico warns about the spillover affects into the developing world from advanced economies' banks' monetary policies. Money has found its way into emerging markets leading to higher exchange rates and weakening exports according to Carstens. This is a dangerous bubble that could be liable to burst should growth pick up soon. Overall this article provides an interesting insight into how one countries policy choices can have global consequences and how international economics really is.
Haydn W

Coal India could have helped slash production cost by 12%: Power Companies - The Econom... - 0 views

economictimes.indiatimes.com/...28915293.cms

India Coal Energy Economic Times Production Costs Monopoly

shared by Haydn W on 17 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • KOLKATA: Coal India Ltd could have helped power companies save their production cost by 12%, or 35 paise a unit
  • The state-run monopoly coal supplier on Tuesday declared a dividend of Rs 29 a share.
  • CIL increased coal prices by a minimum 30% for all thermal coal used by power companies over the past three years
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • This enabled the company to increase its cash and bank balance from about Rs 45,000 crore during 2010-11 to Rs 62,000 crore in 2012-13,
  • Most of the additional reserves came from higher prices as production did not rise at the same pace. This fiscal year, the company is likely to miss its target on coal production by about 17 million tonnes and sales by some 15 million tonnes.
  • Power tariffs are regulated by Central and state regulatory commissions, however, coal prices are not. Every increase in coal prices leads to increased power generation costs which need to be passed on to consumers.
  • Haydn W on 17 Jan 14
     
    This article explains how production costs in India could have been cut if Coal India had kept prices lower. The article also tells us that the company has a monopoly on the industry and is state-run which has lead some people to criticise the government. The company has been accused of protecting its own interests by raising prices to cache its bank balance. 
Haydn W

EU, China Reach Tentative Deal to End Telecom Equipment Tariff Threat - WSJ - 3 views

online.wsj.com/...pment-tariff-threat-1412870909

Wall Street Journal Tariff China EU

shared by Haydn W on 28 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • The European Union and China have reached a tentative deal that will end the threat of punitive import tariffs on Chinese telecommunications equipment makers
  • Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng and the EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht are expected to meet in Brussels on Oct. 18 after the Asia-Europe summit meeting in Milan to complete the agreement, an EU official said.
  • The agreement would sweep away the cloud of tariffs that has been hanging in particular over Huawei, which has become a major supplier of equipment to European telecommunications companies.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, in 2013 said it was ready to start investigations into imports of mobile telecommunications equipment made by Huawei and ZTE, claiming the two companies received unfair subsidies from the Chinese government and were “dumping” their products onto the EU market at rock-bottom prices.
  • The agreement will create an entity to review the market-share of Chinese equipment manufacturers in the EU and European companies
  • China has also committed to further discussions on the hefty loans and loan guarantees that the government gives to Huawei and ZTE to finance their exports, mostly to the developing world, the official said.
  • That represents a modest victory for the EU in an area that is highly sensitive for the Chinese government.
  • Haydn W on 28 Oct 14
     
    The European Union have reached an agreement with China to end the threat of EU tariffs on Chinese telecommunications equipment. The tariff was going to be imposed as a form of protectionism to protect the European manufactures Ericsson, Nokia and Alcatel against the Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE. The Chinese firms are able to produce equipment cheaper than the European firms, due to more abundant natural resources, but also, crucially through subsidies from the Beijing government. The deal reached on October 9th, sees the Chinese companies granted a share of the market, but not access to it fully, as this is reserved for the European firms, to protect EU economic growth in such a tempestuous time, showing that, forms of protectionism still exist in the market, despite this agreement.
Haydn W

The Motorship - Shipbuilding competition promotes efficient working - 0 views

www.motorship.com/...ion-promotes-efficient-working

Competition Efficiency Shipbuilding Energy

shared by Haydn W on 08 Feb 14 - No Cached
  • In order to compete in a crowded market, efficiency is the key to success in shipbuilding
  • We spoke to Malaysian offshore specialist shipyard Shin Yang Shipbuilding to see how the company was faring in difficult times.
  • Our recent orders over the past few years have come from returning customers in UAE and Malaysia.
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  • We are looking at downsizing our present build capacity and to keep a lean workforce.
  • The speculative market is not looking positive right now due to Chinese yards churning out huge numbers of OSVs, with brokers trying to capitalise on the competitive vessel price and flexible payment and finance terms offered by these Chinese yards.
  • I don’t have a strong view at this stage as market prices are predominantly controlled by brokers and the bigger shipyards which monopolise the global market, and affected by growing regulatory pressures on safety and energy efficiency.
  • Haydn W on 08 Feb 14
     
    This article details how competition in the shipbuilding market is promoting firms to strive to be both market and energy efficient. The article relates to the economic concepts of market efficiency and theories of competition and monopoly. It also briefly relates to the concepts of externalities of production too, discussing measures imposed by governments like fuel sulphur limits.
Haydn W

Rightmove triples its estimate for housing price rises | Money | The Guardian - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...-estimate-house-price-increase

The Guardian Money House Prices Scarcity Opportunity Cost UK Help to Buy

shared by Haydn W on 16 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • A leading estate agent has tripled its forecast for house price rises in 2013
  • Online estate agent Rightmove has raised its 2013 house price forecast for the third time this year to more than double the rate of inflation
  • The chain expects the average property price to increase by 6% this year
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • On Wednesday the Bank of England's financial policy committee
  • and what remedial measures
  • The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics)
  • can be taken
  • discuss the possibility of a property bubble
  • The Rightmove report said the average asking price reached £245,495 in September, a 4.5% increase on the same month a year earlier.
  • Vince Cable, the business secretary, has warned of the risks of "returning to the problems of the last decade when housing got out of control,"
  • and said the chancellor should consider halting the second phase of his Help to Buy scheme.
  • The controversial mechanism, which
  • will allow people to buy homes worth up to £600,000 with a 5% deposit.
  • The Liberal Democrat president, Tim Farron, also attacked George Osborne's flagship scheme
  • has called on the committee to cap annual house price growth at 5% a year.
  • Prices are rising fastest in greater London, up 8.2% over the past year to £493,748, and the West Midlands, up 6.8% to £195,429.
  • In London, prices are up in all boroughs except Barking & Dagenham (down 0.8% to £218,242). Prices in Croydon and Tower Hamlets rose by more than 2% in September alone.The most expensive homes are in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average home is priced at £2.16m – a 6.5% increase on last year.
  • Haydn W on 16 Sep 13
     
    This article explains how many organisations are forecasting a rise in house prices in my home country, the UK. It also details opposition by UK politicians to the Chancellor's 'Help to Buy' scheme which is supposed to help more people get on the property ladder. I believe this is related to what we are studying in Economics as it relates to houses being a scarce resource and how people have to choose between the increasing difficulties of getting on the property ladder and other living essentials in todays economy. (Opportunity Cost)
Yassine G

China to push creation of APEC-wide free trade zone by 2025 | The Japan Times - 1 views

www.japantimes.co.jp/...apec-wide-free-trade-zone-2025

Free-trade Asia-Pacific Growth government Production

shared by Yassine G on 15 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • China will be calling for a commitment by the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum toward the creation of a Pacific-rim free trade area by 2025, when they meet in November, according to a draft of a post-summit leaders’ declaration
  • Referring to a “Beijing Road Map” for APEC’s contribution to the realization of a free trade area covering the Asia-Pacific region, the draft declaration says, “We affirm our commitment to the eventual realization of an FTAAP by 2025.”
  • The vision of the APEC-wide, ambitious free trade zone emerged in 2006. APEC leaders agreed in 2010 to eventually achieve it on the basis of other preceding frameworks such as the TPP, but little has been decided so far.
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  • ific” and will “eliminate all barriers that hinder women’s economic participation”
  • Yassine G on 15 Oct 14
     
    This article talks about the initiative of china to create a free trade zone in the Asia Pacific region by 2025. The article talks about how this will be done and what 's in the draft. 
Amanda Anna G

Wage rises outstrip inflation for first time in six years - Telegraph - 1 views

www.telegraph.co.uk/...r-first-time-in-six-years.html

inflation

shared by Amanda Anna G on 17 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • Wage rises outstrip inflation for first time in six years
  • Wage rises are outstripping inflation for the first time in six years, official figures will show on Wednesday, leading to claims that the cost of living crisis is at an end.
  • Inflation figures showed a fall for the sixth month in succession to 1.6 per cent, leading Mr Osborne to say that it was “welcome news for families”. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics is expected to announce that regular pay is rising at a rate of 1.8 per cent, up from 1.3 per cent.
  • Amanda Anna G on 17 Apr 14
     
    This article is about inflation, and that it has fallen after six months to 1.6 per cent. However, regular pay is  expected to rise in rate from 1.3 per cent to 1.8 per cent. 
Amanda Anna G

MyRecordJournal.com | Meriden, CT | Moscow-led trade bloc begins in troubled times - 0 views

www.myrecordjournal.com/...-begins-in-troubled-times.html

trade-bloc

shared by Amanda Anna G on 07 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • Moscow-led trade bloc begins in troubled times
  • MOSCOW — The Eurasian Economic Union, a trade bloc of former Soviet states, expanded to four nations Friday when Armenia formally joined, a day after the union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan began. The Russian-dominated bloc has been politically controversial and its early days are being overshadowed by the sharp deterioration of Russia’s economy in recent months.
  • Amanda Anna G on 07 Jan 15
     
    This article is about the Russian-dominating bloc, and how it affects trade and economies. 
Haydn W

Ukraine Uncertainty Depressing Growth and Investment | The Moscow Times - 5 views

www.themoscowtimes.com/...495734.html

Macroeconomic Activity Moscow Times Ukraine Russia

shared by Haydn W on 08 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • As world leaders increase or trash their political clout depending on their audience and the statements they make about the situation in the Ukraine, some analysts were revising Russian GDP growth estimates to as low as 1.1 percent for the year.
  • Wednesday was a calmer day on the stock markets, following a dip of 10.8 percent Monday morning that vaporized near $60 billion of valuation from Russian companies.
  • Although Russia has seen some short-term budget benefits from ruble devaluation and increasing oil prices, the current impasse is not helping to fight stagnation or attract investment.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • The ruble strengthened slightly to 36 against the dollar and 49.4 against the euro Wednesday evening. This was well above the lows reached on Monday
  • Tightening fiscal policy was topped by possibly impending U.S. sanctions, including economic ones, followed by President Vladimir Putin's claims that Russia may use force in Ukraine if necessary.
  • The heap of these latest events has caused some analysts to revise their overall economy forecasts.
  • PSB Research said Wednesday it would decrease its initially modest GDP growth estimates for the year from the range of 1.5 to 1.8 percent to 1.1 to 1.3 percent.
  • Political standoff will also further stimulate the outflow of capital, Fedotkova said, as investors are reluctant to channel their money into the country that may be possibly involved in any kind of military activity
  • As for businesses, a recent survey done by the Gaidar Institute suggests that more than a third of CEOs and owners of private companies would consider investing in production this year if the price for equipment went down and if the macroeconomic outlook were more certain, Vedomosti reported Monday. At the same time macroeconomic uncertainty was a headache for only 10 percent of surveyed state-controlled companies. No margin of error was given for the survey.
  • Haydn W on 08 Mar 14
     
    This article explains how the recent stand-off crisis in Ukraine is having a negative effect on the Russian economy, with the Rouble taking a further fall and GDP growth estimates being revised downwards. Predictably sanctions imposed by the west on Russia in response to the occupation of Crimea, an autonomous region of Ukraine populated largely by ethnic Russians, have affected businesses in Russia. We learn from the article that some $60 billion valuation has been lost by Russian companies in light of the tensions. This article relates to the macroeconomic concept of circular flow being a complex process with international trade and governments being involved majorly in proceedings.
Dina B

How facing a scarcity - of cash, time, even play - can reset the way we think - 0 views

www.theglobeandmail.com/...article14321835

scarcity

shared by Dina B on 17 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • Dina B on 17 Sep 13
     
    This is an interesting article that talks about how scarcity can really badger with people's mind. It also talks about how it makes us as people, focus. I think this is because we need scarcity to be able to achieve our goals to make the resources we want easier for us to get. This article mentions the phycological research done by Prof. Shafir collaborating with an economics professor Sendhil Mullainathan to write ' Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much '. It is an interesting read.
Marenne M

HPGCL starts process of slimming power generation bills - Economic Times - 0 views

articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/...forced-outages-chief-engineers

production cost

shared by Marenne M on 18 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • improve efficiency of its thermal power stations and bring down cost of generation.
  • power distribution utilities in the state were turning to non-state players due to the high variable cost.
  • ring down the cost of generation at Panipat, Hisar and Yamunanagar.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • analyse performance parameters, cost, heat rate, efficiency and safety at the plants every month.
  • Marenne M on 18 Jan 14
     
    This article describes how the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (HPGCL) is trying to bring down the cost of generation after an increase of competition due to the electricity act of 2003. Power Distribution companies in the state are turning to non-state generators due to the high variable costs of HPGCL. They are now trying to bring down these costs by more closely monitoring the heat rate, the efficiency and the cost.
  • Marenne M on 18 Jan 14
     
    This article describes how the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (HPGCL) is trying to bring down the cost of generation after an increase of competition due to the electricity act of 2003. Power Distribution companies in the state are turning to non-state generators due to the high variable costs of HPGCL. They are now trying to bring down these costs by more closely monitoring the heat rate, the efficiency and the cost.
Yassine G

Vote On Account 2014: Focus to shift back to the macros, says Religare Capital - Econom... - 0 views

articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/...arkets-current-account-deficit

macroeconomics government focus capital

shared by Yassine G on 06 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • Yassine G on 06 Mar 14
     
    This article really relates to the concept of macroeconomics and how it is influenced. It illustrates how elections could affect macroeconomics in addition to external and foreign factors. 
Yassine G

World economy needs more aggregate demand - Economic Times - 0 views

articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/...economy-negative-growth-nature

aggregate demand government

shared by Yassine G on 23 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • Yassine G on 23 Mar 14
     
    This might look like a very short article, however, i found it to pretty much sum up the whole theory, Aggregate demand is influenced by the government and hence decisions must be taken to increase aggregate demand. However, they must pay attention to other factors such as inflation and unemployment. this is what happens in real life. It is not just making the decision or finding a solution, it is also considering consequences and real needs and the ability to conduct a change. 
Haydn W

Royal Mail shares soar 38% as Labour complains of knockdown price | UK news | The Guardian - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...mail-share-price-buyers-profit

The Guardian Royal Mail Demand Supply Equilibrium UK `Shares FTSE100 Stock

shared by Haydn W on 12 Oct 13 - No Cached
  • Royal Mail shares soar 38% as Labour complains of knockdown price
  • Ed Miliband blames government for underpricing in 'fire-sale of a great British insititution' as investors make £284 paper profit
  • The government has been accused of shortchanging taxpayers by selling off Royal Mail at a knockdown price after shares in the privatised postal service rose by 38%
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • George Osborne said the privatisation had been a huge success.
  • Royal Mail stock, which the government sold at 330p, leapt to 455p
  • Royal Mail's market value rose by £1bn to £4.3bn – confirming that it will join the FTSE 100 list of Britain's biggest companies.
  • The government had valued Royal Mail at a maximum of £3.3bn, and had attacked analysts' valuation of £4.5bn as "way out".
  • Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the TUC, tweeted: "Privatising #RoyalMail has become little different from selling five pound notes for four quid."
  • Miliband, the Labour leader, said the jump in the share price – which made an immediate £284 paper profit for almost 700,000 Royal Mail investors – showed that the privatisation was a "fire sale of a great British institution"
  • Asked whether the shares had been sold too cheaply, the chancellor said: "All privatisations are done at a discount.
  • The National Audit Office, the public spending watchdog, will investigate the pricing of the float, but Cable dismissed the huge share price rise – which was bigger than that experienced on the 1980s flotation of BT and British Gas – as "froth and speculation" and said "what matters is where the price eventually settles".
  • The stockbrokers Peel Hunt said: "This is not 'froth'; it's real people buying, selling."
  • Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, described the share price surge as a "dazzling stock market debut".
  • Private investors who bought their shares directly from the government will have to wait until at least Tuesday if they want to sell. About 690,000 people were granted 227 Royal Mail shares worth £749.10 (at the 330p float price) following overwhelming public demand for the shares.
  • The public applied for more than seven times the number of shares available to them, which meant nearly everyone did not get as many shares as they had asked for.
  • More than 36,000 people who applied for more than £10,000 worth of shares were prevented from buying any at all. About 40 people applied for shares worth £1m or more.
  • It is understood that about 20% of the shares available have gone to sovereign wealth funds – including those of Kuwait, Norway and Singapore – and other foreign funds. Royal Mail's 150,000 employees collected 10% of the shares free of charge, worth about £2,200 each at the flotation price and now worth £2,900. Employees were also allowed to buy a further £10,000 worth, but are not allowed to sell for three years
  • Haydn W on 12 Oct 13
     
    This article shows how demand for shares in the newly floated UK postal service Royal Mail has pushed the price up from 330p a share to 450p. This is the price in which demand is seen to be equal to supply, something the UK Government are being criticised for failing to notice as they believed 450p was a far to high price. The move itself if highly controversial and has been a hotly debated topic ever since it's proposal with many employees fearing that jobs will be lost.
  • Yassine G on 12 Oct 13
     
    I think this is really normal. Simply because private companies tend to have higher efficiency rates and therefore make more profits, this is the business part of the reason. Now if we consider the economical reason, I think that higher profits (deviants) will attract a lot more shareholders, this means higher demand. from the other side, shareholders will be willing to keep their shares as the company is making more and more profits, therefore less shares supply. So in short, more demand, less supply of shares could not lead to anything else except hiher prices and greater value of the company.
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