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This article explains how South Korea is now imposing an extremely high tariff of 513% on foreign rice (mainly from China) on top of the already existing quotas to try to protect the domestic market even more

There is currently a stalemate between Washington and Tokyo: the US is urging Japan to lower tariffs on agricultural imports. Japan claims it must protect some sensitive agricultural products but the tariffs are kept high to protect politically important farmers.

The US and Japan are considering closing a deal on dairy industry liberalisation by imposing tariffs on for example skim milk powder and butter. These tariffs, which are supposedly introduced to 'protect Japanese agriculture' make trade impossible, which is in turn hurting countries heavily dependent on the dairy industry, like New Zealand.

This article talks about article resuming levying of import tariffs for coal.

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.

In this article it tells why the government prefer that NFA continue monopoly over rice importation.

I think this article relates to what we are studying as it mainly talks about scarcity. It says that water scarcity is one of the main challenges in Delhi, there is a huge demand for it but they need to learn how to distribute it around the city. People usually do not think that water is scarce, however this article shows that it is and people need to learn how to effectively distribute it.

Water scarcity is a very tough argument. We are consuming very high quantities of water and a huge part is being wasted. The study of economics may help people the population to make a "production possibility curve" so that the use of water is balanced.

It's really important that everyone start to realize how bad this cold be in the long run. If this wasteful use of water continues, we are going to face some serious consequences. Scientists should start working on developing new methods for agricultural use of water, as agriculture is considered to be on top of the consuming industries of water in many areas. meanwhile I think that countries should develop a water consuming rule, that somehow reduces water consumption.

This article describes the sales of the new Iphone 5s and 5c over the first weekend. They had a great number of sales, however the demand for the Iphone 5c is not what they expected. It is said that the price is still too high for their target market. Apple was hoping to expand their market into Asia by producing a cheaper version of the IPhone in order to increase their market share, however it is likely that they will fail to do so, because the demand will remain low as the product is still not affordable for many Asians. Relating to our question of the week, the price helps allocate a product in the free market because it determines who the target market is, and if the pricing is off, it will effect the efficiency of the sales.

This article describes the sales of the new Iphone 5s and 5c over the first weekend. They had a great number of sales, however the demand for the Iphone 5c is not what they expected. It is said that the price is still too high for their target market. Apple was hoping to expand their market into Asia by producing a cheaper version of the IPhone in order to increase their market share, however it is likely that they will fail to do so, because the demand will remain low as the product is still not affordable for many Asians. Relating to our question of the week, the price helps allocate a product in the free market because it determines who the target market is, and if the pricing is off, it will effect the efficiency of the sales.

This article asks the question is the ATM a public good. Inside we will find the article making statements to why it is in fact a public good and why it should be considered as one

This article deals with the idea of assign authority to banks to provide security to the ATM. Is the ATM a good that benefits to the society? Since the ATM is a way to give freedom to the people I would say yes, but should then the ATM be controlled by guards? In my opinion, I think it would be a good idea. Even though one might argue that the idea would take away the freedom of ATM, I think the security will provide even more freedom to the people since they can deal with their money safely.

Gasoline has a very inelastic demand. It became an essential product because it is used to produce energy, to use cars and for so many other functions. This article discusses if the elasticity of gasoline may is zero or not. Even the fact they are discussing it means that gasoline is essential because if its elasticity is considered to be zero or a little more it shows how important the product is and how muche the price of the product doesn't affect significantly the demand for it.

This article smoothly discusses the PED of gasoline. It's worth reading because it examines it clearly and quite precisely - e.g. taking into consideration time. It shows that gas is an inelastic good, due to the fact that it's really necessary and commonly used. This text ends with a nice conclusion stating that one's never fully sure about the changes in economy.

This article shows how important it is to sustain proper inflation. It should be not too high as well as not too low. Central Bank is able to control it with the interest rate.

This article tells us about how China will soon be experimenting granting farmers loans to help them in producing more food. With more farmers being able to borrow money they can turn that money into profit by harvesting and selling sugar, cotton, soy and corn

This article talks about five important economical problems

("Growth in 2013-14 is likely...) NEW DELHI: In its macroeconomic Review of the economy, the Reserve Bank of India has underlined various risks to a sustained recovery for the economy. RBI is of the opinion that a durable domestic recovery remains contingent on addressing persistent inflation and bottlenecks facing the mining and infrastructure sectors.

The monetary union of the Euro zone has been heavily criticized as only a place that shares one thing: its currency. It has been judged however they have incorrect, due to the integration of the countries' economies.

This article really looks into how a monetary union can work when it is so divided, and it goes on to say that the political ties are what enables it to thrive without major disturbances. It also mentions how important these ties are for the central bank and monetary policy of the bloc to work

This article concerns South Korea and its increase in the terms of trade due to the cheaper oil prices. Its import price have fallen steeply compared to its export. Affecting the county's GDP and economic growth.

This article is about how some of the 6 largest banks have been fined £2.6 billion for manipulating exchange rates for a number of years. The case is a good indication of the importance of exchange rates and that well-known and supposedly well-respected banks are willing to take the risk of committing this crime.

After 30 years in which the virtues of the free market went largely unchallenged, a quiet revolution is making its way across Africa. Many governments are increasingly ready to toss out the orthodoxy and rethink the importance of the role of the state in national development. The article also discusses the negatives of free trade

Talks are taking place between the EU and the USA to create the worlds biggest free trade area. In many goods the US is seen to have an absolute advantage in producing many goods but they also rely on European countries to provide many components to US businesses. This trade deal, although opposed by Unions and other activitists is seen by many to be vastly beneficial to the two parties.

This article from Belarusian news agency BeITA explains the exchange rate policy of the Belarusian National Bank, as described by Deputy Chairman Sergei Kalechits. It explains policy regarding the managed float status of the Belarusian Ruble and how the government pursues a balanced policy surrounding the currency, aiming to reduce the interest rate whilst maintaining competitive advantage with domestic exports.

This article details the so called resurgence of the US dollar, in terms of currency value. The currency itself has risen by around 7% against other currencies but Guardian economist Mohamed El-Erian warns that without the appropriate accompanying central bank policies, the rise of the dollar could cause further market volatility and at worst a new crash. El-Erian calls for governments to enact policy to support balance the current currency realignment.