Skip to main content

Home/ Jacob Solomon's group - M2015(B)/ Group items tagged cuts

Rss Feed Group items tagged

John B

BlackBerry confirms loss of $965 million as sales drop 45% | Mobile - CNET News - 0 views

  • BlackBerry offered few surprises as it posted a fiscal second-quarter loss of nearly $1 billion as its smartphones continued to struggle in the marketplace.
  • The official results come a week after BlackBerry released preliminary figures and said it would cut roughly 40 percent of its staff as it shifted its focus away from consumers and more towards business customers.
  • Its newer phones as a whole didn't seem to resonate with consumers. The company said it shipped 3.7 million BlackBerrys, but a majority of them were made up of BlackBerrys running older software, which remain popular in emerging markets because of their low price.
  •  
    This article is about how the BlackBerry phones are dropping in demand, and therefore the company have to "cut roughly 40 percent of its staff..." because of the loss of $965 million. When they have to cut down on he staff, it means that they can't afford the service that those workers can provide.
  •  
    This article is about how the BlackBerry phones are dropping in demand, and therefore the company have to "cut roughly 40 percent of its staff..." because of the loss of $965 million. When they have to cut down on he staff, it means that they can't afford the service that those workers can provide.
Yassine G

BBC News - Four merged 'super colleges' launch - 1 views

  • the mergers could save £50m a year.
  • will provide a real stimulus for economic growth
  • In the short term, the changes will have a limited impact
  •  
    This article is about colleges merge ring. you can see that it is very similar to businesses merge ring. The cost will be cut and performance will be better. The article also shows that the impact i the short run will not be big, however, it i will start to show in the long run. this is exactly the case with any other merger of any type of business. 
Haydn W

Scrap the licence fee and privatise the BBC - The Commentator - 0 views

  • The next two years will see a lively debate over the future of the British Broadcasting Corporation, with the current Royal Charter due to run out at the end of 2016.
  • According to an ICM poll in the Sunday Telegraph last month, 70 per cent of voters believe that the licence fee should be abolished or cut.
  • With the licence fee scrapped, should the BBC remain in public ownership? Or should the BBC be privatised, so that it can compete on a level playing field with the global media giants that are now emerging? 
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Paul Samuelson, the Nobel-prize-winning American economist, advanced the concept of "public goods" in his classic 1954 paper "The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure", demonstrating that such goods had to be financed by taxation and could not be left to the free market. The hostility to advertising meant that broadcasting was the textbook paradigm of a "public good".
  • Still benefiting from the halo conferred by its wartime role, the BBC was by far the most influential broadcasting service in the world. Further, with the UK accounting for almost 10 per cent of world output in the late 1940s, its state-owned monopoly was a vast broadcasting business by international standards. The BBC may not have been part of the British constitution, but it was undoubtedly a "national champion".
  • Advertising is sometimes demonised by left-wing commentators as capitalism without taste or shame, and as free enterprise at its selfish worst.
  • The actual position is far more even-handed and complex. As the growing unpopularity of the licence fee has constrained the BBC's revenues, TV advertising spend is now about the same size as the total money collected by the licence fee and well above the portion of this money devoted to television.
  • But the truly spectacular development of the last few years is that both total advertising spend and the licence fee money have been surpassed by BSkyB's subscription revenue. As BSkyB also picks up advertising revenue on its channels, its annual income is well above the BBC's.
  •  
    This article talks about the logistics of scraping the license fee that finances one of the worlds most famous examples of a public good, the BBC. Economic stagnation and falling wages have left many consumers disgruntled at the license fee and with the BBC failing to keep up with it's competitors in terms of revenue, costs have had to be cut at the world renowned corporation. The article explores the concept of the public good and how politicians have began to propose alternatives to the license fee.
Aleksi B

Toyota posts 23% jump in net income, helped by weak yen, cost cuts - 2 views

  •  
    This article shows that taking advantage of different currencies Toyota managed to increase their net profit
John B

Large fishing nations fail to agree to deep cuts in Pacific tuna quotas | Environment |... - 2 views

  • The 33 member states of the commission, which is tasked with ensuring sustainable fishing, negotiated a proposal to reduce the amount of yellowfin and bigeye tuna, which is regularly used in sashimi and sushi, by 2018.
  • The US, China, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan are responsible for 80% of bigeye tuna caught each year. In 2012, a record 2.6m tonnes of tuna was hauled from the Pacific – 60% of the global total.
  • “The big nations are the disappointing ones, given that they’ve refused to take cuts in their quota,” said Amanda Nickson
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Large fishing vessels will also now have to carry unique identification numbers, similar to passenger and cargo ships. The move is aimed at reducing illegal and unreported fishing.
  • Although there has been progress on some measures, it’s disappointing to see the commission fail on its core objective, which is to ensure sustainable fishing.
  •  
    This article deals with the quota put on the big nation's extreme fishing. The problem is that the nations ignore the quota and therefore there are species that are on their way to becoming extinct.
Haydn W

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

  • 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.
  •  
    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

Asda takes fight to discounters as sales fall - Telegraph - 2 views

  • Asda takes fight to discounters as sales fall
  • Asda’s chief executive has insisted that he is countering the rise of discount retailers Aldi and Lidl
  • Andy Clarke said recently-introduced price cuts had begun to pay off
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Despite this, Asda’s like-for-like revenues fell 0.1pc in the final three months of 2013 against the same quarter a year ago. This was the first fall since 2010, and means that three of the UK’s “Big Four” supermarkets saw declines in the period, with only J Sainsbury bucking the trend.
  • Asda announced a £1.3bn investment in cutting prices and improving quality in November
  • Asda’s market share declined from 17.6pc a year earlier to 17.1pc in the final quarter of the year, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel
  • Aldi and Lidl grew from a combined 5.8pc to 7.1pc.
  • Wal-Mart, the US giant behind Asda, also revealed a sales decline. The world’s biggest retailer said like-for-like sales fell 0.4pc in the quarter.
  •  
    This article details the rise of so called 'budget supermarkets' Aldi and Lidl in the UK taking market share from the 'Big Four' supermarkets Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. The supermarket industry in the UK is a prime example of an oligopoly, I'd argue that there isn't perhaps a better example anywhere as this market features all the tell-tale signs; the four supermarkets often compete in price wars, especially Asda, the store mentioned here. Also the firms often collude and fix prices across the board together. The market, however is changing with other firms entering the market to provide cheaper alternatives to the ' Big Four' whom so many consumers have become disenfranchised with.
Amanda Anna G

Morocco government raises energy prices to cut subsidies - Yahoo News - 0 views

  • RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's Islamist government raised energy prices on Monday as it began sensitive subsidies reform needed to meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) requirements.
  • Five ministers from the government's junior partner party have resigned in protest over the decision to raise prices.
  • But the move could shake the frail economy of the North African kingdom which relies mostly on tourism, agriculture and remittances from Moroccans living abroad. The government said it would return part of the increase on diesel fuel to professional drivers in the goods and people transport sector to avoid a snowball effect on prices.
  •  
    This article relates to subsidies since the government of Morocco has raised energy prices to save subsidy money that is needed for the International Monetary Fund requirements. Protests have been made from the government's junior partner party over the raise in price of energy. Higher taxes for energy will cause higher price for transportation for tourists and higher costs of production for agriculture. The government though, said they will return parts of the increase of energy prices for professional drivers to avoid a "snowball" effect on prices. But is the raise in price of energy due to the save of subsidy money rational for the country, looking upon the people's use of energy and the agriculture?
Haydn W

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

  • 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.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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!
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
Hardy Hewson

Indonesia's new leader, facing growth hurdles, may focus on cutting... - 1 views

  •  
    This article concerns the challenges facing the new leader of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, specifically the prospect of fiscal stimulus to the economy, the breaking down of government bureaucracy, and the supply-side reforms that may make this possible. It also discusses the personal experience Widodo has in combatting similar challenges as Jakarta Governor, and concludes that, on their own, supply-side reform will not "boost the economy in the short term, but announcing some positive reforms should encourage investors and that should help with the demand side as well."
John B

Indonesia set to cut fuel subsidy - 0 views

  • Indonesia’s parliament has paved the way for a rise in gasoline and diesel prices after months of debate and political haggling.
  • The average 33% hike will reduce the government’s ballooning fuel subsidy which has been a major drain on resources.
  • The move will likely stoke inflation
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • A proposed increase of 33% in fuel prices last year led to violent demonstrations around the country
  • Any increase in prices will lead to a short-term jump in inflation to between 7% and 8% from current levels of approximately 5% – a jump that economists say is a bitter pill but one the country has to swallow.
  • People have been expecting the price of fuel to go up,” said Ade, a street vendor in Jakarta. He sells fried rice to office goers in the business district to make a living. “So already the prices of all the basic food like rice and vegetables has gone up too. Also it is the beginning of the fasting month soon – and prices traditionally go up then too.”
  •  
    In this article the problem about rising the fuel prices with about 33% is talked about. The reason to why the government has decided to do this is because it "will reduce the government's ballooning fuel subsidy which has been a major drain on resources". Instead, the new budget includes money to about 15 million families, most of them are poor.
Haydn W

France's Fiscal Policy Targets Very Challenging Says IMF - NASDAQ.com - 0 views

  • PARIS--French President Francois Hollande has chosen the right path to repair the country's economy and finances, but its fiscal targets are very challenging, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.
  • At the start of the year, the socialist leader switched from a policy of tax increases to spending cuts to bring down the budget deficit.
  • The planned reduction in taxes mean that the cutbacks to spending relative to trend will need to be very large if public finances are to be brought back to balance
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • If the government delivers the EUR50 billion ($68.5 billion) of savings over 2015 to 2017 that would be "remarkable by historical standards," the IMF said.
  • data on Thursday showed the French economy remained weak at the start of this year, while Germany posted better-than-expected growth. France escaped the wider euro-zone recession that followed the bloc's debt crisis, but it has failed to post strong growth for the last two years and the government has repeatedly missed its targets for bringing down the deficit.
  • Mr. Hollande launched a Responsibility Pact, under which payroll taxes on businesses would be cut in an effort to boost investment and recruitment
  • The IMF said the measures in the Responsibility Pact would only slowly boost growth to around 1% this year and 1.5% in 2015. It also warned there are risks of a weaker rebound and that inflation would remain around 1% with the economy operating well below capacity.
  • The IMF said the European Central Bank--which indicated last week it may launch stimulus measures in June--could do more to help France meet its targets.
  • "More accommodative monetary conditions would help with the implementation of the fiscal program and bring forward the benefits of structural reforms," the fund said.
  •  
    This article details France's success in it's road to recovery following the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis. This week the IMF has hailed president François Hollande's cutback path to repair the countries economy but commented that his targets may be 'very challenging.' This comes after the French government has delivered vast savings through austerity measures whilst retaining general stability despite the rise of far-right groups like The Front National. In my opinion for a country in the eurozone Hollande's France seems to be doing well for itself on the road to recovery and could set an example for other Eurozone countries, like Greece and Portugal.
Hardy Hewson

Exclusive: China ready to cut rates again on fears of deflation - sources - 6 views

  •  
    Credit: Reuters This article concerns the apparent policy decision facing China as to whether it should cut interest rates and loosen lending so as to decrease the deflation in Chinese growth. Historically China has artificially manufactured low exchange rates so as to benefit their exports to other countries. This new policy therefore represents a step away from this traditional approach.
Aleksi B

Energy: The dash for cash | The Economist - 0 views

  • Mr Cameron said this could be worth £2m-3m ($3m-5m) a year for each
  • The industry says firms will pay £100,000 into funds for residents near each new exploration site, as well as 1% of revenues when wells start pumping gas.
  • hand over 5-10% of their cash.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • In America, where shale deposits belong to landowners instead of to the state, royalties of 12-25% sweeten the deal. Glynn Williams of Epi-V, which invests in gas services, thinks Britain’s fracking firms will eventually improve their offer, but are unlikely to stump up as much as 5% of their haul.
  •  
    This article says that in Britain, Shale wants to get a government grant on Fracking within the country. Shale will have to pay residents to leave the area but in return the revenue can be profitable
Yassine G

BBC News - Intel to cut 5% of staff after forecasting no growth this year - 0 views

  • which
  • Revenues
  • Revenues at
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • which
  • Intel's division which makes chips for desktop computers fell
  • s chips for desktop computers fell
  • % in 2013.
  • However, the company said there had been signs in the past few months that the PC sector was "stabilising".
  • For the full year 2013, the firm reported a net profit of $9.6bn, down 13% from a year ago.
  • Intel's chief financial officer, Stacy Smith, said the division's revenues in 2014 would probably come in toward the bottom of the previous estimate of 10% to 15% growth.
  • 'Bringing innovation
  • That included a 3D-camera technology, where one of its depth sensors could be used to interpret gesture controls and to separate foreground objects from the background.
  • It said laptops featuring the technology would go on sale this year.
  •  
    this is a very interesting article that demonstrates the total revenues and how they can fall or raise, it also compares different years' revenues and shows us how intel plans to overcome the fall in revenue. 
Amanda Anna G

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

  • 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.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • 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.
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
John B

Long-term unemployment: What the U.S. can learn from Sweden - The Term Sheet: Fortune's... - 1 views

  • less than 10% of Americans who were unemployed had been so for more than 27 weeks. Now, 35.8% of unemployed Americans fit into this category.
  • Long-term unemployment is a particularly pernicious problem because of its compounding nature -- long stretches of unemployment erode workers' skills, while employers have an irrational bias against the long-term unemployed.
  • Take Sweden
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • these workers find it harder and harder to find a job.
  • One 2007 study showed that out of six different Swedish programs, whose purposes ranged from worker retraining, helping workers maintain contact with former colleagues, temporary government employment, and employment subsidies, only the latter was effective at bringing down long-term unemployment.
  • A wage subsidy is a program where the government pays part of a worker's check, thus raising the worker's income and inducing firms to hire more workers.
  • Wage subsidies aren't just a potential solution to the debate over the minimum wage. They could also help bring down U.S long-term unemployment as well.
  • Wage subsidies haven't taken off in the U.S., primarily for political reasons.
  • The experience in Sweden shows that this policy can help the long-term unemployed find gainful employment.
  •  
    This article deals with the long-term unemployment issue in the US that have been rising a lot since 2002. One solution to this is to follow one of the Swedish programs, wage subsidies. This have given great results and might be a good solution to the problem in the US as well.
Haydn W

Fossil fuel subsidies 'killing UK's low-carbon future' | Environment | The Guardian - 0 views

  • Fossil fuel subsidies 'killing UK's low-carbon future'
  • despite commitments to cut carbon emissions and reduce "perverse" fossil fuel subsidies.
  • Britain is "shooting itself in the foot" by subsidising its coal, oil and gas industries by $4.2bn (£2.6bn) a year even as government reviews the "green levies" on energy bills which support energy efficiency and renewable power, according to a report published on Thursday.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • The figures from the Overseas Development Institute suggest that Britain is now the world's fifth largest subsidiser of fossil fuels
  • For every $1 spent to support renewable energy, another $6 were spent on fossil fuel subsidies
  • In 2011, the latest year for which data is available, Britain gave tax breaks of £280m to oil and gas producers and reduced VAT on fossil fuels by several billion pounds
  • Rich countries have committed to phase out "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies but the ODI figures, drawn from the International energy agency, OECD and other sources, suggest global subsidies to fossil fuel producers totalled $523bn a year in 2011 – dwarfing subsidies to renewable energies.
  • £2.6bn yearly incentive favours investment in carbon at the expense of green energy, says thinktank
  • In effect, each of the 11.6bn tonnes of carbon emitted from the top 11 developed countries comes with an average subsidy of $7 a tonne – around $112 for every adult
  • The figures have been released as ministers prepare to go to Poland for the deadlocked UN climate talks and as uncertainty surrounds the future of government-mandated levies on energy bills that support fuel poverty schemes and renewable energy.
  • G20 governments accepted in 2009 that fossil fuel subsidies encourage wasteful consumption, reduce energy security, and undermine efforts to deal with the threat of climate change.
  • The report said: "Investors are being sent the wrong signals on two fronts as carbon prices decline and fossil fuel subsidies increase."
  • The report argues that fossil fuel subsidies also fail in one of their core stated objectives, which is to to benefit the poorest.
  •  
    This article describes how the UK government is heavily subsidising fossil fuel producers instead of prioritising and investing money in renewable sources of energy. Although it is essential to keep crude oil and fossil fuel prices low, as they are essential to many businesses, consumers and indeed the country itself, the G20, of which the UK is part of, has made a commitment to phasing out fossil fuels in favour of greener and more sustainable energy sources. 
Amanda Anna G

China's Coal Tariff Prolongs the Pain--Heard on the Street - WSJ - 1 views

  • China’s Coal Tariff Prolongs the Pain
  • The world’s top coal importer sent shock waves when it announced tariffs on imported coal of up to 6% Thursday.
  • China’s state media explicitly say this move is intended to protect local companies, 70% of whom are making losses as Chinese thermal coal prices have dropped 24% this year.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The import tariff now gives these locals the room to raise prices over the next few months. Higher prices would be supported if they can also cut production, as China’s coal industry association recently advocated.
  •  
    This article is about tariffs, as tariffs on imported coal of up to 6% will take place in China, in order to give local coal miners the opportunity to rise their prices as they will become more demanded. 
1 - 19 of 19
Showing 20 items per page