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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
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  • 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.
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    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.
Yassine G

Unemployment Claims Decline to Nearly a 7-Year Low - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    This article talks about how unemployment is decreasing and what are the causes. We saw that there was a seasonal unemployment and that the government's intervention was helpful as it created new jobs 
John B

Sweden Q3 Current Account Surplus Falls - 0 views

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    This article says there has been a decline in the current account surplus in Sweden.
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.
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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.
  • 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!
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    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.
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    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.
Hyobin Lim

S.Korea's inflation falls to 7-month low on easing supply-side pressure - 2 views

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2014-10/01/c_133686923.htm

supply side

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.
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  • 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.
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    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. 
John B

Drop in U.S. Jobless Claims, Rising Consumer Confidence Point to Recovery - Bloomberg - 2 views

  • Fewer Americans filed claims for jobless benefits last week and consumer confidence stabilized
  • indicating strengthening sales in the U.S. and overseas are helping manufacturers like United Technologies Corp. (UTX)
  • We have an economy that is growing solidly,
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  • A slowdown in firings and growing payrolls may spur further gains in consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.
  • report today showed orders placed with factories unexpectedly fell in February for the first time in four months, reflecting weaker demand for capital goods and military aircraft.
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    This article is dealing with the economy in the U.S. It starts with stating that consumer confidence is stabilized, which could be because of the growing economy in the U.S. For example, the sales in U.S. and overseas are strengthen. One could also see from this article that the amount of people being fired from their jobs decrease which contributes to a growing consumer spending. Although, the demand for capital goods and military aircraft is becoming weaker.
Amanda Anna G

GBP/EUR, GBP/USD, GBP/AUD, GBP/NZD Exchange Rates All Weaker on House Price Falls - Exc... - 1 views

  • The Pound (GBP) exchange rate remained weaker against the majority of its most traded peers on Thursday as house price data added to concerns that the UK economy is slowing down and reduced pressure on the Bank of England (BoE) to raise interest rates.
  • Against the US Dollar, the Pound weakened to a fresh 14-month low and against the Euro, it declined to its weakest level in three weeks. Against the Australian and New Zealand Dollars, the Pound fell to its lowest level in 2-weeks.
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    This article is about the exchange rate in the UK for the Pund (GBP), which has become weaker during the past weeks. This implies that the UK economy is slowing down. 
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