Group items tagged

This article is about taking economies of scale into account when trying to save money. Instead of buying your breakfast, you can make your own, like burritos. It will require little labour, time and money when it is spread on all burritos.

This article discusses how the Netherlands are finally picking up after a 2 year long recession. One of the main problems during the recession was that the Dutch citizens became afraid to spend money because they were unsure of their financial state in the near future. This caused a sort of glitch in the macroeconomic cycle of Holland, because people stopped spending and the companies stopped making as much income, therefore people got fired, and the cycle continues on. The economy in Holland is finally picking up and the GDP is said to rise by 0.75% this year.

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.

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.

This article is about the economy in Malta. The macroeconomic challenges Malta have been facing are now no longer risks and imbalances in the economy. This is due to, among others, that the housing market has stabilized and the private dept is on the decrease. 

great article about the macroeconomy of S.Korea. Maybe it gives too much info so it leaves less space for analysis.

In this article, the author discuss the affects of the actions of the government in China. It is a modern topic today due to the demonstrations being held in Hong Kong. The authors mentions that the statement about entering a democracy, and then pulling back on the decision means that they were on the right track to get the market more free from the government, hence less poverty, but now he thinks it is gonna worsen the economical conditions. A free market has saved many economies, why should China still not give in for the human rights and improve their economy?

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.

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. 

This article from the London Evening Standard details how the IMF have warned the UK government over remaining household debt and the dangers it poses to the economy. The IMF have also called for 'supply side measures... to safeguard housing affordability' - a growing problem in both London and the UK as a whole.

The company sells batteries to automobile manufacturers and the replacement market .But fall in sales and margins hit the company hard.

The trade on the route Europe-Asia depends mainly on shipping. The biggest corporation is Eleonora Maersk. In this article it was highlighted that only big companies take advantages of economies of scale in this business and small ones could quite their entrepreneuers in the future.

This article discusses the ramifications of the Comcast - Time Warner Cable merger in America. The two biggest internet and cable providers in the country are set to merge effectively creating one monopoly firm. The market has the charactersists of a monopoly in the fact that new firms can not really enter, even huge phone providers like Verizon and Sprint are having to stop rolling out fibre optic broadband, meaning internet speeds for there customers are set to remain slow. The cable industry is often a typical example of a monopolistic market and it looks set to stay this way. 

The article argues about the psychology that there is in the concept of scarcity. It is said that this concept is partially destroying the economy I believe. They say that because because of scarcity shortens a person's horizons but it is also very positive because when a person lacks of something acts differently. Even if they don't precisely know what they desire the fact that they may lack of it they may "succumb to a similar scarcity"

I think this is an interesting article as it explores not only how scarcity affects an economy but takes a physiological approach and investigates how scarcity can effect our mindset. This, I feel is particularly relevant in today's 'tough economy'.

This article is essentially promoting a book that has been written about scarcity and the mindset that evolves from it. It is interesting because it offers you some real life example of scarcity and it explains the psychology of scarcity.

From Al Jazeera I chose this article about the poor state of the economy in South Africa, 20 years after Nelson Mandela and the ANC came to power, ending the system of political, social and economic segregation, Apartheid. Despite reforms in the 90's the majority of wealth and power is still held by rich whites. With around 30% unemployment rate and young people struggling to find work many feel only anger and resentment to the current ANC government led by Jacob Zuma. Economically speaking South Africa's imports are up and exports down, reducing GDP as AS is shifted left. This is especially evident in industries like mining and banking which many are now calling for to be nationalised. 20 years on from Nelson Mandela's historic victory in the 1994 general election, South Africa, despite being free of the shackles of segregation is not in the boom many predict. The ANC must be careful in there actions, should they, following the death of Madiba lose contact with his legacy and what he stood for.

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. 

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.

This article is about the Russian-dominating bloc, and how it affects trade and economies. 

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.