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Marenne M

Sweet and sour: Sugarcane farmers object over price set by mills - The Express Tribune - 0 views

  • bumper crop this year but the government’s delay in setting a minimum selling price has soured their happiness
  • rice at which sugarcane is sold to sugar mills is usually set by the government in consultation with the Kisan Board
  • price floor is to protect the farmers’ interests as their costs are ever-increasing
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  • mills have unilaterally declared the buying price to be Rs10 higher than last year’s price per 40 kilogrammes (kg)
  • ugar mills purchase and crush sugarcane without considering the rising cost of the primary sector
  • Farmers, on the other hand, dislike the idea of fixing the price on the basis of price of sugar as sugar mills have other products to earn from whereas the cost for cane growers has almost doubled
  • mill owners are trying to get the maximum benefit for the lowest price from their (the farmers’) hard work
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    This article describes how every year the government places a price floor to ensure the farmers interest as prices increase. This article concerns the fact that the government has not yet set a minimum price for the purchase of the sugarcane. This leads to problems for the farmers, because the mills decide the price of the sugarcane without considering the cost of the farmers.
Haydn W

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

  • 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.
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    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

South Africa at 20: Storms behind the rainbow - Opinion - Al Jazeera English - 1 views

  • April 27 marks the 20th anniversary of South Africa's first democratic elections.
  • Many things have improved in South Africa since 1994, to be sure. State racism has ended, and the country now boasts what some have described as the most progressive constitution in the world. People have rights, and they know that there are institutions designed to protect and uphold those rights. Still, everyday life for most South Africans remains a struggle - a struggle that is infinitely compounded by the sense of disappointment that accompanies it, given the gap between the expectations of liberation and the state of abjection that the majority continues to inhabit.
  • South Africa's unemployment rate in 1994 was 13 percent - so bad that most were convinced it could only get better. Yet today it is double that, at about 25 percent.
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  • And that's according to official statistics; a more reasonable figure, according to most analysts, is probably closer to 37 percent. The situation is particularly bad for young people. The Economist recently reported that "half of South Africans under 24 looking for work have none. Of those who have jobs, a third earn less than $2 a day."
  • South Africa also boasts a reputation for being one of the most unequal countries in the world. Not only has aggregate income inequality worsened since the end of apartheid, income inequality between racial groups has worsened as well.
  • According to the 2011 census, black households earn only 16 percent of that which white households earn. About 62 percent of all black people live below the poverty line, while in the rural areas of the former homelands this figure rises to a shocking 79 percent.
  • The ANC's Black Economic Empowerment programme has succeeded in minting new black millionaires (South Africa has 7,800 of them now), but can't seem to manage the much more basic goal of eliminating poverty.
  • during the negotiated transition of the 1980s and early 1990s. The apartheid National Party was determined that the transition would not undermine key corporate interests in South Africa, specifically finance and mining. They were willing to bargain away political power so long as they could retain control over the economy. And so they did.
  • The ANC was forced to retreat from its position on nationalisation and an IMF deal signed just before the transition deregulated the financial sector and clamped down on wage increases.
  • Still, when the ANC assumed power in 1994 it implemented a progressive policy initiative known as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). The RDP was designed to promote equitable development and poverty reduction
  • Despite its successes, this policy framework was abandoned a mere two years later. Mbeki and then Finance Minister Trevor Manuel held clandestine discussions with World Bank advisors toward drafting a new economic policy known as GEAR (Growth, Employment, and Redistribution, even though it accomplished precious little of the latter).
  • Given these contradictions, it's no wonder that South Africa is ablaze with discontent, earning it the title of "protest capital of the world".
  • Early this year some 3,000 protests occurred over a 90-day period, involving more than a million people. South Africans are taking to the streets, as they give up on electoral politics. This is particularly true for the young: Nearly 75 percent of voters aged 20-29 did not participate in the 2011 local elections.
  • The government's response has been a mix of police repression - including the recent massacre of 44 striking miners at Marikana - and the continued rollout of welfare grants, which now provide a vital lifeline to some 15 million people.
  • So far the protests have been focused on issues like access to housing, water, electricity, and other basic services, but it won't be long before they coalesce into something much more powerful
  • as they did during the last decade of apartheid. There are already signs that this is beginning to happen. The Economic Freedom Fighters, recently founded by Julius Malema, the unsavory former leader of the ANC Youth League, is successfully mobilising discontented youth and making a strong push to nationalise the mines and the banks.
  • It seems that the ANC's legitimacy is beginning to unravel and consent among the governed has begun to thin. It is still too early to tell, but the death of Mandela may further widen this crack in the edifice of the ruling regime, as the ANC scrambles to shore up its symbolic connection to the liberation struggle.
  • In short, the situation in South Africa over the past 20 years opens up interesting questions about the meaning of democracy. What is democracy if it doesn't allow people to determine their own economic destiny or benefit from the vast wealth of the commons? What is freedom if it serves only the capital interests of the country's elite? The revolution that brought us the end of apartheid has accomplished a great deal, to be sure, but it has not yet reached its goal. Liberation is not yet at hand.
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    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.
Yassine G

BBC News - UK industrial output in surprise fall - 0 views

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    The article is talking about the overall decrease in output in the UK. According to the article, some industries have been responsible for this, such as the industries of electronics, food and beverages. This hence affected the overall economical situation in the country which also affected the levels of imports and exports. The interesting thing is that even though the production has fallen in the short run, in the long run it was doing okay this demonstrates how we shouldn't judge from the short run situation and that we should take a look the overall result from the long run 
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
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  • 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.
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    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. 
Yassine G

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

  • which
  • Revenues
  • Revenues at
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  • 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.
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    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

Beer Store Monopoly's End Would Mean Higher Prices: Study - 0 views

  • Ontario beer drinkers can expect to see prices rise if sales are allowed in convenience stores, according to a new study carried out for the province’s Beer Store.
  • The study, to be released Monday at the Toronto Board of Trade, says consumers can expect to pay about $10 more for a 24-pack of beer if the Beer Store’s monopoly ends.
  • The study says privatization in Alberta and British Columbia led to higher prices in those provinces. It also calculates that, if Ontario had followed Alberta’s lead on beer sales, the Ontario government would have missed out on $5.4 billion in revenue over the past 20 years.
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    This is an interesting article about monopoly. In the article, it is argued that as beer also gets allowed to be sold in convenience stores and not only in the beer store which has been a monopoly of beer, then there will be a rise in price. The government argues that it would have gained revenue if sold in convenience stores, as a study said that privatization in Alberta and British Columbia led to higher prices in those provinces.
Philine D

The Psychology of Scarcity, Days late, Dollars short - 1 views

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    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"
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    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'.
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    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.
Dina B

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

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    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.
Yassine G

Pollution as a Public Good - NYTimes.com - 1 views

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    This is a very interesting public good. It is both helpful for the government and the public. Pollution will decrease, which means better and healthier living condition, and the cost of the permits allows the government to add new public gods or improve the quality of its services. 
Dina B

' The NHS must be preserved from commercial interests' - 1 views

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    This article, written by Stephen Hawking, talks about how the NHS (british heath care paid for by the government) is a great public good and should not be made private and given a charge. He talks about his personal experience.
Clemente F

What happens when easy money ends? - 0 views

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    The article talks aboutthe quantative easing the FED gave and how it may affect the markets. "As interest rates rise, so does the expected return. This, in turn, pushes down the price that investors are willing to pay for a dollar in earnings" this is the concept of equilibrium in a more financial point of view. It says that the steeper the field curve is the higher the interests will be and therefore the equilibrium rises.
Yassine G

The End Of Elastic Oil - Forbes - 1 views

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    This is a very interesting article that really helps understand this topic in depth and with real examples. Oil market is one of the largest in the world, this article talks about elasticity of demand and supply in this market. There is an explanation on the effects of different factors that determine the elasticity and what they do for this market. 
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    Although there are discovered new sources of oil (e.g. in Saudi Arabia), the suppliers have to drill deeper which is time-consuming and therefore the costs of production rise. 'In economic terms, the oil supply is becoming less elastic as new oil supplies come increasingly from unconventional oil.'
Haydn W

Japan's consumer inflation set to reach five-year high | World news | The Guardian - 0 views

  • Country sees core consumer prices soar as sales tax hike forms part of PM Shinzo Abe's plan for reviving moribund economy
  • Core consumer prices in Tokyo, a leading indicator of nationwide inflation, appear to have risen by the largest amount for 22 years in April after an increase in Japan's sales tax drove up prices
  • The poll also suggested the headline figure for Japan's nationwide consumer inflation may have reached a five-year high in March
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  • Higher inflation is a key aim of the economic policies of the country's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who was elected in 2012
  • Japanese consumer prices are expected to keep showing steady headway towards the Bank of Japan's 2% inflation target. But the erosion of consumer spending power due to the sales tax increase – to 8% from 5% – underlines the need for long-stagnant wages to catch up with inflation to underpin consumption and help economic recovery.
  • The core consumer price index for Tokyo, available a month before the nationwide data, is likely to have increased 2.8% in April from a year earlier
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    Japan's inflation rate continues to rise according to this article from the Guardian. Prime minister Shinzo Abe aims to boost the inflation rate in the country to an approximate 2% level but, as typical with many countries, wages have not caught up with these levels and thus consumer spending power has been reduced drastically. Other interesting things to note are the rise in electricity and gas prices contributing to the increased CPI data.
Haydn W

Inflation Forecast 2014-2014: Continued Mild Price Increases - 1 views

  • Inflation is likely to remain mild in the next two years, but first a caution: none of the inflation forecasting models is doing a good job these days.
  • the Phillips Curve was our primary way of looking at inflation. William Phillips found an inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment over the period 1861-1957. This simple approach was used here in the United States in the 1960s and 70s.
  • With lower unemployment you would expect greater inflation. However, the Phillips Curve does not explain why inflation didn’t go down much when our unemployment rate was high a few years ago.
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  • Milton Friedman said “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon . . . .” The relationship was solid for a long time, though financial changes in the 1990s made the theory harder to apply.
  • Unfortunately, the expectations-augmented Phillips Curve has not worked well in recent years. One study found that the predicted inflation for 2010 was negative 4.3 percent, while actual inflation was still positive.
  • Different theories tell us that the actual dynamics by which inflation changes are influenced not only by unemployment but also by inflation expectations.
  • Two different money concepts have been used, the money supply (such as the M2 definition) and the monetary base Recent data for both concepts indicate that inflation should have been much higher in recent years. The fact that inflation has accelerated very little suggests that in the current environment, the money-inflation connection is not very tight.
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    This article from Forbes is primarily titled to be a forecast about inflation in the coming fiscal year but it also interestingly (and relevant to our studies) discusses the different arguments and criticism surrounding the modelled Phillips Curve. The article also contains an interesting graph that is based on recorded statistics about inflation and unemployment which helps to demonstrate the problems with the Phillips Curve model. 
Daniel Soto Aggard

RBI wants to maintain status quo till supply-side scenario improves: Glenn Saldanha - 0 views

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    This is an article concerning the Reserve Bank of India and its problem with inflation. The article discusses how the Govenor of the Reserve Bank of India will commit to his supply side policies in order to reduce in inflation by January next year. Very simple but interesting read that could spark one's interest into further investigating the issue.
Zube Iheobi

European Central Bank slashes interest rates as eurozone suffers 'lowflation' crisis - ... - 0 views

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    this is relevent to this weeks reading because it amother way of the government making changes, however here its not the government its the central bank. and acts of the central baks are more monetary poilicy as they predominantly affect AD
Haydn W

Income distribution of New York City: What does it take to be rich? - 1 views

  • So You’re Rich for an American. Does That Make You Rich for New York?
  • New Yorkers have a notoriously skewed sense of wealth—at least when they work in industries like finance or media and live in Manhattan or Brooklyn. It’s hard not to, seeing how we’re surrounded by expensive restaurants, expensive apartments, and expensively dressed people who seem able to afford it all.
  • If I mention that a six-figure salary counts as rich in much of the country—that just $250,000 gets you into the top 2 percent—the response is usually, “Sure, but that’s not New York rich.”
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  • The greater New York metro area may be home to an enormous share of the country’s 1 percenters, and it's certainly a magnet for exorbitant, plutocratic wealth. But in the city itself, the basic income curve isn’t that exceptional. In the entire U.S., according to the Census, about 22 percent of households earn six figures. In NYC, it’s about 25 percent.
  • Real estate here is expensive, and we don’t get much square footage for our buck. But as I wrote yesterday, the high rents in this city are balanced out somewhat by the low, low cost of commuting on the subway. (Not paying for a car, or gas, or car insurance is pretty financially sweet.)
  • Combine that with the fact that salaries are somewhat higher than average here, and New York is reasonably affordable compared with other large cities.
  • The upshot: If you’re rich by U.S. standards, you’re probably also rich by New York standards. Now, if you do want to see a city where incomes are crazily out of line with the national norm, check out San Francisco, where 39 percent of households make six figures—it really is becoming a city for the rich.
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    This article from Slate tackles the issue of income distribution in one of the most notoriously expensively cities on Earth - New York. The article relates the economic principles learned this week to real life and the cost of living in a bustling city, with an interesting conclusion that might surprise some.
Yassine G

RealClearMarkets - The Federal Government's Increasing Tax Impact On the Private Sector - 0 views

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    this article is very interesting. It illustrates how the government could affect the private business. This could be by imposing taxes on them. This article is talking about the American Federal government. In this case, the government is imposing more and more taxes which is increasing the cost on businesses. This affects negatively their ability to supply and global combativeness. What i also liked about the article, is the amount of measured data it contains. there are many numbers that help you understand what happened and what will happen.
Yassine G

Aggregate Supply, Aggregate Demand, and Coal - NYTimes.com - 1 views

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    this article talks about how a policy change could affect aggregate supply. It is quit hard to understand but it is very interesting. Of course this is from the point of view of an economist, Paul Krugman 
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