Group items tagged

This article discusses the impact of oil imports on the Pakistani balance of payments. In Pakistan, each year approximately 5 billion dollars worth of oil is imported due to its heavy consumption, which has a large impact on their balance of payments. Their large number of imports gives them a negative balance of payments and therefore slow down economic growth and impacts other parts of the economy. In the article it is suggested that the Pakistani use domestic coal for power production rather than importing as much oil, which could half the amount of money spent on oil imports therefore reforming their balance of payments.

This article gives you an idea of how we get our energy today, and how we will be getting it in the upcoming years. It emphasizes mostly on water, as water is being used in Steam-driven coal plants in a large amount. These plants are increasing as they are more environmental friendly. This means that demand on water is increasing rapidly although water itself is a becoming very scarce. This High demand for this scarce very important natural resource raises many questions about how we would be able to survive in the long run.

This article is about when a large firm- NextStage decides to merge with another firm. The merger should help lift the firm's value. The firm and the other firm- VuQo would provide a platform to raise capital and then be able to create a high-potential export product from the Philippines. Also, the merge will benefit for VuQo's part since it brings positive strategic synergy that will create more business opportunities and hence might increase the value of VuQo.

In this article stated that Spain's largest bank made a claim saying the unemployment will take over a decade just to fix. Spain are in a large amount of debt as they rose from last year and the Spanish research and development spending is 70% below the EU level

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 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.

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 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.

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.

This article is simply about troubles with an alternative to one of the most worrying scarce resources - fossil fuels. Will we eventually have to find something else?

Yes indeed, you're right. I believe this is one of the most important factors among markets; in fact transport rests on it. Well, we still have some time and I'm full of hope scientists will strike a happy medium :)

This is an interesting article as it shows how most people and businesses aren't actively investing in Bio Fuels, a renewable source and instead continuing to settle for scarcer fossil fuels even as the price of petroleum rises sharply in many countries. I think it's a sad fact really that we aren't taking a more active role in protecting our planet from vast exploitation.

This article describes the scarcity of water in Pakistan due to a lack of organization and planning. It goes into detail about what causes the scarcity of water, what the current effect is on Pakistan, what effect it could have in the future, and some solutions to this problem.

This article relates to externalities of production, since air pollution caused by industries and transport emissions is classified to be carcinogenic to humans and raises the risk for illness. The harmful effect the industries make, causes a negative externality upon the third party- the society breathing in polluted air, who indirectly receives an extra cost by the pollution.

This article states that air pollution is the main cause of cancer. In terms of economics, this means that it is an external cost of production received in consumption - as the process of recovering from cancer is very costly.

This article is about the biography of Steve Jobs. It is talking about how Jobs used agglomeration externalities, "individuals and firms obtain productivity boosts by clustering together". By the use of the location, Jobs managed build up the company, but he is not alone building this company. He has his personal and professional associates that result in a boost in productivity. They use agglomeration.

This article is telling us about how the higher education (college) is allocated. If it is a private good or a public good. I would say that for the moment, it is a good that is can be excluded for people who cannot afford it. Therefore it is not a public good.

this article talks about the price mechanism and influence on the price that could be caused by two corporations which are very strong on this market. both industires have impact on price and the dispute should be resolved by the supreme court.

This article gives us an idea on how prices of some necessities are set. In this case two of the biggest companies in the oil market in their area are having some disagreements on what the price should be. Since they have a big share of the market, they act like a monopoly. the supreme court intervention was required to help settle this dispute.

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.

This article explains how rising AD has lead to house prices rising exponentially in Sydney, Australia. Houses are selling for around $1 million AUD over reserve and a three bedroom apartment recently sold for $4.3 million breaking the $3 million reserve. The rising demand for houses is typical of economies at the moment as most workers want to move to large cities to secure jobs. 

This article describes the great aggregate demand in the housing industry in Sydney, leading to massive consumer spending. People are buying houses way over their selling price, because the aggregate demand is so high. 

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 interview details the style of policy making to promote growth initated by Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister. Economic growth and development is arguably the most important area of policy in India and will be a huge focal point of any international discussions centered around the region.

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