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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 
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
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    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. 
Marenne M

Regulating the petrol oligopoly - The Express Tribune - 1 views

  • In theory, petrol prices in Pakistan are deregulated, but in practice, the government still has considerable sway over oil pricing. This is because of the unusual structure of the oil marketing industry, which has fewer than a dozen national players, and the largest company in the industry is a state-owned entity that controls over two-thirds of the market.
  • It is also a market that sells a necessary product where many of the suppliers can often have local monopolies or oligopolies. In short, it is ripe for market manipulation, unless the government acts to control such activity.
  • What is the point of having a regulatory authority if it does not have the power to levy punishments for those who violate the law?
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  • ensure a level playing field and fair play
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    The article is about regulating the petrol oligopoly in Pakistan. It argues that the petrol-firms under oligopoly set their own high prices, and the government is deregulating the prices but the prices are still too high. 
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    Oligopolies contain firms that operate at a profit maximizing level and that in the short run can have burst of price changes. These changes in prices are due to an instant attempt at increasing the market share, however this leads to issues for other firms as well as consumers. In order for this to be prevented, government regulation is an option. This article describes how instead of regulating the industry the government is operating it, and what problems this causes
Daniel B

long- and short-term unemployment have similar inflation impact - 3 views

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    This article deals with the long- and short term unemployment and their impact on inflation. Federal Reserve's paper gives doubts whether there is any difference between them. Worth looking through!
Zuzanna G

U3O8: Low Capital Costs, Short Term Uranium Production in South America - 0 views

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    This article discusses the opportunities for uranium production in South America.
Yassine G

World economy needs more aggregate demand - Economic Times - 0 views

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    This might look like a very short article, however, i found it to pretty much sum up the whole theory, Aggregate demand is influenced by the government and hence decisions must be taken to increase aggregate demand. However, they must pay attention to other factors such as inflation and unemployment. this is what happens in real life. It is not just making the decision or finding a solution, it is also considering consequences and real needs and the ability to conduct a change. 
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.
Yassine G

The Looming Threat of Water Scarcity - 1 views

  • Some 1.2 billion people—almost a fifth of the world—live in areas of physical water scarcity, while another 1.6 billion face what can be called economic water shortage
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    This articles talks about how much people have to live with less amount of water than they need or, with no water at all in some cases. It also highlights the countries that use a lot of water and how they are using it. It also rises awareness about this global issue and its long and short-term impact on us. 
Yassine G

Yellen: Unemployment and Inflation Still Short of Fed's Goals - MarketPulse - 1 views

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    This article talks about the inflation and unemployment rates in the United States. According to the Federal Reserve Chair, the economy is still unstable as unemployment rates exceed the Fed's goals, while inflation rates need a boost to achieve the target of 2%. The article suggests that monetary policies are going to be used in order to achieve the macroeconomics target of the USA. 
Aleksi B

India Plans Price Controls on Patented Drugs - WSJ.com - 0 views

  • India plans to widen the scope of price controls on pharmaceuticals
  • The new proposals would extend price restrictions beyond generic medicines to apply for the first time to patented drugs
  • The plans come as Bayer AG BAYN.XE -0.17% Bayer AG Germany: Xetra €94.89 -0.16 -0.17% Nov. 15, 2013 5:35 pm Volume : 2.67M P/E Ratio 25.24 Market Cap €78.47 Billion Dividend Yield 2.00% Rev. per Employee €363,176 10/31/13 Bayer Boosted by New Drugs 09/13/13 Bayer Under Scrutiny in China More quote details and news » BAYN.XE in Your Value Your Change Short position is fighting an order from India's patent authority that required the Germany company to issue a license allowing an Indian generic-drug company to sell a less expensive copy of Bayer's patented cancer drug Nexavar.
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  • India sets prices for 74 generic medicines and is considering increasing the number of medicines covered by price caps to 348
  • Any attempt to restrict prices of patented drugs likely will rankle foreign pharmaceutical companies
  • The move raised fears in India that without price controls patented drugs might be unaffordable for a majority of the country's 1.2 billion people.
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    The article explains on how India are planning to put price controls on their drugs making them go for lower prices so that people can afford them.
Haydn W

Royal Mail shares soar 38% as Labour complains of knockdown price | UK news | The Guardian - 0 views

  • Royal Mail shares soar 38% as Labour complains of knockdown price
  • Ed Miliband blames government for underpricing in 'fire-sale of a great British insititution' as investors make £284 paper profit
  • The government has been accused of shortchanging taxpayers by selling off Royal Mail at a knockdown price after shares in the privatised postal service rose by 38%
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  • Miliband, the Labour leader, said the jump in the share price – which made an immediate £284 paper profit for almost 700,000 Royal Mail investors – showed that the privatisation was a "fire sale of a great British institution"
  • Royal Mail stock, which the government sold at 330p, leapt to 455p
  • Royal Mail's market value rose by £1bn to £4.3bn – confirming that it will join the FTSE 100 list of Britain's biggest companies.
  • The government had valued Royal Mail at a maximum of £3.3bn, and had attacked analysts' valuation of £4.5bn as "way out".
  • Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the TUC, tweeted: "Privatising #RoyalMail has become little different from selling five pound notes for four quid."
  • George Osborne said the privatisation had been a huge success.
  • Asked whether the shares had been sold too cheaply, the chancellor said: "All privatisations are done at a discount.
  • The National Audit Office, the public spending watchdog, will investigate the pricing of the float, but Cable dismissed the huge share price rise – which was bigger than that experienced on the 1980s flotation of BT and British Gas – as "froth and speculation" and said "what matters is where the price eventually settles".
  • The stockbrokers Peel Hunt said: "This is not 'froth'; it's real people buying, selling."
  • Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, described the share price surge as a "dazzling stock market debut".
  • Private investors who bought their shares directly from the government will have to wait until at least Tuesday if they want to sell. About 690,000 people were granted 227 Royal Mail shares worth £749.10 (at the 330p float price) following overwhelming public demand for the shares.
  • The public applied for more than seven times the number of shares available to them, which meant nearly everyone did not get as many shares as they had asked for.
  • More than 36,000 people who applied for more than £10,000 worth of shares were prevented from buying any at all. About 40 people applied for shares worth £1m or more.
  • It is understood that about 20% of the shares available have gone to sovereign wealth funds – including those of Kuwait, Norway and Singapore – and other foreign funds. Royal Mail's 150,000 employees collected 10% of the shares free of charge, worth about £2,200 each at the flotation price and now worth £2,900. Employees were also allowed to buy a further £10,000 worth, but are not allowed to sell for three years
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    This article shows how demand for shares in the newly floated UK postal service Royal Mail has pushed the price up from 330p a share to 450p. This is the price in which demand is seen to be equal to supply, something the UK Government are being criticised for failing to notice as they believed 450p was a far to high price. The move itself if highly controversial and has been a hotly debated topic ever since it's proposal with many employees fearing that jobs will be lost.
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    I think this is really normal. Simply because private companies tend to have higher efficiency rates and therefore make more profits, this is the business part of the reason. Now if we consider the economical reason, I think that higher profits (deviants) will attract a lot more shareholders, this means higher demand. from the other side, shareholders will be willing to keep their shares as the company is making more and more profits, therefore less shares supply. So in short, more demand, less supply of shares could not lead to anything else except hiher prices and greater value of the company.
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.
Hardy Hewson

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

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    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
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  • 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.”
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    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.
John B

Report: Fresno area aggregate supply slipping - 1 views

  • Despite several approved and extended rock mines in the last 10 years, Fresno County's current aggregate reserves are not expected to last very long
  • aggregate is still in short supply in the Valey
  • Current mining operations in the region are estimated to have less than 10 years remaining to meet the projected demand in construction.
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  • Northern Tulare County was shown to have a little more leeway with 27 million tons of permitted reserves. That represents 22 percent of the area's 50-year demand of 124 million tons, a supply of 11 to 20 years.
  • Much of the aggregates needed in the Fresno area are produced in Coalinga out of mines operated by Granite Construction and Jaxon Enterprises, both of which are reaching the end of their supplies
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    This article deals with the fact that the company Fresno County has little aggregate reserves compared to its competitors. This means that they cannot produce as much as they would need to in order to keep its business going.
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.
Samuel Choi

RBI cautious on response to gold import surge - 0 views

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    India, the world's second-largest gold-consuming country, is battling a balance of payments crisis as the gold import industry grew exponentially in a short amount of time. Though the spike in the import numbers is clear, no clear action has been taken yet; policymakers, however, agree that restrictions must be placed on private trading houses. Private jewelry exporters are the main customers and account for a massive number of the bulk for the demand of gold. "India sharply restricted gold imports in early 2013 as the country battled a balance of payments crisis triggered by the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement that it would start to ease its programme of quantitative easing. But it eased some of the measures after India's current account deficit fell sharply from the record high of 4.8 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year ended in March 2013 to 1.7 percent in the quarter ending in June."
Clemence Lafeuille

France's October Current Account Deficit Narrows to €0.9billion - 0 views

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    Thus article, although short, gives precise numbers on France's current account deficit. It illustrates with numbers the size that a current account can be, and how in France it is currently being reduced, which is another proof of the recovery Europe is having.
Daniel Soto Aggard

Nizhny Novgorod region targets import substitution - 0 views

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    Nizhny Novgorod Governor Valery Shantsev took part in a business meeting devoted to prospects and opportunities of import substitution in the region. This is crucial in Russia's current situation thus substituting imports is a must. Short article, yet precise and interesting
Haydn W

Ukraine Uncertainty Depressing Growth and Investment | The Moscow Times - 5 views

  • As world leaders increase or trash their political clout depending on their audience and the statements they make about the situation in the Ukraine, some analysts were revising Russian GDP growth estimates to as low as 1.1 percent for the year.
  • Wednesday was a calmer day on the stock markets, following a dip of 10.8 percent Monday morning that vaporized near $60 billion of valuation from Russian companies.
  • Although Russia has seen some short-term budget benefits from ruble devaluation and increasing oil prices, the current impasse is not helping to fight stagnation or attract investment.
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  • The ruble strengthened slightly to 36 against the dollar and 49.4 against the euro Wednesday evening. This was well above the lows reached on Monday
  • Tightening fiscal policy was topped by possibly impending U.S. sanctions, including economic ones, followed by President Vladimir Putin's claims that Russia may use force in Ukraine if necessary.
  • The heap of these latest events has caused some analysts to revise their overall economy forecasts.
  • PSB Research said Wednesday it would decrease its initially modest GDP growth estimates for the year from the range of 1.5 to 1.8 percent to 1.1 to 1.3 percent.
  • Political standoff will also further stimulate the outflow of capital, Fedotkova said, as investors are reluctant to channel their money into the country that may be possibly involved in any kind of military activity
  • As for businesses, a recent survey done by the Gaidar Institute suggests that more than a third of CEOs and owners of private companies would consider investing in production this year if the price for equipment went down and if the macroeconomic outlook were more certain, Vedomosti reported Monday. At the same time macroeconomic uncertainty was a headache for only 10 percent of surveyed state-controlled companies. No margin of error was given for the survey.
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    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.
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