Group items tagged

The aggregate demand in an economy is made up of the total spending on goods and services in a country, and one of the components of aggregate demand is consumption (consumer spending). This article outlines some reasons as to why consumer spending - consumption - is expected to increase in the US in the coming months.

The National Broadband Network Company (NBN) wanted to slowly reduce their internet connection prices to benefit consumers. However, any price mechanism they try is just increasing the CPI (Consumer Price Index). The CPI measures change in price level of consumer goods and services purchased by households; in this situation specifically internet providers. We all obviously need the internet, but many companies are struggling with correct pricing, a key component of their business. They are beginning new projects that need more money, which in turn causes a price hike. The article uses a lot of technological 'lingo' with statistics to back up plans of price comparison.

Sirius XM Radio was once saved the "January Effect" thanks to their merger several years ago. They experienced the benefits of economies of scale as a much larger organization, which brought the two previous companies back up in stock. However, they are still facing many challenges because economies of scale do not solve all problems. Some of the issues: "A low profit margin of 9.2 percent, and an astronomical Total/Debt to Equity of 492. Also, the rapid change in broadcasting technologies, and the Internet radio gaining ground, it is a matter of time before satellite-radio becomes obsolete. Satellite subscriptions are part of consumer spending that is usually negatively affected by a weak economy, consumers will not spend excessive money on this."

A tad early, but Christmas music will be coming on the radio next week! At least here in DC.. The article outlines a government plan to make a little extra revenue, and how that plan was so fiercely opposed. The tax would be imposed on the producers, given that they produce more than 500 trees a year, and in turn the producers would probably have to increase their prices. Since it is a specific tax with a fixed amount of $0.15 (not dependent on the price of the trees) it will shift the supply curve up. Even though the article states that the program "wouldn't have any impact on the final price consumers pay for their Christmas tree" - there would be an inevitable small impact at least in one retail area of the trees. Since there are so many consumers that will want Christmas trees, a tax would bring in a fair amount of money, as there are no substitutes for Christmas trees.

This article talks about Canada's economic growth is better than what the economist anticipated. It reveals the economic growth is desirable for government, along with low unemployment rate. Consumer spending contributes to economic growth, the consumer spending is repressed while oil prices rise so high nowadays. Interest rates is one of the measures government take to control economy.

This article discusses the increase in inflation that is occurring in the Eurozone, even though the economic conditions are weak. The article cites high energy and transport costs as one of the reasons inflation increased. This inflation affects consumers because they must pay higher prices to buy items that they require.

This article highlights the redesign of solar manufacturing so that it is cost-efficient for the company, as well as energy-efficient for the consumers. The lower-cost manufacturing is simpler by a decision to minimize some production costs by combining the design into a "single silicon wafer processing line." Clearly, it's a variable cost, and a positive change for the firm.

This article concerns the oligopoly of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the soft-drinks industry. It is a non-collusive oligopoly; and the two firms compete in order to gain consumers and maximize profits. Although this is usually apparent through non-price competition (as price competition can result in heavy losses for both firms), in this situation in India, Coca-Cola is reducing its prices in order to gain consumers. Pepsi will then follow suit, also reducing its prices, as if it doesn't it may lose many consumers to Coca-Cola.

A government sponsored agency currently controls the prices for dairy products in Canada. This was implemented because the government wanted to regulate the prices paid to dairy farmers and the amount of milk they could produce, in order to protect the farmers. However, problems have begun to arise because of these price controls, mostly due to the fact that the market price is much higher than it should be (which hurts consumers) and it is costing billions of dollars each year.

It is interesting to receive a totally different perspective on the issue that China keeps its currency artificially low. In this article, it actually says that the benefits to the US of China manipulating its currency far outweighs the costs. The reason is that the consumers get cheaper goods, which are essential goods such as toys and clothes. The other reason is that when the Chinese government is constantly buying dollars to keep Chinese yuan low, it helps to stabilize the price level in the US because the imported goods do not become more expensive, and it also helps to keep the interest rate low. This is beneficial to the US economy.

In order to protect its domestic industries from European subsidized-sugar, Canada places high duties (tariffs) on imported sugar. This article details how local firms are benefiting due to a ruling that allows these trade barriers. While consumers would benefit from free trade because they can purchase sugar at a low price, it would have a harmful effect on domestic firms, which is why protectionist measures are put in place.

This article outlines the consistent debate over nutrition, especially in schools. The beneficial externalities are obvious in an increase in health for the student, as well as the encouraged development of healthy eating. However, if junk-foods are so much easier to obtain and the number of un-educated consumers in terms of nutrition are so low, the public will be more inclined to just keep eating in their old habits. How on earth can the government effectively change this situation for the betterment of society?

This is an example of an excise tax because it is a tax on products that aren't environmentally friendly and the article mentions that there is political pressure to put the ecotax "on the shelf" so consumers can make better decisions. 

This article discusses how petroleum countries in South Africa were fined for price-fixing. This is an example of large firms who form a collusive oligopoly, because they are working together to agree on prices that will maximize their joint revenue. However, due to the fact that this means higher prices for consumers, it was an illegal agreement and so the firms are being fined.

This article discusses the current "Occupy" protests which are taking place worldwide, and how the effect which they are having. The protesters are pushing to government to expand the budget of the government so that more goods can become public goods, like health care, for example. The article also discusses how protesters stood outside malls pleading for consumers not to purchase goods however if that were to happen, the economy would obviously sink back into recession.

For this week, I decided to find an article that is very close to most of us, because we all, at one point or another, eat meat, as well as drink milk. When we consume these products we probably don't realize what harmful chemicals go into these products and how they can negatively affect us. This article talks about the antibiotics and hormones that are injected into livestock to increase the rate of growth as well as in cows, the increased production of milk, and how these chemicals can negatively effect us.

This article is about how in China the state always has control of the market and doesn't allow things like monopolies and ologopolies to exist that often and that they are always the ones who decide what happens in the end even if it seems as though the consumers are the ones that are making the decision.