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Chrysler looks to decrease costs by improving efficiency and productivity. They planned to reduce costs by making the type of car they created variable in the long run. The new short run as a result of this new, cheaper car has the cost of production of the new Chrysler at a lower fixed cost.

This article from the Global Times is about how rising oil prices are affecting logistics firms. As logistics firms are involved with the transport of goods, oil constitutes a large part of their costs. In the past, these companies have been able to neutralize rising costs by increasing their service fees, but now that the economy is on the rebound, this isn't as easy.

This article examines profits, production, and also the costs of necessary expenses. It looks at the changes that have occurred in the Devon Energy Corporation since last year. It also looks at how lower product costs affect production of the corporation.

This article is about an agreement between three of Europe's biggest gas monopolies, Russia's Gazprom, Italy's Eni and France's EDF, to share the South Stream gas pipeline project. Natural gas is a natural monopoly because of very high startup costs and capital costs (for example the building of oil pipelines).

This article talks about the cost of falling energy prices for Exxon. Because prices are dropping, the company is not making as much revenue. This means that the costs of production are not offset as much by the revenue. With the falling prices, the company is less able to pay the costs.

This article describes the slow recovery Citigroup is going through after the "recent near-death experience" it suffered; this was due to the increasing costs of production which brought negative returns and started to create debts, almost deleting all budget. It is rising again thanks to a subsidy offered by the government.

This article is about the opportunity cost of producing biofuels. When the amount of water needed to irrigate crops is factored in the average mileage is 50 gallons of water a mile.

This article talks about how McDonalds recently started a $1 dolar breakfast meal to try and increase sales. This price for breakfast does not take into consideration the social cost of consuming such unhealthy food. Because of the negative externalities such as weight gain and heart attacts, this is a form of market failure, .

This article is about teachers in Chad going on strike because their pay does not cover high food prices and other costs of living. This high cost of living, which many people cannot afford, means that people's lives are not improving. This shows a lack of economic development.

This is a a comment by Daniel Hamermesh on the Price discrimination apple uses with iPhone applications. Some applications with only a few more features cost a great deal more.

This article doesn't specifically mention a natural monopoly, but it refers to one because it is an industry with high sunk costs that is more efficient with less firms and central infrastructure.

This is an example of a negative externality created by the rapid industrialization of China. This externality is created because the market price does not take into account the costs incurred by third-parties not involved in the transaction. In this case polluted waters damage the natural environment and pose a hazard to the people, but corruption and lack of legislation means that little is being done.

The British Airway has decided to lay-off the number of staff on long-haul flights and freeze their pay for this year. The aim of this reduction in cost is to save 62.5million euros to help cope with a fall in demand, volatile fuel prices, and increased competition against low-cost airline firms. This article is relevant to Week 25 topic because this is an example of demand-deficient unemployment where potential supply for labor exceeds the actual demand for these labors.

Because of financial pressures and donations falling due to the recession, will have to cut costs and minimize welfare for animals. The number of abandoned pets is increasing due to the recession and because of the financial pressures, the RSPCA has to start turning away abandoned pets and only take in ones that have been seized by inspectors in cruelty cases or those which are at immediate risk or cruelty. This article shows that even animal welfare is being affected by the recession.

The Canadian methonal producer Methanex is planning to start operating its second methanol power plant to operate two plants at reduce rates and increase production rate by 20% over the next year. Productivity is major factor that influences that Average Cost of the gas consumption.

This article is about the need for Industrialization in African states. Industrialization would improve the productive efficiency in these countries by lowering the average costs of production. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes that increased industrialization in Africa will increase competition and allow integration into the global economy.

Russian steelmaker, Severstal, has posted a net profit of $66 million. The article says this was partly due to the reduction in production costs, thus improving the productive effciency.

As food prices rise in the world, more people become impoverished. Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank, argues that inflation in food prices is the greatest threat to people living in poverty. Zoellick also criticizes export bans that lift costs for foreign consumers, as the bans put additional strain on local food prices in impoverished nations.

Consumer prices in Japan have dropped by 2.4% in August. This was due to lower petrol and energy costs, as well as decreased demand. The central bank says that low interest rates and stimulus packages will prevent deflation. This article shows the importance of prices in a country's economy.

This article explains how drug trafficing in columbia and This trend was coupled with a worsening of the armed conflict, which according to Uribe was due to guerrillas' involvement in the drug trade.