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Xinmian H

Czech Inflation Stays Below Target Amid Currency-Sales Debate - 0 views

  • The Czech inflation rate remained below the central bank’s target for a fourth month in April,
  • Consumer sentiment remains poor as a result of rising unemployment, declining real incomes
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    This article reveals that as the cost of remaining Czech inflation rate in a low range, the consumer demand is weak and unemployment rise up. This article proved the trade-off relationship between inflation and unemployment.
Xinmian H

Pollution protests shut China solar plant - Business 360 - CNN.com Blogs - 1 views

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    This article talked about the negative externality of Jinko Solar company in China. The company washed the pollutants with fluoride exceeding normal limits from factory into a river. The pollutants caused mass die-off fish and a cluster of cancer cases. Many Chinese resident gathered around outside the factory and hold violent protest, which forced the company to shut down. Government also halted the company and fined $75,000. From this article we can see how the product had negative externality to the third party and how government react upon it.
anonymous

Is Education a Public Good or a Private Good? - Innovations - The Chronicle of Higher E... - 0 views

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    Education is both a public good and a private good. A public good is defined by two characteristics: non-excludability and non-rivalry. Public goods are for everyone and there is no competition for the good. Most people believe that a higher education is a pure public good but it is not. Society benefits when people get a higher. education. Statistically people with a college education tend to be more active citizens and their volunteering.with their volunteering and other activities benefiting those around them. Also statistics have shown that more new products and services are available to society because of the contributions of college graduates. These are the positive externalities of education. The negative aspect of education is  that even though the benefits of higher education are shared the costs for higher education are not shared. A higher education benefits society but the cost of a higher education proves a problem for those that want a higher education. Students themselves do reap some benefits: they are likely to be better off- both financially and otherwise-than their compatriots who do not go to college. However, students do not benefit as much as society. Therefore education is both a private and a public good.
Paul J

The Chevy Volt's $89,000 production cost: A waste of money? - 0 views

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    This article discusses the new Chevy volt hybrid and debates it's future. it can be said that the company, in regards to this car, is going to start benefiting from economies of scale as in the article it states that the production cost will become cheaper however it is obvious that the company is not producing at the minimum efficient scale as allegedly for each volt it sells, the company loses $49,000
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    Currently, the Chevy Volt costs $89,000 per car to produce. However, GM is selling the car at about $40,000, offering even more discounts in certain places to reel in customers. GM argues that in the long run, the production cost will decrease and begin to bring in profit.
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    This article is an excellent example of the concept of long term vs. short term decision making by a company. Right now, GM is losing massive amounts of money whenever they make and sell another Chevy Volt, but they hope the investment will pay off in the long run.
Christopher P

Falling inflation and high unemployment puts pressure on European Central Bank to cut r... - 0 views

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    This article discusses the common trade-off between unemployment and inflation. In Europe, the Central Bank is expected to lower interest rates, a monetary policy strategy, in order to aid with the current issue of low inflation and high unemployment. Decreasing interest rates has the general effect of increasing Aggregate Demand in an economy, and according to the relationship between these two aspects of macroeconomics this increase is likely to increase inflation while also reduce unemployment as real output increases.
anonymous

Why Not Target a 3% Unemployment Rate? - 0 views

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    This article states that "the trade-off between inflation and employment is theoretically mistaken and... historically inaccurate."
Landon F

North Canton grappling with shrinking revenues - Canton, OH - CantonRep.com - 0 views

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    This article is about the deficit that North Canton is facing because their variable costs are rising and there marginal revenue is decreasing. In the short run, they are able to continue production because they have enough revenue left over from last year but in the long run, they risk not having enough revenue to pay off the deficit.
Adil R

The End of Elastic Oil - Forbes - 0 views

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    This article discusses how oil is becoming an inelastic good. Although people can arrange their lives to reduce their consumption of oil, quickly there comes a point where it is not possible to purchase a smaller amount of oil. Oil would definitely be considered an essential good.
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    The article evaluates elasticity in terms of oil supply and demand. it states that there are still untapped oil reserves which are more expensive to obtain and requires more time. As a result, oil is becoming less elastic. it talks of possible ways of reducing oil consumption such as public transport or getting a more fuel efficient vehicle which is unlikely as it is expensive. it also evaluates the the elasticity of supply. it talks off how suppliers need a minimum price/barrel in order to keep a balanced budget so suppliers are reluctant in increasing supply in order to reduced the prices. It provides data over a 10year time period which analyses the oil consumption and supply of oil in terms of different uses and change in costs. It also relates it to the recession stating that job loss has lead to less people commuting decreasing demand and increasing price
Xinmian H

China Casting Off Mao Shackles Burnishes Yuan Appeal: Currencies - Bloomberg - 1 views

  • China’s planned economic reforms are burnishing the yuan’s credentials as a currency of global trade,
  • The yuan rose 2.3 percent against the dollar this year, the most among 24 emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg. It was pegged to the dollar until 2005, and now trades in a managed range against a basket of currencies
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    This Bloomberg article talked about how China is trying to raise the currency and make Yuan become a global currency. It also mentioned China used to peg Yuan on US dollar until 2005, then they changed the policy to manage Yuan in a certain range.
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    The article is concerned with the increasing currency value of the Yuan. In the past couple years, the value of the Yuan has increased significantly. This increase in the currencies value is due to the China opening its markets and showing leniency in trading. However, the Yuan though growing in strength has much to do before it becomes the world currency. It must be adaptable. The Chinese government has stated that they will open the market more by 2020. When the currency will replace US is unknown but it seems that it will surpass the US dollar with time. The article was eyeopening. I had never realized the Yuan was so strong. I will definitely look at the Yuan when i read economic news.
Emma R

Pollution Sets Record as Euro Crisis Slows Climate Drive - 1 views

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    This article is about how pollution is falling off of the EU's agenda, due to the financial crisis. Pollution is a negative externality, and needs to be regulated by the government. This is an example of market failure.
Christopher P

Basic Education Is a 'Public Need' and 'Public Good' and Should Be Free - 0 views

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    This article discusses the upcoming general election in Ghana and one specific policy at stake: the government funding of education. Much debate has occurred over this idea, and one policy, Senior High School (SHS), aims to immediately begin funding of Senior High School education, while another will hold off government funding until the year 2032. The writer of this article expresses his belief that public education is a public good and therefore the government has the responsibility to provide it free of charge. The sooner public education is provided to children, the sooner the society will develop and become more equal as a result.
Jacques DP

Strong loonie, surging production costs prompt 400 layoffs at Cirque du soleil - 0 views

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    The production costs of the Cirque have been determined to be simply too high making the company unprofitable. They then decided to lay off 400 employees in order to cover costs.
anonymous

Bernanke warns of 'premature tightening' in monetary policy - 1 views

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    This article discusses the caution needed when implementing monetary policies. 
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    This article is very interesting as it discusses the potential harmful effects of using a monetary policy, that is to say the control of the amount of currency in the system to regulate the economy. I did my IA on the trade off so this article was very interesting for me as it relates to it all together.
anonymous

Hyper inflation - 0 views

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    I find this article to be very eye opening and very reminiscent of the post World War 1 Germany era. In this article we see inflation taken to an extreme where the country is unable to maintain a stable economy. They even mention in the article that the government revalued the currency by taking off 10 zeroes and getting rid of extremely high bills. But even now they are still facing the same problem, in this article the rate of inflation is estimated to be at 231 000 000 %.
Landon F

Study: Fighting Inflation Rather Than Unemployment Massively Increases Human Misery | T... - 0 views

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    This article talks about how people are more hurt by unemployment than by inflation. 
Tony L

Attempt to Fix Unemployment - 0 views

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    There will be an Indian Labour Conference on May 18. This debate and meeting will discuss ways to decrease unemployment. They are planning on trying to provide pension and other benefits to all workers. They are hoping that this will be successful in trying to convince people to try to look for jobs.
anonymous

jobs over inflation - 0 views

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    The federal reserve decided to choose to save jobs instead of fight inflation. They realized that they have to fight unemployment.
anonymous

Yellen: Fed Should Focus On Jobs, Even If Inflation Edges Past Target - 1 views

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    This article from the Huffington Post is talking about the dilemma between dealing with the "slightly high" inflation rate in the united states or the higher unemployment rate. This article suggests that instead of dealing with the inflation they should put more focus on the unemployment rate because in the long run the government will benefit from it more. Really interesting article i recommend all of you to read it.
Christopher P

S&P Sued by U.S. for &5 Billion For Role in Crisis - 0 views

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    The justice department of the Untied States has filed charges against Standard & Poor's, the largest credit ranking agency, for its involvement in the 2008 financial crisis. The article mentions how our current market, where three large credit agencies have had a sort of monopoly over the market, contrasts with the ideal form of perfect competition (where firms move freely but within certain rules). The author suggests however that the Federal Reserve may have had an equally significant role in the economic collapse, and by not acknowledging its own faults may give off a very poor image to the public.
anonymous

Scarcity of oil in the world and global tensions - 1 views

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    This article talks about the rising tensions in the middle east and its effect on the price of oil in the world. As the middle east supplies most of the world with oil, the recent demonstrations in Libya and Egypt, and the sanctions on Iran are causing oil prices to rise. The threat of higher prices due to the fact that only a few countries control the limited oil supply in the world is causing increased pressure on the United States to release their oil supplies.
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    I like how you identified that all of this forces the U.S. to consider releasing their oil supplies. Some problems with this are that it is currently not possible to do so in the areas where oil is most abundant. After the B.P. oil spill, the current administration put a time ban on all off-shore drilling and new construction. If this ban were to be lifted, companies like B.P., Shell, and Marathon would begin constructing new refinement plants and drilling facilities immediately, which would significantly reduce the price of oil at home. When some people here this, their inclination is to say "the government has good reason to do this, look at what happened in the gulf, it is better to ere on the side of caution," but the sad thing is, these companies have put forth revised safety plans as well as contingency plans that have all been approved, but legally, they can do nothing. The companies own the land / water as well, which in my mind makes the fact that they are prohibited to build on land that they own that has never been part of a reserve or park seem a tad bit anti-constitutional, but until the piece of legislation is overturned, prices will continue to rise.
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