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There is a taboo word in the state of Oregon, it's 'sales tax'. The people of this state have rejected sales tax nine times, and the government does not know what to do about it. Politicians are also scared from the word 'sales tax' because if any of them was for it, it would mean suicide for the political party.

According to the Commerce Department, consumer sales have risen 1.1% in February, the largest increase in 5 months. The good news calmed fears that the recent expiration of the payroll tax cut would reduce the willingness of consumers to purchase goods. Consumer spending makes up 2/3 of the macroeconomy and it therefore always a reliable gauge of the current status of the national economy.

The Japanese automobile maker Nissan announced a couple years ago its plans for a new completely electric car, the Nissan Leaf. However, sales in the United States have been fairly low, only selling 10,000 of the cars in 2012. The reason for the small amount of sales is believed to be caused by its high price, due to an expensive and large battery back in the car, and the fact that the car has a small 80 mile range. In hopes to increase sales, the company is beginning to start production here in the United States. Producing the product closer to where it will be purchased will reduce production costs for the company, allowing it to decrease the price of the car and leading, hopefully, to an increase in demand.

Nissan is opening up a production plant in the U.S. to produce their car, the Leaf electric car. This is the first production plant. The short term is the building of the plant, which should decrease unit costs because they will no longer need to transport the cars to the U.S. The long term is the plan to create new technology to improve the car (battery, charging, etc.) and hopefully increase the demand, which could reduce unit costs even further. 

This article is interesting due to the fact that it provides an overview of the changes in taxes in the United States. It is also interesting how taxing Cannabis will affect the market for it and the economy of the states.

The article is about how demand was massive on the first day of sales on IPHONE 5 the sales were doubled when you compare it with IPHONE 4S. Also e-bay offers standard prices that people can afford.

Another merger that was going to and is in the process of happening is one between Corona beer and Budweiser. Both brands wanted to merge and this is obviously already in an oligopoly market therefore they would account for nearly 46% of sales. However this has been met with opposition, with appeals from the government.

The article is talking about the strengthening housing recovery and robust auto sales contributed to moderate growth across the United States.Employers added only 88,000 jobs in March, a sharp slowdown from average gains of 220,000 in November through February. And consumers cut back on their spending at retail stores and restaurants last month, a sign that higher Social Security taxes have made more Americans cautious about spending.Debate was about Fed policymakers about when to rein in the bond-buying program, which began last fall.The Fed is expected to stick with plans to keep short-term interest rates at record lows at least until unemployment falls to 6.5 percent. And it will likely continue purchasing $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bonds to lower long-term rates and encouraging more borrowing.

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.

This article talks about how lage companies like Starbucks and Google are evading tax in the UK by ensuring mae no profits, thereby avoiding corporate tax. These companiesmake billions in but " they ensured they made no profits through large royalty and other payments to offshore companies" (2012, Telegraph) There are understandaby many peopl who are upset about this and calling it unfair. It also undermines the profits of local companies. A solution thatis beng suggested is a sales tax. However many expertssa tha what te TNC's are doing is perfectly legal and said "corporation tax was a tax on activity."

This article states that the aggregate demand has been expanding at a steady pace, and this has resulted to an expansion of manufacturing as well. Because the "growth in orders and sales show manufacturing is on the mend," we can see that demand is rising because companies usually buy inventory in line with demand.

Japans sales for whale meat decline as Iceland steps into the market.

The U.S. justice department has blocked Anheuser-Busch InBev from buying Grupo Modelo, saying that this would give Anheuser Busch a beer monopoly. Anheuser Busch has been constantly raising its beer prices, and the DOJ is afraid that if they continue, then Grupo Modelo would follow suit. The two companies account for 76% of beer sales, so the reason for worry seems necessary.

Although there are many brands of beer, the truth is that one company brews many of them. This article talks about how Anheuser-Busch InBev was stopped from buying Grupo Modelo for $20.1 billion. Although on the outside it just seems like one company buying another, Anheuser-Busch InBev is the producer of 46 different beer brands. Buying Grupo Modela would increase that number to 54. The purchase was blocked because the government feared that it would create a beer monopoly, allowing the company to set the price at whatever they want.

Newly harvested beans in Lagos are being destroyed by floods and bombs. This has led to an increase in the prices of beans, almost reaching a 300% hike. This scarcity has forced the public to look for other sources of food such as rice and plantain.

This article examines the impact of scarcity on not only farmers but also the sellers of the bean. Due to the unfortunate drought, the been has become a scarce resource which lead to the hike in price. Farmers are finding it hard to grow this bean and meet the demand. the consumer is looking for alternatives such as rice and plantain however the seller seems to be the most affected. He had to "beg" and is now facing financial difficulties as he relied on the sale of the beans