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This article discusses the hard empirical evidence, arguing that, in fact, Japan is behaving rather responsibly and that other strong economies have themselves benefited from undervalued currencies. That said, it is true that politicians' short time horizons often lead to stealthy policy and large swings in exchange rates. Economists should therefore aim to promote longer-run cosmopolitan interests rather than shorter-run nationalistic agendas where possible.

The article talks about the effect of economic growth in China (Inflation rises)

Quarrying and aggregate supply firm Breedon believes profits will "significantly exceed expectations" after margins continued to improve in the final few weeks of last year. The company, which has its Scottish headquarters at Ethiebeaton in Angus, said market forecasts for the year look set to be significantly surpassed during a finish which escaped the disruptive influence of winter weather. We don't often think about how macro- and micro-economics can come together, but, for big companies, one is no more important than the other. Not only do you have to think about the margins and competition of your own market, but how your market is doing in general. It doesn't matter if your beating the other guys with a better price and more demand if that price is barely enough to cover what your supplying. On the flipside, your countries economy could be doing great and your factors of production most favorable but, if everyone's getting more benefit from those advantages than you are, it's only a matter of time before get too far a head. This article is a perfect example of where a European company has become enthusiastic about future profit predictions based not only on competition and margin but just on the welfare of the whole country in general

This article is essentially connected to aggregate demand (investments), but the following part can be perfectly analyzed with the this week's topic, aggregate supply: "The investment will also help U.K. energy security by reducing hydrocarbon imports at a time of higher international oil and gas prices. "Too often we've been seen as part of the problem, rather than part of the solution because production output had fallen. But we're stopping the decline and increasing output and that will have a more positive impact on the U.K. economy," Mr. Tholen told The Wall Street Journal. The higher investment in new projects and redevelopment of older fields will help bring another 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day onstream by 2017, taking output up to around 2 million barrels of oil and gas a day by 2017 or earlier. The higher investment in new projects and redevelopment of older fields will help bring another 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day onstream by 2017, taking output up to around 2 million barrels of oil and gas a day by 2017 or earlier." High international oil and gas prices mean higher average costs of production - change in the costs of raw materials, because oil and gas are widely used in most production processes. This is the reason for the shift of the SRAS inwards. However, higher price level means that the oil production and oil-transforming industries will increase their output. This is also great for the sake of price of imports, which are relatively too high, allowing domestic industries to decrease their average costs of production, meaning that SRAS will increase. So we should consider effects of both aspects and add them up in order to get a real picture (overall effect of current oil and gas prices). Investments are shifting the LRAS curve to the right, because there are likely to be improvements in the quality of the factors of production (technological advancements, discovery of new resources and re-establishing the past (oil) fields,

For the past century or so, cigarettes have been an inelastic product. Due to their addictive properties, changes in the price have had a minimal effect on market demand, allowing tobacco companies to rake in boat loads of cash. In the early 1900s, big tobacco hit its peak in sales with the ability to advertise in color and through whole new mediums (newspaper, radio, TV, etc.) It was at this time that the American public and many other nations, although I don't which, started to recognize the dangers of smoking and the government begin creating restrictions. Though cigarrettes now have prices that fluctuate like gas, can't have ads on radio or television, and can't be sold to minors, consumer demand has still remained for them because of how powerful the addictive effects of nicotine are on the human brain. However, now there is an alternative to conventional smoking which replaces deadly secondhand smoke with clean water vapor. E-cigarettes are a trend that is sure to build demand and will cigarettes and cigars as elastic as a rubber band.

This article talks about the risks of lowering prices in hope of increasing demand. It mentions the effects of price elasticity on this as well, it states, "If we assume the products' price elasticity is at the lower end of that range [...] then price promotions become even riskier". This is because it requires a big change in price to get even close to a substantial increase in demand. If the change is not huge, the effect on demand will be negligible.

This article talks about Virginia carrier NTelos Wireless $50 discount for the new iPhone 5. This is a win for this company, because the demand will increase (movement along the existing demand curve). At the same time we can introduce substitution effect: iPhone 5 for the NTelos' customers level of attractiveness will rise due to price drop, whereas customers of other carriers in Virginia offering iPhone 5 at higher prices will find it too expensive there, so they might decide for the switch of the carriers, resulting in left shift of the demand curve for carriers offering iPhone 5 at higher prices (less demand at every price). Also demand for mobile phones at T-Mobile might decrease as well due to the fact they don't offer iPhones 5 which are selling like hot cakes around the world, so customers won't find they offer as attractive as the offer of other carriers selling iPhone 5 (here we talk about 'tastes/preferences factor' and other factors).

This article discusses how sometimes the use of barriers has a negative effect on the economy of a country, for example, as can be seen with Bush's administration that imposed tariffs on steel imports. Trade protection can be seen with the rush of agreements that countries are not willing to partake in, such as Japan. Of course after the Bush administration, the democratic party picked up the "protectionist baton" and have worked toward trade liberalization.

The article talks about tariffs imposed by the US government on the steel market. It shows the other side of protectionism. In the case of the US the tariff impose had a negative effect on the steel market. The tariff robbed more in profits than it gave to steel making companies.

the article talks about a change in the income tax paid by the highest bracket of the English economy; this means that all the money earned above £130,000 will have to pay 50p per pound (50%) rather than 40p per pound. Economists predict that the income change will not have any effect on the earnings as the income elasticity of the bracket of economy is 0.46.

This article describes negative externalities in the oil business. This is a global problem and definitely one of the most debated topics in environmental contexts. 'The climate changes are harming the earth, a lot of it is claimed to be caused by burning of fossil fuels. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is a great example of the creation of a negative externality. The goal of getting more oil to fuel our lifestyle and make a profit for BP trumped any recognition of the massive economic and environmental damage that flowed from their blown out well. Is the cost of this mess going to turn up in the price of gasoline in the US? Probably not. Will it turn up in our tax bills? Probably yes.'

I found this article quite interesting as it explains negative externalities very well and gives examples to better understand it. It also goes on to state that one of negative externality that is very relevant to the article is the negative effects a product may have on the environment. It shows the reader that many gas companies are able to cut corners to make the product cheap and more desirable, but in the process it makes a mess of the environment. A popular example that they use to prove their point was the Gulf of Mexico Oil spill.

I bumped into this article as I was searching for negative externalities.The article describes negative externalities as general and in terms of oil spilling. As for that it also described the environmental issues and gaves examples from the Gulf of Mexico.

This article mainly talks about the positive externalities of being obese, but also mentions negative externalities: "If your friends and family get fat, chances are you will too, researchers report in a startling new study that suggests obesity is 'socially contagious' and can spread easily from person to person. If obesity is considered a traditional disease then the contagious effect represents a clear negative externality. Others can only be made worse off if your illness increases the chances of their getting sick."

This article talks a lot about the recent "fiscal cliff" that congress or some government branch put together to ensure that the two United States parties, the democrats and the republicans, tried to come to some sort of agreement on where cuts can be made to try and fix the deficit. What's interesting about this article, more than the content itself, is the site it links to which talks a lot about how individual cities are doing their part to try and fix up the country. The fact is, the US has gotten some very bad grades lately (whatever that means), so mayors and representatives are getting citizens to invest in projects that will cost a lot of money but will go a long way toward a better future. Fixing up public resources, like water ways and levies, is crucial to trying to build a better community, even if the effects are long term. This is probably the closest we'll see to a sustainable economy.

France was one of the last European countries to really feel the effects of the global recession, but now unemployment is increasing. The labor rules in France apparently make it difficult to fire workers, but the French president and worker's unions are working together to draft new legislation that can assist the firms in France by giving them more flexibility.

The article talks about the effect of Inflation and the students loans rising just by 1% which is below inflation

This article is different than many others that are being bookmarked. It shows, through data, how supply-side policies aren't always effective.It is an interesting read, giving a new perspective to the readers perception of the policy.

This article talks about RBA monetary policy cuts and how they affect the inflation forecast yet have little to no effect on the predicted GDP of Spain.

This article truly scares you with all the facts about food. It is a pity how mass food production turns out to be 50% inefficiently allocated and at the same time huge consumer of water for growing the crops. If all food produced was adequately allocated, there would be probably enough food for all people and therefore it would be almost completely accessible for general public. At the same time also water could be consumed more effectively instead of wasting it for pointless excess in food production which turns out to be industrial waste. Water - meaning the drinking water was never a Common, however nowadays it all appears this situation is getting only worse and taking into account its fruitless use, some measures should be taken designed with sustainability in mind.

The article I chose is very interesting, it shows the fiscal policies taken by the German government and the effects these fiscal policies have on the country. The author of the article also included diagrams in his article. It was very helpful to the concept illustrated.

This article talks mainly about several problems affecting monetary policy. Among those are instability to the financial system, a sudden rise in interest rates and inflation. Presently, Fed is using easy monetary policy to increase AD. There is also quantitative easing mentioned in the article, which refers to purchases by the central bank of long-term bonds or $85 billion a month in Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities so that the money supply increases. Again, the major problem related to this Fed strategy is inflationary pressure (also by selling $1.1 trillion mortgage-backed securities)...

This article by Jeff Cox discusses how the Fed is using the monetary policy to increase aggregate demand. It also presents problems affecting monetary policy. The problems are as follows: "Among those concerns are instability to the financial system, a sudden rise in interest rates and inflation."

The article talks about topic covered already in the title, with some interest to the growth of industry of southern euro-zone countries and exacerbation of German and French production. So obviously, here I can refer to PPF where resources (also human capital) are being used more efficiently; here is the movement inside existing frontier or perhaps even outward shift with improved quantities and qualities of goods (especially capital). Nevertheless, economists still fear the euro-zone might fall in recession again if there are two quarters of consecutive fall (if the economy contracted). The market clearing price of many durable goods can be determined only to some extent, due to the presence of outside disturbance (fiscal and banking crisis - therefore always introducing new policies and bail-out deals). Another thing associated with the previous sentence and the article is the price mechanism (interaction of demand and supply) which allocates resources. Under unstable circumstances which are currently taking place in euro-zone, incomes are plummeting (falling GDP per capita) except for some particular periods of time when the economy meets actual growth, meaning that there is less demand leading to an inverse effect for producers. Normally, producers wish to supply more at higher prices, especially if income of people soars so they buy more of that goods. Therefore, higher prices do not present an incentive for producers to produce more. All the producers want to increase their producer surplus; but the trend is clear - towards maximized community surplus, since producers depend on consumers' utility.