Group items tagged

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.

There have been predictions of the Euro increasing by a .9% over the next year which are thought to potentially affect unemployment rates especially in Spain. Also, higher currency values are being linked to higher export prices from the European region. Even though export prices are higher, economists predict they will "keep growing despite the stronger currency"

This article discusses how there are 17 countries that use the euro -- and the unemployment rate increased to 11.9% in those countries. It mentions how in Greece the unemployment rate grew to 27% because the country is bankrupt, therefore, the government cannot afford to employ people.

The country was forced to take 67.5bn euros (£57.4bn) after its biggest banks almost collapsed in November 2010. A further 16.5bn euros (£14bn) was drawn out of the state's National Pensions Reserve Fund. The country is now in foreign debt.

This article examines how the Euro has been very strong compared to the dollar for the last 2 years.

The article talks about the change in exchange rate and their value.

The government of Greece decided to put an old airport (twice as big as Central Park) for sale for 6 billion euros. In this way, the government would sell this old area to a private owner, therefore creating 9,000 jobs for Greece and helping the government and the country. We can say that this is price control, since the Greek government gave the price for the area, and is trying to stabilize/help the economy by creating a price for this area that could be used to help greatly Greece. In fact, not only jobs would be given but tourism would increase greatly (as well as the Greek income).

Basically, article is about Egypt's endeavor to find foreign investors for financing infrastructure projects and increasing its dwindling foreign currency reserves. Two of the most important terms derived from the week 2 are scarcity and opportunity cost. Turkish investments of $20 bn dollars and 500 mio euros from the EU (depending on Egypt securying the loan from IMF) in Egyptian infrastructure and foreign currency reserves deficit have an opportunity cost of spending that amount of money for other purposes. In this article, Egypt's foreign currency reserves and budget are scarce, so Egypt wants to get money to reduce unemployment rate via economic growth (4.5 %). Here we also have the factor of production - this is capital which comes from investments in physical capital (infrastructure) and in my opinion also human capital (reducing unemployment, improving education and healthcare perhaps ...). One thing that will be crucial for Egypt is the factor of entrepreneurship.

This article talks about the increase in price of oil and the increase in demand for oil. Analysts said that the price of oil would increase as time goes and suppliers are trying to meet the demands of people. The cost of one barrel of North Sea Brent has increased and made a new record in both euro and pounds. 'Many analysts say the broader trend is that prices will continue to rise because of risks to oil supplies'. Oil supplies were slowed down in the late 1970's and early 1980's because of the war between Iran and Iraq. During global consumption, oil would increase in price by about 1.3 million barrels a day said by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. However, supply will fall by about 310,000 barrels a day.

Pound sterling / euro exchange rate has increased, meaning that pound sterling appreciates in value. That is due to a run of good economic data and Britain's industrial output in June rose much faster than forecast and hit its quickest pace in two years. I believe demand for sterling, which reflects the value of its exports of goods and services rose because of the peak tourist season in Britain (urgency to buy foreign currency) and increased industrial activity. However, as far as many economic analysts are concerned, sterling will continue to weaken in a long run...

In the article the US government accuses Germany of causing economical instability. The US government thinks that Germany relies too much on their exports and does not focus on domestic economy. Furthermore the german government keeps the value of the euro low in order to insure high exports.