This is an interesting article as it sheds some light on the hindrances on forming a trade union. There is a discrepancy between the wants of both party. The EU asks for lower tariffs on automobiles, wines and also higher FDI, yet India demands greater access for Indian professionals in markets of the member countries.

Canada's trade deficit decreased for the past several months thanks to an increase in exports of energy products such as natural gas and bitumen. Furthermore, there have been increases in transportation equipment, mostly for aircraft exports. These increases in exports were met with decreases in imports as plastic/rubber products, chemical and aircrafts were lower. These factors allowed the Canadian trade deficit to decrease over these past few months.

Asian markets have been hit with news of a liquidity squeeze in China's markets, but the South Korean won has hit a two year high. The country's current account surplus and the popularity of its bonds is strengthening the currency. However, because Korea is a heavily dependent export country, the government is intervening to stymie the growth of the won. In fact, the central bank has bought 2 billion dollars worth of the won to reduce the growth.

This article states that the Euro has experienced a 8.5 month high due to a weaker dollar. The depreciation of the dollar was due to the government shutdown and the impending economic concerns. In addition, due to increases in China's growth, investors have ventured to take risks with the Euro.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has decided to impose protectionist policies to protect domestic markets. This decision came as a retaliatory tactic against other members of the WTO who Putin claims to be making international trade "hidden and subtle." In fact, the Russian president used the EU as an example as he claims that the EU's decision to split the gas companies and gas distribution companies are an attack on Russia's domestic suppliers.

South Korea has been accused of dumping its washing machines by the United States. This is in response to a complaint by an American manufacturer "Whirlpool" who has voiced for a tariff to protect its products. South Korea is to appeal to the World Trade Organization. the chief aim of Korea's complaint is in the way in which the US calculates dumping.

The British Columbian government has stated in its newest budget a tax increase for incomes over 150,000 dollars and a permanent 1 percent increase for corporate taxes. In the 1990s, the NDP government has implemented a similar tax hike in the hopes of increasing revenue, yet the opposite happened as the rich found ways to evade taxes and even worse found no incentive to work harder. However in 2001, the liberal party slashed taxes and revenue slowly, but surely increased. It is a period of waiting as the new tax increases take effect and to see if past still holds true, or if the future will be brighter.

I really found this article interesting because it explains the strategy of taxation that aligns with the business cycle. It explains that during times of economic hardship, a recession, then government should increase spending to first "soft blow for businesses and average working people," but to also stimulate the economy and move on to recover. This is reflected by the Keynesian theory of economy, where the government intervention is necessary to put the economy back on the right track. On the other hand, the government should relax expenditure and slightly increase tax to pay off deficit. This strategy is also supported by history, where the article gives examples of past U.S. presidents and government decisions during different times of the business cycle.

Recently the European Union has imposed a tariff on U.S. ethanol on the account of dumping. Dumping in international markets occurs when a country exports a good or service at a price that is lower in the foreign market than the domestic market. With a duty of $83.20 per metric ton, this tariff will cost exports more than $930 million per year. Tension has been building as there is a strain in transatlantic trade due to this implementation of a protectionism technique.

Canada's economy seems to have taken a hit as housing, jobs and exports fell. First there was a 21,900 jobs loss in January plus a 58,000 decrease in Canadians looking for work. In addition, exports fell 2.1%, exports to the US alone dropped, 4 points and imports fell as well. Furthermore a 19% reduction in the housing industry topped Canada's misfortune these past 2 months. Many Canadians are questioning the actions of the conservative government as economic growth is slowing to a crawl.

As a cost-saving strategy, the Canadian government has cut off circulation for the Canadian penny. The nickel, the toonie and all the coins in between cost less than their face value to produce, yet the penny cost 6 cents more than it is worth. The federal government has calculated that terminating the production of the penny will save the government 11 million a year, allowing the federal government to spend on more pressing issues. However, this change only affects physical cash transactions and not purchases made with credit or debit cards.

Over consumption has caused the nation of Kuwait, a country rich with fish, to have fish levels of near-depletion. Few years ago, Kuwait was abundant with fish and the fishermen gave 2 kg of fish when consumers bought only 1 kg. Near the end of the day, the fishermen would just leave the fish out for takes because there were no refrigerators to prolong the life of a caught fish. Yet, this over consumption of fish has depleted the water of fish. Several organizations and environmentalists have been trying to raise awareness for over consumption and this tragedy of the commons.

Pollution from the Motiva refinery in Norco, Louisiana has been a major pollutant in the region since 2005, and it doesn't show signs of stopping. There have been 301 reported cases of accidents in 2011 and many more unreported. The firm may be only concerned with its marginal private costs and have no intention in even dealing with the marginal social costs caused by the negative externality. The government must intervene and cease this crime; the injustice towards its community, society and the environment.

Last month, governor Joko Widodo has taken over the top job in Jakarta, as he has agreed to raise minimum wage. From the previous amount of 1.53 million rupiah, the new governor has agreed to increase the wage to 2.2 million rupiah. Suppliers are grumbling as one shoe owners states that "that large an increase is irrational" and is not sure if "buyers will be willing to pay more." In addition, high wages may prompt inflation, and discourage investment as suppliers are detrimentally affected. There is a critical balance that must be struck between the impacts of the people and the cost of the suppliers.

In this period of economic uncertainty around the globe, Britain is proposing a tax similar to other parts of the world, where taxes on the rich are placed. As the article has mentioned, this tax sounds great on paper, but history has proven that the plan needs some amendments. Taxing the rich sounds like a suitable idea for many, but troubles start to arise when the "non wealthy 'rich' people" are affected as well. Due to the rising house prices, even little house would be "considered mansions and whacked with heavy tax increases." Houses that cost 1 million pounds are considered mansions, but it is not uncommon due to the anomalies of the British house taxing system. As a result, a low, yet fair taxing system must be put to place to satisfy both sides of the party.

Samsung and Apple are the most popular companies producing highly desired products, but it seems that Samsung has took the lead. The cross elasticity value of each respective smartphone is high and positive, making them close substitutes for one another. With the high cross elasticity value, the sales for each product is sensitive to one another, making the market fierce.

Apple, in the past, has been notorious for setting high prices for its products. Its beautiful, expensive products were, however, sought after by many, yet with it's new product, the iPad mini, Apple is starting to make products that are not only highly-desirable, but at the same time, less-expensive. Apple products are price elastic because it is not a necessity and there are a myriad of substitutes. Apple is well aware of this information, and as a result, is lowering its prices to take advantage of price elasticity and the law of demand. As the title states, "Its all about price elasticity" and the iPad mini, with its reduced price will be competitive in the tablet market.

Corn and Soybean prices fell as buyers are moving away from American producers to suppliers in South America such as Brazil and Argentina. Due to the declining demand, there will be allocative inefficiency and supplier's surplus with American corn and soybean. The equilibrium is not achieved, however the price mechanism could perhaps self-right the graph by lowering price and allow the supply to be harmonious with demand.

It is no surprise that Apple products are in high demand, and the new iPhone 5 is no exception. Demand is defined as the willingness and ability of a consumer to purchase a product. The demand curve is also sloped downwards, opposite that of a supply graph. However, in the case of Apple, the demand curve does not follow the norm. The New iPhone 5 reached a pre order sale of 2 million in the first 24 hours, while the iPhone 4S reached one million. The demand has gotten higher, yet the price has risen from $179 to $199. The course companion states that demand increases as a result of a price fall and the graph shifts to the right with an income increase, yet the iPhone manages to be not only the best selling iPhone, but the most expensive. I think the size of the population and the change in the age structure played a big role in the massive pre-order sales. The whole population did not necessarily increase, yet the population of smartphone users has increased. It was exciting and interesting to see how these regular news articles relate to what we have learned throughout the week.

As the third major international crop, the price of corn rising is affecting the globe. As droughts plague the agriculture of African countries, the price of corn is surging, reminding us again that world hunger is still prevalent in the world today. The title of the article was eye-catching and reading it through "economic lens" really made it interesting. Droughts in Africa is affecting the agriculture of corn and making crops scarcer. In addition, price of fertilizers is two to four times more expensive in Africa, detrimentally affecting the region, which uses the most fertilizers. The opportunity cost of purchasing fertilizers is enormous as the money spent on fertilizers can be used for providing services for workers, better equipment or improving on infrastructures. Furthermore, farming technology is still quite primitive compares to North American standards and as a result the production possibility curves are smaller than other agricultural regions. This article was really interesting because it relates so closely with what we have learned so far, and it reminded me that world hunger is still very much present in our world.