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Josh B

G-7Calls for Increased Oil Output to Meet Demand - 0 views

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    G-7 call on oil-producing countries to increase their oil output in order to prevent high oil prices. The G-7 countries are prepared to call upon the International Energy Agency in order "to take appropriate action to ensure that the  market is fully and timely supplied." The IEA's countries supplied 60 million barrels of crude after the Libyan output was disrupted after the armed uprising. Oil prices have advanced 24 percent since reaching a 2012 low in June as stockpiles fell. U.S. authorities haven't contacted the IEA on the use of emergency oil supplies.  The U.S. has 727 million barrels of petroleum in reserve. Rising consumer prices have dented consumer confidence in gasoline, threatening to curb spending that accounts for 70 percent of the world's largest economy. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by 23.5 cents this month. 
Julius Baldauf

Arms sales to developing countries | The Economist - 1 views

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    We see in the chart that in developing countries arms are considered a normal good. This is apparent as the number of sales is at its lowest in 2007, 2008, and 2009 - the time period of the late financial crisis. Incomes decreased and therefore also government expenditure. So since the governments had a reduced budget, they were forced to purchase fewer arms. However, once the global economy started to recover from the crisis, incomes rose again. Thus, governments were able to spend more on arms again (which we see in 2010 and 2011). This is a good example of how income, a non-price determinant of demand, can influence the demand on a good. Another non-price determinant of demand is government policy. The article states that Saudi Arabia was the developing world's biggest arms buyer in 2011, with deliveries of $2.8 billion - an unusually high number. Therefore, there must have been a change in Saudi Arabia's government policy; otherwise they would not suddenly be buying more arms. So now we see how government policy influences demand on arms. 
Lennart Knipper

Global house prices: Floor to ceiling | The Economist - 0 views

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    This article describes the effect of price ceilings on goods in Asia. Most countries in Asia have set caps to petrol prices and only seldom raised these. Commentators argue that if price of petrol does not rise with the price of the crude oil in the world, consumers in Asia (where the price for petrol is low) will use up so much that the price of petrol will increase too much and harm the economy rather than help it. In China foods have been monitored as well. Price have a ceiling and if this is to be raise the company must seek approval of the government. This is only a temporary answer to the problem of keeping prices low.
matias oteiza

Lego Chief Sees Weak - WSJ.com - 0 views

  • The chief executive of Lego A/S signaled deep concern about the U.S. toy market on Friday even after the Danish toy maker reported a solid first-half performance
  • increase in net profit of 36%
  • revenue increase of 24%.
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  • global toy market, meanwhile, fell 4% during the period, the company said.
  • approaching presidential elections, rising debt and economic uncertainty are weighing on the critical U.S. market.
  • taxes will go up and government spending will go down,"
  • most negative toy market
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    Throughout the first six months of the year Lego posted an increase in profit of 36%, revenue increase of 24%, however the demands for the Lego products along with all of the toy market has started to fall. This has been the most negative toy market in the U.S. for now. The reason for why the toy market has started to record such negative results are various factors. Amongst those factors were the approaching presidential elections meaning that taxes will go up for all the people making them want to save up more. Moreover the rising debt and the huge economic uncertainty going throughout the country has also started to deeply affect the toy market, making people have to spend less which ultimately leads the consumer to buy or spend less money on their products leading to worse economic results and making the toy market decrease.
Sarah Hansen

Chocolate will become an expensive luxury item due to climate change - Telegraph - 0 views

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    A new study by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has found that chocolate is rising in demand in countries with new markets, such as China. However, due to global warming and a temperature rise of 2.3 degrees, the crops where cocoa is grown will halve by 2050. This will cause the entire demand curve for chocolate to shift to the right in the next 40 years. So far, an exact number for the price increase is unknown.  Price increases have occured in some places, such as West Africa, where the prices have gone up by 10 per cent.  Since cocoa needs a specific environment to grow (cool and moist), farmers can either decide whether to move their crops into the shade, which will have high costs, or to switch from growing cocoa  to another crop that CAN grow in the arid climate.  Some cocoa suppliers think that firms should focus on the quality and not the quantity of chocolate produced. This could have benefits, like better prices for farmers and less child labour. Not only is the chocolate market being affected by global warming, but also the French wine and Italian pasta market.  Non-price determinants such as the prices of related goods and expectations of future chocolate costs also play a large role in the chocolate market. If the demand for chocolate goes up in the next decades, the prices will also rise. Due to a change in prices more people will turn to chocolate-related goods like candy and pastries. Also, since a large price increase is expected to come, people will most likely buy as much chocolate as possible while it is still cheap. 
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    It can be deduced for this article that the scarcity for chocolate is increasing, just as the demand is. Due to shifts to the right in the demand curve, the price of chocolate has increased. Therefore, the demand curve will shift to the right and move up along the scarcity curve. Therefore, consumers will make sure to ration chocolate, as it has now become more expensive and less affordable. Other markets, like the candy market for example, that act as a substitute for chocolate will experience an increase in demand. On the other hand, markets like the chocolate chip cookie market, will experience a decrease in the supply curve, as chocolate is no longer as available as before. From the chocolate producers' perspective, they will increase the production of chocolate, as the prices are higher now and they can make more of a profit. Therefore, they will increase the allocation of resources towards the production of chocolate (like machinery, land for plantations, etc).
Florian Wiedmann

WHO | 3. Global and regional food consumption patterns and trends - 0 views

  • printable version 3. Global and regional food consumption patterns and trends: Previous page | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 Table 5. Supply of vegetables per capita, by region, 1979 and 2000 (kg per capita per year)
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    The article talks about future trends in demand and consumption of food in the future. The graphs portrayed in the article, show the estimated increase in food demanded over the next 10-15 years. This has to do with the fact that the population is continuing to grow significantly in the near future. The problem with this is that while more food is needed, many countries have little room for improvements. This will make them rely heavily on imports in the future as they are not able to feed their growing population. The biggest problem is that if the food production is not increased significantly over the next years, there might be a global shortage of food. 
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    The example of food is very relevant when talking about this topic. As the worlds population, the food becomes more scarce, the demand rises. This causees the price of food to increase. Usually, this would cause many people to allocate their resources towards the food production. Currently however, despite rising prices of food, it is still more profitable to produce something else. This causes the food production to be lacking of food, which causes the price to rise even more.
linnet van Veen

Coffee Demand Goes Stale: Anticipated Record Crop From Brazil and Faltering Consumption... - 0 views

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    This articles talks about the decrease in demand in the coffee production. A decrease in the price of a cup of Joe, shipping coffee took a hard hit with prices to move a crate of coffee has increased to 6.8% more. The global economy has dropped due to the worsening debt crisis in Europe, where thirteen countries are slowly collapsing. European countries are unable to afford coffee, which is why British drinkers had to cut back in the coffee consumption by 6.7% in 2011, while the demand fell in 2.6% in Spain and 1.6% in Italy. Brazilian coffee production have expanded field for production and increased the use of fertilizers in response to last year's high prices. The Brazilian farmers are holding off from selling the product due to that they are waiting for the prices to recover so that sell larger quantity of coffee.
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    The demand of coffee is decreasing due to that the import prices have increase to 6.8%. The coffee market has decreased because the prices of the good have increased. The overall demand for coffee has decreased because producers now face higher cost of production. Since the expense of coffee has increase consumer incentives decrease. Since the demand of coffee has decreased other markets like tea, energy drinks have increased because demand for substitute goods increased. Producers want to minimize production cost while maximizing profit.
Dominik Machate

InSYNC - 0 views

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    In this Article it is perfctly shown how the goverment can control a country with taxes. by putting the taxes so far up for alcohol the people will think twice if they really need alchohol or not. By changing the system from a overall tax for all different kinds of alcohol to a more individual with respekt to the strength of the liquor a more fair and logical system was created. this enables the citizens to consume wine and beer which are less "dangerous" and harmful than hard liquor which may cause or enhance the chances of physical fight, destruction or vandalism on public streets. A bottle of wine, where this is less likely to happen, might even generate more income if taxes are low so people drink more of it in restaurants or at home to dinner.
Stella Nuber

Demand for Water Outstrips Supply - 2 views

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    Mini Analysis: 150 words- connecting article to concepts learned in class. For almost ¼ of the world's population, the demand for water is greater than the supply available. Water is a necessity for everyone and a want for all. The prices of water are increasing, as water is becoming scarcer. For many countries such as Egypt, India, Pakistan, water is very rare and therefore has a higher price. In Switzerland for example, water is not as scarce and therefore our prices aren't as high. Although Switzerland may take water for granted, the prices are still rising, as water is running out all over the world. Primary economies are running into issues, as they are not able to harvest and produce as many crops as they were in previous years. The main problem is that there is no substitution product for water. Other drinks such as tea, sodas etc. don't count for water.
Clemence Manzone

Demand for iPhones - Los Angeles Times - 2 views

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    The demand for iPhones is greatly increasing in China. In Apple's fiscal year of 2011, they were able to sell 72 million iPhones, a number that soon might almost be sold in China alone. Currently, 10 million iPhones are sold in China, but this is because China's lead mobile carrier; China Mobile, has a network that is not compatible with the iPhone 4s. However, this year China Mobile is flipping to their knew network; the 4G which is compatible with the iPhone 5. This will open up a new market for Apple, as now, millions Chinese will be able to effectively use the iPhone 5 with China Mobile's network. Therefore, the demand for the iPhones will greatly increase due to the 'new' market.
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    Apple sold 72 million iPhones in 2011 to more than 100 countries. It is said that Apple will sell 57 million more iPhones per year in China since the demand is increasing. There are currently 650 million people who are branched to China Mobile which does not carry the iPhone network which includes 100 million who have found ways to use the iPhone through the network. Next year, China Mobile will change to the 4G network which will allow those additional 500 million people to get the iPhone.
Philipp Orator

China Oil Strategy: More Supply = Low Prices + Economic Growth - 0 views

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    This article is about Chinese oil supply and how China is attempting to overtake the United States in yearly oil productions. It is an example of a supply article, because it speaks of how lower prices directly relate to supply. It also speaks of how both China and India are putting a lot of money into foreign oil resources, hoping for the future. Looking forward, if China continues in its current footsteps, it will be obtaining the most oil in the world, and not only from domestic resources, but mainly foreign ones.
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    Analysis This article about oil prices and supply in China, relates to what we spoke of in class, because some of the key elements of supply and demand are included. The main issue of the article is Chinas oil supply, along with its demand for oil. China has a generous supply of oil from its own resources, whilst she is still trying to acquire a lot of oil from foreign sources. China is also attempting to up her quantities of oil to beat the United States within the next couple of years, and by 2020, China is to be the country that will be obtaining the largest quantities of oil. The article is related to our class topic of supply, because as China plans to sink its prices for oil, the supply, or quantities should go up with time. This is exactly what was discussed in class and is shown on supply curves or graphs.
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    Explain what you think is happening to the equilibrium quantity and price and what it means for signalling, incentives, and resource allocation. China has made constant attempts at increasing its oil supplies, which would lead to lower oil prices and economic growth. The equilibrium quantity of oil will increase and therefore the prices will be lowered. A higher supply of oil signals lower prices for both the producers and consumers. China will try to probably keep the price up, and the consumers will look for a substitute, or try to ration the good. Although, if the consumers are willing to buy at the old price, while the suppliers gain in resources, there will be a producer surplus. In other words, the producers, China, will gain more than they could be gaining if the consumers were to adjust their standards.
anonymous

1970's Oil Shock - 1 views

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    After the United States supported Israel in the "Yom Kippur" war, the Arab members of OPEC (Organization of Petrol Exporting Countries) announced an oil embargo with the US, where they would charge 70% more. In 1973, at the time of this restriction of oil, the OPEC was globally known as a large oil producer. This caused a shortage of oil, thus shifting the "supply curve" to the left, while the demand curve stayed constant. With this low supply, and constant demand, oil became a scarce good. In order to reach market clearance, or equilibrium, prices increased drastically. From $3 per barrel in 1971, to almost $40 per barrel in 1980. The shift in oil supply resulted in an increase in transportation costs. In order to compensate for the high oil prices, the Government of the United States increased domestic prices, thus increasing inflation. This inflation eventually led to relatively lower oil prices.
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