Economic Final Report

Types of economic systems

Economic systems vary from one nation to another. Traditional economic systems refer to an economic system founded by tradition. The services and goods that people provide through the work they do, how people exchange and use the resources are trends that follow permanent patterns. These are not dynamic economic systems because there are minimal changes. In this economic system, people live on static standards. They do not enjoy much occupational mobility and financial mobility (Gregory and Robert 19). However, it is possible to predict economic relationships and behaviors. People are aware of what they are expected to do, why they trade, they know what others should give to them. In traditional economic systems, the interests of the community are of great priority than individual interests. People collaborate at work and labor proceeds are shared equally. However, in some traditional economic systems, individuals respect…

Work Cited

Conklin, David W.; Comparative Economic Systems: Objectives, Decision Modes, and the Process of Choice. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print.

Gregory, Paul R, and Robert C. Stuartl; Comparative Economic Systems. Boston: Houghton

Mifflin Co, 2010. Print.

Keese, Mark, Pete Richardson, and Ge-rard Salou. The Measurement of Output and Factors of Production for the Business Sector in OECD Countries: (the OECD Business Sector Database). Paris: OECD, 2011. Print.

ECONOMICS

The industrial age was an age of giant, mega corporations that were often bogged down by inefficient and outdated distribution, innovation, and production techniques. y contrast, the information age of the past 20 years or so has brought forth a new business form, a fluid congregation of businesses, sometimes highly structured, sometimes amorphous, that come together on the internet to create value for customers and wealth for their shareholders. This phenomenon has been commonly referred to as "digital capital," "information technology revolution," or "new economy." However, as both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq soared to historic highs and record volatility in just a few short years, a widespread and quite fundamental disagreement emerged concerning whether or not the high-tech boom was nothing more than one huge bubble.

This paper analyzes and examines the present condition of the United States economy. Part II discusses what phase of…

Bibliography

Bedroussian, Armen, Devol, Ross C., Fogelbach, Frank, Goetz, Nathaniel H., Gonzalez, Ramon, R., and Wong, Perry. "The Impact of September 11 on Metropolitan Economies." January 2002. Retrieved at http://www.milken-inst.org/presrel/NationalMetroImpact Report.pdf on July 21, 2002.

Jordan, Meredith. "Economists: Turnaround in Early 2002." Retrieved at  http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2001/07/09/story5.html . onJuly 21, 2002.

Moore, Geoffrey H. Business Cycles, Inflation and Forecasting, 2nd edition, 1983. Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, MA.

EconEd Link." Retrieved at  http://www.econedlink.org/datalinks/index.cfmonJuly  21, 2002.

Not only are they crucial for the movement of people, but they are crucial for the rapid movement of time-sensitive goods. Therefore the government has an interest in the survival of the industry. Government can and has involved itself through monetary policy in sustaining or resuscitating struggling airlines in order to maintain the overall strength of the industry.

Taxation is another area where governments affect the industry. This again relates to the tight margins, as taxation represents a key expense for airlines. Changes in the tax regime directly affect airlines' after tax profits. The government can encourage or discourage the industry based on its taxation policies. The IATA believes the airline industry to be more heavily taxed than some of its substitutes, and has an entire program to deal with the issue of taxation, highlighting taxation's relevance to the industry.

Another way in which fiscal policy can impact the industry…

Works Cited

Pearce, Brian. (2008). Financial Forecast. IATA. Retrieved June 29, 2008 at  http://www.iata.org/NR/rdonlyres/DA8ACB38-676F-4DB1-A2AC-F5BCEF74CB2C/0/Industry_Outlook_Briefing_March08.pdf 

No author. (2008). The Industry Handbook: The Airline Industry. Investopedia. Retrieved June 29, 2008 at  http://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/airline.asp 

Flint, Perry. (2008). 2008 Forecast: Will the Luck Hold? Air Transport World. Retrieved June 29, 2008 at  http://www.atwonline.com/channels/dataAirlineEconomics/article.html?articleID=2174 

No author. (2008). Chief Characteristic of the Airline Business. Air Transport Association. Retrieved June 29, 2008 at http://members.airlines.org/about/d.aspx?nid=7955

Economic Situation

What "current macroeconomic situation" U.S. (e.g. U.S. economy concerned unemployment, inflation, recession,)? What fiscal policies monetary policies time? Key concepts include paper -- data trends unemployment, inflation, GDP growth, expansionary fiscal policy tools, FOMC, easy money policy tools terms class.

What is the current macroeconomic situation in the U.S.

The United States is no longer mired in a full-blown recession as it was in 2008, but the process of economic recovery has been long, slow, and onerous. At present, unemployment is hovering around 7.9%. This reflects a slight increase from the last quarter. The U.S. seems to be in a precarious position, neither in full-blown recessionary mode but not entirely recovered. Of particular concern is the fact that "the increase [in unemployment] was much sharper for millennials, up from 11.5% the month before and 10.9% in November 2012" (Kingkade 2013). Young people were particularly hard-hit by the recession.…

References

Cassidy, John. (2012). Reagan, Bush, and Obama: We are still all Keynesians. The New Yorker.

Retrieved:  http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2012/06/the-republican-economy.html 

Davidson, Paul. (2012). Fed ties interest rates to 6.5% unemployment. USA Today. Retrieved:

 http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/12/12/fed-buys-treasuries/1762459/

Economics

hile the U.S. is only showing the first signs of recovery from the global economic crisis, other nations such as Australia and China have recovered much more quickly. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the disparity in economic performance in the past three years in these different nations. In particular, three factors will be considered. The first is the situation in each country at the outset of the crisis. As the crisis was largely precipitated by a credit crunch, the differences between the structure and regulation of the banking sectors in each country will be given particular attention. The second factor will be the response on the part of each federal government to the crisis. The third factor will be the nature of the different economies -- the degree to which different structures have impacted the recovery process. Lastly, policy implications will be drawn for…

Works Cited:

BEA. (2011). National income and product accounts table. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved March 4, 2011 from  http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/TableView.asp?SelectedTable=1&ViewSeries=NO&Java=no&Request3Place=N&3Place=N&FromView=YES&Freq=Year&FirstYear=2007&LastYear=2010&3Place=N&Update=Update&JavaBox=no#Mid 

Chinability.com. (2010). GDP growth in China 1952-2009. Chinability.com. Retrieved March 4, 2011 from http://www.chinability.com/GDP.htm

Jones, F. (2011). Krugman: Stimulus didn't fail because it never happened. Moneynews.com. Retrieved March 4, 2011 from  http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/paul-Krugman-Stimulus-Didnt/2011/02/16/id/386333 

Maiden, M. (2009). Australia's banking sector is as strong as a brick outhouse. The Age. Retrieved March 4, 2011 from  http://www.theage.com.au/business/australias-banking-sector-is-as-strong-as-a-brick-outhouse-20090506-avdj.html

Economic Challenges Canada Faces

In recent years, the challenging economic condition in Canada has emerged as a concern for citizens, policy makers and the government alike. Canada faces challenges in terms of creating a more innovative society, as the country continues to experience a significant productivity gap compared to other advanced industrial economies. The Canadian industry appears to be slower in successfully developing, applying and marketing innovative products, processes and services than a majority of other nations. This lack of innovation is the cause of Canada's low productivity growth and competitiveness, and therefore must be addressed in order to increase employment growth, a higher standard of living and an improved quality of life for all Canadians.

Current research predicts that although Canada's economic performance will gradually strengthen out of the recent mild slowdown into a better pattern of growth in 2004, Canada's economy still faces the longer-term challenge of increasing…

Bibliography

Department of Finance Canada. (2004). The Economy in Brief. Retrieved March 8,

2005, from the Department of Finance Web site: http://www.fin.gc.ca/ECONBR/ecbr04- 12e.html

Economic Survey Canada. (2004). Building Partnerships for Progress. Retrieved March 8, 2005, from the Economic Survey Canada Web site: http://www.oecd.org/document/24/0.02340.en_2649

Environment Canada, Informing Canadians on Pollution. (2002) Highlights of the 2002 National Pollutant Release Inventory, Environment Canada.

Economic Depression of Europe

An economic depression is more severe than a recession due to the fact that a depression involves drastic decline in a national or international economy, characterized by decreasing business activity, falling prices, and high levels of unemployment.

There were economic depressions in Europe that were experienced before and after the 1870 but with a remarkable difference, being that those that were experienced before the 1870s were less costly in terms of life and resources and took relatively lesser period. Indeed it was a commonplace that every part of Europe experienced one sort of economic depression or the other.

One such economic situation before 1870 was the "little ice age" which began in the late 16th century till around 1950s as indicated by Big Site of History (2011). This was a time when a severe cold that could not be withstood by most crops set in most…

References

Big Site of History (2011). Social Trends in 17th Century Europe: The Problem of Divine-Right

Monarchy. Retrieved July 18, 2011 from  http://bigsiteofhistory.com/social-trends-in-17th-century-europe-the-problem-of-divine-right-monarchy 

Historic UK, (2011). The Great Plague 1665. Retrieved July 18, 2011 from http://www.historic-

uk.com/HistoryUK/England-History/GreatPlague.htm

It is when the market reaches this point that the system begins to unravel. Once prices start to drop, borrowers start to default on their loans causing prices to fall even further (Buttonwood, 2009).

When this situation happens the Government must step in and take action. When the banking and finance sector hit crisis mode it causes deflationary destruction, because capital is essentially eliminated. Businesses, investors and consumers begin to lose confidence and borrowers find it hard to repay their lenders. When financial times are good, government revenues in the form of taxes on capital gains, bonuses, corporate profits and property sales tend to be strong. But as governments are now discovering, such revenues collapse very quickly when the bubble bursts and things fall apart (Buttonwood, 2009). The financial sector in this country plays a very important role and can make or break depending on the mode that it is…

References

Buttonwood. (2009). Minsky's moment. Retrieved April 13, 2009, from Economist.com Web

site:

 http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=34891 

8&story_id=13415233

Increases in manufacturing reveal benefits early, one can track the benefit at all stages and report the benefits to the public quickly. According to a statement released by the Center for American Progress, "solar panels don't install themselves. Wind turbines don't manufacture themselves. Homes and buildings don't retrofit or weatherize themselves. In our industrial society, trees don't even PLANT themselves, anymore. eal people must do all of that work." The public wants a quick fix, they want to start hearing that the economy is doing better and a focus on manufacturing will accomplish this. Additionally, there has been increasing pressure on the White House to focuses on alternative energy sources. Such a policy would gain favor with democratic and liberal environmentalists.

4. Do you consider your views to be more aligned with a classical or Keynesian approach to economic thinking? Explain. (There is no right or wrong answer). See module…

REFERENCE LIST

Chea S., (2010). "Manufacturers' Orders as an Economic Indicator." Associated Content February, 2010. Retrieved from  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2685879/manufacturers_orders_as_an_economic_pg2.html?cat=3 .

Federal Reserve bank of New York. Durable Goods. Retrieved from  http://www.newyorkfed.org/education/bythe.html#durgoods .

Hoexter, M., (2009). "Cap and Trade: An Unserious Policy Framework.. Towards a Serious Climate Policy -- Part 2."Climate Policy, Energy Policy, Sustainable Thinking, December 2009.

Podesta, J., Stern T., (2007). "Capturing the Energy Opportunity: Creating a Low-Carbon Economy." The Center for American Progress, Nov. 2007. Retrieved  http://www.americanprogress.org .

A negative consequence, however, would be increased volatility in the value of the dollar. Imports would become more expensive as well, increasing inflation and potentially compelling the restructuring of the economy. Increased currency risk -- transaction and translation -- would also create difficulties for U.S. companies operating abroad. I do not support such a proposal. Attempts to jury-rig a global currency are as impractical as enforcing Esperanto as a global language. Such a currency would be inherently unstable, as the Euro example has shown us. The constituent communities would be committed to enforcing controls on each other in order to maintain the integrity of the currency. If at some point the currency of another economy overtakes that of the U.S., it will be because that economy is stronger, larger and more stable -- fundamental market forces -- rather than as the result of a political decision.

3. a) The Fed…

Works Cited:

Google.com. (2010). Unemployment rate. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved April 23, 2010 from  http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=usunemployment&met=unemployment_rate&tdim=true&dl=en&hl=en&q=U.S.+unemployment+rate

Economics

Growth The retailer sector was lately affected by the back-to-school shopping season, which did not start so well, as midprice department stores, discounters and specialty-apparel retailers announced disappointing sales results during August, which reinforced the already much debated concerns that consumers are not comfortable with the current state of the economy and are reluctant to consume, considering the shaky and uneven economic recovery.

However, luxury department-store chains managed to post significant earnings, as they benefited from the help of an important number of upscale shoppers. Still, the effects of higher gas prices and the rising value of grocery bills, combined with lackluster job growth were severely felt by moderate- and lower-income shoppers.

Michael Niemira, chief economist and director of research at the International Council of Shopping Centers feels that "There's weaker-than-expected performance," due to the fact that "there was a slowdown in spending, but some results are exaggerated by…

References

1. Higher energy prices depress overall economy. Charles Stein.

Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington:

Aug 6, 2004. On the Internet at  http://gateway.proquest.com.libproxy.unm.edu/openurl-url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqd&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&rft_dat=xri:pqd:did=000000674708321&svc_dat=xri:pqil:fmt=text&req_dat=xri:pqil:pq_clntid=2877 

2. Retailers' Sales Come In Weaker Than Expected; Soft Results Reinforce Fears About Consumer Confidence; Discounters Saw Biggest Hit. Kortney Stringer.

Economics in China (Manufacture)

There is a time and stage for all types of manufacturing and what may be seen to succeed in China is not likely to succeed in many other countries like the United States. Chinese economy has developed very fast and that has attracted attention from all over the world in the business community. This has led to a rapid increase in their foreign direct investment and share in international trade. There are continuously new businesses coming into China, trade agreements are being finalized, and a lot of foreigners are rapidly coming into China. The point where the foreign managers and the Chinese managers are meeting is being studied by many consultants. Some reasons for the growth of business in china are also due to their culture, and that is one of the oldest cultures in the world. Their culture has always had a system of client…

References

Eric Wahlgren; "Street Wise" November 19, 2003 Retrieved at  http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2003/tc20031121_1964_tc121.htm 

Einhorn, Bruce. "Online Asia" October, 6, 2003 Retrieved at http://yahoo.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2003/tc2003106_9749_tc058.htm

Newsmaker Q&A." November 21, 2003  http://www.businessweekeurope.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2003/nf20031119_2463_db014.htm 

Roberts, Dexter. "Is China's Boom in Danger?"

Making the punishment for such offenses an inability to access the Internet, however, begins to deprive citizens of their rights. The Internet may hold access to illegal movies and music, but it also holds a wealth of information, including blogs, news, educational information, and personal information. Depriving a person of the use of the Internet is essentially depriving him or her of access to libraries, to free speech, and to freedom of information. People who steal money from houses are not barred from living in them, nor are those who steal books forbidden from libraries. The punishment for copyright crimes via the Internet should be the same as these crimes have ever been, a fine. If one person steals another's property, the thief should have to pay; he or she should not be deprived of the right of speech and information.

eferences

"Trois strikes and you're out." (2009, April 16).…

References

"Trois strikes and you're out." (2009, April 16). Retrieved 21 April 2009, from The

Economist. Web Site:  http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13496729&source=hptextfeature

Conclusion

Each of the four economies studied suffered somewhat from the economic downturn. The differences between the severity and length of recession in each country will inevitably be affected by the structure of that nation's economy and its relationship with the international monetary system. As such, it is important that we analyze the differences between these nations and the ways in which the current economic crisis impacts their economies. e can learn why some countries are comparatively successful at mitigating the impacts of recession, while others suffer more than they probably should given their links to the root of the problem. This insight can help the players in the international monetary system to develop a system in future that is better able to manage the downside impacts of recession.

orks Cited:

Zakaria, F. (2009) the Canadian Solution. Newsweek. Retrieved October 23, 2009 from http://www.newsweek.com/id/183670

Flynn, D. (2008). Greece did too…

Works Cited:

Zakaria, F. (2009) the Canadian Solution. Newsweek. Retrieved October 23, 2009 from http://www.newsweek.com/id/183670

Flynn, D. (2008). Greece did too little to avoid recession. XPat Athens. Retrieved October 23, 2009 from  http://www.xpatathens.com/news/19157 

Bahree, M. (2009). Mongolia rolls with the recession. Forbes. Retrieved October 23, 2009 from  http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/22/mongolia-mining-rio-markets-emerge-elbegdorj.html 

No author. (2009). Is India recession proof? Vilekhari.com. Retrieved October 23, 2009 from  http://www.vilekhari.com/business/is-india-recession-proof/

Most economists feel that if China's currency were allowed to trade freely, it would be a whole lot more. No one can know for sure how much more, but leading economists put it in a range of 10 to 40% higher value than it is now (Davidson 2006),

By keeping the Yuan artificially low in value, China is effectively giving the U.S. consumer a discount on all Chinese exports. By doing this they are discounting their own exports. This is good for many U.S. consumers because it allows them to buy cheaper clothes and electronics along with many other items. But on the other had it is bad for U.S. manufacturers who can't compete with low Chinese prices in the end. Some U.S. manufacturers have adapted by buying many component parts at a lower cost from China. The ability of a manufacturer to adapt depends on the company and the…

References

Amadeo, Kimberly. 2009. "China Economy." Available at:

 http://useconomy.about.com/od/worldeconomy/p/China_Economy.htm 

Borjas, George J. And Ramey, Valerie a. 2000. "Market Responses to Interindustry Wage

Differentials." Available at:

2% of the total GDP and 2.9 in the employment; the proportions are expected to increase and are still considered relatively low in comparison to other countries, generally due to the tardy response of the Japanese authorities. "As the tourism market continues to grow steadily, tourism industry is expected to become the leading industry of Japan throughout the 21st century" (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2002).

eferences

Balassa, B.A., Noland, M., 1988, Japan in the World Economy, Peterson Institute for International Economics

Cochrane, J., 2008, Asian Tourism, Elsevier Science and Technology Books

Hiroko, T., 2004, the Political Economy of eproduction in Japan: Between Nation-State and Everyday Life, outledge

Hiroyuki, H., 2003, Between Preservation and Tourism: Folk Performing Arts in Contemporary Japan, Asian Folklore Studies, Volume 23

Hudman, L., Jackson, ., Essa, E., 2002, Geography of Travel and Tourism, 4th Edition, Cengage Delmar Learning

Ishikawa, N., Fukushige, M., 2006, Impacts…

References

Balassa, B.A., Noland, M., 1988, Japan in the World Economy, Peterson Institute for International Economics

Cochrane, J., 2008, Asian Tourism, Elsevier Science and Technology Books

Hiroko, T., 2004, the Political Economy of Reproduction in Japan: Between Nation-State and Everyday Life, Routledge

Hiroyuki, H., 2003, Between Preservation and Tourism: Folk Performing Arts in Contemporary Japan, Asian Folklore Studies, Volume 23

2007 Economic Crisis on American Car market

Effect of the 2008 global economic crisis on automotive industries

Crisis in the United States

Crisis in Canada

Crisis in ussia

Crisis in European markets

Crisis in Asian markets

Effects by other related crisis events

In this paper, we will review the effects of 2008 global automotive crisis. Our main focus will be on the American car manufacturers and the negative impact they suffered due to the crisis. We will also have a look at how this crisis had affected car manufacturers in other major markets around the world notably Europe, Canada and the prominent Asian markets such as China and India. Finally, we will look at some of the other factors which were important to this event namely the energy crisis since the cost of fuel is directly related to the car industry.

Introduction

The automobile industry is a very important part…

References

Lee, C. (2003). Financial Liberalization and Economic Crisis in Asia. New York: Routledge.

Pempel, T.J. (1999). The Politics of Asian Economic Crisis. New York: Cornell University Press.

Arestis, P. (2001). What Global Economic Crisis? New York: Palgrave.

Liou, K.T. (2002). Managing Economic Development in Asia. Westport, CT: Praeger.

It is worth noting that two economic consequences are likely to occur, particularly in the event of a V-shaped recovery. The first is that the Federal Reserve is going to wait to increase rates until the last possible moment, in the hopes of spurring greater investment and therefore job growth. This means that inflation is expected at some point this year. This inflation means that factor inputs will increase in cost. Larson can gain advantage over competitors if it can hold its wholesale cost stable in the face of an increase in the cost of factor inputs, since competitors may be forced to increase their prices. Careful control over its cost structure will allow Larson to do this while maintaining profitability.

Another potential economic consequence is a decline in the value of the Euro. Normally, Larson exporting products from America to Germany would be fairly easy given Germany's current account…

Works Cited:

CNN. (2010). Battle for downtown Bangkok hits economy. CNN. Retrieved May 15, 2010 from http://edition.cnn.com/2010/Business/05/14/battle.bangkok.economy/index.html?hpt=T1

Kirschbaum, E. (2010). Euro in danger of becoming unstable. Reuters. Retrieved May 15, 2010 from  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6150N020100206 

Federal Reserve Bank of New York. (2010). Federal funds data. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Retrieved May 15, 2010 from  http://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/omo/dmm/fedfundsdata.cfm 

BEA (2010). Personal income and outlays, March 2010. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved May 15, 2010 from  http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/pinewsrelease.htm

disrupting America's economic system is a fundamental objective of terrorists

Even as the world continues to struggle with the terrible shock from the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, one principle lesson has already become clear: disrupting our economic system is a fundamental objective of terrorists.

Prior to September 11, our economic environment was certainly not immune to terror, in comparison to many other nations; we lived relatively terror-free. Now, however, the aftermath of the terrorist attacks serves as a grim reminder that international relations and security developments can dramatically affect economic performance.

US History is replete with countless examples when macro fundamentals are overtaken by what economists refer to as, exogenous shocks -- surprise events that can profoundly and often unpredictably shift political and economic resources, and send even the most accurate forecasts astray. Commodity shocks, such as the two OPEC jolts in the 1970s, are classic…

References

Bagehot, Walter. 1927. Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market, John Murray, London.

Balbach, Anatol B. 1981. "How Controllable is Money Growth?" Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, vol 63, no 4, April, p. 5.

Becker, Gary S, Steven N. Kaplan, Kevin M. Murphy and Edward A Snyder. (2002 / winter). "The Economic Effects of September 11," GSB Magazine, University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business.

Bell, Stephanie. 2000. "Do Taxes and Bonds Finance Government Spending?." Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 603-620.

Kenyan reform policy Successful?

The need for reform in Kenya has been clearly demonstrated. But the question remains, has this reform been successful? The slogan of "Harambe" fueled the passions of the Kenyan people and drove them to strive as one nation to lift themselves up from poverty and oppression. It has been ten years since the last reform and it is now time to look back and see what has been accomplished.

To measure the success of the reforms we will consider several economic indicators both before the reform and after to see how they have changed. Then these factors will be considered as a whole to develop a better outlook on the entire picture. e will consider education, the performance of the industrial sector, the trade and tourism sector, the finance sector, rate of inflation, employment and wages, the agricultural sector, construction, social services and some comments on…

Works Cited

Adams, Martin. LAND REFORM: NEW SEEDS ON OLD GROUND? Overseas Development Institute. Number 6, October 1995.

African Perspective. Kenya at the Crossroads. Fourth Issue - Winter 2000/2001.  http://www.sis.gov.eg/public/africanmag/issue04/html/enafr12.htm 

Appleton, Simon, Arne Bigsten and Damiano Kulundu Manda Educational expansion and Economic decline: returns to education in Kenya,1978-1995.

Bureau for Africa U.S. Agency for International Development KEN YA Country Profile U.S.

Home Building Industry: An Economic Strategy

This paper will briefly explore how recent economic indicators such as record low interest rates for mortgages and housing starts should motivate house builders to strategize for continued economic growth. At this time while the housing bubble has not burst, it is important for such companies to focus on strategy in order to remain competitive when the bubble does burst.

This type of boom in originations has spawned tremendous economic growth with regards to employment rates, reurbanization, new home building, consumer spending and confidence and made hundreds of billions of dollars for the players involved. The housing boom kept this country afloat during the darkest moments after September 11, 2001 when other industries like travel, hospitality, entertainment, energy and telecommunications seemed uncertain. One can argue that such a relationship is cyclical; what comes around goes around in the manner of economic trends such as…

References

America's Homeownership Challenge. Retrieved June 30, 2005 from the World Wide Web: .

Hecht, B. Housing-Led Economic Development. Retrieved June 30, 2005 from the World Wide Web:

Intenational Tade Between Bahain and Saudi Aabia

This is a pape on Tade between Bahain and Saudi Aabia, focusing on how it affects thei intenational tade elations with special attention to OPEC, GCC and the Qata dispute. It uses 22 souces in MLA fomat.

Both Saudi Aabia and Bahain ae membes of the Gulf Coopeation Council along with Qata, UAE, Kuwait and Oman. Unde the GCC Ageement, pefeential taiffs apply among the membe states. Since independence in 1971, Bahain has essentially pusued a libeal tade and investment policy, and has integated its economy closely with those of othe counties in the egion, though the Unified Economic Ageement of the Gulf Coopeation Council (GCC).

Tade and economic gowth in Bahain is stongly affected by vaiations in intenational enegy pices. Real GDP gowth, as a esult, was slowe duing the 1990s compaed with the pevious decade, aveaging aound 3.6% annually since 1994.…

references

1. http://cf.heritage.org/index/country.cfm?ID=10

2. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE: BAHRAIN ECONOMIC POLICY AND TRADE PRACTICES. FEBRUARY 1994.

3.  http://www.worldbank.org/search.htm 

4.  http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp139_e.htm

As banks faltered and default rates rose, rates of consumption and demand plummeted. Unemployment began to increase, and in a predictable Keynesian fashion, as individuals grew more insecure about their job prospects they began to spend less money. The United States has a particularly consumer-driven economy -- Americans are known for having historically low rates of savings and to engage in high rates of spending -- so this was particularly disruptive to the usual rhythms of the economy.

Young people graduating from college suffered some of the worst effects of the recession. "Unemployment rates for individuals younger than 25 are currently 21% in the euro area and 19% in the U.S." (Branchflower 2010). They were competing with older, more experienced workers who had recently lost their jobs. The fear is that today's low starting salaries create a class of permanently low-earning graduates, many of whom have high levels of college…

Works Cited

Branchflower, David G. "Credit crisis creates Lost Generation." Bloomberg Business.

January 21, 2010. August 28, 2001.

 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-01-22/credit-crisis-creates-lost-generation-david-g-blanchflower.html 

Ferguson, Niall. "Where did all the money go?" From the Great Hangover. Edited by Graydon

Less Economic Integration Within the United States

Over the last several decades, the total amount of trade between the United States and Canada has been increasingly brought to the forefront. Part of the reason for this, is because the two nations share a common boarder that has encouraged both of them to trade more with each other. As time has evolved, this relationship has continued to increase exponentially with the two becoming increasingly interconnected based upon NAFTA. This has helped to fuel large amounts of natural resources that are exported from Canada into the U.S. Where, America has considerable demand for raw materials to meet the needs of: manufacturers, businesses and consumers. (Schwanen, 2005, pp. 309 -- 406) Evidence of this can be seen by looking than the below table, as this illustrates the total amounts of trade between both nations from 1996 to 2010.

Annualized Trade Figures between the…

Bibliography

Canada GDP Growth Rate. (2011). Trading Economics. Retrieved from: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/canada/gdp-growth

Chinese Think Tank. (2011). Mercopress. Retrieved from:  http://en.mercopress.com/2011/04/08/chinese-think-tank-forecasts-bric-countries-to-overtake-the-us-economy-by-2015 

Peru. (2011). CIA World Fact Book. Retrieved from:  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pe.html 

Trade in Goods with Canada. (2011). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from:  http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c1220.html

The article concedes, however, that declining business confidence is an absolute danger that must be dealt with and the government not being an active partner with businesses and in favor of the recovery will just make things worse (Pollin, 2010).

A similar point is made in a different article that states that the role of fiscal policy in pushing an economy towards recovery cannot be over-estimated or over-analyzed because of the vital role fiscal policy plays in said recovery. The article notes that the impact (or lack thereof) of programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicare, tax credits, Social Security, direct subsidies, unemployment insurance and such are often included in any analysis of fiscal policy but it also noted that many parties that look at this topic glaringly omit are transfer payments and other assistance paid directly to financial institutions (Tcherneva, 2012).

This perhaps became a much less…

References

2012 Forecast: Recovery…or Recession?. (2012). Financial Executive, 28(1), 21-23.

Auerbach, a., Gale, W., & Harris, B. (2010). Activist Fiscal Policy. Journal of Economic

Perspectives, 24(4), 141-164. doi:10.1257/jep.24.4.141

Baily, M., & Lawrence, R.Z. (2004). What Happened to the Great U.S. Job Machine?

At the same time, one also needs to consider that after the economic depression of 1929, it wasn't until 1945 that the economy could be considered as having resumed the same levels as before.

The authors point out that a slower growth (and a slow recovery) may be what the world economy actually needs, because it would be a more sustainable growth and it would allow the developing countries to correlate the macroeconomic mechanisms with this economic growth. Nevertheless, in my opinion, a slower recovery in the U.S. will have a negative impact on all the countries that use the U.S. As their main commercial partner.

ibliography

1. The Great American Slowdown. Economist.com. On the Internet at http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11016333.Lastretrieved on March 20, 2009

The Great American Slowdown. Economist.com. On the Internet at http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11016333.Lastretrieved on March 20, 2009

Bibliography

1. The Great American Slowdown. Economist.com. On the Internet at  http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11016333.Lastretrieved  on March 20, 2009

The Great American Slowdown. Economist.com. On the Internet at

Principal-Agent Model in Economics and Political Science

The international political perspectives of free trade

A Global Analysis

International Trade Impact on Tunisia

The Export of agricultural products

International trade and development of Tunisia

Balance in the Trade egime

Imports and exports of Tunisia

Exports

Imports

Coping With External and Internal Pressures

The Common External Tariff (CET)

Safeguard Measures

Anti-Dumping Duties (ADDs) and Countervailing Duties (CVDs)

ules of origin

The New Commercial Policy Instrument

Sector Based Aspects

GATT/WTO's Main Principles

Non-discriminatory trade

Multilateral negotiation and free trade

The Trading Policies of European Union

Critical Political Economy

Tunisia

The Gross Domestic Product of Tunisia

The eal Data Analysis of Import Export Companies in Tunisia

The Smith Co Company

The Softkim and Lovers Limited

The Impact of Free Trade on Tunisia Trading 43

Findings 44

Conclusion 44

eferences 46

Abbreviations

ACP

Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific

AMC

Alternative Mediterranean Conference

APEC

Asia-Pacific…

References

Bhagwati, J. (2002). Free Trade Today. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Retrieved August 15, 2011, from Questia database:  http://www.questia.com/ PM.qst?a=o&d=99509776

Bhote, K.R. (2002). The Ultimate Six Sigma: Beyond Quality Excellence to Total Business Excellence. New York: AMACOM. Retrieved August 15, 2011, from Questia database:

Schwartz, N. D. (2016). Wages Rise as U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls Below 5%. The New York Times.
Key Points from Article

According to the article by Schwartz (2016), the United States unemployment rate crossed the 5% mark. In particular, owing to a steady decrease in employment and having healthy employment, the rate of wages substantially increase, which is an indication that the job market might be tightening substantially to compensate more to attract and retain workers. Secondly, the unemployment rate declined to its lowest of 4.9% in the past eight years (Schwartz, 2016). The past half-year have been the paramount protracted period for employee remunerations from the time when the recovery started six-and-a-half years ago. The third key point is that economists have pointed out that this decline in the unemployment rate are a suggestion that the United States economy has been steadying up well despite the fact that the…

Poverty rose after the Islamic evolution, and so did unemployment, leaving Iran largely uncompetitive in the global marketplace. Their largest export is the sale of oil and gas, and Iran holds what is estimated to be 10% of the world's oil reserves, so their economy is growing again, and they are successfully paying off old debt that was restructured in the 1980s (Editors).

While Iran was sinking into a depression, Israel, on the other hand, was gaining ground in many areas of their economy. While they still have to import oil, and that continued during the 1975-1985 time period, their economy has modernized and gained much more ground and diversity than Iran's, at least today. However, from 1975 to 1985, the economy was a very different story. While Iran was undergoing a boom because of oil prices, Israel enjoyed no such luxury. In fact, their resources were depleted after the…

References

Coutsoukis, Photius. "Israel's Economy." Photius.com. 2004. 3 July 2008.  http://www.photius.com/countries/israel/economy/israel_economy_economic_growth_and_~13.html 

Editors. "Iran's Economy." Iran Trade Association. 2008. 3 July 2008. http://www.iraniantrade.org/doinbiz/econ.asp

Kirshner, Sheldon. "Israel's Ties With Iran Have Been Mercurial." CanadianJewishNews.com. 21 February 2008. 3 July 2008.  http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14065&Itemid=86 

Melman, Yossi. "How Israel Lost to the Iranians." Iran Press Service. 2006. 3 July 2008.  http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2006/december2006/iran_israel_oil_071206.shtml

Purchasing Management

A Purchasing Manager must ensure that all the necessary supplies, tools, and stock inventory are available for operations to proceed smoothly and at an undisturbed pace. Counting inventory, ordering goods/items, and keeping stock of prices in a fluctuating market so as to not go over budget at any given time are all important aspects of the job.

In today's market conditions, one of the main challenges that a Purchasing Manager can face, however, has to do with global economic conditions, which are hovering on the brink of recession or even outright depression if the warnings of some economic analysts are to be taken seriously. As Zorzi, Chudik and Dieppe (2012) assert, fundamental imbalances in the accounting practices of banks, corporations, multinationals and governments around the world have tilted the playing field in such a way that it is now a veritable slope, with all players losing their footing…

References

Ragnarsdottir, B., Berburg, J., Olafsdottir, S. (2013). The Global Financial Crisis and Individual Distress: The Role of Subjective Comparisons after the Collapse of the Icelandic Economy. Sociology, 47(4): 755-775.

Yu, H. (2014). China's Ghost Cities. East Asian Policy, 6(2): 33.

Zorzi, M., Chudik, A., Dieppe, A. (2012). Thousands of models, one story: Current account imbalances in the global economy. Journal of International Money and Finance, 31(6): 1319-1338.

Keynesian Aggregate Expenditure Model

Two Quotations:

Company profits grew strongly in the June quarter putting another question mark over the extent of the predicted economic slowdown..."

However the central bank acknowledged that the weaker data for capital spending intentions are at this point the only clear evidence of an impending slowdown"

These two quotations regarding the same economic scenario seem to pose the question to consumers and economists alike -- why a predicted economic slowdown, if company profits are growing strongly? hy place so much fear in the data regarding capital spending intentions on the part of consumers? hy turn to the tools macroeconomics has long focused on, that of monetary policy, which the central bank controls, and fiscal policy, which the federal government controls, to shift the current state of economic equilibrium, as described above? (Schenk, 1997, "Synthesis")

The answer lies in the Keynesian aggregate expenditure model. This model…

Works Cited

Keynesian Aggregate Expenditure Model." (2004) Amos Web. Retrieved on June 20, 2004 at http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/gls.pl?fcd=dsp&key=Keynesian+aggregate+expenditure+model

Macroeconomic Equilibrium. (2004). Retrieved on June 20, 2004 at http://nova.umuc.edu/~black/meq00.html

Scheck, Robert. (1997) "Activism." Retrieved on June 20, 2004 at http://ingrimayne.saintjoe.edu/econ/Keynes/Activism.html

Scheck, Robert. (1997) "Synthesis." Retrieved on June 20, 2004 at http://ingrimayne.saintjoe.edu/econ/optional/ISLM/Overview14ma.html

Unemployment: A Social Problem?

There are few problems that nations face more perplexing than that of unemployment. The condition of being unemployed is in some ways natural to a capitalist system, as businesses try to succeed while spending as few resources as possible, and a flexible workforce means most people are willing and happy to change jobs several times throughout their lives. The problems of unemployment then often only go noticed during periods of economic slowdown, when the number of out of work individuals rises far beyond the ability of private business to give these individuals jobs. Unemployment is a significant social problem caused by poor economic conditions, and as such, unemployment should not simply be characterized as an individual's inability to find meaningful work, but also a nation's inability to provide meaningful employment to the entirety of its workforce.

A highly developed economy requires a busy and proactive society…

Works Cited

Block, F. (1981). Policy analysis. Retrieved from  http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa004.html 

Paul., & Moser (2009). Psychological effects of unemployment and underemployment. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/socioeconomic/unemployment.aspx

The effects of unemployment: The effects on society. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3312.html

Riley, G. (2006, September). Tutor2u. Retrieved from  http://tutor2u.net/economics/revision-notes/a2-macro-unemployment.html

Cooperative Strategy

The criteria for successful Alliances in Emerging Country Economies

Economic shifts and globalization caused by the development of emerging economies and the recent financial crisis have affected various industries. Firms must adapt appropriately to the new standard where time to market is shortened even with their shrinking capital bases and growing global competition. At a period when alliances and partnerships are fundamental, particular emerging economies are subject to become critical partners. This paper seeks to give a theoretical foundation for analyzing the prevalence, the nature, and the location of global strategic alliances of firms in emerging economies. The focus will be on the criteria for alliances in these economies compared to alliances in developed countries. Propositions will be posted with respect to Small Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs).

Emerging economies previously used for contract manufacturing are evolving at a rapid speed. In a number of industries propelled by local…

References

Arogyaswamy, B. (2008). The Asian miracle, myth, and mirage: The economic slowdown is here to stay. Westport, Conn: Quorum Books.

Chang, S.-J. (2013). Multinational firms in china: Entry strategies, competition, and firm performance. S.l.: Oxford University Press.

Corbo, V., Krueger, A.O., & Ossa, F.J. (2010). Export-oriented development strategies: The success of five newly industrializing countries. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press.

Dalal-Clayton, D.B., Swiderska, K., Bass, S., & Aguilar, A. (2012). Stakeholder dialogues on sustainable development strategies: Lessons, opportunities and developing country case studies. London: International Institute for Environment and Development.

"

This is significant because it shows how some critics of contrarian investing will often point to the various instances of speculation and assume that it is contrarian investing. In some cases the psychology of consumers can become so extreme, that the definition of what is speculative expands greatly. As a result, using contrarian investing in conjunction with other indicators / tools can help prudent investors and traders, be able to identify when the market condition are becoming more extreme.

Contrarian Indicators and Tools

When using the different contrarian indicators / tools in conjunction with one another, you can begin to see how this strategy can be used, to effectively determine if the market conditions are overbought or oversold. There are number of different tools that can be utilized to indentify major changes that are occurring in the trend of a stock or the market averages. These would include: headlines…

Bibliography

"3M Historical Prices," Yahoo Finance,  http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=MMM&a=00&b=2&c=1970&d=04&e=25&f=2010&g=v&z=66&y=0 

"3M Reports First Quarter Results," 3M, http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MjA2NjEwOHxDaGlsZElEPTMzNDE0MXxUeXBlPTI=&t=1

"3M Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 Results," 3M, http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/80/805/80574/items/322063/054431D4-6347-45F1-AF4D-85CCA5F89C52_mmmQ4release.pdf

"American Depository Receipt." Investopedia,  http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/adr.asp

As such, the amount repaid to the lender does not accurately reflect adjustments in its purchasing power. To compensate, nominal interest rates float; they change with inflation rates. Real interest rates, on the other hand, do factor in inflation rates. With this type of return rate, the borrower experiences an increase in purchasing power.

9. Cyclical unemployment arises out of a nation's reduction in productivity; it occurs when an economy produces less. Logically, this type of unemployment explodes during recessions and falls during times of recovery and/or prosperity; it follows the business cycle. Structural unemployment refers to a decreased demand of workers; it may be due to increased automation, outdated skills, or geographical incongruencies. Frictional unemployment occurs when workers are in between jobs; it is by nature temporary unemployment and reflects ordinary transitions in the labor market.

11. There exists a close relationship between technological change and the growth rate…

e. In Spain or Italy) Larson's products will be cheaper on global markets. Under this scenario, Larson would be forced to finance its operations entirely from ongoing cash flow. It would also see a slump in the strength of the battery industry. If the industry slumps, this may bring about the oligopoly scenario from Milestone 2. At present, however, a credit crunch would simply limit the amount of R&D that Larson could conduct, and would prohibit the offshoring of production in order to cut costs. Larson would still be able to follow the core cost leadership strategy, which was always the most reasonable option on the table given the industry characteristics.

Larson is faced with an uncertain future in that each of these three different scenarios delivers slightly different characteristics with regards to the nature of competition and the opportunities that exist in the marketplace. Some of the options presented…

The member nations of OPEC are relatively few, making it easier for them to form a producing conglomerate; the idea of a consumer conglomerate is untenable, as OPEC will always be able to find an extensive enough market for its commodity with other countries not in this conglomerate, and thus they can still control the price.

Conclusion

The oil industry is not fueled by supply or demand so much as it is by the simple motivator of most economic decisions -- greed. Economies exist precisely because there is competition for limited resources. Any more, the resources that are actually necessary for life are not limited in the developed world, and the competition for unnecessary resources ends up depriving other regions of basic necessities. The oil producing countries of the world are cashing in on the system like and "intelligent" economic actor.

orks Cited

Econbrowser. "New study of the effects of…

Works Cited

Econbrowser. "New study of the effects of oil price shocks on the economy." Accessed 1 November 2009.  http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2007/05/new_study_of_th_1.html 

Katayama, Munechika. "Declining Effects of Oil=price Shocks." University of California, San Diego. Accessed 1 November 2009.  http://dss.ucsd.edu/~m1kataya/paper/OilShock.pdf 

Lorde, Troy; Jackman, Mahalia and Thomas, Chrystol. "The macroeconomic effects of oil price fluctuations on a small open oil-producing country: The case of Trinidad and Tobago." Accessed 1 November 2009.  http://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v37y2009i7p2708-2716.html 

Reynolds, Alan. "Oil Prices: Cause and Effect." Cato Institute. Accessed 1 November 2009.  http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3947

Note: current prices values are expressed in AUD billion.

Australia's Trade Situation

In the June quarter 2007, Australia's exports of goods and services increased by 0.5%, reaching the value of $54.6 billion. This increase follows a series of increases, as for the 2006-2007 financial year, exports increased by 10%, reaching $216 billion. egarding the volume of Australia's exports of goods and services, it increased by 0.8% in the June quarter of 2007, while for the 2006-2007 financial year, increased by 4%. The index of prices received for exports did not have an ascending evolution, since it decreased by 0.3% in the June quarter 2007. However, in the 2006-2007 financial year, export prices increased up to 6% (DFAT, 2007).

egarding rural goods, their exports fell 0.7% reaching $25.1 billion. The rural goods exports volumes fell 4% to 24.4 billion. The evolution of specific rural goods was the following: meat and meat…

Reference List

Australia (2007). Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. Retrieved December 7, 2007 from  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html#Econ .

Calleya, Peter (2007). The Australian and New Zealand Dollar. Times of Malta. Retrieved December 7, 2007 at  http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20071111/business/the-australian-and-new-zealand-dollar .

Financial Stability Review (2007). Reserve Bank of Australia. Retrieved December 7, 2007 at  http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/FinancialStabilityReview/index.html .

Stevens, Glenn (2007). Economic Conditions and Prospects. Address to the QUT Business Leaders' Forum Brisbane. Reserve Bank of Australia. Retrieved December 7, 2007 at  http://www.rba.gov.au/Speeches/2007/sp_gov_140607.html .

Macroeconomic Impact on Business Operations

Monetary and fiscal tools are used by the government to control economic conditions in the country. Monetary policy usually targets money supply in the market in order to control inflation. In some countries such as ussia and Brazil, governments may often force the mints to print extra currency to meet various expenses. This results in higher flow of money in the market which is unsubstantiated by gold reserves of that country. That leads to inflation and causes several problems due to macroeconomic instability.

However when inflation is kept in check, prices stay within consumer's reach, money market remains stable and other areas such as employment, interest rates etc. However while monetary policy is more dependent on market forces and consumer behavior, fiscal policies include governmental spending, taxation and interest rates. We must understand that fiscal measures are normally utilized in capitalist countries when economic conditions…

References

1) Brock, James (2000) "Industry Update: Airlines," Review of Industrial Organization, 16: 41-51.

2) Transportation Research Board (1999), "Entry and Competition in the U.S. Airline Industry: Issues and Opportunities," National Research Council, Special Report 255. Washington D.C., National Academy Press.

3) U.S. Department of Transportation (2000) "International Aviation Developments: Transatlantic Deregulation (Second Report)," Office of the Secretary.

4) U.S. Vs. AMR Corporation, Case number 99-1180-JTM, U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

Macroeconomic Situation

Delivering a speech to the merican Bankers ssociation in tlanta on June 7, 2011, Federal reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke posited a pessimistic view of current macroeconomic conditions. "The U.S. economy is recovering from both the worst financial crisis and the most severe housing bust since the Great Depression, and it faces additional headwinds ranging from the effect of the Japanese disaster to global pressures in commodity prices" (Hilsenrath, J. June 7, 2011). In this context it is useful to analyze the current economic recovery to see which if any additional monetary or fiscal policy measures could speed the pace of recovery and continue its upward trajectory.

What is the Current Macroeconomic Situation in the U.S.

ccording to economists the "Great Recession" ended in the second quarter of 2009 (Isidore, C. September 20, 2010); from that point the economy has slowly climbed out of negative growth returning to a…

A third disturbing piece of news is the continuing high level of unemployment and slow level of job growth. In May job growth was an anemic 54,000 addition to payroll (Hilsenrath, J. June 7, 2011), "far below the roughly 200,000 needed each month to reduce the unemployment rate" (Bernard, S. & Arbel, T.N.D.). In step the unemployment rate in May increased from 8.89% to 9.1% (Hilsenrath, J. June 7, 2011).

Lastly, "the index of leading indicators fell in April, only the second decline since it began to rise in the spring of 2009" (Feldstein, M. June 7, 2011). This index which is comprised of eleven key economic data streams looks forward to forecast economic activity (New York University. N.D.). The fall in the index suggests that the economy could be in for a rough ride in the second half of 2011 and into 2012.

The question however, is why with both expansionary fiscal and monetary tools operating at full capacity over the last two years has the economy

Macroecnomic Situation

In the year 2007 the real estate pricing in the United States plummet from its peak causing securities attached to it to also plummet, hence, damaging the financial institutions in America. As a result securities suffered large losses in 2008 and part of 2009. This triggered a series of problem as the financial institutions tried to regain the hold of the situation. In the long run some major financial institutions collapsed. Most governments responded with rescue packages to bail out their financial institutions. During the period global economies slowed down due to inadequate credit and reduced international trade leading to a global financial crisis (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2009).

The global economy is currently trying to recover but it is unclear whether it will be able to fully recover in time. y 2011 fisical support measures had faded away, being that they were not fully…

Bibliography

Arieff, A Weiss, M.A. & Jones, V.C. (Eds) 2009, The global economic crisis impact on Sub-Saharan Africa and global policy responses, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Baldwin, B.G. 2002, The new life insurance investment advisor, McGraw-Hill, New York.

Fabrizio, S 2010, Emerging from the global crisis: macroeconomic challenges facing low-income countries., International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C..

Global Economics Crisis Resource Center 2010, Global economic crisis: impact on international business, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason.

Jobless Recovery

JAFLOR

Why Jobless Recovery?

The economic slowdown, according to the National ureau of Economic Research (NER), that the United States experienced in 2001 transpired for eight months between March and November (ernanke, 2003). Many Americans witnessed a modest decline in the economy, which, however, also started to pick up moderately after eight months.

Despite of the moderate performance of the economy in recovering from the period of recession, the labor market showed a very slow improvement. This is the reason why the economists describe the recovery following the March-November economic downturn a "jobless recovery." Other sectors of the economy are starting to improve and are making progress while many Americans remained jobless. There has been a weak labor market during the period when the economy is resuming growth.

Five Possible Explanations for the Slow Recovery of Labor (From ernanke's speech)

ernanke, in his speech, mentioned several possible explanations…

Bibliography

Bernanke, Ben. The Jobless Recovery.

The Federal Reserve Board. 07 Dec 2003.  http://www.federalreserve.gov/BoardDocs/Speeches/2003/200311062/default.htm 

Wessel, David. Productivity Gains: Never Bad, Even for American Workers.

WSJ.com. 07 Dec 2003. http://classwork.busadm.mu.edu/classwork/Economics%20Newspaper%20Articles/Macroeconomics/Measuring%20the%20Economy/2003b,%20July-Dec/2003-08-21,%20Productivity%20Gains%20 -- %20Never%20Bad,%20Even%20for%20American%20Workers.PDF

economics, these include the assessment of recent economic trends which influence any sort of business, strategies which any firm might choose to adopt regarding any change in the markets such as change during recession or economic downturn and the tactics which any firm should implement in order to achieve its strategic goals. Although we will answer all of these questions in general but our main focus regarding these questions will remain on the firm Foot Locker which is a sportswear retailer firm.

ecent economic trends and its influence on businesses

The economic environment all around us is rapidly changing, the money we make through our businesses and the direction where it will be heading towards in terms of growth at business level is determined through the trends in the worldwide economy. Therefore it is very important to know more about these trends in order to make a business go forward…

References

Lipsey, G. (1997). Economics for Business and Management. Oxford, U.K: Oxford Press.

Bannock, G. (2005). The Economics and Management of Small Business. New York: Routledge.

Maki, U. (2002). Fact and Fiction in Economics. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge Press.

Downward, P. (2003). Applied Economics: A Critical Approach. New York: Routledge.

Global Financial Crisis and the Challenges for Developing Countries

The Challenges

Global financial crisis is known to generally hit the developed economies and cause a slowdown in the economy and even negative growth. This is primarily due to the slack demand in the local market and he surrounding markets. For the developing countries the impact of a global financial meltdown is directly related to the importance of exports and the dependence on capital inflow of foreign funds for local industries and to the economy.

The Challenges

For example in the countries of South Asian countries, for example more than 22% of the Gross Domestic Products is formed by exports of goods and services. The percentages of such exports of the GDP is 26% in the Latin America and the Caribbean countries, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 40% in central Asia while it is nearly half of the GDP in countries of…

References

de Paiva Abreu, M., Agarwal, M., Kadochnikov, S., Mikic, M., Whalley, J., & Yongding, Y. The Effect of the World Financial Crisis on Developing Countries: An Initial Assessment. Centre for International Governance Innovation. Retrieved from  https://www.cigionline.org/sites/default/files/task_force_1.pdf 

Kaeksal, B., & Orhan, M. Market Risk of Developed and Developing Countries During the Global Financial Crisis. SSRN Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2026781

Kaeksal, B., & Orhan, M. Market Risk of Developed and Developing Countries During the Global Financial Crisis. SSRN Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2026781

McCulloch, N., & Sumner, A. (2009). Introduction: The Global Financial Crisis, Developing Countries and Policy Responses. IDS Bulletin, 40(5), 1-13. doi:10.1111/j.1759-5436.2009.00069.x

agree with the belief that the Asian financial crisis was rooted in governmental interference. I also agree with the fact that the export-led model is no longer sustainable because international markets are saturated. The mandating and structuring of regional markets by the nations in East Asia, particularly Japan, China, Malaysia, and Singapore, have proven to be devastating to their relative economies.

In order to understand the Asian financial crisis, it is important to explore its origins. Throughout the 1980s, the Asian countries, particularly Japan, experienced major financial growth. Industries, especially those involving high technology, were thriving in East Asia (Sato, Ryuzo, and Takashi Negishi). In the mid 1990s, signs began to emerge that the economy was much less stable than people had originally thought (Sato, Ryuzo, and Takashi Negishi).

Firstly, capital account surpluses were greatly exceeding the deficits of many of the East Asian countries, including Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore.…

Works Cited

Goad, Pierre. "Look Homeward, Asia." Far East Economic Review. 10 June

1999. Accessed 8 June 2003. http://www2.gol.com/users/coynerhm/look_homeward.htm

Hsu, Robert. Economic Theories in China. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 1991.

Liping, Xia. "The Trends of Japan's Economy and Foreign Policy." (Electronic

Moreover, these firms failed to adjust for changes in their economic environment, such as the increasing value of the Yuan (Associated Press, 2008). Thus, globalization did not result in these failures, poor management did.

One of their main buyers, for example, is al-Mart. al-Mart has reaped substantial benefits from globalization and many of the firm's suppliers have been directly affected by the crisis. Yet, al-Mart has not. This company, which has high exposure to consumer demand fluctuations and turmoil in the Chinese manufacturing sector, continues to succeed despite the adversity. al-Mart has also adopted cost leadership strategy, but unlike the toy factories in China, al-Mart has carefully developed business-level tactics that support that strategy. For example, they have developed over the years a dominant market position that gives them leverage over even Fortune 500 suppliers (Gainor, 2004). The difference between al-Mart and the Chinese toy manufacturers in therefore not the…

Works Cited

Brown, Jeff (2008) Subprime Crisis: A Bouquet of Opportunity Masked a Reek of Risk. Knowledge @ Wharton. Retrieved November 24, 2008 at  http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1995 

Thoma, Mark. (2008). The Fed's View of the Sub-Prime Mortgage Market. Economist's View. Retrieved November 24, 2008 at  http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/03/the_feds_view_o.html 

Boeri, Tito & Guiso, Luigi. (2007) Subprime Crisis: Greenspan's Legacy. Vox. Retrieved November 24, 2008 at  http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/488#fn2 

Amerman, Daniel R. (2008) the Subprime Crisis is Just Starting. Financial Sense University. Retrieved November 24, 2008 at  http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/amerman/2008/0320.html

al-Mart's capital structure is relatively debt-heavy. For the end of fiscal 2008, Target had a debt/equity ratio of 0.4, indicating a capital structure more oriented towards equity financing. Costco had a debt/equity ratio of 1.25, again lower than that of al-Mart (MSN Moneycentral, 2010). These competitors provide interesting comparables in that neither is as heavily leveraged as al-Mart. They are very large companies with stable cash flow, just like al-Mart, but have chosen to take on less debt in their capital structure.

The financial crisis has also had an impact on al-Mart's capital structure. hen planning the optimal capital structure, firms need to consider the ability of the company to whether economic slowdowns. In al-Mart's case, the impacts of the slowdown were delayed somewhat, but eventually sales began to slump. The company increased its long-term debt in both 2009 and 2010. The debt/equity ratio increased to 1.50 in 2009 but…

Works Cited:

MSN Moneycentral. (2010). Retrieved November 23, 2010 from  http://moneycentral.msn.com 

Wal-Mart 2008 Annual Report. In possession of the author.

The main objective is to therefore maintain a stable level of market share or even to increase it. It is best that ohl's activates in a stable environment. Therefore, given the latest economic trends that affect the global economy it is expected that the company will register sales and income decreases, the same as its competitors.

Therefore, it is recommended to implement strategies that allow the company to maintain low costs, so that prices will not be increased. This way, the company is able to ensure the same number of customers as before the financial crisis.

Such a defender type company should best rely on long-term planning, given the slow modifications that characterize the macro-environment. However, it is recommended to implement a short-term strategy also, in order to overcome the negative aspects that emerge because of the financial crisis.

SWOT analysis

The company's strengths are:

Tradition

Stability

National presence

High…

Kohl's Corporation Reports September Comparable Store Sales - press release (2008). Kohl's Inc. Retrieved October 26, 2008 at http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=60706&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1206834&highlight=.

Corporate Governance - Highlights (2008). Kohl's Inc. Retrieved October 26, 2008 at  http://www.kohlscorporation.com/InvestorRelations/corporate-governance.htm .

Energy Management Programs (2008). Kohl's Inc. Retrieved October 26, 2008 at  http://www.kohlsgreenscene.com/KohlsInitiatives/EnergyManagementPrograms.html .

Finance

The Effect of the Eurozone Today on Global Financial Markets

Global markets are so intertwined today that what affects one is definitely going to have an impact on another. Case in point, the recent issues in Greece and other European Union (EU) countries have had a global effect and have wrought havoc on the Eurozone. Because if this global connectedness, large banks and organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are even more important today than they were in the past.

The EU's finances are powered by the countries that have become member nations, but those finances are guarded by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the IMF. The ECB is the institution that is responsible for the Euro, the currency of the EU, and it is also the organization responsible for negotiations regarding the economic difficulties of EU member nations. Since Greece, Spain, Italy and others have had…

Works Cited

Dam, Kenneth W. "The Subprime Crisis and Financial Regulation: International and Comparative Perspectives*." Chicago Journal of International Law 10.2 (2010): 581-594.

European Central Bank (ECB). "Recently Published." Monthly Bulletin, 2012. Web.

International Monetary Fund (IMF). "About the IMF." International Monetary Fund, 2012. Web.

Halmai, Peter, and Viktoria Vasary. "Real Convergence in the New Member States of the European Union (Shorter and Longer Term Prospects)." The European Journal of Comparative Economics 7.1 (2010): 229-237.

Federal Reserve Policies 2000-

The first decade of the 21st century saw the U.S. economy on a peripatetic through tumultuous events, euphoric highs, and abysmal lows. The ten-year window highlighted three periods: 2000-2004, 2004-2007, and 2007-2010 in which the Federal Reserve actively utilized their policy levers to achieve their dual policy mandate of full employment and low inflation. The Fed's policy bag includes: the Fed funds rate, open market operations, discount rate, reserve requirements, and margin rates all of which were utilized during these three periods to achieve the ostensible goals of Fed policy. t is worth noting that in each of the three periods the Fed responded to economic conditions which they perceived to be harbingers of either inflationary pressures or anemic GDP and employment growth.

2000-2004

On March 10, 2000 the NASDAQ composite, a stock index representative of high flying dot-com companies, peaked at 5048 (Zarroli, J. March…

It is far too easy to be a Monday morning quarterback in regards to Fed policy and its role in igniting the financial crisis of 2008-2010, yet economists and pundits nevertheless look to the Fed as an easy target for the deleterious recession. One of the expected effects of monetary easing through open market operations of bond purchases, low Fed funds rates, and low discount rates is that credit in the banking system has a mellifluous flow which allows for greater lending to business and consumers. It is not surprising then that mortgage lending boomed in the years 2000-2004 with Fed funds rate declining throughout the period and mortgage rates at multi-decade lows. What is surprising however is the extent to which housing values skyrocketed from 2000-2007?

"From 2000 through 2006, national home prices rose by 88.7%, far more than the 17.5% gain in the consumer price index or the paltry 1% rise in median household income" (Siegel, J. October 27, 2009).

While low rates certainly did contribute to the boom in housing, the greater cause of the home price bubble growth and implosion which the country is still feeling the effects of, was Freddie, Fannie, low underwriting standards, NINJA products, and no down payments. The housing bubble burst in 2007 some three years after the Fed started raising the Fed funds rate; as such the logic of economists such as John Taylor is confusing at

Return on Financial Assets

There are a number of factors that affect bond pricing. The basic bond pricing formula is as follows:

Investopedia

In this formula, the coupon payments, number of payments, interest rate and value at maturity are taken into consideration. The question at hand pertains to bonds that are the same in all characteristics except time to maturity and risk level. The risk of the bond will be reflected in the interest rate and the time to maturity will be reflected in the number of payments remaining on the bond. Initially, it is easy to make a couple of basic assessments. The corporate bond with AAA will be rated more highly than one with BBB. This places BBB (X bond) last. ith a lower time to maturity than bond , the third bond (Y) will have a lower yield to maturity, because the shorter time to maturity will…

Works Cited:

Investopedia. (2011). Advanced bond concepts: bond pricing. Investopedia. Retrieved January 28, 2012 from  http://www.investopedia.com/university/advancedbond/advancedbond2.asp#axzz1kmQexa4w 

Investopedia. (2011). Capital asset pricing model. Investopedia. Retrieved January 28, 2012 from  http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capm.asp#axzz1kmQexa4w 

Estrella, A. & Mishkin, F. (1996). The yield curve as a predictor of U.S. recessions. Current Issues in Economics and Finance. Vol. 2 (7). Retrieved January 28, 2012 from  http://www.ny.frb.org/research/current_issues/ci2-7.pdf

What needs to happen is that economic stimulus aimed at savings and investment, not necessarily nationalization of financial institutions, needs to occur. There is a difference, and with nationalization there is the assumption of risk by a government which will naturally be one of the most risk-averse, and therefore unable to capitalize on economic growth mindsets there are. A financial strategy of seeking to infuse greater levels of trust in financial institutions by tighter regulations on them and the development of programs to get the most critical of resources, oil and gas, free form inflation, is essential for a recession to not be prolonged due to inflation. Stabilizing these two factors, GNP and controlling inflation, are what can restore trust in an economy and help it to turn around. There are no quick fixes to a recession, rather the gradual spiral that creates one need to be used to get…

References

Abberger, K., & Nierhaus, W.. (2008). HOW TO DEFINE A RECESSION? CESifo Forum, 9(4), 74-76.

Bernard, C., & Boyle, P.. (2009). Mr. Madoff's Amazing Returns: An Analysis of the Split-Strike Conversion Strategy. Journal of Derivatives, 17(1), 62-76,5.

Berry, S., Williams, R., & Waldron, M.. (2009). Household saving. Bank of England. Quarterly Bulletin, 49(3), 191-201.

Chamberlin, G.. (2009). Economic review: October 2009. Economic & Labour Market Review, 3(10), 6-14.

ecession

Effect of the recession on upon financial market, the real economy and over everyday lives

ecession is defined as the economic slowdown or decline characterized by slowing down of trade, a magnitude decline in the GDP, and a decrease in employment usually lasting between 6 months to a year. This was the situation in the U.S.A. The hardest times being from 2008 through 2009 and the early months of 2010. America is still recovering from the effects of the recession that the country experienced from 2007 to 2009.

The slow down in economy triggered a massive job loss and unemployment rates that shot through the roof, the prices went up and a great deal of uncertainty rippled through the country. This situation has now seen a reverse trend albeit at a slower rate than was expected by many. The unemployment rate in November 2011 fell by 0.4% to 8.6%…

References

Amitabh Shukia, (2009). Top 5 major Economic Effects of Recession on Economy.

Retrieved May 13, 2012 from  http://www.paggu.com/business/world-economy/top-5-major-economic-effects-of-recession-on-economy/ 

Browder, Laura, (1998). Rousing the Nation: Radical Culture in Depression America.

Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.

Open Market Operations

Monetary policy may involve several facets, including reserve requirements, discount rate and interest rate targeting. The U.S. Federal Reserve's long-time strategy has been to use interest rate targeting through Open Market Operations primarily to keep the economy in its attempts to keep the economy in a state of equilibrium.

Today, open market operations (purchase and sale of U.S. Treasury and other federal agency securities) are the principal tool used by the Federal Reserve in implementing monetary policy (Federal Reserve eb site). The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve decides on the short-term objective, an objective that can be either a desired quantity of reserves of a desired price, also called the federal funds rate; this, in turn, will have the effect of making interest rates increase or decrease. "The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which depository institutions lend balances at the…

Works Cited

Chappell, Henry W., Rob Roy McGregor, and Todd Vermilyea. "Majority Rule, Consensus Building, and the Power of the Chairman: Arthur Burns and the FOMC." Journal of Money, Credit & Banking 36.3 (2004): 407+. Questia. 19 Apr. 2005 .

Chappell Jr., Henry W., and Rob Roy McGregor. "A Long History of FOMC Voting Behavior." Southern Economic Journal 66.4 (2000): 906. Questia. 19 Apr. 2005 .

Open market operations. 2005. Federal Reserve,  http://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/fundsrate.htm 

Orphanides, Athanasios. "Monetary Policy Rules, Macroeconomic Stability, and Inflation: A View from the Trenches." Journal of Money, Credit & Banking 36.2 (2004): 151+. Questia. 19 Apr. 2005 .

The second key impact is that it protects unemployed homeowners in the event that their bank becomes insolvent. ithout this additional protection, such homeowners could find their mortgage with a collection agency. By reducing the negative consequences to consumers of bank failure, the FDIC encourages faith in the system.

There are critics of the FDIC loss-share plan, however. The plan essentially limits the downside for purchasers of failed banks, while allowing them to retain the upside. The critics point to this as bearing too high a risk for the taxpayer (Paletta, 2009). This risk must also be taken into account when assessing the FDIC's performance in the financial crisis. hile it has maintained the stability of the banking system in the face of over 100 bank failures, the FDIC has also deferred much of the risk associated with this failures in exchange of expediency in redistributing these assets.

From the…

Works Cited:

FDIC website. Various pages. Retrieved October 19, 2009 from  http://www.fdic.gov 

Wutkowski, K. & Rascoe, a. (2009). U.S. bank failure tally hits 99 for 2009. Yahoo News. Retrieved October 19, 2009 from  http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091017/ts_nm/us_financial_banks_failures 

Grey, Barry. (2009). Wall Street lauds FDIC plan to replenish bank deposit insurance fund. World Socialist Website. Retrieved October 19, 2009 from  http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/oct2009/fdic-o01.shtml 

Dropkin, C. (2009). Economic Crisis Response Group Newsletter, September 14, 2009. Economic Crisis Response Group. Retrieved October 19, 2009 from  http://www.proskauer.com/news_publications/newsletters/ecrg/2009_09_14/_res/id=sa_PDF/15753267_18396-091409-Economic%20Crisis%20Response%20Group.pdf

3.1.1 All reportable segments in fiscal year ended March 31, 2009 are down compared to the proceeding fiscal year with the exception of all other, which is mainly comprised of SME, a global entertainment company.

3.3.1.2 When compared to fiscal years ended March 31, 2007 and March 31, 2008, 2009 results show that electronics, pictures, and financial services are down for two consecutive fiscal years. Even the games sector in 2009 showed only a slight improvement over 2007.

3.3.1.3 the decline in electronics, almost two-thirds of Sony's total business, is attributable to price pressures and the shorter product cycles in a variety of consumer product categories which Sony is having difficulty responding to.

3.3.1.4 the decline in the pictures segment is mainly due to the economic slowdown and the appreciation of the yen.

3.3.1.5 the decline in the financial services segment is mainly due to deterioration in earnings at Sony…

Bibliography

Form 20F. Year Ended Mar. 31, 2009.  http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/library/8ido18000001xz5p-att/FY08_20F_PDF.pdf 

Letter to shareholders: A message from Howard Stringer, CEO.  http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/info/strategy/message.html

JNJ's flows over the past three years have been $16,055, $4,083 and $7,770 million respectively. Operating cash flows are higher still. JNJ has clearly demonstrated the ability to generate cash flow internally. In addition, JNJ has more debt than many of its peers. While JNJ is liquid, their liquidity ratios are inferior to the industry average. Their debt-to-equity ratio is higher than the average ratio of their peers as well. This indicates that for the industry, JNJ already holds a sufficiently high debt level. They could in theory handle more, but it would be unwise for them to issue more debt if they have other options. or JNJ, the use of cash flow from operations is a much better option. They have been able to generate cash flow consistently from operations, and in the past few years have used this to pay down some of their debt.

The NASDAQ site…

Forecast Inventory = forecast sales / inventory turn = 67493 / 12.22 = $5,523

Forecast Receivables = forecast sales / receivables turn = 67493 / 6.73 = $10,028

Link to JNJ 2007 Annual Report: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/JNJ/463788344x0x171267/057640F8-B2C0-4B0F-9F54-7A24A553C3CE/2007AR.pdf

It also allows the countries best suited for such activities to flourish. For example, China is proficient in manufacturing which allows the country to export far more goods than it imports. Developed nations such as Europe, Canada, America, and to a smaller extent, Japan demand these cheaper goods as they import more than they export. This trade allows both parties to subsequently flourish. China can sell its products to generate addition funding to expand its economy while Canada and Europe have access to low costs goods and services (Dessler, 2006). With the advent of globalization, Chinese manufactures are better equipped to expand overseas to expand their manufacturing competitive advantage. This expansion allows lower cost goods and services to reach otherwise inaccessible areas of the world, thus increasing their standard of living. A shirt that once cost $15 now only costs $5. Society benefits as more dollars can be allocated to…

References

1) Dessler, G. (2006). Expanding into China? What Foreign Employers Should Know About Human Resource Management in China Today. S.A.M. Advanced Management Journal, 71(4), 11-23. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

2) Fiedler, Fred E. (1967). A theory of leadership effectiveness. McGraw-Hill: Harper and Row Publishers Inc.

3) Schwartz, J., & Liakopoulos, a.. (2010, May). Talent and work: Playing to your strengths. China Staff, 16(5), 22-28. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global.

4) George, P. (2009, may 14). Cultural beliefs. Retrieved from  http://www.prel.org/products/pn_/cultural-belief.htm

The rapid expansion of American manufacturing power was not due to purely domestic circumstances. Post-war, because the American economy was so strong relative to Europe and Japan, America had a wide array of venues in which to sell its products. This is why the postwar era is often called a kind of Golden Age of American manufacturing. America dominated all major industries and the dollar was the world standard of currency. However, as Fordist philosophies gradually began to be adopted by other nations, and with the growing prosperity of Japan and Europe, high wages began to have an unfavorable impact upon the prices of American consumer goods.

During the 1970s, the rapid increase of oil prices and the fall of the American dollar created recessionary conditions in the U.S. that proved to be hard to change. Conventional Keynesian thinking suggested that prices fall during a recession. Consumers stop buying for…