"Mortgage rates go on surprising downturn" by E. Scott Reckard
The Daily Press
May 13, 2014
According to this article, the expectation held by experts that the mortgage rate would rise 5% this year has been proved wrong. This year, some lenders have offered 30-year fixed home loans at a rate of 4.21%.
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Thursday, May 15, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Strange Businesses!
"To the Dogs" by Laura Stampler
TIME magazine
April 14, 2014
New businesses are being created that cater to the pet lover. Many are modeled after other businesses that provide services to humans, such as the taxi service Uber. One example is Swifto, an app that lets New York City residents book dog walkers and track the location of their dog while it is being walked. People who use the service can get text messages that let them know when the walk starts and ends, and even receive "real-time poop alerts".
TIME magazine
April 14, 2014
New businesses are being created that cater to the pet lover. Many are modeled after other businesses that provide services to humans, such as the taxi service Uber. One example is Swifto, an app that lets New York City residents book dog walkers and track the location of their dog while it is being walked. People who use the service can get text messages that let them know when the walk starts and ends, and even receive "real-time poop alerts".
Friday, May 2, 2014
Personal Finance is Fun!
Hello, everyone!
It sure has been an interesting week.
There is so much to learn about the world of Personal Finance!
Over Spring Break, we began to complete Everfi modules that educated us about this subject. That was only the beginning, however!
It sure has been an interesting week.
There is so much to learn about the world of Personal Finance!
Over Spring Break, we began to complete Everfi modules that educated us about this subject. That was only the beginning, however!
Friday, April 11, 2014
Economic Indicators and the Business Cycle!
This is my second reflective post! I hope it proves to be a good review of the week.
This week in Economics, we learned about Economic Indicators and the Business Cycle (see title of post). Economic indicators give economists an idea of the well-being of an economy, and the business cycle shows the different stages economies go through and repeat over time.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Elasticity of Supply in the Tobacco Industry!
"A hazy future for tobacco" (There were two sub-articles under this heading.)
"E-cigarettes grow popular, forcing farmers, firms to adjust" by Jay Price
The Daily Press
April 1, 2014
The tobacco industry is changing in a major way. The profits of traditional cigarette companies have fallen at the advent of the e-cigarette. Now, traditional cigarette companies are scrambling to keep up with the competition. Many are choosing to to sell e-cigarettes of their own. The company Lorillard purchased the e-cigarette company Blu for almost $135 million in 2012.
"E-cigarettes grow popular, forcing farmers, firms to adjust" by Jay Price
The Daily Press
April 1, 2014
The tobacco industry is changing in a major way. The profits of traditional cigarette companies have fallen at the advent of the e-cigarette. Now, traditional cigarette companies are scrambling to keep up with the competition. Many are choosing to to sell e-cigarettes of their own. The company Lorillard purchased the e-cigarette company Blu for almost $135 million in 2012.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Suppliers Supplying Supply!
Hello all! This is my first reflective blog post, so I hope you find it enjoyable and informative. This week in Economics class, we learned about supply. Supply is the willingness and ability of producers to offer their products for sale. Supply can be illustrated as either a chart (schedule) or a curve.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Beef: High Demand, Low Supply
"Beef prices soar with drought" by Joe Taschler
The Daily Press
March 11, 2014
Recent droughts have decreased the national supply of beef, driving prices up. In fact, the supply is the smallest it's been since 1951. The average retail price for beef is now $5.04, the highest price in recorded history. Usually, calves graze on grass, but drought requires farmers to find another food source. According to Kevin Kester, "'Hay prices are just going through the roof.'" Cattle producers have had to sell a lot of cattle. This should have made meat prices lower, but the demand for beef and protein sources has gone up dramatically with the growth of the middle class around the world. There is now a high demand for and a low supply of beef, so prices are very high.
The Daily Press
March 11, 2014
Recent droughts have decreased the national supply of beef, driving prices up. In fact, the supply is the smallest it's been since 1951. The average retail price for beef is now $5.04, the highest price in recorded history. Usually, calves graze on grass, but drought requires farmers to find another food source. According to Kevin Kester, "'Hay prices are just going through the roof.'" Cattle producers have had to sell a lot of cattle. This should have made meat prices lower, but the demand for beef and protein sources has gone up dramatically with the growth of the middle class around the world. There is now a high demand for and a low supply of beef, so prices are very high.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Should the Minimum Wage be Raised?
"Wage Warrior" by Eliza Gray/Washington
TIME magazine
March 10, 2014
In recent weeks, the debate over the proposed raising of the federal minimum wage has grown more and more heated. Proponents of an increased wage say that it would help to lift as many as 900,000 families out of poverty, but others argue that in doing so 500,000 jobs would be lost. One of the most important protesters is Richard Berman (sometimes called Dr. Evil by his critics). Even people (like David Card) who say the minimum wage would have little to no effect on employment think that raising the minimum wage is not the most effective way to combat poverty.
TIME magazine
March 10, 2014
In recent weeks, the debate over the proposed raising of the federal minimum wage has grown more and more heated. Proponents of an increased wage say that it would help to lift as many as 900,000 families out of poverty, but others argue that in doing so 500,000 jobs would be lost. One of the most important protesters is Richard Berman (sometimes called Dr. Evil by his critics). Even people (like David Card) who say the minimum wage would have little to no effect on employment think that raising the minimum wage is not the most effective way to combat poverty.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
What Are the Ramifications of Target Being 'Targeted'?
"Data theft helps cut Target's profit in half" by Tiffany Hsu
The Daily Press
February 27, 2014
The recent theft of customer data from Target has had serious impact on the company's profits. Target is now making roughly half of what it made one year earlier. This is largely due to consumers' loss of trust in the company. Some good may come out of the event, however. Other companies may view it as a warning to increase their security. Some people think that the theft might be the impetus needed to spur the U.S. into the adoption of chip-and-PIN style credit cards (see earlier blog post).
The recent theft of customer data from Target has had serious impact on the company's profits. Target is now making roughly half of what it made one year earlier. This is largely due to consumers' loss of trust in the company. Some good may come out of the event, however. Other companies may view it as a warning to increase their security. Some people think that the theft might be the impetus needed to spur the U.S. into the adoption of chip-and-PIN style credit cards (see earlier blog post).
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Is the Weather to Blame for the Slow Economy?
"Cold blamed for shaky growth" by Gail MarksJarvis
The Daily Press
February 20, 2014
The economic growth in the beginning of this year has been slower than expected, and many economists blame it on the unusually cold weather. Their reasoning is that the cold has discouraged consumers from leaving their homes and spending money. This doesn't seem to actually be the case, though, since online shopping is also lower than expected. The actual reason may be that disposable income is only rising about 2% annually. According to Russ Koesterich, this rate of increase is "'barely keeping up with inflation.'" Janet Yellen says that "the labor market has improved." Although there have been economic gains this year, the increases are not as substantial as expected.
The Daily Press
February 20, 2014
The economic growth in the beginning of this year has been slower than expected, and many economists blame it on the unusually cold weather. Their reasoning is that the cold has discouraged consumers from leaving their homes and spending money. This doesn't seem to actually be the case, though, since online shopping is also lower than expected. The actual reason may be that disposable income is only rising about 2% annually. According to Russ Koesterich, this rate of increase is "'barely keeping up with inflation.'" Janet Yellen says that "the labor market has improved." Although there have been economic gains this year, the increases are not as substantial as expected.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Antibiotics to be Removed from Chick-fil-A Chicken by 2019
"Chick-fil-A backs off antibiotics" (no author listed)
The Daily Press
February 13, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Why Do Americans Use a Different Type of Credit Card Than the Rest of the World?
"Plastic Surgery" by Bill Saporito
TIME magazine
February 10, 2014
http://business.time.com/2014/01/23/the-stripe-on-your-dedit-card-is-a-massive-achilles-heel/
(The article online is slightly different from the one in the magazine.)
The credit card technology used in the United States (a magnetic stripe) isn't as up-to-date as what is currently used in Europe and the rest of the world (a microchip and a PIN number). In other countries, transactions are authenticated by scanning the chip in the card and then having the purchaser punch in their PIN code. The credit cards here are more susceptible to hackers because they rely on 40-year-old technology. The information in the magstripe can be stolen by malware because it is not encrypted (the information in a chip-and-PIN card is). Annually, American credit-card fraud adds up to about $5.5 billion. The use of chip-and-PIN cards could greatly reduce this amount. Why, then, haven't our credit card issuers made the switch?
TIME magazine
February 10, 2014
http://business.time.com/2014/01/23/the-stripe-on-your-dedit-card-is-a-massive-achilles-heel/
(The article online is slightly different from the one in the magazine.)
The credit card technology used in the United States (a magnetic stripe) isn't as up-to-date as what is currently used in Europe and the rest of the world (a microchip and a PIN number). In other countries, transactions are authenticated by scanning the chip in the card and then having the purchaser punch in their PIN code. The credit cards here are more susceptible to hackers because they rely on 40-year-old technology. The information in the magstripe can be stolen by malware because it is not encrypted (the information in a chip-and-PIN card is). Annually, American credit-card fraud adds up to about $5.5 billion. The use of chip-and-PIN cards could greatly reduce this amount. Why, then, haven't our credit card issuers made the switch?
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Birthday Speech
My dear People,
I welcome you to my blog.
Today is my seventeenth birthday: I am seventeen today!
I hope you are all enjoying yourselves as much as I am.
I shall not keep you long.
I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
I wish to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!
(POOF!)
(credit to J.R.R. Tolkien)
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