This http://www.google.com/finance might be a good place to go for news about the economy. Please focus on items that have to do with the whole economy (not just one product) and on items that seem substantial (not cute or weird human interest stories).
Remember the 1-page paper and the Test.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/gop-retreat-on-taxes-likely-if-obama-wins/2012/09/20/49948828-0330-11e2-9b24-ff730c7f6312_story.html
ReplyDeleteTaxes are a major issue in the campaign between Obama and Romney. If Romney wins the election, “current tax rates would maintain through 2013, giving Romney time to draft a blueprint for overhauling the tax code,” according to this article. But if Obama wins, there would be little chance of him abandoning his pledge to raise taxes on families with income over $250,000. This has caused some Republicans to consider a compromise that would let taxes go up “in exchange for Democratic concessions on GOP priorities.” This may lead to major Medicare changes for a solution to fiscal problems. This issue is a difficult one to debate, mostly because it directly affects every U.S. Citizen in a major way. The article also discusses the 3 major points senators are focusing on post-election: postponing automatic spending cuts and tax increases for six months, covering the cost of postponing these cuts and increases so that the deficit does not increase during this time, and automatically carrying out a new debt-reduction plan if Congress does not act within 6 months. The role of the economy in the upcoming election is a very prominent one and it should not be discounted.
This article, State’s economy key in presidential race, by Darrel Rowland, explains how states such as Ohio are voting simply on which candidate they believe will best improve their state’s economy. Currently, Obama is leading against Romney by 5 percentage points. He states, “Ninety-five percent of voters who say Romney would do best on the economy choose Romney for president, 96 percent of voters who say Obama would do best pick Obama.” This shows just how crucial “improving our economy” is for the upcoming election. Rowland takes interviews from several people in Ohio, all asking what their view on the upcoming election is. Almost every person is more concerned about the economy than their own views on controversial issues. A poll was taken that shows democrats are more likely to vote for a republican candidate this year due to an economic plan. This shows that the number one agenda on most American’s minds is simply improving our economy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/2012/09/23/State-s-economy-key-in-presidential-race.html
ReplyDeletehttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120924jp.html
Health and welfare costs in Japan are in danger of going up due to the 30.74 million people over the age of 65. Japan is going to have to enforce the upcoming tax hikes, when Just last month the government raised the consumption tax rate by three percent. They are estimating that the extra revenue will allow the government to achieve its target for this year. Given the need for more spending on disaster and welfare measures to cover the rapidly growing elderly population, further tax hikes are likely in the years ahead. Under these circumstances, the upcoming tax hikes will likely have a more dire effect on Japan than the 1997 hike.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/td-economics-u-economy-strengthened-135400712.html
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was about how TD economics, and affiliate of TD Bank, predicts that the US economy is going to strengthen, however it still has so struggles to overcome. TD’s chief economist stated that, “the US economy is healing from the scars of the Great Recession.” It is believed that the economic growth is to average at 2.2% in 2012 and 2.0% in 2013. However, the unemployment rate will be left unchanged at 8.1% through the end of 2012, because of the slow pace of economic growth. The economic growth rate after this past recession is half the average rate seen during the recoveries following the last 10 recession. The housing market is finally progressing, so that house prices and credit conditions are predicted to rise even further over the next year. However, the drought in the Midwest has caused soybeans and corn and other crop’s prices to rise. The higher prices could siphon close to half a percentage point off of economic growth in the end of this year. The recessionary Europe and slowing emerging markets are also struggles at the US are having a hard time overcoming.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i7-m3mv5UoH2yZcZd1zyMa-h2aDg?docId=CNG.90d93b2bded630d0d6b10345856eccac.191
ReplyDeleteEveryone loves dinning in exotic restaurants, and everyone loves saving money. With Groupon's purchase of the online restaurant platform, Savored, doing both is now a possibility. Groupon is the leading innovator of online discounts for local stores and shops. They recently made a daring purchase to step into the field of restaurants. Savored had approximately 1,000 restaurants nationwide using their online database. Which, in some cases, applied discounts up to 40% of a customer's bill. Since the recent purchase, Groupon's stocks have increased from a mere $20 per share to $31 per share. However, the shares recently dropped around 1.5%. What does this mean for the company? Was this the right decision to make? Will the profit?
Max -- this is definitely not an article about the whole economy. Please pick an article that talks about the nation's output, inflation, unemployment, etc.
Deletehttp://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-usa-fed-williamsbre88n0wt-20120924,0,7913821.story
ReplyDeleteIn this article the current state of the economy is discussed. The Fed is trying to make the costs go down so that jobs can be made. First borrowing cost should go down, then people start buying, this then calls for more people in factories thus creating more jobs. This way the economy would be in a healthier state. The way that the Fed is doing this is by buying bonds. They will continue to do this because it will take a while until the economy “get back on its feet again”. With this it is predicted that the GDP will accelerate from 1.75 percent to 3.25 percent in 2014.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/bad-signs-from-euros-paymaster.aspx?pageID=238&nID=30863&NewsCatID=344
ReplyDeleteIt is safe to say that Europe's economy is looking pretty grim. Germany, which currently has the best economy in Europe, is headed for recession.
Germany, in the past, was able to resist the debt increase in Europe due to its strong automobile export, but it appears that the German economy is not invincible. New car registrations "tumbled sharply in August," a tell-tale sign that Germany's economic status is declining.
Most economists feel that this is just a temporary shift, and once the euro stabilizes, though it has meant a temporary weakening of the German economy, it will lead to the strengthening of Europe's economy as a whole, including Germany.
The weakening of Germany's economy is bringing about a multitude of issues, including, a raise in unemployment, declining retail figures, and stagnation of consumer confidence.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/German-Business-Confidence-Unexpectedly-Fell-on-3888952.php
ReplyDeleteThe German business confidence has taken a turn downwards to the lowest in two years. In Munich, the business climate index dropped for a fifth straight month from 101.4 to 102.3 in August. They are suffering from the same debt crisis that the other countries in Europe are. Their business growth has slowed to only .3 percent. One economist said, “Despite the more activist stance of the ECB, the German economy has not yet turned the corner.” Germany can keep cutting off business deals with Greece, acting like they are big shots. But maybe they should stop and realize that their economy is on a slow recession too.
http://fox6now.com/2012/09/05/paul-ryan-discusses-his-rnc-speech-and-the-2012-election/
ReplyDeletePaul Ryan, the GOP candidate for Vice-President of the United States was interviewed about the Janesville plant that had closed down in 2009. He stressed that although Obama had inherited a recession in past experiences, our economy had bounded back. But, under Obama's watch, the economy is stagnant. Unemployment is the highest it has been in over a generation. Janesville is a suburb of Milwaukee and Paul Ryan is from that area.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/09/24/mexico-now-better-neighbor-calderon-tells-us-audience/
ReplyDeleteThe article I read focused on how Mexico has become, "a better neighbor." No, I am not making this up, that is a direct quote from the article. Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, upon reviewing his six year term as president pointed out Mexico's economic growth under his presidency. He pointed out that his that his country,went from being the world's ninth-largest auto exporter to the No. 4 position during his time in office. In addition to this he pointed out that Mexico has recently become a better trading partner to the United States. Calderon pointed out that Mexico buys more U.S. goods than the rest of Latin America combined, more than Japan and China together. We should keep in mind though that during his presidency Calderon constantly called on the U.S.'s help with dealing with the on going war on drugs. But economically speaking, Mexico did flourish under Calderon's rule.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/24/usa-fed-williams-idINL1E8KOFWZ20120924
ReplyDeleteIn this month the FED started to buy $40 billion on mortgage. The FED has promised to keep doing this till the labor market has improved. This program is called QE3. The FED is also buying 45 billion dollars on treasury. The purpose for the QE3 is to decrease/stop the borrowing costs. This would make the buying of new things (e.i cars) cheaper. Although there seems to be little hope there is still a “sign of life”. The FED believes the economy growth would be marked by auto sales and the housing sector. Williams, who is the FED president in San Francisco, said that the inflation which has averaged to 1.3 % this last year would probably fall under the Feds 2%. He also expects that the GDP will increase from 1.75 to 3.25% in 2014
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-consumers-businesses-taking-it-slow-2012-09-23
ReplyDeleteThis article is explaining how the consumers in America having been spending most of their money on gas due to the increase in gas prices in the last month or so, which is, according to this article, not the best thing for our economy. The main concern for consumers is that the spending can't "outpace" income growth for long, which would cause them to fall deeper into debt which is something most Americans want to avoid. Businesses have also "reined in spending" since their biggest contributors, Europe and China , have slowed down. Businesses are not expected tomake any investments or even hire until next year. The ordering of expensive durable goods such as electronics has dropped 4.5% just in August. The "modest improvement of housing" will not do much good to the economy either.
Texas could be experiencing early signs of a statewide recession, according to the Comerica Bank’s Texas Economic Activity Index. The index, baselined to 2008, “takes into account nonfarm payrolls, exports, sales-tax revenues, hotel occupancy rates, continuing claims for unemployment insurance, building permits and the Baker Hughes rotary rig count” as well as other factors. Texas’ economy has been doing quite well, with job growth in the state well above the national average. A cease in drilling, however, has raised the index level to 99.0 points. A reading of 100 points indicates that “the Texas economy is performing at early recession levels.”
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2012/09/24/texas-economy-approaching.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/25/us-markets-forex-idUSBRE88N0YI20120925
ReplyDeleteThe article I read claims that, according to German records, the Euro is now steadily dropping. Germany is the euro zone's largest economy and German business sentiments have been dropping to there lowest since 2010. For example, Germany's Ifo think tank stated that its business climate index fell to 101.4 in September from 102.3 in August, while 45 economists predicted a raise to 102.5. In Spain, the neighboring country, they are expected to unveil new structural reforms and its draft budget plan for 2013 because of their dier crisis. They also speculate that, "Growth worries are also spreading to other parts of the world, including China." The Euro has been dramatically fluctuating during the month of September.Currently, the Euro sits at $1.2940. The lowest fall this month was at $1.2891 on Monday, which was its weakest since September 13. However, its highest peak was $1.3173 on September 17.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/discover-to-pay-214-million-for-deceptive-credit-card-practices/2012/09/24/3aa9069a-0655-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_story.html
ReplyDeleteI this article that I read it says that the Discover will refund $200 million to 3.5 million customers because they led them into unneeded credit card products. The credit card company will pay a civil fine of $7 million each to the consumer Financial Bureau and The Federal Deposit Corp. Discover will refund consumers who purchased at least one of its add-on services between Dec. 2007 and Aug. 2011. Consumers will be reimbursed at least 90 days’ worth of fees paid for the products. Eligible consumers who still have a Discover account will receive a direct credit while others will receive a check in the mail.