Macroeconomic Case Studies Essays - Inflation, Price Indices

Macroeconomic Case Studies Essays - Inflation, Price Indices Macroeconomic Case Studies Economics 001A: Macroeconomics Macroeconomic Case Studies Stephen Rossi Economics 001A: M 6:30-9:15 Slowing the US Economy The article titled 'Fed Unlikely to Alter Course' by John M. Berry of the Washington Post takes an interesting look at actions that Alan Greenspan his colleges of the Federal Reserve have been taking over the last 9 months to slow the economic growth of United States. The astonishing growth rate of 7.3% is fueled by an economy that is in the midst of a high tech revolution. The article also explores the contrasting view of other economists that say that the Fed has increased interest rates too much in its attempts to slow the economy. The means by which Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve have chose to slow the economy is through a monetary policy, or more specifically, an increase in the national interest rate. The article states that the Fed officials have come to a broad agreement that they will keep raising the rates until growth slows to a more sustainable pace to make sure inflation stays under control. Because of the booming economy and the investment in the stock market the exchange of money has increased for goods and services, which in turn increases the price level or the quantity of money demanded. By increasing the interest rates the Fed commits itself to adjusting the supply of money in the United States to meet that rate at a point of equilibrium. If the interest rate is increased, less goods and services are demanded, and therefore will slow down the economy and reduce the rate of inflation. The article points out that as stock prices have risen over the last couple of years, so have American ho usehold wealth and consumer spending. This is precisely the cycle that Fed officials want to interrupt to slow growth before it fuels more inflation. At the time this article was written the stock market prices had fallen sharply especially in the technology sector. But the Fed continued on the path to raise interest rates further noting that the index that they closely follow and contains a broader rage of public traded US stocks, the Wilshire 5000, is up for the year. Even though they began raising rates gradually 9 months ago, it takes almost a year for the economy to feel the full effects. In this case the results of the interest rates increased could be felt as last as the second half of 2000. Yet the economy has not slowed down, and the demand for goods and services continues to increase as wealth does. One of the ideas that has been presented to Greenspan by the fed officials was to take bigger steps in raising the interest rates. They feel that this will decrease the money demand in a quicker fashion. In turn these actions will lead to lower consumer spending, and thus decrease the inflation rate. However, because of the erratic patterns in today's high tech economy Greenspan is expected to stick to his pattern of more gradual increases to the interest rate. Eventually when monthly loan payments increase enough, consumers will back on purchases and investments. The article points out an example where the rate for a new 30 year fixed-rate home mortgage is up to 8.5% from 7.75% nine months ago in June. In the situation of a $150,000 home loan, this new interest rate will add almost $100 to each monthly payment. Over time the full effect of the interest rates will be felt. One economist, James Glassman of Chase Securities takes a different look at the new interest rate. He points out that the rates that the Fed has set are fairly high in comparison to the rate of inflation as it is currently in the United States. The formula that Glassman follows examines the inflation rate when food and energy items are excluded because they are so volatile. With these items removed the rate of inflation in the US is less than 2%. As with other measurements, this rate can be subtracted from the interest rates to find a 'real' interest rate which consumers a paying. So in terms of 30-year home mortgage rate set at 8.5%, only 6.5% of it is

Abelisaurus - Facts and Figures

Abelisaurus - Facts and Figures Name: Abelisaurus (Greek for Abels lizard); pronounced AY-bell-ih-SORE-us Habitat: Woodlands of South America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (85-80 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 30 feet long and 2 tons Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Large head with small teeth; openings in skull above jaws About Abelisaurus Abels lizard (so named because it was discovered by the Argentinian paleontologist Roberto Abel) is known by only a single skull. Although entire dinosaurs have been reconstructed from less, this lack of fossil evidence has forced paleontologists to hazard some guesses about this South American dinosaur. As befitting its theropod lineage, its believed that Abelisaurus resembled a scaled-down Tyrannosaurus Rex, with fairly short arms and a bipedal gait, and only weighing about two tons, max. The one odd feature of Abelisaurus (at least, the one that we know of for sure) is the assortment of large holes in its skull, called fenestrae, above the jaw. Its likely that these evolved to lighten the weight of this dinosaurs massive head, which otherwise might have unbalanced its entire body. By the way, Abelisaurus has lent its name to an entire family of theropod dinosaurs, the abelisaurswhich includes such notable meat-eaters as the stubby-armed Carnotaurus and Majungatholus. As far as we know, abelisaurs were restricted to the southern island continent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous period, which today corresponds to Africa, South America and Madagascar.

History of Corporate Governance or applicable topic Research Paper

History of Corporate Governance or applicable topic - Research Paper Example With time, corporate governance issues do not seem to tire of introducing certain new legislative rules ad duties that aim at governing the relationship between the stakeholders of various companies as well as their management (Morck, 2005). Furthermore, the beginning of the twentieth century saw to the formulation of sufficient codes among other best practice catalogues that are concerned with corporate governance especially in business communities with the sole aim of satisfying a variety of stakeholders. According to Steger and Amann (2008), despite the fact that the term corporate governance being as old as the various managed entities themselves, it cuts across ownership and management thereby bringing forth a principal-agent problem. The term itself gained its use in the 1980s even though the need for shareholder and owner protection against any managerial issue, existed mush earlier. In the 1970s, probably among the most important functions of the corporate instrument were est ablished to be; establishment of basic objectives, corporate strategies as well as the policies of the board (Stege & Amann, 2008). Also, it was charged with the ultimate responsibility asking various discerning questions and above all, the selection of president. Another feature of corporate governance within this time period was the pyramidal business group. In this system, the shareholders are at the apex who commands a great control over a given single company. Consequently, this company held control blocks in other listed companies. In the 1980s, the extent to which the term corporate governance spread provided an indication of the growing awareness of issues as pertaining to corporate governance. The increased attention was somewhat due to several high profile initial public offerings alongside the privatization of state parastatals. This had an impact of various industrial sectors such as telecommunication, mining and electricity in the U.K which reported a rise in the total earnings (Steger & Amann p.8). In the subsequent years, other countries that employed the same tactic such as Germany which privatized its telecom industry, also realized great profits. The increased shift of attention on issues regarding corporate governance within this period can also be associated with a number of corporate failures and scandals. As a result, corporate governance attempted to influence the stock markets which a lot of people depended much on. The stock markets remarkably increased as corporate governance provided a sense security (Morck, 2005). In the 1990s, there was a rise in awareness of corporate governance in all the central countries. There were a lot of reports, guiding principles as well as the remarkably nice practice codes that called for transparency, conformance and compliance that were issued at board level to the countries in question. These reports clearly outlined the directors’ service contracts, the effectiveness and perceived objectivity of auditing as well as the role of institutional investors. As such, this made a breakthrough corporate governance more so owing to the fact its reports became requisite for companies that were listed in the U.S by the year 1995. Corporate governance has brought with it a distinction between the executive and the supervising members of the board and the division between the chairman of the board and the chief executive officers (C.E.O). For instance, by the year 1998,

Read two articles relateting to one aspect of early childhood Assignment

Read two articles relateting to one aspect of early childhood curriculum.write a brief synthesis of the articles - Assignment Example Along with the right teaching in Science are different assessment instruments that would help the teacher gain success in classroom. Some of the assessments are: Learning and Knowledge Assessments, Performance-based Assessments for Individualized Instruction, Progress Monitoring, and Curricular Evaluation, and Direct Assessments of Science Learning. Educators are well aware that children learn easily and more effectively if they are enjoying while learning. Since the nature of children in the early childhood education better known as the â€Å"preschool years† are more of â€Å"playing†, educators must capitalize on playing as an effective medium of teaching. Teacher may opt to incorporate the three-play types in their classroom strategies. These play types are the modelled play, open-ended play and finally purposefully framed

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

The American Dream is an idea and a myth that people struggle for but can never be achieved. It cannot be attained because it is an endless race for perfection and better than oneself. For some the dream might be to become impossibly wealthy, or become stronger and smarter than one can be. People pursue the American dream because they believe it has been accomplished before. We live in a society where perfection is ideal and flaws are covered up or hidden. Americans believe that everyone else is perfect because that is what they are shown, and they strive to copy that flawless image too. They are thought of in the same way however, and the All-American power struggle ensues, with each group being more jealous than the next.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  America is founded on the principle of liberty, the notion that everyone is free to say and write what they want, and that everyone is equal. Some people assume that since so much freedom is allowed, at least one person is exercising that freedom to its fullest. They work their whole lives to try to be like that person, but that person does not exist. They want to be as rich as him, as sophisticated as him, and as powerful as him. These people are called the wealthy. Karl Marx would describe them as â€Å"The Haves†. They differ morally with the majority of the population, but then again they vastly different from the people they perceive as having all the freedom to do what they want. The Great Gatsby illustrates the story these people, and how they are corrupted by the potential of seemingly limitless freedom. Jay Gatsby and Tom and Daisy Buchanan are the elite. They have it all, from huge sprawling mansions to private golf courses. They want it all, and more often than not, they get it all. Tom and Daisy are out for pleasure, but loner Jay Gatsby is looking for love after wasting his life for so many years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom and Daisy Buchanan are not modest people. They know they are rich and they flaunt it. They openly show off their wealth openly to Nick when he comes to visit. Money has taken over their lives and they know it. They are living the American Dream of money, power, and sophistication. Tom is described as a â€Å"hulking wad of muscle†, which could mean that the Buchanans is a deciption of the corrupted rich families with money and power.

Afghanistan and Turkic States

Turkmenistan formerly also known as  Turkmenia  (Russian: ), is one of the  Turkic states  in  Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the  Soviet Union, theTurkmen Soviet Socialist Republic  (Turkmen SSR). Turkmenistan is one of the six independent  Turkic states. It is bordered byAfghanistan  to the southeast,  Iran  to the south and southwest,  Uzbekistan  to the east and northeast,  Kazakhstan  to the north and northwest and the  Caspian Sea  to the west. Turkmenistan's GDP growth rate of 11% in 2010  ranks 4th in the world, but these figures are subject to wide margins of error. 5]It possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources. Although it is wealthy in natural resources in certain areas, most of the country is covered by the  Karakum (Black Sand) Desert. The Turkmen government operates as a  single-party system. [6]  Turkmenistan was ruled by  President for Life  Saparmurat Niyazov  (c alled â€Å"Turkmenbasy† — â€Å"leader of the Turkmens†) until his sudden death on 21 December 2006. Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov  was elected the new president on 11 February 2007.The territory of Turkmenistan has a long history, as armies from one empire after another decamped there on their way to more prosperous territories. The region's written history begins with its conquest by the  Achaemenid Empire  of ancient Persia, as the region was divided between the  satrapies  of  Margiana,  Khorezm  and  Parthia. [citation needed] Alexander the Great  conquered the territory in the 4th century  BC  on his way to  Central Asia, around the time that the  Silk Roadwas established as a major trading route between  Asia  and the  Mediterranean Region. citation needed] Approximately 80 years later, Persia's  Parthian Kingdom  established its capital in  Nisa, now in the suburbs of the capital,Ashgabat. After replacement of the P arthian empire by Persian Sassanids, another native Iranian dynasty, the region remained territory of the Persian empire for several centuries. [7] In the 7th century AD,  Arabs  conquered this region, introducing  Islam. The Turkmenistan region soon came to be known as the capital of  Greater Khorasan, when the caliph  Al-Ma'mun  moved his capital to  Merv. citation needed] In the middle of the 11th century, the  Turkoman-ruled  Seljuk Empire  concentrated its strength in the territory of modern Turkmenistan in an attempt to expand into  Khorasan  (modernAfghanistan). The empire broke down in the second half of the 12th century, and the Turkmen lost their independence when  Genghis Khan  took control of the eastern  Caspian Sea  region on his march west. For the next seven centuries, the Turkmen people lived under various empires and fought constant inter-tribal wars. Little is documented of Turkmen history prior to  Russian  engagement.

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