economics Archives

Will Falling Oil Prices Stimulate US Growth?

Over 75% of economists said their sector or company will feel the consequences of the petroleum cost fall, with 18% anticipating a negative impact, and 57% expecting an optimistic impact, based on a survey in the National Association for Business Economics Monday released.

“By a three-to-one ratio, it is favorable,” said James Diffley, a senior manager at IHS Economics as well as the survey’s chairman. “The 18% though signify those businesses that benefit directly from petroleum and gasoline.

Economical fuel is anticipated to provide a boost in 2013 to the market as consumers turn about and spend what they are saving in the pump. Gasoline costs have dropped to close to $2 a gallon, and therefore are poised to drop below that, among the speediest declines.

But it is crucial to remember that some of the additional stimulation may be taken away, Mr. Diffley said, as petroleum and gasoline companies scale back investment and development. Other occupations will suffer changes in the supply chain for pipe fitters and tool makers, as just one example. Other reports are difficult to assess simply because of the problems in assessing if they are genuine, many digital businesses for instance – especially those which hide their identity with fake details – like here.

“That takes off several tenths of the percentage point on the increase the market could have gotten,” he said.

Economists reported enhancing conditions at their companies in the fourth quarter. These

NABE said only rising prices were reported by 16%, compared with 25% in the July and October surveys. And 65% said they anticipate no change in the costs their companies will charge in the first quarter.

And more than half said economists expect salaries and wages to rise in the following three months, compared with. Sales increase improved somewhat, with 54% of economists reporting increasing sales compared with.

Ninety three economists-who work for private sector companies or industry trade groups-reacted to the survey, that was conducted from Dec. 18 through Jan. 8.

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The Eurozone Economic Woes Continue

There never seems to be an end to these stories, as other nations climb from the economic recession and power ahead so the 18 nations in the Eurozone seem unable to achieve any sort of economic progress. Inertia always seems to be the core story, and the latest round of retail figures and business growth surveys continue the depressing narrative.

First the retail sales, which is almost always the first indicator of proper recovery and a precursor of growth. However not in Europe where sales are still falling – down 1.3% for the month of September from the previous month.

Of course there are many other external factors which may influence such short term fluctuations in retail sales even in a large market like the Eurozone. However investigating growth brings no relief either, with minimal reporting across virtually all the sectors. These particular figures were brought from the Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index. It’s obviously of concern with the main focus of the policy makers in Europe being precisely pushing up growth across the continent..

Normally, the average figures across the Eurozone have been boosted up from Germany, teh country that is normally at the forefront of growth. In these figures though Germany has suffered the biggest fall in retail sales – falling over 3.0% in one month, closely followed by Portugal with 2.5%. Sometimes figures like these can be deceptive though as German consumers are generally very cautious and likely to trim back consumption earlier than many other countries. They are likely to keep spending in certain areas, surprisingly digital sales have actually increased for services like these to access foreign TV like Channel 4 Online, however purchases for bigger goods and services look at best stagnant.

It’s hard to see anything to create any level of optimism, which is probably what German consumers are thinking as they start tightening their economic belts. All the figures show the picture of an economy staggering along with little signs of improvement, in fact figures suggest a further downturn is more likely than a recovery.

Meanwhile the already conservative forecasts are constantly revised downwards. The Eurozone was predicted to grow by 1.2% in early Spring, this week that estimate was now cut to 0.8% for 2014. Many consider even this low figure to be optimistic based on these latest figures, which clearly show that there’s no light yet visible to the end of this recession at least not if you’re in the Eurozone.

James Parker

Writer, blogger and part time technology consultant can be tracked across the internet ether through a variety of web and video sites. His latest technology effort can be found here on the important topic of how to get an American IP Address.

Some Important Issues for Your Environmental Debate

Last updated on September 1st, 2014 at 11:15 am

Protecting the environment has become among the most talked about and hotly debated issues across the world. Many businesses are investing vast sums of dollars to produce goods or make their goods environmentally friendly. A good example is the electric car that’s being considered a feasible alternative to that of-the current petrol powered automobile.

The travel industry too hasn’t been left out-of the problem. Also like every-other industry the travel industry wants to be worried about ways to do business that are environmentally friendly. Outlined here are a few of the environmental problems affecting the travel business which stakeholders have to deal with and in long term solutions are sought out by some cases.

1. Mass tourism. It is threatening the fauna and flora and putting stress on ecosystems within these areas. Again this provides a risk to the tourism of the place and to the ecosystems within the areas.

2. Deforestation. In spite of-the call to safeguard the ecosystem there are still areas where enormous logging is taking place. That is also contributing to destruction of fauna and flora and can be a hazard to the tourism in those areas.

3. Using the decision to go green impacting all businesses around the world the tourism business is not omitted. There is stress on people who are in the sector to find systems of working that are eco-friendly and sustainable. For example can the resort business construct hotels which are more environmentally friendly? What approaches can they use to save electricity and reduce on compounds that are found in the dry cleaning of heaps of laundry found in the business?

4. Human encroachment. This is a hazard to the tourism of most countries. Human encroachment is, in addition, compelling animals to move from their habitat to other locations where they can’t survive leading to the extinction of particular species.

5. A major issue for businesses is the consequence for climate change as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Aviation generates at least two% of emissions. However not all airlines particularly in the poorer nations can afford to buy new aircraft.

Technology obviously has a huge part to play in so many ways. One of the least obvious ones is the important role of raising awareness of the important of our environmental predicament. Although many of us are well aware of the importance of reducing carbon emissions and global warming, this is largely due to the huge media exposure to the issues in our countries. Fortunately nowadays important sources of climate change reporting are accessible through the internet. For example it’s even possible to access the wonderful BBC’s resources on the subject, in fact with the best VPN software or proxy you can watch British TV abroad using the internet on anything from a phone to a PC.

Joe Simpson is a writer on this media site which raises awareness of environmental issues through social media.

How Will China Repair it’s Environmental Reputation

Last updated on April 5th, 2016 at 03:20 pm

Believe it or not there is environmental legislation in China, it’s called the Environmental Protection Law and was created 34 years ago. However the title is fairly misleading, as one of the main things it doesn’t do is protect the environment in any real way. China’s focus for the last three decades has pretty much been growth at all costs – increasing National wealth was seen as way more important than protecting the environment.

However even the most ardent supporter of this policy would have to think twice as their citizens struggle for breath in the appallingly polluted atmosophere than the people of China have to breathe every day in it’s major industrial areas. The air is not the only problem, there are frequent scares on water and food quality – of course they’re all linked. China has poisoned it’s environment in exchange for money – it’s that simple.

What is the real costs of this growth – is it all just about money? Well there have been several alarming studies that have tried to rationalise the real costs. For example in the majority of the world – life expectancy is growing every year – in Northern China you can expect to live 5 1/2 years fewer due to the poisoned air. The pollution has definitely increased strokes and heart disease and almost certainly cancer. These are conservative estimates, there are sure to be more health implications to be revealed over the coming years.

The problem is how do the Chinese start to repair this without admitting they’ve sold their nations health in exchange for economic prosperity. Of course they won’t – criticism both online and offline is always dealt with. You’ll see only positive messages on both domestic media and international stuff released by China. I saw an advert on one of the Netflix channels last week with footage of how China is now growing in an environmentally friendly way. The advert was aired on the US version of Netflix, which I am fortunate to be able to access.

The reality is irrespective of how China is portrayed, they need to change course and quickly. There is an environmental disaster starting in that country and to proceed on with it’s growth at all costs will ultimately cost billions and the lives of many of it’s citizens. The Environmental Protection law needs to be updated so that the legislation does some of it’s titles implications, they need to do it fast.

Edit:

Just a note to say that the same Chinese advert now seems to be on many European channels too, I’ve seen it airing on ITV and Channel 4 in the UK and being promoted on YouTube and on French media – here.

Irish Gross Domestic Product is on the Rise

It is certainly well documented that one of Ireland’s biggest problems and one which largely caused it’s economic troubles was the bursting of a huge, unsustainable property bubble. The country has been in recession ever since, so any news of growth in any sector is bound to be reason for some optimism.

For those who reason that any recovery should be well balanced and across all sectors however there is still cause for concern. For example much of the rise seems to be linked with a growth in construction spending up a massive 15% this year. Obviously this is from a small base but it’s still a huge rise in a single year for an economy still technically in recession.

For example lets look at some other sectors, ones which we at cipec.org for example think should be important sectors in the majority of recovering economies. Sectors like agriculture, forestry and fishing are not the big, boom sectors of many economies but they are often the most sustainable and provide many, many jobs. These areas in Ireland fell by around 3%, if you look at other key economic sectors like distribution and transport a similar story – with falls of around 2%.

There’s no doubt that things are improving in Ireland, for example they were able to exit the bailout put in place some three years ago. They met all the economic conditions put in place by the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Unemployment although still very high has fallen about 2.5% over the last year too and has a strong downward trend which the Government is hoping to continue and accelerate.

The media is also positive, if you watch the BBC you can see many positive stories being led which is in stark contrast to the economic jokes that were streamed some years ago. Incidentally – this link will allow you to access the BBC’s broadcasts online if you are in Ireland.

The worry is still there, though is the sector that caused Ireland’s economic woe’s really the sector that should be pulling it back from the mire. Sure construction and property is a vast lucrative market but look what happened last time!

For Further Technical information on the geo-location method mentioned above, please see this for help.

The Economics of Building a Green Roof

Last updated on October 27th, 2019 at 07:21 pm

They could be anything from a really shallow layer of soil supporting the development of mosses and lichens right up to a full and fully planted up roof garden.We want more green areas for the atmosphere and for wildlife and there’s a *location that’s almost entirely fresh on many of our homes. It could possibly make a tremendous difference if just a tiny percentage of people planted a *residing roof.

Some of the Gains of the Green Living Roof

There are really quite a few advantages in several areas. The advantages are that they enable drainage and evaporation reducing the threat of floods. The water that flows into our sewers and drains is less prone to cause harm and is considerably more slow and the flood risks are reduced by importantly. Some of those roofs are quite amazing to look at and once you respect one just recall how that extra small bit of green is helping the environment. If your city or town has a whole lot of these ’living roofs’ such as in Berlin, there’s a major effect on air-pollution and co2 – both of which are consumed with these roofs.

These can provide a lifeline as we slowly reduced the amount of green spaces and gardens for wildlife in general. This layer will also help protect from the results of uv light frost as well as. There are tons of folks who will assist you to get started with an easy search on the net, actually there are several green home builders who have vast expertise within this place. There have been a few featured on a series called Grand Designs on Channel 4 in the UK, you can perhaps pick these up on Youtube or by accessing the Channel 4 website – if repeats are run – this post on watching British TV abroad – http://www.uktv-online.com/online-british-tv-abroad/ may help.

Industrial Living Roof

You don’t see that many living roofs regrettably, yet industrial living roofs are considerably more common. There is an living roof on a detergent factory owned by an organization called Ecover in Belgium. You will find several more across Europe particularly although it needs to be said not nearly enough.

Basics Of Economics

Last updated on December 24th, 2019 at 11:53 am

Economics is all about use, exchange and ownership of resources that are scarce. When these scarce resources are exchanged this is known as economic behavior.

There are 3 main factors to take into account when studying economics;

Why are the scarce resources being exchanged in the first place and what are they?
In order for different parties to feel happy in an exchange, how do they communicate and deal with each other?
What the role of the government is in facilitating these exchanges.

If a private company or government hire a professional economist, they are often looking for some kind of economic intelligence in order to make sound business decisions. With all decisions there is associated risk but the role of the economist is to gather and analyse the market intelligence so that some sort of accurate information relating to costs and benefits can be provided.