CNN -- It's all well and good governments and the public demanding cleaner air, but how are those charged with effecting reductions of pollutants -- the automobile and truck manufacturers -- going to tackle a problem that can't simply be fixed overnight?
The idea that manufacturers should lead the way on reducing emissions is far from new, although, fairly, they argue that any legislative framework to limit carbon dioxide (CO2) from cars should be cost-effective and that they should be allowed sufficient time to prepare to meet new standards.
Such is the feeling of the ACEA organization, which represents the 13 major European car, truck and bus manufacturers.
It argues that, in addition to the above, European automotive industry deserves better recognition for its environmental track record and rapid reaction to ever stricter legislation.
These feelings formed the basis of a keynote speech by Sergio Marchionne, president of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association and CEO of Fiat, at the ACEA's annual gathering in Brussels recently.
In it he outlined what the vehicle industry can realistically contribute to reduce further carbon emissions from cars.
"The car industry demands a cost-effective policy to reduce further CO2 emissions from cars. A combination of traffic management, the use of biofuels, a more economic driving style, CO2-related taxation and improvements in vehicle technology will lead to better results for the environment, without endangering jobs in the EU," said Marchionne.
"There can be no doubt that the industry does its share. We are not walking away from our responsibility."
But, warned Marchionne, the recent proposal from the European Commission, which demands a mandatory target for new cars of 130 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometer (130g/km) by 2012, is too costly and will force the industry out of Europe.
"The current proposal is unbalanced, inadequate and economically inefficient. That is our main objection," said Marchionne.
ACEA feels that the proposal focuses excessively on vehicle technology.
This is against the recommendations from the influential CARS 21 group, comprising EU commissioners, representatives from the car industry, the European Parliament, national governments and other stakeholders.
It declared that only the combined efforts from all involved would improve both the environmental performance of cars and the competitive strength of the industry.
Furthermore, the announced legislative framework is unlikely to be ready before 2009 -- by which time the new models of 2012 will have been designed long since.
"The industry must be given lead-time to meeting any new requirements until 2015 at the earliest," argued Marchionne.
As an example, last year the Japanese government set new CO2 emission targets of 138g/km by 2015.
"Reducing CO2 emissions is a complex challenge," said Marchionne, adding that the industry has an unwavering commitment to reducing CO2 emissions and will continue making efforts.
"There is no "one solution" to cut carbon emissions from cars. In the short term, progress will be the cumulative result of incremental steps in engine technology, improved aerodynamics and reduced vehicle weight."
Even in the UK, renowned for its reticence in embracing greener technologies, the acceptance of the role biofuels can play is demonstrated by the construction of a new, £250 million bioethanol production plant.
The Secretary of State for the Environment, David Miliband, paid a visit to Teesside in the north-east of England recently to what will be the UK's largest bioethanol factory, producing 400 million liters of bioethanol a year from home-grown wheat.
In a recent ministerial speech, Mr Miliband said that the UK must consider the move to a post-oil economy and added that transport would be the biggest challenge.
But he pointed to Brazil, where three-quarters of cars run on ethanol, as proof that it would not be insurmountable.
General Motors, in particular Saab, is rolling out increasing numbers of biofuel-powered cars. French giant Renault also considers biofuels as one of the most effective ways of controlling CO2 emissions in the medium term.
Biofuels are ecologically efficient because they are derived from vegetable matter -- a renewable, diversified energy source -- and also economically efficient because they require limited development costs and vehicles are affordable for most customers.
Furthermore they reduce energy dependency on fossil fuels.
For existing engines to run on both conventional fuels and biofuels, they have to be modified to enable them to adapt automatically to different fuel types. These changes principally concern the fuel tank, the injection system and the combustion chambers.
To develop its ethanol-compatible Mégane, which goes on sale in the UK in June, Renault drew on expertise acquired in Brazil where it has been developing flex-fuel cars since 2004.
At the end of 2006 Renault introduced a number of light vans which run on B30 biodiesel -- these function with equal ease on conventional diesel or on blends of diesel with 30 per cent biodiesel (B30). The first passenger cars to use biodiesel will appear in 2008.
In the longer term, a selection of alternative technologies -- including electric vehicles, hybrids and fuel cells -- will come on stream.
Supporting Marchionne's view on the industry's efforts to clean up its act, massive investment in research and development throughout Europe has driven technological change for the better.
For example, new diesel cars emit 95 per cent less soot from the tailpipe than those made 15 years ago, while the average CO2 emissions of new cars has been cut by 12 per cent since 1997.
It's not just emissions, either.
Each vehicle made in Britain requires half the energy to produce than it did just five years ago, saving an estimated 700,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. Waste to landfill per vehicle produced has also been cut by a factor of four, from 66.4kg in 2001 to 14.5kg in 2005.
This article shows how people are trying to eliminate the externalities from cars emissions buy using a more environmentally friendly substance. They could charge a tax on CO2 emmission which would bring the social cost back down to the actual cost. By gradually when all the cars have turned into ones that run on biofuels that are less harmful to the environment we will have succeeded. until then we keep pressing on to protect mother earth by economically reducing externalities.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Tunnel dream: Undersea project would link Alaska, Russia
MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- For more than a century, entrepreneurs and engineers have dreamed of building a tunnel connecting the eastern and western hemispheres under the Bering Strait -- only to be brought up short by war, revolution and politics.
Now die-hard supporters are renewing their push for the audacious plan -- a $65 billion highway project that would link two of the world's most inhospitable regions by burrowing under a stretch of water connecting the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.
Russians and Americans alike made their pitch for the project at a conference titled "Megaprojects of Russia's East," held Tuesday in Moscow.
"It's time to the rewrite the old slogan 'Workers of the world unite!"' said Walter Hickel, a former Alaska governor and interior secretary under President Richard Nixon. "It's time to proclaim, 'Workers -- Unite the world!"'
A Russian Economics Ministry official tossed cold water on the idea, saying he wanted to know who planned to pay the mammoth bill for the project before seriously discussing it. But Hickel was unfazed in his speech, saying the route would unlock hitherto untapped natural resources -- and bolster the economies of both Alaska and Russia's Far East.
The proposed 68-mile tunnel would be the longest in the world. It would also be the linchpin for a 3,700-mile railroad line stretching from Yakutsk -- the capital of a gold- and mineral-rich Siberian region roughly the size of India -- through extreme northeastern Russia, in waters up to 180 feet deep and into the western coast of Alaska. Winter temperatures there routinely hit minus 94 F. (Map)
By comparison, the undersea tunnel that is now the world's longest -- the Chunnel, linking Britain and France -- is only 30 miles long.
That raises the prospect of some tantalizingly exotic routes -- train riders could catch the London-Moscow-Washington express, conference organizers suggested.
Lobbyists claimed the project is guaranteed to turn a profit after 30 years. As crews construct the road and rail link, they said, the workers would also build oil and gas pipelines and lay electricity and fiber-optic cables. Trains would whisk cargos at up to 60 mph 260 feet beneath the seabed.
Eventually, 3 percent of the world's cargo could move along the route, organizers hope
The reasoning behind this crazy cool new idea is that, it will boost the economies of the two most uninhabitable lands. Because the tunnel could be used to carry cargo and passengers by train, the tunnel would pay for itself in 30 years. People would get more utility out of it becuase it would take less time to get certain places, also it could be cheaper since the only alternative route is by plane.
Now die-hard supporters are renewing their push for the audacious plan -- a $65 billion highway project that would link two of the world's most inhospitable regions by burrowing under a stretch of water connecting the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.
Russians and Americans alike made their pitch for the project at a conference titled "Megaprojects of Russia's East," held Tuesday in Moscow.
"It's time to the rewrite the old slogan 'Workers of the world unite!"' said Walter Hickel, a former Alaska governor and interior secretary under President Richard Nixon. "It's time to proclaim, 'Workers -- Unite the world!"'
A Russian Economics Ministry official tossed cold water on the idea, saying he wanted to know who planned to pay the mammoth bill for the project before seriously discussing it. But Hickel was unfazed in his speech, saying the route would unlock hitherto untapped natural resources -- and bolster the economies of both Alaska and Russia's Far East.
The proposed 68-mile tunnel would be the longest in the world. It would also be the linchpin for a 3,700-mile railroad line stretching from Yakutsk -- the capital of a gold- and mineral-rich Siberian region roughly the size of India -- through extreme northeastern Russia, in waters up to 180 feet deep and into the western coast of Alaska. Winter temperatures there routinely hit minus 94 F. (Map)
By comparison, the undersea tunnel that is now the world's longest -- the Chunnel, linking Britain and France -- is only 30 miles long.
That raises the prospect of some tantalizingly exotic routes -- train riders could catch the London-Moscow-Washington express, conference organizers suggested.
Lobbyists claimed the project is guaranteed to turn a profit after 30 years. As crews construct the road and rail link, they said, the workers would also build oil and gas pipelines and lay electricity and fiber-optic cables. Trains would whisk cargos at up to 60 mph 260 feet beneath the seabed.
Eventually, 3 percent of the world's cargo could move along the route, organizers hope
The reasoning behind this crazy cool new idea is that, it will boost the economies of the two most uninhabitable lands. Because the tunnel could be used to carry cargo and passengers by train, the tunnel would pay for itself in 30 years. People would get more utility out of it becuase it would take less time to get certain places, also it could be cheaper since the only alternative route is by plane.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Toyota boosts Thai truck industry
BAN PHO, Thailand (Reuters) -- Executives at Toyota Motor's pristine new plant in a Bangkok suburb point out the factory is the first in Thailand to run on clean natural gas.
Equipped with robots and parts movers shuttling quietly on assembly floors, the $426 million facility shows Thailand's recent political turmoil has not dented global carmakers' positive views on the country.
Thailand is the world's biggest producer of one-ton trucks, with output projected at 853,000 units this year, outpacing the United States at 588,000 units, according to J.D. Power Automotive Forecasting.
It is the second biggest market for the versatile trucks that are a common sight in rural areas shifting people and farm produce. Domestic sales this year are forecast at 510,000 units, against 651,000 in the United States.
"The strength of our truck industry lies in the size of our domestic market that makes production cost competitive," said Vallop Tiasiri, director of the privately-funded Thailand Automotive Institute.
"Our traditional political and labor stability also help." The Toyota plant, opened last month on what used to be 245 hectares (605 acres) of paddy fields, consolidates Thailand as a major export base for small pick-up trucks.
"We ship 4,000 right-hand drive Hilux trucks to Australia a month and another 2,000 of the left-hand version to Saudi Arabia," said plant manager Charnchai Suppayakorn, adding the factory's initial 100,000 annual production capacity can be quadrupled in response to future export demand.
Toyota's third Thai facility raises its annual vehicle output to 550,000, 40 percent of which are shipped overseas.
The 2,000 workers at the Ban Pho plant bring Toyota's Thai workforce to 13,500. Around 5,000 are permanent staff and the rest hired on temporary contracts.
By Toyota procucing their trucks in Thai facilities they are achieving their comparative advantage in the field. thailand has the lowest opportunity cost, therefore the most trucks are made there. Even though the US residents would not get the jobs, it opens up those people to go and get jobs in the arena where the US has lowest opportunity cost. Like we talked about today in class, the US is moving away from goods marketing towards services marketing. By producing the goods in Thailand the US employees can focue on other jobs like teaching or oil changing.
Equipped with robots and parts movers shuttling quietly on assembly floors, the $426 million facility shows Thailand's recent political turmoil has not dented global carmakers' positive views on the country.
Thailand is the world's biggest producer of one-ton trucks, with output projected at 853,000 units this year, outpacing the United States at 588,000 units, according to J.D. Power Automotive Forecasting.
It is the second biggest market for the versatile trucks that are a common sight in rural areas shifting people and farm produce. Domestic sales this year are forecast at 510,000 units, against 651,000 in the United States.
"The strength of our truck industry lies in the size of our domestic market that makes production cost competitive," said Vallop Tiasiri, director of the privately-funded Thailand Automotive Institute.
"Our traditional political and labor stability also help." The Toyota plant, opened last month on what used to be 245 hectares (605 acres) of paddy fields, consolidates Thailand as a major export base for small pick-up trucks.
"We ship 4,000 right-hand drive Hilux trucks to Australia a month and another 2,000 of the left-hand version to Saudi Arabia," said plant manager Charnchai Suppayakorn, adding the factory's initial 100,000 annual production capacity can be quadrupled in response to future export demand.
Toyota's third Thai facility raises its annual vehicle output to 550,000, 40 percent of which are shipped overseas.
The 2,000 workers at the Ban Pho plant bring Toyota's Thai workforce to 13,500. Around 5,000 are permanent staff and the rest hired on temporary contracts.
By Toyota procucing their trucks in Thai facilities they are achieving their comparative advantage in the field. thailand has the lowest opportunity cost, therefore the most trucks are made there. Even though the US residents would not get the jobs, it opens up those people to go and get jobs in the arena where the US has lowest opportunity cost. Like we talked about today in class, the US is moving away from goods marketing towards services marketing. By producing the goods in Thailand the US employees can focue on other jobs like teaching or oil changing.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Joining the $100,000 club
Taking an MBA at a top business school is a classic route to boosting your salary.
And now, according to a new survey, those who take the right MBA can demand a basic salary of $100,000 or more as soon as their studies are over.
The eye-catching figure comes in a major poll of MBA students and recruiters around the world for Business Week magazine.
The latest version of the once-every-two-years survey, which processed questionnaires from more than 9,000 students and 200-plus recruiters, found that graduates from almost a third of the top 30-ranked US MBA programs earned an average of $100,000 or more on graduating, a figure generally boosted further by other benefits.
On average, those leaving one of the top 30 schools walked into jobs worth $95,000 a year, up 9.7% on the last survey in 2004, also receiving an average of two job offers each.
The findings add further weight to indications that the job market for new MBAs is booming again, following the glut of graduates caused by the after effects of the dot-com bust, which sent thousands of would-be tycoons scurrying to business schools.
As the global economy has improved, fewer people have opted to take MBAs, meaning they are now in ever-greater demand.
"The job market for MBAs is the strongest it's been in many years," Steve Canale, General Electric Co.'s top recruiter told the survey. "Supply is tight, and demand is up. It's Economics 101."
I found this article on Cnn.com and this portion brings up a good point. On the surface the article is very obvious, where if a job is important and no one does it , the people that do get paid a lot more however, underneath it also applies to every common job as well. If every Garbage Man was to quit and our trash was piling up on the streets, their salary could easily get pushed up to 100,000+ a year. It is not just the fancy jobs that get paid a lot ,...they are the necessary jobs that no one currently wants to do that have the higher salary.
And now, according to a new survey, those who take the right MBA can demand a basic salary of $100,000 or more as soon as their studies are over.
The eye-catching figure comes in a major poll of MBA students and recruiters around the world for Business Week magazine.
The latest version of the once-every-two-years survey, which processed questionnaires from more than 9,000 students and 200-plus recruiters, found that graduates from almost a third of the top 30-ranked US MBA programs earned an average of $100,000 or more on graduating, a figure generally boosted further by other benefits.
On average, those leaving one of the top 30 schools walked into jobs worth $95,000 a year, up 9.7% on the last survey in 2004, also receiving an average of two job offers each.
The findings add further weight to indications that the job market for new MBAs is booming again, following the glut of graduates caused by the after effects of the dot-com bust, which sent thousands of would-be tycoons scurrying to business schools.
As the global economy has improved, fewer people have opted to take MBAs, meaning they are now in ever-greater demand.
"The job market for MBAs is the strongest it's been in many years," Steve Canale, General Electric Co.'s top recruiter told the survey. "Supply is tight, and demand is up. It's Economics 101."
I found this article on Cnn.com and this portion brings up a good point. On the surface the article is very obvious, where if a job is important and no one does it , the people that do get paid a lot more however, underneath it also applies to every common job as well. If every Garbage Man was to quit and our trash was piling up on the streets, their salary could easily get pushed up to 100,000+ a year. It is not just the fancy jobs that get paid a lot ,...they are the necessary jobs that no one currently wants to do that have the higher salary.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Looks matter in the workplace
You know the woman -- the one who could wear a paper bag to a board meeting and still manage to look both beautiful and perfectly professional.
As if it weren't annoying enough that she maintains her obnoxiously flat abs by lifting doughnuts to her mouth, it turns out your gorgeous co-worker may also be out-earning her less genetically-blessed colleagues.
Good looks can have a real impact on workers' bank accounts, according to research by Daniel Hamermesh and Jeff Biddle published in the Journal of Labor Economics.
Attractive people earn about 5 percent more in hourly pay than their average-looking colleagues, who in turn earn 9 percent more per hour than the plainest-looking workers.
This means if an average-looking person earned $40,000, their prettiest co-workers would make $42,000 while their least attractive colleagues brought home just $36,400.
Plain-looking workers may also receive fewer promotions than those awarded to their more striking contemporaries.
Steven D. Spitz, D.M.D. and owner of cosmetic dentistry firm Smile Boston, said he once had a client who wanted his assistant to get veneers, and was even willing to pay for the dental work -- as long as the assistant asked for it.
"He said this was a woman who was really good at her job and he was moving up (within the organization), but he couldn't take her with him because her teeth were so bad," Spitz said.
The assistant never came in for the dental work, and Spitz said he didn't know what became of her career.
Are pretty people just more talented?
It remains uncertain whether the handsomest people translate their good looks into higher productivity, but students do consistently give better-looking professors higher evaluations than they give their less comely teachers, according to research by Hamermesh and Amy Parker at the University of Texas in Austin.
Still, many experts warn against assigning too much value to beauty in the workplace, arguing that even if your good looks do get you in the door, they may not get you much farther.
"A person can be breathtaking in person and destroy that within the first five minutes by acting in a way that seems superior or behaving in a way that is lewd or provocative," said Francie Dalton, President of Dalton Alliances Inc., a consulting practice providing executive coaching to C-level clients.
"Although I very firmly believe that looks are the first thing one notices, I am not convinced that looks trump things like competencies, interpersonal skills and other factors," she said.
Richard St. John, author of "Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky, and RICH," says he's so unconvinced of the connection between good looks and competence, he often chooses to hire the "visual underdog."
"I'm not saying looks won't help you be successful at getting a date," St. John said. "I'm saying looks won't help you be successful in other areas of life."
Unfair, but legal
Unlike religion, national origin or disability, discrimination based on looks is legal in most jurisdictions, said James McDonald, Jr., managing partner of the Irvine office of employment law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP.
Washington, D.C. and Santa Cruz, California, are two of the only municipalities with laws explicitly protecting workers against discrimination based on physical characteristics or personal appearance, he said. Still, that hasn't stopped workers from launching unsuccessful lawsuits.
Fortunately, there's -- literally -- more to attractiveness than meets the eye. Researchers Markus Mobius and Tanya Rosenblat found that confidence makes up 20 percent of perceived attractiveness.
To ensure the image you're portraying is a confident one, be sure your posture doesn't betray your nervousness. Keep your back straight, head high and make eye contact with your associates.
I think that it is really unfair to have attractive people earn 5-9 percent more than comely people. It is not the person's decision to be ugly or beautiful and it is not something that most people can afford to change. I dont think that there can be a law banning discrimination of looks though. For instance my grandma own Poyers market here in fort. when people come in to apply for jobs some are "rough around the edges." Poyer's buisness is occupied mostly by older women. To ensure that her buisness will keep coming back my grandma is almost forced not to hire these gruff people. though my granmda may not discriminate most older women do. so to have a person who does not please the customers would be a buisness suicide. Not to say that these people would be bad workers, just that the more attractive younger sweeter -looking girls would be the better buisness descion. However to hire some one and then force them to get veneers is extreamly rude and over the line.
As if it weren't annoying enough that she maintains her obnoxiously flat abs by lifting doughnuts to her mouth, it turns out your gorgeous co-worker may also be out-earning her less genetically-blessed colleagues.
Good looks can have a real impact on workers' bank accounts, according to research by Daniel Hamermesh and Jeff Biddle published in the Journal of Labor Economics.
Attractive people earn about 5 percent more in hourly pay than their average-looking colleagues, who in turn earn 9 percent more per hour than the plainest-looking workers.
This means if an average-looking person earned $40,000, their prettiest co-workers would make $42,000 while their least attractive colleagues brought home just $36,400.
Plain-looking workers may also receive fewer promotions than those awarded to their more striking contemporaries.
Steven D. Spitz, D.M.D. and owner of cosmetic dentistry firm Smile Boston, said he once had a client who wanted his assistant to get veneers, and was even willing to pay for the dental work -- as long as the assistant asked for it.
"He said this was a woman who was really good at her job and he was moving up (within the organization), but he couldn't take her with him because her teeth were so bad," Spitz said.
The assistant never came in for the dental work, and Spitz said he didn't know what became of her career.
Are pretty people just more talented?
It remains uncertain whether the handsomest people translate their good looks into higher productivity, but students do consistently give better-looking professors higher evaluations than they give their less comely teachers, according to research by Hamermesh and Amy Parker at the University of Texas in Austin.
Still, many experts warn against assigning too much value to beauty in the workplace, arguing that even if your good looks do get you in the door, they may not get you much farther.
"A person can be breathtaking in person and destroy that within the first five minutes by acting in a way that seems superior or behaving in a way that is lewd or provocative," said Francie Dalton, President of Dalton Alliances Inc., a consulting practice providing executive coaching to C-level clients.
"Although I very firmly believe that looks are the first thing one notices, I am not convinced that looks trump things like competencies, interpersonal skills and other factors," she said.
Richard St. John, author of "Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky, and RICH," says he's so unconvinced of the connection between good looks and competence, he often chooses to hire the "visual underdog."
"I'm not saying looks won't help you be successful at getting a date," St. John said. "I'm saying looks won't help you be successful in other areas of life."
Unfair, but legal
Unlike religion, national origin or disability, discrimination based on looks is legal in most jurisdictions, said James McDonald, Jr., managing partner of the Irvine office of employment law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP.
Washington, D.C. and Santa Cruz, California, are two of the only municipalities with laws explicitly protecting workers against discrimination based on physical characteristics or personal appearance, he said. Still, that hasn't stopped workers from launching unsuccessful lawsuits.
Fortunately, there's -- literally -- more to attractiveness than meets the eye. Researchers Markus Mobius and Tanya Rosenblat found that confidence makes up 20 percent of perceived attractiveness.
To ensure the image you're portraying is a confident one, be sure your posture doesn't betray your nervousness. Keep your back straight, head high and make eye contact with your associates.
I think that it is really unfair to have attractive people earn 5-9 percent more than comely people. It is not the person's decision to be ugly or beautiful and it is not something that most people can afford to change. I dont think that there can be a law banning discrimination of looks though. For instance my grandma own Poyers market here in fort. when people come in to apply for jobs some are "rough around the edges." Poyer's buisness is occupied mostly by older women. To ensure that her buisness will keep coming back my grandma is almost forced not to hire these gruff people. though my granmda may not discriminate most older women do. so to have a person who does not please the customers would be a buisness suicide. Not to say that these people would be bad workers, just that the more attractive younger sweeter -looking girls would be the better buisness descion. However to hire some one and then force them to get veneers is extreamly rude and over the line.
Friday, February 23, 2007
German Taxes
Tax rise hits German business mood
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- German business sentiment fell in February as a sales tax hike hit retailers and optimism in the construction sector dipped, but economists said Europe's largest economy remained on track for robust growth.
The Munich-based Ifo research institute said on Friday its business climate index, based on a monthly poll of 7,000 firms, fell to 107.0 from 107.9 in January. A Reuters poll of 54 economists had forecast a 107.5 reading.
Ifo economist Klaus Abberger told Reuters the economy was feeling the impact of the three percentage point rise in value-added tax (VAT) that took effect last month, but the business environment could improve soon.
"The dry spell should be over in the spring," he said.
Ifo's business expectations index fell to 102.6 from 103.2 in January. A current conditions index fell to 111.6 from 112.8.
The German economy ended 2006 well, with growth accelerating to 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter as exports surged.
Economists expected the economy to rebound after suffering early this year from the impact of the VAT increase, though growth is not seen matching last year's 2.7 percent, the strongest annual expansion since 2000.
"Germany is not facing any dramatic cooling of growth," said Juergen Michels at Citigroup. "The data show that the economy will rebound during the course of the year from a weakening after the value-added tax increase."
The euro shrugged off the fall in the Ifo index.
Although most recent corporate results have surprised on the upside, some firms have suffered setbacks.
Earnings at retailer Puma fell sharply in the fourth quarter despite a jump in sales, after costs surged due to higher spending on marketing and introducing new products.
Capital Economics said the Ifo fall was disappointing, although both index components remain at levels consistent with strong near-term German GDP growth.
The German Economy rose so much last year that the Government increased it's tax by 3%, enough so that the average German felt the effect. Buisness had to raise their prices just to keep up profits, which affected Sales slightly. This sounds like bad news and the German economy might begin its downward spiral, however depsite this tax the German Economy continues to grow at an enormus rate. It is interesting to see how the German economy continues to grow while so many other countries with high taxes crumble at the seams. What's their secret?
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- German business sentiment fell in February as a sales tax hike hit retailers and optimism in the construction sector dipped, but economists said Europe's largest economy remained on track for robust growth.
The Munich-based Ifo research institute said on Friday its business climate index, based on a monthly poll of 7,000 firms, fell to 107.0 from 107.9 in January. A Reuters poll of 54 economists had forecast a 107.5 reading.
Ifo economist Klaus Abberger told Reuters the economy was feeling the impact of the three percentage point rise in value-added tax (VAT) that took effect last month, but the business environment could improve soon.
"The dry spell should be over in the spring," he said.
Ifo's business expectations index fell to 102.6 from 103.2 in January. A current conditions index fell to 111.6 from 112.8.
The German economy ended 2006 well, with growth accelerating to 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter as exports surged.
Economists expected the economy to rebound after suffering early this year from the impact of the VAT increase, though growth is not seen matching last year's 2.7 percent, the strongest annual expansion since 2000.
"Germany is not facing any dramatic cooling of growth," said Juergen Michels at Citigroup. "The data show that the economy will rebound during the course of the year from a weakening after the value-added tax increase."
The euro shrugged off the fall in the Ifo index.
Although most recent corporate results have surprised on the upside, some firms have suffered setbacks.
Earnings at retailer Puma fell sharply in the fourth quarter despite a jump in sales, after costs surged due to higher spending on marketing and introducing new products.
Capital Economics said the Ifo fall was disappointing, although both index components remain at levels consistent with strong near-term German GDP growth.
The German Economy rose so much last year that the Government increased it's tax by 3%, enough so that the average German felt the effect. Buisness had to raise their prices just to keep up profits, which affected Sales slightly. This sounds like bad news and the German economy might begin its downward spiral, however depsite this tax the German Economy continues to grow at an enormus rate. It is interesting to see how the German economy continues to grow while so many other countries with high taxes crumble at the seams. What's their secret?
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Effects of Economics on Suicide
i found this article at cnn.com:
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Dr. Lee Hong-shick saw signs of trouble while visiting a hospital emergency room as a psychiatrist.
More and more people had wrists slashed or stomachs full of drugs in suicide attempts, but they were treated and sent home without further attention.
So Lee founded the Korean Association for Suicide Prevention several years ago and has become one of the growing number of voices calling attention to a surge in suicides that has vaulted South Korea among the world's top nations for such deaths.
"Someone who slits their wrists, they just get stitched up. [But] the main problem is why they decide to attempt suicide," Lee said at his hospital office at Seoul's Yonsei University. "This should not be seen as an individual's problem, but society should help these people."
The rate of suicides in South Korea soared to 24.7 per 100,000 people in 2005, according to the latest statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that rank the country at the top of the list.
Others with high rates were Hungary at 22.6 and Japan at 20.3, both using numbers from 2003, the latest available. By comparison, the U.S. suicide rate was 10.2 per 100,000 in 2002, the OECD said.
The National Police Agency recorded 14,011 suicides by South Koreans in 2005. Suicide is the leading cause of death for South Koreans in their 20s and 30s, and the No. 4 cause overall, the chief statistics agency said in a September report.
The suicide trend has been fueled by South Korea's status as one of the world's most wired countries with a highly developed Internet infrastructure: Finding methods to kill oneself or partners for group suicides are just a few mouse clicks away.
Although there are different motivations for suicide, the common denominator is "stress and pressure," Lee said, pointing to an unfortunate side-effect of the country's rapid economic development.
"Rapid change is the biggest problem in all areas -- the economy and family system," he said. "At the same time the support system is getting weaker."
South Korea is regularly hailed as a success story that has built a robust high-tech economy from the ashes of the Korean War.
But growth has also brought increased pressures. Families spend heavily to get children ahead with endless private after-school lessons, competition for jobs is fierce, and housing prices have soared, weighing on youths and young adults.
Suicides also are rising among people in their 60s who don't want to burden to their families.
Dr. Ahn Myoung-ock, a parliament member, has sponsored a series of bills calling for a coordinated government approach to suicide. The proposals range from beefing up prevention and counseling to allowing confidential use of satellite positioning data from cell phones to locate people trying to kill themselves.
"I hope since we have had that kind of compressed rapidity of economic development ... that we have the ability to solve this rapidly as well," she said.
High-profile suicides
Even the rich and famous are part of the trend.
The latest high-profile casualty came in January, when pop singer Yuni was found hanged in her apartment in the city of Incheon. Relatives said she was gripped by depression from the pressure associated with the release of her third album.
In late 2005, Lee Yoon-hyung, the daughter of the chairman of South Korea's biggest company, Samsung Group, killed herself at age 26 in New York, reportedly suffering from depression.
Actress Lee Eun-joo was found last February hanging from a necktie in her apartment. She was also believed to have been depressed.
Korean media are increasingly reporting on people who want to kill themselves finding others with similar desires by the Internet and arranging group suicides -- meeting in motels or parks and drinking poison together.
Lee said he recently won agreements from Internet search engines to link the keyword "suicide" with centers providing counseling, instead of sending the people to sites that would help them devise ways to kill themselves.
Still, it is easy to find people with suicidal thoughts on forum sections of leading South Korean Web sites. One recent posting purportedly came from a sixth grader complaining about family troubles and a lack of friends.
"Most of all, I don't know why I should exist. I don't think I'm worth anything," the unnamed writer said. "Nobody will care if I die ... even my parents. I should just die. Can someone please tell me a perfect way to commit suicide?"
"South Korea is regularly hailed as a success story that has built a robust high-tech economy from the ashes of the Korean War." This statement is true, they are a great Korean War sucess story however, we often forget to check back with them. It takes a suicide epidemic for us to realize that they still need our help. Their economy is experiencing rapid change and the people cannot adapt as they should be able to. The support for their economy cannot change as quickly as the economy is. The people feel as if they cannot go on, that they are helpless and insignificant in their changing world so they attempt suicide. Instead of hospital treating the cause for the attemped suicides , they treat the outward effects. The doctors need to learn how to treat the source of the problem. And clearly it is a problem as it is the leading cause of death of people in their 20's and 30's.
"But growth has also brought increased pressures. Families spend heavily to get children ahead with endless private after-school lessons, competition for jobs is fierce, and housing prices have soared, weighing on youths and young adults." Youth in the country are thrown in to intensively rigourous private schools and after school activities/homework. Their stress load and increased significantly, and stress is one of the leading causes for depression and suicide. They are so pressured to get schooling because they will need good jobs in order to support their familes. Their whole qualityof future life is thrown on their shoulders at an extreamly young age comparitively, and most buckle under the pressure and give in to suicide.
The government is trying to solve the suicide problem but in my opinion it is not the right way to do so. They are tracing people's cell phones to locate people who are going to attempt suicide. In my opinion the government should leave the people's freedom of privacy in tact and focus more on government programs, like a program designed to help relieve students from some of their pressure; design a program that will help them socially as well. Teens are so pressured with their future lives that they dont have time to enjoy life which may contribute to their early departure. I am no politician , but it seems like their has to be something the government can do to prevent suicides without comprimising freedoms as well.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Dr. Lee Hong-shick saw signs of trouble while visiting a hospital emergency room as a psychiatrist.
More and more people had wrists slashed or stomachs full of drugs in suicide attempts, but they were treated and sent home without further attention.
So Lee founded the Korean Association for Suicide Prevention several years ago and has become one of the growing number of voices calling attention to a surge in suicides that has vaulted South Korea among the world's top nations for such deaths.
"Someone who slits their wrists, they just get stitched up. [But] the main problem is why they decide to attempt suicide," Lee said at his hospital office at Seoul's Yonsei University. "This should not be seen as an individual's problem, but society should help these people."
The rate of suicides in South Korea soared to 24.7 per 100,000 people in 2005, according to the latest statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that rank the country at the top of the list.
Others with high rates were Hungary at 22.6 and Japan at 20.3, both using numbers from 2003, the latest available. By comparison, the U.S. suicide rate was 10.2 per 100,000 in 2002, the OECD said.
The National Police Agency recorded 14,011 suicides by South Koreans in 2005. Suicide is the leading cause of death for South Koreans in their 20s and 30s, and the No. 4 cause overall, the chief statistics agency said in a September report.
The suicide trend has been fueled by South Korea's status as one of the world's most wired countries with a highly developed Internet infrastructure: Finding methods to kill oneself or partners for group suicides are just a few mouse clicks away.
Although there are different motivations for suicide, the common denominator is "stress and pressure," Lee said, pointing to an unfortunate side-effect of the country's rapid economic development.
"Rapid change is the biggest problem in all areas -- the economy and family system," he said. "At the same time the support system is getting weaker."
South Korea is regularly hailed as a success story that has built a robust high-tech economy from the ashes of the Korean War.
But growth has also brought increased pressures. Families spend heavily to get children ahead with endless private after-school lessons, competition for jobs is fierce, and housing prices have soared, weighing on youths and young adults.
Suicides also are rising among people in their 60s who don't want to burden to their families.
Dr. Ahn Myoung-ock, a parliament member, has sponsored a series of bills calling for a coordinated government approach to suicide. The proposals range from beefing up prevention and counseling to allowing confidential use of satellite positioning data from cell phones to locate people trying to kill themselves.
"I hope since we have had that kind of compressed rapidity of economic development ... that we have the ability to solve this rapidly as well," she said.
High-profile suicides
Even the rich and famous are part of the trend.
The latest high-profile casualty came in January, when pop singer Yuni was found hanged in her apartment in the city of Incheon. Relatives said she was gripped by depression from the pressure associated with the release of her third album.
In late 2005, Lee Yoon-hyung, the daughter of the chairman of South Korea's biggest company, Samsung Group, killed herself at age 26 in New York, reportedly suffering from depression.
Actress Lee Eun-joo was found last February hanging from a necktie in her apartment. She was also believed to have been depressed.
Korean media are increasingly reporting on people who want to kill themselves finding others with similar desires by the Internet and arranging group suicides -- meeting in motels or parks and drinking poison together.
Lee said he recently won agreements from Internet search engines to link the keyword "suicide" with centers providing counseling, instead of sending the people to sites that would help them devise ways to kill themselves.
Still, it is easy to find people with suicidal thoughts on forum sections of leading South Korean Web sites. One recent posting purportedly came from a sixth grader complaining about family troubles and a lack of friends.
"Most of all, I don't know why I should exist. I don't think I'm worth anything," the unnamed writer said. "Nobody will care if I die ... even my parents. I should just die. Can someone please tell me a perfect way to commit suicide?"
"South Korea is regularly hailed as a success story that has built a robust high-tech economy from the ashes of the Korean War." This statement is true, they are a great Korean War sucess story however, we often forget to check back with them. It takes a suicide epidemic for us to realize that they still need our help. Their economy is experiencing rapid change and the people cannot adapt as they should be able to. The support for their economy cannot change as quickly as the economy is. The people feel as if they cannot go on, that they are helpless and insignificant in their changing world so they attempt suicide. Instead of hospital treating the cause for the attemped suicides , they treat the outward effects. The doctors need to learn how to treat the source of the problem. And clearly it is a problem as it is the leading cause of death of people in their 20's and 30's.
"But growth has also brought increased pressures. Families spend heavily to get children ahead with endless private after-school lessons, competition for jobs is fierce, and housing prices have soared, weighing on youths and young adults." Youth in the country are thrown in to intensively rigourous private schools and after school activities/homework. Their stress load and increased significantly, and stress is one of the leading causes for depression and suicide. They are so pressured to get schooling because they will need good jobs in order to support their familes. Their whole qualityof future life is thrown on their shoulders at an extreamly young age comparitively, and most buckle under the pressure and give in to suicide.
The government is trying to solve the suicide problem but in my opinion it is not the right way to do so. They are tracing people's cell phones to locate people who are going to attempt suicide. In my opinion the government should leave the people's freedom of privacy in tact and focus more on government programs, like a program designed to help relieve students from some of their pressure; design a program that will help them socially as well. Teens are so pressured with their future lives that they dont have time to enjoy life which may contribute to their early departure. I am no politician , but it seems like their has to be something the government can do to prevent suicides without comprimising freedoms as well.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Nobel Prize Winner and other things
Muhamed Yunus was awarded the Nobel Prize recently because of his efforts to rid Bangledesh of Poverty. He created a way to give small loans to those under the poverty line. He gave them just enough money to invest and initiate things with their money but not enough where they could just live off his money and do nothing else with it. As well as the Prize commemorating Yunus' great work for the people it was also a stone in the preverbial bridge between the West and the Middle East. Some people view it as a way to begin to healthe two contintents but we'll just have to wait and see. (source ABC News)
Also this is not a news story but ever since Ap Econ started I have been noticing more and more how everything is related to Economics. Me and Domino were at work a few days ago talking about how one of our friends had quit his job. Then all of a sudden we both started talking about his opportunity cost. Economics is a cool subject because unlike Math, you can see how it applies to your life now. We dont have to wait to see how Economics will help us in the future. We can see how it is working now. I really like that about Economics. Economics underlies every thing that happens everyday. When i go to Shopko to buy something like yellow eyeliner i can never find it. Why? because who wants yellow eyeliner. Just from guessing i could probably assume that yellow is not a big seller. If no one buy yellow eyeliner why would they sell it. Economics is the basis of our society. Nothing happens with out Economics lying in the foundation. I think it is cool to learn about something that affects our lives so intently and we can observe immeadiatly.
Also this is not a news story but ever since Ap Econ started I have been noticing more and more how everything is related to Economics. Me and Domino were at work a few days ago talking about how one of our friends had quit his job. Then all of a sudden we both started talking about his opportunity cost. Economics is a cool subject because unlike Math, you can see how it applies to your life now. We dont have to wait to see how Economics will help us in the future. We can see how it is working now. I really like that about Economics. Economics underlies every thing that happens everyday. When i go to Shopko to buy something like yellow eyeliner i can never find it. Why? because who wants yellow eyeliner. Just from guessing i could probably assume that yellow is not a big seller. If no one buy yellow eyeliner why would they sell it. Economics is the basis of our society. Nothing happens with out Economics lying in the foundation. I think it is cool to learn about something that affects our lives so intently and we can observe immeadiatly.
-erica ackatz-
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