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?
Friday, February 23, 2007
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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