!

Merry Christmas everyone!

wednesday revision

Today I just looked at some revision notes at tutor2u ( AS Markets and Market Systems).

Went to my High School and got some tasks and tests for me to pass the exams in June-July.

But they are so boring to do, so I moved on to listening business podcasts from SmallBizPod.

I find this one impressive - click

"Adam talks about what inspired him to launch his first business at the age of 16"

monday

Today I revised scarcity, the concept of opportunity cost, production possibility curve, types of goods and economics systems.

I'm home. I've already seen my friends.
Now I need to go to school on Monday and start my revision for exams.
So lazy to do it.)

pre-Budget report mindmap

another question

Bates makes wage demand warning


Leeds chairman Ken Bates believes that players leaving the Premiership need to be realistic in their wage demands.

Fulham captain Lee Clark, 32, had been in line for a move to Elland Road but failed to agree personal terms.

"I know of three players who have been asking for £12,000 a week. The average Championship wage this season is going to be around £3,000 to £4,000."

Leeds encountered major financial problems after their relegation from the top flight and Bates is keen to avoid any such worries in the future.

"We have also had one player, who will not even be fit for the start of the season, asking for £12,000 a week for a two-year deal and his agent wanted another £75,000," he added.

Source: BBC News 14th June 2005 (adapted)



Questions


1.What is the percentage difference between the £12,000 a week asked for and the average Championship wage?
between 300% and 200 %

2.Calculate the difference between the average Championship wage and that of a Head teacher.
Head Teacher average wage is £1,200. So the difference is 150%

3.What is the annual salary of someone on £12,000 a week?
£624,000

4.Calculate the tax payable on a salary of £12,000 a week.
£240,224 (38% from salary)

5.Calculate the hourly wage of someone on £3000 a week assuming a 24-hour day.
£18 approx.

6.Research the amount of hours a day a footballer actually ‘works’ and then re-calculate the hourly wage. Compare that to the ‘going rate’ to see privately a Consultant Surgeon at a local hospital.

number of hours - 7
hourly wage - £245
going rate is about £45, which is 18% from a footballer hourly wage.

question 30

Steadying energy prices helped to improve consumer sentiment in the US during January, according to the University of Michigan's index.

It rose for the third month in a row to 93.4 from December's final reading of 91.5, ahead of analysts' predictions.

Better job conditions and an optimistic outlook for US stocks during 2006 also helped push the index higher.

Consumer spending makes up two-thirds of US economic activity and is a key indicator of the health of the economy.

The dollar rose against the yen and firmed against the euro shortly after the report was issued on Friday.

Retail heating oil prices fell to a five-week low at $2.43 a gallon, down 1.7 cents from a week ago but up 46 cents from a year ago, EIA said.

On Thursday, the number of new jobless workers fell to 271,000 last week, its lowest level since April 2000, the Labor Department said.

Source: BBC News 20th Jan 2006 (adapted)



Questions:


1.What was the percentage increase in the index?
2% approx.

2.as the dollar rose against the yen this would make exports…(cheaper/more expensive)
more expensive

3.imports from Japan would now be…(cheaper/more expensive)
cheaper

4.If demand for imports is elastic, will the dollar’s rise be of great help/little help to Japanese exporters?

I think it will be of great help, because with dollar's rise, imports price for the US goes down. As price goes down, demand goes up ( assuming demand for imports is elastic), which will increase Japanese exports.

5.How much was retail heating oil a year ago?
$1.97

6.How much was retail heating oil a week ago?
$2.413

7.If demand for retail heating oil has not changed since a week ago, why would the price have fallen?
Retail price for oil is affected not only by demand. For instance, a change in availability and distance from supply, transportation costs causes change in price.

8.If a year ago demand for oil was 500,000 units and it is now 600,000 does this mean that the relationship between price and demand is direct, not inverse?
It is direct, but the numbers also prove that the demand for oil is inelastic. It means, that if price for oil rises, demand falls, but falls a little.

house prices

The article tells us about the predictions for house prices in the near future and explains the housing market structure and the causes of falling and rising prices.
Yolande Barnes also states 2 indicators of housing-market overheating which are:

1.the house price to income ratio
in 1970-80's it was about 4:1 or 3:1, which is relatively low, comparing to recent 6:1 or 7:1

2. the cost of mortgage servicing



Moreover, Yolande Barnes talks on the nature of the recent credit crunch. An imporant point, that he emphasises in his article is the difference in roots of the US and UK downturn and, therefore, the difference in the housing markets.

'in the US as many as one home-owning household in 16 has defaulted on its mortgage or faces repossession, compared with fewer than one in 200 in Britain.' .


At the end of the article Yolande Barnes gives his opinion on what the behaviour of investors is likely to be in the near future and gives a forecast for the house prices in 2009 and 2010: 'by the end of 2009, house prices will probably have fallen 25 per cent from their peak.
'

University Requirements

My main aim is to go to London School of Economics. I made some research on its admissions and what I have found out:

1. What is very important for me - age requirements. I'll be 17 when I finish my A-levels and i have heard that you can apply to the British universities only from the age of 18. But, luckily:

Age requirements

Admission to the School is based upon academic merit. As the School has a responsibility for safeguarding children under English Law, appropriate senior staff will be notified of an offer of admission made to anyone who will be younger than 18 years of age at the time of registration


2. UCAS Applications for the year 2010 are to be submit from September 2009 till (nearly) 15 January.

3. Also, the combination of subjects is important. The applicants with more than one 'soft subject' are not likely to get to the top universities.

Here are 'non-preferred' subjects for LSE :

Accounting
Art and Design
Business Studies
Communication Studies
Design and Technology
Drama/Theatre Studies*
Home Economics
Information and Communication Technology
Law
Media Studies
Music Technology
Sports Studies
Travel and Tourism

I study Further Maths, Economics and ICT, but I guess that ICT is considered as a 'soft subject' too.


4. A-level in Russian.

'Similarly, an A level or equivalent in your first language may not be counted' - that what LSE official website says. So is there a point in taking Russian A-level?

5. Competition

In 2007, we received 19,000 applications for 1,200 places. Competition for admission is particularly high in Accounting and Finance, Economics, Law and Management.


6. Interviews

Students are not usually invited for an interview to LSE, only those who have unusual qualifications or mature applicants may be asked for it.

7. Retakes

Competition for places at the School is intense, so it is important that you achieve consistently high grades throughout both years of your A level studies. Whilst grades can be improved by re-sitting modules, we prefer applicants who have achieved high grades in their AS and A2 examinations at their first attempt.

8. I'm not quite sure which course I want to apply for ( Economics, Management, Finance) but all these courses requirements are:
AAA or AAB grades ( including Maths).


9. I didn't see any information whether universities consider language A-level as 'preferred', but I'll find out.
I'd like to try to pass French AS-level in 2009.

When Markets Collide (review)

'When Markets Collide', a book written by on of the leading investors Mohamed El-Erian, is an essential reading for everyone how wants to deepen his knowledge of the modern global economy ( and especially investment market ).
This books mainly tells us about the transformation in the relationship of the economies and transformations in the emerging markets, so called 'noise'. El-Erian examines the drivers ( or the causes) of this 'noise' and usually refers to his own experience.

However, the book is primarily aimed at the experienced investors or people who are deal with this markets in their work life. So, he uses special terminology which sometimes require additional thinking ( or even looking up in the dictionary) for an unexperienced reader. He also gives some interesting insights for the way the investment market will be developing in future, which perhaps might be useful for planning investment strategies.

In the first part of the book El-Eriab gives us an approach to the important of 'noise'. This importance of the noise is usually under-estimated, it is considered as a temporary event. Investors should recognise the situations where this noise can be ignored and the situations that require interpreting the signals that this noise contain. El-Erian investigates the factors of the noise and 'missing signals'

As this book was published only this year, it contains the most recent information, such as the causes and consequences of the current financial crisis. It is an essential example to illustrate the transformation of the modern economy. However, El-Erian emphasizes that "the present turmoil is neither the beginning nor the end of the transformataion phase".

macroeconomic policy

Mohamed El-Erian

Mohamed El-Erian is Arabic, born in 1958. He graduated from the Cambridge University and got his master’s and doctorate degree in the University of Oxford (both in economics), which allowed him to become one of the world’s leading investing managers and earn a great reputation.

He has been working for the IMF (Investment Monetary Fund) for 15 years, got the rank of the deputy director and has had an experience working at the London Citibank, teaching at the Harvard Business School.

Mr. El-Erian also made a substantial contribution working for PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company), the world’s largest bond fund, which he joined in 1999, as one of the CEOs (Chief Executive Officers).

And, eventually, this successful investment professional became a head of the HMC ( Harvard Management Company). It is a huge company, that deals with managing the Harvard University’s capital and assets ( worth about 35 billion dollars) - which is considered to be the largest university’s endowment. He has been working there for 2 years, but then returned to PIMCO. By the June 2008 PIMCO had more than $829.5 billion in assets under control and more than 1000 people employed.

He is also well-known as a publisher on different economic and financial issues at the world’s famous newspapers and the author of the book ‘ When Markets Collide’, which won the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award 2008. The book tells about the structure of the modern capital markets - El-Erian shares with us his unique understanding of the global market and forecasts dramatic changes in the financial markets- essential information each investor should be aware of.

He also has made several hypotheses about the development of the world crisis. In his interview to Handelsblatt he predicted the seat of tension of the crisis to be in Share Markets and the Markets for inputs. His prediction about crisis has strong influence on the behavior of investors.

minimum and maximum prices

Minimum price



Maximum price

)

Demand



Demerit goods




Merit goods

Inflation (yellow version %)

question 35

Landers Paints Ltd have for many years produced paints and varnishes specifically for industrial use. These products have been sold both directly to the customer and through builders’ merchants. Larger firms tend to buy directly from Landers, whereas smaller customers, such as builders and decorators, use the latter.


The products are sold in large quantities in basic packaging at low prices. This enables Landers to keep costs to a minimum and prices at a competitive level. The most popular products are basic items, for instance, white and magnolia emulsion paint.


However, the recent increase in the popularity of DIY has resulted in a small fall in sales at Landers. Keen to reverse this decrease, the Managing Director, John Smith, is considering whether to launch a range of paints for home decorating. At a recent board meeting, he put forward this proposal.


‘I think that Landers should launch a range of paints and varnishes for the domestic market. Given our expertise and production facilities, the new products will hardly disrupt things around here and should lead to a significant increase in sales.’


The Marketing Manager, Shirley Thomas, reacted with caution.


‘I’m not so sure because there are substantial differences between marketing products made for industrial markets and those for consumer markets. I think it may be a lot harder than you think.’


‘Obviously, there are differences’, replied John, ‘but I really don’t think that some new packaging and a bit of advertising is enough of a reason to miss out on such a good opportunity.’


Questions:


1. Explain why the recent increase in popularity of DIY has caused sales at Landers Paints Ltd to decrease.
It's clear-with the increase in popularity of DIY the demand for the paint products decreases, so that businesses have to supply less and buy less from the Landers Paints Ltd.


2 a) Identify the key differences between an industrial market and a consumer market.

The main difference between the industrial and the consumer market is that the latter is aimed directly at consumer and the first is for businesses. Moreover, organisation buying has special decision-making (purchasing) procedures, which vary from firm to firm, while consumer buying is made according to people's personal needs. Organisations also tend to have more information than ordinary consumers ( an example of assymetric information), so that they are more likely to be interested in technical specifictations of the product, when ordinary consumers are more worried about appearance and affordability.

b) Analyse the difficulties that may be experienced by Landers Paints Ltd if they move into the consumer market.
The main difficulty may consist in forecasting consumers needs - as they are less constant than that of businesses.
Also the company may experience increase in production costs: taking retailers on  for new shops, logistics for making new marketing strategy, advertising costs... And, therefore, it may be difficult for company to set the affordable prices.



3. Landers Paints Ltd decide to launch a range of products for the consumer market. Recommend a marketing mix for the new products.

Creating a marketing strategy for the new products, the 4P's of the marketing mix should be considered.

Here are these P:
Product
Price
Place
Promotion

Diversing its new products to the consumer market, Landers Paints Ltd should firstly set an affordable level of prices, so that people prefer buying this products and saving their time to DIY (doing it yourslef).

Secondly, the place of distribution this new products should be chosen correctly: it should be situated in the city centre or/and in the largest supermakerts- so that it is easy for people to consume and it creates the right impression of the product ( product for ordinary people, not for enterprises).

Thirdly, the product itself should have attractive appearance and be easy to use, the characteristics of this paints and varnishes should meet consumer's needs.

And, eventually, promotion of the new products. That's all about creating the right image of the product: this paints should be advertised as the high quality product and not requiring additional skills to use it.

picture source - http://www.tutor2u.net/business/marketing/what_is_marketing.asp

the 15th mind map

Subsidy

question 24

Cressida Grainger started her entrepreneurial career at the age of 22, running a small antiques business. Whilst on a visit to Glasgow market, she discovered lava lamps and bought some to sell on her Camden market stall. The 1960s lamps, which mix oil and water to create psychedelic patterns, were an instant success so she tracked down the inventor, Edward Craven, and eventually bought the then loss-making business from him.


In 1989, Mathmos was born. The firm started to market the lamps to a new set of fashion conscious consumers eager to buy ‘retro chic’ products. The marketing paid off and since then, Mathmos has enjoyed spectacular success, achieving £18 million of sales in 1999.


However, the business has recently run into some difficulties. Following the success of the lava lamps, competitors from the Far East have realised the potential of the products and the market is now being flooded with imitation lamps that are sold at prices that Mathmos would struggle to make the item for. This problem is increased by retailers who stock the cheaper, imported goods alongside the Mathmos originals. In effect, the Mathmos name is advertising other companies’ products.


Grainger is determined to fight back, though. With the name Mathmos linked to high quality products and first-rate after sales service, she believes that her business can be expanded in order to win back market share. Two strategies are being considered.


Option One: Diversification into other product areas, such as gifts and fashion accessories.


Option Two: Extend Mathmos’ unique position as leaders in innovative domestic lighting through the development of new lighting products.


Ultimately, Grainger knows that Mathmos must maintain its innovative edge in order to remain successful in the market place.


(Adapted from Sarah Gracie, The Sunday Times, April 9 2000)


Questions


1. Explain why Mathmos lava lamps were initially so successful.

Probably the main reason for this lava lamps to be successful is that a great advertising company was made- in order to make the consumer consider this product not as an old, out-of-fashion and useless thing, but as a 'retro-chic' product. So it was extremely fashionable. And, as we learned from the article, the right marketing strategy also played a great role in expanding the demand for the product.


2. Recently, Mathmos has begun to experience some difficulties. Analyse the key causes of these problems.

As the new firms entered the market, providing the same products for the lower price, the demand for the original product fell down. People didn't understand the difference between the original lamp and the imitation, or probably, didn't consider this difference worth overpaying for. People had already known all the benefits of the product and the target audience had been already formed - so there was no need for new firms to make a great advertising company. Therefore, they reduced their production costs, which allowed to make the product cheaper - - -> more attractive for consumers.

3. Explain how the use of market segmentation could help Mathmos to market its products

effectively.

Market segmentation is the process of classifying a market into distinct subsets (segments) that behave in similar ways or have similar needs. (wikipedia)

There are 4 main factors, using which the market can be segmented: demographical, geographical, behaviour and psyhographic bases.
So the whole lava lamp market wil be divided into several segments according to consumers purchasing abilities, product knowledge, usage and so on.
Therefore, market segmentation will increase market opportunities, as the consumer's needs will be recognised and satisfied more efficiently, that means, Mathmos will market his products more efficiently.

4. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the possible options for development.

Firstly, option one seems to be a good idea, as if the lava lamp production diverses into other product areas, its target audience changes, so the new target audience might be wider and more willing to buy the product. In addition, it's clear that the lava lamp will be new to such product areas as gifts and fashion accessories, therefore, it should attract the consumers by its newness and exceptioness for this area of the market

Disadvantage may consist in this product being unappropriate for this area of the market, for exmaple, if nobody considers lava lamps as gifts.

Option two seems to me more profitable: it will make Mathmos a monopoly, which will allow to set the suitable prices for the new lamp products and, therefore, increase allocative efficiency and profit.
But the problem is - if there won't even be enough quantity of demand for the new types of lamp to cover all production costs? That is the thing that deals with market research- in this case, i guess, it is unavoidable .

Government failure and government intervention


Inward Migration


Monetary Policy

The Prisoner's Dilemma

The best way to understand the Prisoner's Dilemma is to set 2 examples.

A classic example of the Prisoner's Dilemma

Two suspects are arrested by the police. The police have insufficient evidence for a conviction, and, having separated both prisoners, visit each of them to offer the same deal.
If one testifies ("defects") for the prosecution against the other and the other remains silent, the betrayer goes free and the silent accomplice receives the full 10-year sentence.
If both remain silent, both prisoners are sentenced to only six months in jail for a minor charge.
If each betrays the other, each receives a five-year sentence. Each prisoner must choose to betray the other or to remain silent. Each one is assured that the other would not know about the betrayal before the end of the investigation. How should the prisoners act?




Economics application of the Prisoner's Dilemma.

Consider two firms, say Coca-Cola and Pepsi, selling similar products. Each must decide on a pricing strategy.
They best exploit their joint market power when both charge a high price; each makes a profit of ten million dollars per month. If one sets a competitive low price, it wins a lot of customers away from the rival.

Suppose its profit rises to twelve million dollars, and that of the rival falls to seven million. If both set low prices, the profit of each is nine million dollars.
Here, the low-price strategy is akin to the prisoner’s confession, and the high-price akin to keeping silent. Call the former cheating, and the latter cooperation. Then cheating is each firm’s dominant strategy, but the result when both “cheat” is worse for each than that of both cooperating.


sources:
1
2

multiple choice questions

Market Failure and Government Failure.

1. A farmer tips chemical waste into a river because he can do so at no cost to itself is an example of a positive externality.

a) True
b) False


2. People may not know what is in their own best interests and thus may under-consume certain goods or services such as education or health care.

a) True
b) False


3. Government failure cannot happen if the government has the support of consumers and producers when it decides on it's policies.

a) True
b) False


4. The list below shows the estimated costs and benefits of building a new factory

Private costs 90,000 pounds
External costs 30,000 pounds
Private benefits 75,000 pounds
External benefits 25,000 pounds

From the data it can be concluded that

a) Social costs exceed social benefits
b) Social benefits exceed social costs
c) The factory should be built
d) The social costs equal 30,000 pounds


5. Which one of the following is a characteristic of a merit good?

a) Once the good has been supplied to one consumer, there is no extra cost in supplying it to others
b) It is always provided free of charge to low-income consumers
c) It may not be provided by the market in sufficient quantities
d) It tends to be provided by the government because of the problem of non-excludability


6. A free good

a) Is available free of charge to consumers
b) Has no opportunity cost of production
c) Is not taxed by the government
d) Creates no externalities


7. Which of the following can be efficiently allocated between competing uses by the price mechanism?

a) Private goods
b) Public goods
c) Free goods
d) Negative and positive externalities


8. Which of the following is least likely to be a feature of a monopoly?

a) In the long run, no profits will be earned
b) Choice for the consumer will be restricted
c) It will be protected by barriers to entry
d) Price may be higher than in a more competitive market


9. What is implied by the existence of a negative externality?

a) Individuals are not the best judges of their own well-being
b) Output is below its socially optimum level
c) Producers are not always seeking to maximise profits
d) There is a divergence between private and social costs

10. Which of the following is not a cause of market failure?

a) The existence of commonly-owned property resources such as the oceans
b) The existence of public goods
c) The existence of externalities
d) The existence of perfect knowledge of prices among consumer and producer


Answers:
1)b
2)a
3)b
4)a
5)c
6)b
7)a
8)a
9)d
10)d

again and again

Unemployment



Economies and Diseconomies of Scale


Exchange rate

3 more

Consumer spending


Economic cycle


Market structure

e-cigarettes

Information failure occurs when consumers and producers are not given any information or they are not given exact information- so they are not aware of all aspects of things they deal with.
Talking about electronic cigarette market, the information failure consists in uncertainty whether this product is bad for health or not.
Electronic cigarettes are advertised as an absolutely healthy product and as a good alternative for real smoking. It is even said that the electronic cigarette tastes, smells and looks as a real one - isn't that attractive for smokers? And this advertisement does work - especially for the people who want to get rid of this bad habit.
Electronic cigarettes can also be consumed for economical reason - it costs about 40-50 pounds, so do 9 packs of usual cigarettes. But the electronic one, of course, you can use much longer.

Are these cigarettes really harmless?Some research has been done, but no prove was suggested, so we can't be convinced in anything totally.

Looking on e-cigarette market, we should mention asymmetric information.The existence of asymmetric information is a special case of the information failure, when different parts of people have different amount of information. For example, in online shopping services the buyer is not aware of the quality of the product bought - wrong description may be provided as well.

So, asymmetric information is certainly presented in this market as the producer gets more information about the technology than the consumer - he might be aware of all steps of producing this good. Producer may also hide some characteristic of the good in order to get more revenue from this 'amazing innovation'.


Government intervention can reduce market failure, but not entirely. Government may subsidise the research on new type of cigarettes, so that people are given right information.
Government can also introduce fines on smoking in public places and near buildings.

more more more mind maps

Balance of Payments on Current Account


Capital Investment


Circular flow of income

eventually...

Mind Maps:

Aggregate Demand




Aggregate Supply




p.s. thanx,Dima, for mindmanager license key)

negative externalities ( obesity and smoking)

Today I'm going to talk about two examples of negative externalities, which are, actually, the most wide-spread ones.

1. Obesity
You may think that if people suffer from obesity - it's their own life.
So why is it considered as a negative externality?

In fact, obesity now became a serious problem not only for people themselves, but for the whole nation.

According to BBC News, in England almost two-thirds of adults and a third of children are either overweight or obese.
It has a great impact on social services, for instance, government has to invest money in reconstructing school gyms and canteens, so that it is suitable for overweight people.


And, of course, that affect taxpayers, which are to cover the costs of all these government actions.

What are the ways of reduction people's obesity? It is obvious: advretising heathy products and healthy lifestyle, government subsidies for healthy goods producers in order to make the price for this goods lower than the price for high fat goods.

2. Smoking

'Smoking kills' - that is what is written on each pack of сigarettes. Government is also going to take some actions aganist smoking such as:
1. Banning tobacco vending machines
2. Restricting the display of tobacco products in shops ( which is already done in Canada, but didn't affect the consumption of cigarettes).
3. Add an 'anti-smoking' picture (for example, a photography of smoker's lungs) to each pack of cigarettes.

But will that really stop people from smoking?
I guess it will reduce cigarette consumption to some extent, but won't solve the problem entirely.

However, the cost of cigarette pack may have an influence on people smoking, especially young people.
Let's compare Russia, where a cigarette pack costs no more than 2 dollars, and UK, with 10 dollars for a pack.
60% of men and 30% women smoke in Russia aganist 26% and 23% in UK.

But , on the other hand, that it is not only high prices that affect tobacco consumption, but also national habits and the way children are brought up in both countries.

Talking about impact on people's material life - the situation is similar to the first one (obesity) - tax paid by people is about 9bn pounds each year - a substantial amount of money!

book review

As the MindManager doesn't work I used the time to finish my book.

'Discover your inner economist' by Tyler Cowen.

We are used to think that economics is all about graphics, diagrams, difficult calculations - but it isn't. Economics doesn't end with forecasting stock prices - it may be applied and it is applied in our daily life.
That is what this book tells us about - how to deal with our everyday problems using our economic knowledge.

Tyler Cowen explains how people's behaviour is affected by economic principles: the dirty dishes parable, the car salesman parable, the parking tickets parable - let's take the first one as an example.

If parents want to make his child do the dishes, they may consider paying him money for doing housework as a good idea.
And many of them really beleive it works, but, however effective it seems to them, it doesn't.
That is simply because the child takes status of working for the parents as immature or even humiliating.
Another bad point is that the child doesn't put an effort in doing his work properly - because he is paid for that anyway.

So probably the only way to make a child happy to do the washing up is to let him know how important it is for the family and how highly the parents appreciate his ability and willigness to help. This tactic may seem simple, but it unexpectedly does a good job.

That is only an example of what this book is about -you will find a lot more about incentives, penalties and rewards and the impact these have on our life.
You can even find out ( and I did) that you use some of this methods yourself (but never thought about it).

The advantage is that the book is written in plain language with the examples provided for each new topic, - it's like the author has a friendly conversation with a reader ).

In conclusion, I'd like to say that I enjoyed reading this book ( not just because I HAVE TO enjoy it and write a positive review :) ) and I'd advise to read it anybody who wants to get familiar with a different application of economic science.

P.S. In fact, I like reading, but I'm too lazy to do it unless I'm forced to, so, thank you, Chris ))


things to do

some key points of the yesterday's philosophy class

The main topic of Monday class was 'The awareness'.

We consider ourselves being awake, but are we really awake?

That's the question.

There are 5 levels of awareness:

1. Deep sleep state ( we can't even dream in this state )

2. Dream state

3. Sleep-waking state (my usual state)

4. Waking state

5. High consciousness

To move from state#3 to state#4 there is a useful exercise.

You should concentrate on all your senses. Feel the clothes touch your skin, listen to the sounds outside, feel your feet on the ground. That is how you come to presence.

another view on this topic:

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=589307

following the David's example..

#11 Clean my shoes )))) 

#12 Send an e-mail

#13 seems to be unreachable...

not 750 words but anyway

A short beginner’s guide to the credit crunch causes.

If you are still alive, you have probably heard about the world credit crisis, which also had a great impact on the whole economy. But let us start from the beginning....

The origins of the current credit crisis lie back in 2007, when the subprime mortgage crisis took place.
In order to avoid the economy moving into recession, the US government cut interest rates down to 1%, but with a plan to increase this rate slowly by the amount of 0.25% each year approximately.

Therefore, many people started to take ARM’s - adjusted rate mortgages, in other words, mortgages with NOT constant interest rates.

But what happened later: when the loans went back to the normal monthly price, it became unaffordable for many people to pay their mortgages back.
That couldn’t have created such a big problem unless another important factor - house prices - had played a great role in widening this crisis.

Normally the banks would cover their losses by selling the houses, but as the house prices went down, banks faced great losses and, as a result, the lack of liquidity.

Banks found it hard to borrow money from the wholesale markets and even to lend to each
other, which caused the global credit freeze.

That crisis affected the banks all over the world and for some of them ( Nothern Rock was the first) the nationalisation was inevitable.
Another important action taken by government was a bail-out of 700bn of pounds to buy ‘toxic’ assets from the banks.

That all illustrates the main events and the basic points of the credit crunch.
But it is still not over...

just a quick note

The law of diminishing returns.

More and more hours I 'invest' in writing the book, less and less productive I am....

just reviewing 'The Times' article

While governments are trying to prevent the economies from falling in recession and making decisions about rescue plans, let’s have a look at some strange, but rather good consequences of the recession.

According to “The Times”, during the recession people’s, so-to-say ‘non-material’, life tends to improve!

Why does this happen?

During a downturn people work less, therefore they are less stressed and have more time to, for instance, go to the gym, visit their parents or even... cooking at home!
That reduces fast-food consumption and makes people healthier! Isnt’ that a good point?

An interesting fact: it was found out that for every 1 per cent increase in unemployment rates, the death rate decreases by 0.5 per cent!

Summarising all the benefits:

1.decrease in smoking
2.decrease in drinking
3.people become healthier and lose weight ( due to increase in activity)
4.people enrol in higher education
5.decrease in death rates
6.people drive less -> roads are less crowded
7.decrease in prices for necessities, petrol and houses

Enjoy the recession!)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article4916300.ece

The market for oil

PES mind map

factor rewards mind map

philosophy courses

I'm talking about that evening courses

Was it useful? Or was it absolutely pointless? I can't tell it certainly so far.
But one thing is clear: whatever you study, it improves your English, which is the first thing we came here to do, actually.
And even though I didn't understand some things our group was talking about, I hope it's not going to be a problem in a few weeks.
The teacher even wondered where we are from and suggested to explain all unusual words, that' was very nice )). In general, the atmosphere is quite friendly there, which, of course, supports learning.

BTW,
I'm also going to attend Economics courses on Wednesday.

friday entry

Why are seatbelts mandatory in cars but not in most school buses?

Most of the children go to school by school bus and it is one of the safest ways for children to get to school. Otherwise, children have to go on foot or cycle,and they take risks(for example, of being knocked down by a car). But, at the same time, most of the buses still don't have any seatbelts. Why?

The main reason is children's health. It has been proved that shoulder seatbelts are unsafe for small children. Moreover, during different crash-tests it was found out, that seatbelts can cause more drawbacks than advantges, for example, in case of evacuation they can slow down the process.

As for me, I'd vote for mandatory seatbelts, because in some cases it can help people to survive and you can never be careful enough to avoid accidents.

wednesday question

Is it efficient for people to share the bill when they go to a restaurant?

Usually if you go to a restaurant with your friends, you agree to split the bill and you don't mind if you pay a little more than you really have to pay out of the whole bill. 

But in this case people tend to order more expensive meals, or simply eat more than they usually do. 

That can be explained by psyhology: if you pay separately, you will have to pay a lot more, but if people split the bill, you'll only have to pay a little extra.

Therefore, it's more efficient for people to share the bill, in order not to pay more, because sometimes it can also be really unfair. ( for example, if you have only had a cup of coffee and your friend have tasted 7 different meals).

tuesday question

Why do theatres discount prices on spare tickets just before the performance whereas airlines and rail companies raise prices for last minute customers?

Ok, the answer seems to be simple.  

Demand for airlane tickets is inelastic, because if a person wants to go somewhere, he has no choice and buy the ticket even though it costs double price. 

So, airlanes and rail companies administration understands that the higher the price is, the more revenue they get and raise prices for last minute customers.

Now, what's about theatres? 

The demand for theatre tickets is usually elastic ( except for world famous musicals or if you are a theatre maniac ;) ).

That's why prices on tickets become very low just before the performance in order to sell all the tickets.

Email usage

source: http://email.about.com/od/emailtrivia/f/emails_per_day.htm

Question: How Many Emails Are Sent Every Day?
Answer: Statistics, extrapolations and counting by Radicati Group from August 2008 estimate the number of emails sent per day (in 2008) to be around 210 billion.
183 billion messages per day means more than 2 million emails are sent every second. About 70% to 72% of them might be spam and viruses. The genuine emails are sent by around 1.3 billion email users.

thank you, Chris, it works

mini-bars

Why are prices in a hotel mini-bar so expensive?

So what's a mini-bar?

It's a small fridge in your hotel room, in which different drinks, peanuts, chocolate and possibly something else are kept.

Even if you eat something from mini-bar, the next day it's full again.

So it's quite easy to grab a pack of crisps from the fridge and don't worry about going to the shop.

Consequently, the demand on goods in mini-bar is usually inelastic and the administration of the hotel make prices on this goods very high so they can make a profit from it.

Mind Maps!

Recycling

Why are some countries so much more successful in recycling waste products?

Recycling is an important part of environmental progress of each country. Usually successfully recycling countries are those which have special recycling programs, such as providing incentives to recycle waste. For example, if you have to pay an extra fee for each can or plastic bag you throw away, will you carry on doing it? As for me, I find it much cheaper to recycle and, as a result, to save money and spend it on something more useful. That is how this 'environmental policy' works. And that's how some countries, using such policies, make people recycle waste products.

By the way, can anybody tell me how to post a video from YouTube ( but not to download it)?

Why are child safety seats required in cars but not in airplanes?

It's clear that the quantity of car accidents are much higher that airplane crashes, but the chance of surviving in plane crash is almost 0. That's why, I guess, there's no need to put child safety seats in the plane cabine - seat belts are quite enough ( for example, during the turbulence).

Brown and white eggs, what's the difference?

Why are brown eggs more expensive than white ones, even though the two types taste the same and have identical nutritional value?


After looking through some web-sites, I've found out, that there's no difference between brown eggs and white ones (except for colour, of course :). The colour of the shell is determined by the breed of hen and it doesn't affect an egg's nutritional value or taste. But what is important - hens that produce brown eggs are usually larger than those who produce white ones -> they need more food. So farms spent more on them and that is the only reason the prices on brown eggs are higher.

fashion industry

Why do female models earn so much more than male models?

Let's see, what is the target audience of fashion channels?Of course, women.

It's also clear that women are more interested in fashion than men, they purchase more clothes or jewellery, they appear on the covers of famous magazines much often than men ! Have you ever seen the man who spent 6 hours, looking for the pair of shoes that suits his clothes perfectly?

And that's why, famous designers are much more interested in female models, so it's obvious that the demand on female models is higher and they earn much more than men.

one more homework )))

Why did Japanese kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

You can think that there was no reason for kamikaze pilots to wear helmets except for protecting themselves... Of course, they needed to stay alive to get the target, but the helmet was not only the part of the protection system. Those helmets had special microphones which were used by pilots to be informed and controlled, so they could reach the target successfully.

It is also thought that the helmet was a part of their full uniform and they just wanted to keep this tradition, but, I believe, the first reason is the most important one.

homework

Why do 24-hour convenience stores have locks on their doors?

Actually, there are two reasons: 

The first one is that employees can be trained to lock the doors in case of robbery or emergency.

The second one is that an employee can lock the door for a few minutes to go to the restroom in case there are no customers.

Ok, I've done my first economics homework )).

my new blog))))