Ebola-like illness affecting children of Angola

This past Friday, the United Nations health agency reported that an Ebola-like ailment has targeted primarily children under the age of five and has killed 39 people in Angola. Dick Thompson, a spokesman for the World Health Organization, believes the illness is an acute hemorrhagic fever related to the Ebola virus. As of yet, even though Ebola tends to normally affect the adult population they have not ruled it out. The World Health Organization are collecting information and waiting for lab tests to come back, hoping that the disease is a known substance. According to this article, 100,000 Angolans are expected to return this month via Uige from Congo, where Ebola still exists in nature. When the results come back and if they indicate that this disease is Ebola what affects do you think it will have on surrounding areas? Should the United States send scientists over to eradicate the problem?

Illegal Workers

The largest retailer in the world and private employer in the United States, Wal-mart, has to pay $11 million to settle federal charges that it allowed illegal immigrants to clean its stores. Federal agents raided a number of stores in 21 states in October 2003 and arrested 245 illegal workers. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said, “This settlement is designed to draw attention to other businesses that they also have the duty to ensure their outside contractors are following federal immigration laws.” President Bush proposed a temporary guest worker programme to allow more foreigners to work in the United States legally, but it faces opposition from Congress, who is seeking ways to crackdown on illegal immigrants. Do you think $11 million dollars is a harsh enough fine, when the company records profits of more than $10 billion last year? Will Wal-mart lose a majority of its consumers because they see what a “monopoly” this company has become?

Perfect Competition

We have learned that in the perfect competitive market, all the sellers are the same, all the buyers are the same, and no one has the right the change the price because the supply and demand curves are perfect elastic. If a seller simply raises the price, it will drive buyers to other sellers; likewise, if a buyer wants to pay a lower price, it will drive sellers to other buyers. However, it is recently reported by CNN news that “buyers in competitive housing markets try to win over sellers with love letters and family photos.” (Dear seller, I knew it was love…) And it’s true that some seller did moved by the gesture. In a perfect competitive market, people can still earn extra profit by emotionally attaching. A seller would be more willing to sell at a lower price if he or she received a love letter from the buyer and had talked and set up friendly relationship with the buyer. He or she would believe that the nice buyer should be welcomed by the neighborhood. I think it might be a kind of off-trading competition since it involves more personal communication. Not only do the buyers win sellers in different way, some sellers use special treatment to win their buyers, too. As I have seen in China, some salesmen tried to first get to know the chose buyer, then talked about things they prefer to hear in order to sell the products at a higher profit. The salesmen spend so much time doing so because they can share a portion of the extra profit. These are my understanding of perfect competitive market, although it’s a price taker model, people can still influence the market-price by some means.

Not this again! Is real estate going to hold up.

It has always been said about investment in real estate that everybody has to live somewhere, hinting towards the stability of the real estate market. That usually works but with recent trends towards purchasing second homes for the sole purpose of investment could lead to a dangerous situation in the real estate market. Suddenly a necesity as a place to live has become comparable to a stock or bond. With that comes the same risk in stocks or bonds. This occurence is being compared to the burst of the technology bubble which dropped the economy into a deep slump over the past five years. Throughout the time of that slump, the real estate market seemed to be the only consistently positive market. Will the failure of this market in the near future damage the economy greatly, or has the economy improved enough that it will just result in a small short lasting dent? Many have been investing in real estate alone due to its comparable stability, so keep that in mind.

Bad News

According to a statement made by the International Monetary Fund's Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato, the price of oil is expected to stay high for at least two years. He did say that the current levels will not last through out, but the prices will be higher due to "demand pressures and certain supply constraints." Even though the article doesn't say it, that seems to say that developed and developing countries are demanding more oil, and OPEC among other things are limiting the supply. No big surprises there. High fuel prices are obviously bad news. My question is, with an almost guarantee of high fuel prices, do you just accept, and pay it, or does it make you take a second look at some of the hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles that are available? Many people have said that car companies will lose money on their hybrid research, but with continued high prices, and the very attractive gas mileage of the hybrids, will this create a surge in demand for these alternative fuel vehicles?

Will for-profit or non-for-profit hospitals benefit society's economic growth?

It is reported that "There are almost 5,000 hospitals in the United States - 85 percent of which are not-for-profit like the hospitals of Texas Health Resources: Presbyterian, Harris Methodist and Arlington Memorial. Typically, the not-for-profit and for-profit hospital sectors provide similar services, compete for the same patients, and get paid by the same sources. However, they differ significantly in many other ways.
For-profit organizations are responsible to their shareholders for a return on investment. Not-for-profit hospitals are accountable to patients, employers and insurers who pay for medical care, and as assets of the communities in which they operate.
Not-for-profit organizations are required to contribute a portion of their earnings to care for the underserved and demonstrate health improvement in their communities. Some examples include providing care for the homeless and those without funds to pay, conducting childhood-immunization and asthma prevention programs, and reaching out through nursing programs to schools and the home-bound. "
It is obvious that non-for-profit hospitals benefit people and make society filled with warmth. Also, the program of non-for-profit hospitals give people more impetus to work hard and contribute their society from which they get their medicare. However, for-profit hospitals give their profit to the share-holders who will use this amount of money to reinvestment, which also benfit economic growth. If we have to support one of the healthcare ( for-profit or non-for-profit) , which one you suggest to perform?
http://www2.texashealth.org/krld/2004/01-28_August2001.asp

Who has money on the NCAA brackets??

The big dance has begun. I am sure a lot of people have filled out their prospective brackets and entered a contest of some sort. There's usually an entrance fee to get in on a pool, so how much did you spend? How much could you win? How did the upsets of last night affect your chances of cashing out?

Unemployment Rates Down

Initial unemployment claims fell by 10,000 the week ended March 12 from the previous week with no apparent special factor in this sharp decline. Initial claims are those that are sent in the first time and does not represent the total number of unemployment claims. This figure has been below 350,000 for 9 weeks and running and may indicate a strengthening economy. The total number of unemployed has recently been reported to be 48,000 less than before as well. Can an improving economy be held completely responsible for this occurrence? Or are there other as for now unforseen factors that are causing the upswing in our employment rates? What do you think some possible factors that are being overlooked could be? The data for this post can be found HERE.

Steroids Goes to Congress

Today March 17, 2005 will go down in infamy for Major League Baseball. Players, past and present, owners, the commisioner, and managers where all called to Washington D.C. to testify infront of Congress about the steroid problem in baseball. Congress called all the people to here different tesitmonies. Some big names were Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmiero, Bud Selig, and many others. Congress heard testimonies and spoke about the problem. Some delegates are pushing for harsher penalties regarding a positive test for steroids. The big testimony was Jose Canseco. He was not granted immunity so he could not testify to the fullest extent because he would have been imprisioned. McGwire also did not answer most of questions for the same reason as Caonseco. What do you think this hearing has done for baseball? What do you think Congress should do about the steroid ploicy in baseball presently.

What is your point of view concerning medical spending on the elderly

In recent years, the medical spending on the elderly in the US is increasing. Few people really know the reason or driving force behind that. While elderly nowadays in many countries receive social security and spend more in medical care, some people argue that :" because elderly peopel are generally not part of the labor force, they represent an economic drain on the local economy." Well, i am thinking that the older people must feel very disappointed if they contribute a lot to the society when they were young and get little care from the society when they get older. Suppose now we decrease the medical spending on the elderly people. Will people stop working hard concerning their poor medical condition when they get older? Or they may work harder to reserve enough money for the rest of time after retirement?

Why elderly men were more likely to be married and living with their spouses than elderly women?

it is reported that "Women Have Lower Income in Retirement than Men -- And Thus Higher Poverty. In 1997, median income for elderly unmarried women (widowed, divorced, separated, and never married) was $11,161, compared with $14,769 for elderly unmarried men and $29,278 for elderly married couples. Thus, the poverty rate for elderly women was higher than that of men: in 1997, the poverty rate of elderly women was 13.1 percent, compared to 7.0 percent among men. Among unmarried elderly women, the poverty rate was significantly higher -- about 19 percent. " It is also said that in America, there is as twice women live alone as men. However, the Cencus Bureau estimated that "elderly men were nearly twice as likely to be married and living with their spouses as elderly women do( 75% versus 41%). Is that only because of emotional reason? Well it is hard to say. From the economic point of view, poor couple will get lower social security. If so, why those elderly men want to marry elderly women? It may be better for them to stay alone to get much highter social security rather than getting married.I feel confused about that. Could you give me some explanations please.

Oil Drilling

With gas prices setting record highs, the question in the U.S. Senate is whether or not to allow oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge. The vote is expected to be close. If this would help bring down gas prices in the U.S., is it the right thing to do? If I had a vote to cast, I would vote for the oil drilling. I feel that we need to be as less dependent as possible on other countries for our goods and services. What do you think? Is the oil drilling necessary? Why or Why not?

Milk, Does the body good?

Research is now finding that dairy products have little to do with building strong bones in children. Low-fat or non-fat dairy products actually have the same amount if not more calcium than whole dairy products. Studies show no relationship between dairy calcium and bone health in children. Many Moms are worried that their children are not getting enough calcium because their kids are lactose and tolerant or their kid does not like milk, but we are starting to put calcium in everything such as maccaroni and cheese and orange juice. Another article stated that the best calcium is in tofu, vegetables, and soy milk. Do you think this will affect milk producers? Many have complained that milk is a necessity for children to grow strong bones.

California Gay Marriage Ban

A judge ruled that a ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. The judge came to this ruling because of lawsuits filed by the city and a dozen gay couples after the California Supreme Court haulted a four-week same-sex marriage spree. Many people stated that this ruling was an important step toward a more fair California that rejects discrimination and supports all family values for California's families. Judge Richard Kramer said that there is no rational purpose for denying marriage to couples who are gay. What do you think about this?

Schwab Reduced Online Fees Again

Last month, Charles Schwab Corp. said it will cut trading fees again, lowering commissions on many of its online-investor customers by 35%. It was not the first cut of Schwab, which meant that prices in the online-trading industry would continue to be squeezed. The lowering commissions of Schwab would benefit about a million households. Schwab’s cutting trading applies to domestic individual investors with assets between $50000 and $1 million at Schwab. As a result, their base online trade commissions drop from $ 19.25 to $ 12.95. Also, this move applies to investors who make 9 to 29 trades a quarter. With last year’s price cuts, Schwab now has a pricing schedule with commissions of $ 9.95, $ 12.95, or $ 19.95, depending on assets and trading activity. It was a big decline comparing a $ 29.95 base commission for many trades last year.

The fees were first reduced by the San Francisco Company last year, Schwab followed; as well as Instinet Group Inc., Scottrade Inc., and Fidelity Investments, which have lowered fees recently in order to attract more price-conscious Internet traders. As a result, Instinet Group Inc. which runs an electronic stock trading network and an institutional-brokerage operation posted a fourth-quarter profit $ 18.7 million with an expenses fell 26%.

On the other hand, Schwab shares fell on the news, dropping 32 cents, or 3%, to $ 10.38 in 4 p.m. NYSE trading Friday, February 4. Trading value was about 19 million shares, nearly three times the normal volume. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded as high as $ 13.11 on Feb 18 2004, and as low as $ 8.25 on July 19.

I visited the Schwab website, and learned a little bit about how to buy and sell stocks through Schwab. I think it is very easy and convenient to trade stocks through Internet. I also went through the commission fees on the Schwab, I think they are reasonable. However, for investors, it is good that they are cutting the trading fees. I think there may be more people interested in online investments; and however, the companies would get profit as as a result.

If you are interested in this, or you want to take a look at the website, you can visit Schwab at www.schwab.com.

Stock Market Fell with the Dollar and Then Rise Back

At the end of last month, February, the stock markets had big decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped its largest point since May 2003; it dropped 174.02 points, or 1.6%, to 10611.20. Also, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index declined its biggest point in six months; it fell 1.5%, or 17.43 points, to 1184.16. And the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.4%, or 28.30 points. Those drops were the result of the rise in oil price and a flagging dollar.

The Crude-oil rise 5.8%, or $ 2.80, to $51.15 a barrel, which was the highest settlement in nearly four months at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Also, oil is up almost 18% this year. One of the most important reasons was that the weakness dollar aids commodities that are traded in dollar terms. The dollar fell to 104.06 yen from 105.57 yen.

As a result, on the Big Board, New York Exchange Market, 2618 stocks fell and 732 rose, where 1.7 billion shares traded. On the Nasdaq Stock Market, 868 shares advanced while 2324 declined, where 2.1 billion shares changed hands. I do think that was really a big unexpected loss for most of the shareholders; however, it was also a good chance to invest, too. On the other hand, bonds fell, too. The 10-year Treasury note fell 4/32, or $1.25 per $1000 invested. It pushed the yield up to 4.283%. The 30-year bond fell 14/32 to yield 4.682%.
In contrast, golden futures, which often move in the opposite direction of the dollar because the metal is considered an alternative store of value jumped 1.7%, or 7.40, to a 2005 high of $434.50 a troy ounce.

However, the market recovered right after that big decline. Last Friday, March 11, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 10774.36, and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stick index ended at 1200.28.

Will China's economy catch up with America by 2046?

This news reported that Chinese economy may surpass or approach America economy in 2046. They had this estimation based on China has 7% long-term economic growth, and post-industrialized countries have 2.5% long-term growth rate. Also government provided reasonable analysis. The problems like land shortages, the overgrowth of fixed assets and inflation had been alleviated by Chinese government last year. These will help China go to another phase of economic growth.

Sometimes, I can find the articles about China surpass America in Chinese websites. Every time, I read it, I don’t feel very good. Imagine that if every Chinese can have the lives like American people have now, what will happen? How much oil will be left for people to use in the future? How much clean water can be left for our children? Can we still see blue sky? I am not sure if my thinking is right or wrong. No matter what, China will not stop developing. As a Chinese, I will still happy about the economy growth in China. At the same time, I hope the people in all counties can work together to protect our natural resources. I hope the economists made this analysis according to the living standard. Because the measurement of living standards considers the pollution problems.

By the way, here is a website I want to recommend to the students in Econ 372 class. It is a very marvelous website for our papers. Hope it can help you guys!
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html

Driving under the influence of cell phones

As we know almost everyone in the United States owns a cell phone. Police officers and many driving instructors see cell phones as a big problem while driving. A recent survey said that over 1.2 million people talk on their cell phones while driving. One person stated in the article that she never has a problem managing driving and talking on her cell phone at the same time, but does admit to being distracted when looking for her phone when it rings. She also stated that her friend has been in 11 different accidents because she has been talking on her cell phone, eating, or putting on her makeup. I think that anything can become a distraction when you are driving, even if you are thinking about something else. If we choose to ban cell phones while driving shouldn't we also ban eating or putting on makeup, etc? What do you think?

Nurse Shortage

Are nurses being payed enough? There is a continuing shortage of nurses. Could it be due to the salary? Some nurses say they want out because they do not make enough money. Families tend to blame them for the illness and doctors are God. What do you think? One of my family members is a nurse and she said she saves lives, but doesn't make near as much money as an electrician or a plumber. Do you think something needs to be changed? To me, nurses should be paid more because they are working to save people's lives. I think we take so many things for granite in this world that we should not.

Minimum Wage

One of the large debates this week while the Senate was in session was over minimum wage. Both democrats and republicans felt that there needed to be an increase but they could not agree on a rate. Democrats wanted minimum wage to raise more than two dollars while republicans wanted to increase it by a little more than a dollar. I think that raising minimum wage is good because it will encourage people to work rather than sitting around and collecting welfare when they could work at a fast-food place and get more money. I do not feel that a two dollar increase is necessary. What about the small businesses? Do you think that the minimum wage should be increased or not? Why? If so, what should the amount be?