Clipmarks | abailart's 'economics' clips

UK Falling to Recession

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:58:56 GMT

clipped by: abailart

The British economy will contract in 2009 in its first full year of recession since the early 1990s, one of the country's leading economic forecasting groups said today.

Capital Economics said a combination of a weaker than anticipated domestic economy, a recession in the eurozone and the threat of a contraction in bank lending would result in a quarter-point reduction in gross domestic product next year.

A separate report yesterday from the ratings agency Standard & Poor's said Europe was no longer likely to remain immune from the US-prompted slowdown and should be braced for a period of stagflation, while the chief executive of Britain's biggest independent financial adviser warned that Britain was heading for further trouble.

"The state of the economy is very worrying and I don't think people have properly factored in how bad things really are," said Hargreaves Lansdown boss Peter Hargreaves.

Tags: uk recession, economics

More Sweet Dreams: the Womb project

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:22:17 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Thanks to John W for initial idea. I thought this project may interest some. I should know by now that flickr doesn't like its images clipped.

Clip Source: www.mommytoo.com

Clip Source: blackcelebkids.com

Clip Source: pro.corbis.com

Clip Source: www.savvy-baby-gear.com

Clip Source: flickr.com

Clip Source: op-for.com

Clip Source: www.jupiterimages.com

Clip Source: flickr.com

Clip Source: sakurabloombabyslings.wordpress.com

Clip Source: raymondlauchengco.wordpress.com

Clip Source: i173.photobucket.com

Clip Source: pro.corbis.com

Clip Source: science.uwe.ac.uk

Clip Source: www.artinliverpool.com

Planet Art eXchange 'The Womb' Project

Dubbed ‘The Womb’, the project is a monumental installation designed by a renown designer and will be created by artists over 4 years’ period, it will explore the birth of our consciousness and the rise of our differentiations. By placing the artistic expressions of our differences in the very core of the womb, the artwork invites the viewer to look at our differences with fresh eyes, foetus eyes. For the initiated viewer, there’s no more ‘I’ and ‘He/She’, but only one connected complex being that embraces the most contradicting views of the world.

Clip Source: www.pax08.com

[Video]

Clip Source: www.pax08.com

Described by her curator Lotfi Kaabi as an artistic Olympic torch, this wholly autonomous and nomad structure of monumental proportions, the collaborative creation of hundreds of established and up and coming artists, will traverse continents over a four year period exploring the birth of our consciousness and the rise of our differentiations: culture, race, religion, politics and socio-economics.

Tags: womb project

UK Recession is Months Away

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:47:57 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Not surprising news. But a chance to reflect on the past 18 months. First, there was denial of an economic slowdown. Then the idea of recession was laughed at. Now the discussion is of whether the recession will be a big one or a little one. Interesting contemporary case study of how the rhetoric of denial runs parallel to the realities.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Recession looms in the UK in the next six to nine months as firms face "a difficult and risky climate", the British Chambers of Commerce warns.

The BCC predicts UK unemployment will rise by between 250,000 and 300,000 in the next 18 months to two years.

"Over the next two or three quarters, we expect UK GDP growth to be slightly negative or zero, satisfying the conditions of technical recession," the BCC says.

This would be mainly caused by "a very sharp deceleration in consumer spending growth, in reaction to falling house prices and the acute squeeze on household disposable incomes".

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Recession fears hit sterling

Bank warns of flat growth

Jobless total up sharply

Inflation surges to 4.4%

IMF cuts growth forecast

UK growth slows sharply

Tags: economics, uk economy

The Age of Anxiety

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:57:20 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Good economic units must be anxious all the time

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Anxiety is a bigger problem than this navel-gazing might suggest. Across a spectrum that includes panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress, phobias and the catch-all, generalised anxiety disorder - anxiety disorder has become the most prevalent mental health problem in the world, according to a World Mental Health Survey of 18 countries.

And it's about to get worse. We are entering a new age of anxiety.

Could it be caused by consumerism, which we grow into more slowly?

It could, says Tom Hodgkinson, editor of The Idler and author of the inspirational How to Be Free. He believes that our economic system functions precisely by keeping us anxious. We're encouraged to believe, at all times, that we're just one purchase away from happiness: 'Anxious people make good consumers and good workers. Anxiety will drive us back into our comfort blankets of credit-card shopping and bad food

deliberately produces anxiety while simultaneously promising to take it away.

Tags: anxiety, economics

Scientist Fears Catastrophic Temperature Rises

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:32:14 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Stupid so-called scientists! What do they know? Only a few of them come out with nonsense like this. Most real scientists know it is all part of a socialist conspiracy. Anyway, the Singularity will be with us soon and we will all live for ever and have orgasms at the touch of a button.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The UK should take active steps to prepare for dangerous climate change of perhaps 4C according to one of the government's chief scientific advisers.

Globally, a 4C temperature rise would have a catastrophic impact.

According to the government's 2006 Stern review on the economics of climate change, between 7 million and 300 million more people would be affected by coastal flooding each year, there would be a 30-50% reduction in water availability in Southern Africa and the Mediterranean, agricultural yields would decline 15 to 35% in Africa and 20 to 50% of animal and plant species would face extinction.

One big unknown is the stage at which dangerous tipping points would be reached that lead to further warming - for example the release of methane hydrate deposits in the Arctic. "My own feeling is that if we get to a 4 degree rise it is quite possible that we would begin to see a runaway increase," said King.

Tags: global warming

UK Heading for 'Horror Movie' Economy

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 09:26:01 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: more leftwing agitprop from the Times of London

Clip Source: business.timesonline.co.uk

BRITAIN is facing an “economic horror movie” because of a “toxic mixture” of a moribund credit market and volatile oil prices, according to a leading forecasting group.

Institute of Directors’ quarterly business opinion survey shows business optimism at its lowest level since the survey began in 1996

We have already seen a housing crisis that has morphed from a credit crunch to a general collapse in confidence as prices have tumbled.

consumers will follow suit, moving from their current state of denial into a state of despair.

it could be hell out there,

Tags: economics

NY Times: Is It a Recession?

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:40:22 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Something has clearly gone wrong with the economy. But how bad are things, really? And how bad might they get before better days return? Even to many economists who recently thought the gloom was overblown, the situation looks grim

Job losses will probably accelerate through this year and into 2009, and the job market will probably stay weak even longer. Home prices will probably keep falling, shrinking household wealth and eroding spending power.

Is this a recession?

Officially, no.

Unofficially, many economists think a recession started six or seven months ago,

If enough people lose their jobs, factories stop making things, stores stop selling things, and less money lands in people’s pockets, it is probably a recession.

Whatever it is called, it is a painful time for tens of millions of people. Indeed, this may turn out to be the most wrenching downturn since the two recessions in the early 1980s;

Tags: economics

Top 100 Liberal Arts Professors' Blogs

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:36:44 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.universityreviewsonline.com

Academics are flocking to the Internet like never before, particularly to start a blog. Faculty members in colleges across the world are connecting with people on a whole new level. Let's face it – academia can actually be very lonely at times. Not only can a blog be cathartic for professors, it can allow for valuable feedback from students and/or colleagues.

Liberal arts subjects are wildly varied. From art to science, the major disciplines have long been considered part of the liberal arts. Below are 100 of the most interesting and popular blogs written by liberal arts professors.

Art

Economics

Education

English

History

Math

Media / Technology

Music

Philosophy

Psycholog

Political science

Science

Sociology

Theology

Tags: humanities

Spam

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:09:50 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.edstrong.blog-city.com

The evidence of a withering economy is everywhere

In "good times" consumers shun the canned meat

aisle altogether. But now Spam sales are soaring.

Grocery stores can't keep it on the shelves

Everyone is looking for cheaper ways to feed their families

White bread is up 13 percent, bacon is up 7 percent and peanut butter is up 9 percent. Inflation is rampant and there's no end in sight.

The dollar is closing in on the peso and working people are struggling just to get by. The bottom line is that more and more people in "the richest country on earth" are now surviving on processed pig-meat.

This is the great triumph of Reagan's free trade "trickle down" Voodoo economics;

The economy is on life-support.

Henry Ford realized what today's captains of industry and finance refuse to accept.

That if workers aren't adequately paid for their labor---and wages do not keep pace with production---then the economy cannot grow because consumers do not have the money to buy the things they make

Tags: spam

Princeton University survey finds 'pain gap'

Fri, 02 May 2008 05:40:52 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.princeton.edu

Those with lower incomes and less education are in pain more often, researchers say

A novel study that attempts to paint the most accurate and detailed description yet of how Americans experience pain has found that a significant portion of the population -- 28 percent -- are in pain at any given moment and those with less education and lower income spend more of their time in pain. Those in pain are less likely to work or socialize with others and are more inclined to watch television than the pain-free.

The study, which appears in the May 3 issue of The Lancet, was prepared by Alan Krueger, a professor of economics at Princeton University, and Arthur Stone, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stony Brook University. The work is the first of its type, according to the authors, to quantify a "pain gap" in American society, with the "have-nots" suffering a disproportionate amount in relation to the "haves."

Tags: pain, education, rich, poor

Why there is a Shortage of Attractive Men

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:55:56 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: You will need to read the article. Then make your bids.

Clip Source: www.slate.com

How economics and game theory explain the shortage of available, appealing men.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the available, sociable, and genuinely attractive man is a character highly in demand in social settings. Dinner hosts are always looking for the man who fits all the criteria. When they don't find him (often), they throw up their hands and settle for the sociable but unattractive, the attractive but unsociable, and, as a last resort, for the merely available.

The problem of the eligible bachelor is one of the great riddles of social life. Shouldn't there be about as many highly eligible and appealing men as there are attractive, eligible women?

Actually, no—and here's why.

game theory predicts, and empirical studies of auctions bear out, that auctions will often be won by "weak" bidders, who know that they can be outbid and so bid more aggressively, while the "strong" bidders will hold out for a really great deal.

Tags: marriage auction

The Stings of Poverty

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:15:22 GMT

clipped by: jklugman
clipper's remarks: Article about an argument by Charles Karelis that traditional economics do not apply to poor people.

He outlines his argument in The Persistence of Poverty: Why the Economics of the Well-Off Can't Help the Poor.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

In the community of people dedicated to analyzing poverty, one of the sharpest debates is over why some poor people act in ways that ensure their continued indigence.

Karelis, a professor at George Washington University, has a simpler but far more radical argument to make: traditional economics just doesn't apply to the poor. When we're poor, Karelis argues, our economic worldview is shaped by deprivation, and we see the world around us not in terms of goods to be consumed but as problems to be alleviated. This is where the bee stings come in: A person with one bee sting is highly motivated to get it treated. But a person with multiple bee stings does not have much incentive to get one sting treated, because the others will still throb. The more of a painful or undesirable thing one has (i.e. the poorer one is) the less likely one is to do anything about any one problem. Poverty is less a matter of having few goods than having lots of problems.

Tags: poverty, charles karelis, sociology, economics

The Luck of the Irish

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:39:51 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.spiegel.de

The island nation's decline goes beyond the credit crunch and bear markets: It's emblematic of the perils of competing in the global economy

Once the envy of Europe, Ireland's economy is set to grow this year at its slowest rate in two decades. The collapse of a housing bubble coupled with the strong euro is raising unemployment and slowing growth, reducing the Celtic Tiger's roar to a whimper. And the news keeps getting worse. More than $5.5 billion (€3.5 billion) was wiped off the value of Irish stocks on Mar. 17, in what commentators have dubbed the "St. Patrick's Day massacre."

"The Irish economy is heading into recession," says Alan Ahearne, an economist at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and a former senior economist at the US Federal Reserve.

Ireland's slump is, in many respects, a microcosm of the challenges facing countries such as the US, Britain, and Spain.

Tags: economics, recession

Apologies: too Optimistic about US Recession

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:40:50 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Ho hum.

Clip Source: www.atimes.com

On August 27, 2006, this column suggested that US house prices would fall by 15% nationwide, peak to trough. On March 11, 2007, this column suggested that the total bad debt loss from the mortgage crisis would be about US$1 trillion. At a meeting at the American Enterprise Institute Wednesday, it became clear that in both cases I was not pessimistic enough. Sorry!

This is not a pretty picture. The losses to come are probably large enough to wipe out the banking system, and the interconnected network caused by modern finance is sufficiently fragile that the failure of any one major house, if carried out through normal bankruptcy processes, would be sufficient to bring down the world economy as a whole.

Tags: economics, economic depression, hedges, futures, deriratives

General Strike Brings Greece to a Halt

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:36:22 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Greece's civil servants have staged a nationwide strike against planned pension reforms, badly disrupting transport and closing public offices.

Trade unions say millions of people took part in the 24-hour action, which was marked by large protests in Athens and Thessaloniki.

Unions describe the general strike - the third of its kind in as many months - as the biggest protest so far against the pension reform plan.

It follows a wave of stoppages by workers from various sectors:

an ongoing two-week refuse collectors' strike has left piles of uncollected rubbish rotting on streets
protest action by power sector workers has caused nationwide blackouts
a public transport strike on Tuesday created traffic chaos in the capital Athens.

Schools, ministries and banks were closed for the day.

the conservative government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis wants to overhaul Greece's debt-ridden pension system.

Despite the inconveniences, it seems that most Greeks support the strikers.

Tags: greece, democracy, economics, pension crisis