Link: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/14190/1/
Summary
With Microsoft packaging their operating system with their programs such as windows messenger and windows media player, two companies stepped up claiming that they experienced financial damage because of Microsoft’s actions. Digito.Com and Sanview Technology filed suits demanding $40 million for the financial damage but since they couldn’t prove that the damage was linked to Microsoft the claim for $40 million was thrown out. In addition to this case, the South Korean court ruled that Microsoft breached its fair competition rules which resulted in Microsoft paying a large fine to the South Korean Fair Trade Commission for its anti-trust antics.
Connection
The connection linking the article to chapter 10 is the topic of microeconomics around Microsoft. Microsoft is a corporation that possesses monopoly power in the PC market for operating system. This competition of media and messaging software is considered an oligopoly because the market is only dominated by a small number of sellers but Microsoft is selling their products for free which hurts their competition because they can’t sell their products for free or raise their price because they can’t gain revenue either way; this whole situation falls under mutual interdependency.
Reflection
I think this whole situation over Microsoft’s action causing financial problems for companies is a scheme for the companies to gain some money from Microsoft’s success. Usually free programs comes with limited functions and when compared to programs that you need to pay money for, they usually fail in comparison because paid programs usually contain more features and are of higher quality. In this case it looks like Digito.com and Sanview Technology couldn’t beat what Microsoft has came up with and in times of desperation decides to blame someone else and hope to gain some money out of it.
Comment @ Calvin Dai's Blog
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6714927333396650946&postID=1802680515267341812
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Chapter 8 Blog
Link: http://www.leaderpost.com/Business/Saskatchewan+sees+increase+wages+employees/1546542/story.html
Summary
Workers in Saskatchewan received an increase in wages in February. Doug Elliot, a commentator who publishes the Sask Trends Monitor newsletter, stated that there were signs of economic slowdown in the province and believes that the increase in wage will help people in this slowdown because she states that the amount people earn is what drives consumer spending. With the increase in wage, the amount of hours of work and over time are going down, Elliott, in response said that in this situation its only a matter of time till it makes an impact on consumer spending.
Connection
The topic connecting this article to the chapter is wage control. With the increase in wage, two things are likely to happen: an increase in price (inflation) or a price ceiling being placed. Businesses will feel the need to increase their prices to increase their profit margins due to the wage increase. Price ceiling is placed to prevent businesses from setting high prices in response to the increase in wage. Setting a price ceiling would result in an increase in demand but supplies will decrease.
Reflection
I believe that the wage increase will only help for a little while then after that it might become a burden for some people. By increasing the wage it will affect some industries like fast food. In response, Employers might increase the price of products or employ fewer workers to increase their profit level. So instead of helping workers, it might cause more problems for them which in turn will negatively affect the economy.
Comment @ Raymond's blog
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1410379907408313213&postID=5155382681841415077&page=1
Summary
Workers in Saskatchewan received an increase in wages in February. Doug Elliot, a commentator who publishes the Sask Trends Monitor newsletter, stated that there were signs of economic slowdown in the province and believes that the increase in wage will help people in this slowdown because she states that the amount people earn is what drives consumer spending. With the increase in wage, the amount of hours of work and over time are going down, Elliott, in response said that in this situation its only a matter of time till it makes an impact on consumer spending.
Connection
The topic connecting this article to the chapter is wage control. With the increase in wage, two things are likely to happen: an increase in price (inflation) or a price ceiling being placed. Businesses will feel the need to increase their prices to increase their profit margins due to the wage increase. Price ceiling is placed to prevent businesses from setting high prices in response to the increase in wage. Setting a price ceiling would result in an increase in demand but supplies will decrease.
Reflection
I believe that the wage increase will only help for a little while then after that it might become a burden for some people. By increasing the wage it will affect some industries like fast food. In response, Employers might increase the price of products or employ fewer workers to increase their profit level. So instead of helping workers, it might cause more problems for them which in turn will negatively affect the economy.
Comment @ Raymond's blog
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1410379907408313213&postID=5155382681841415077&page=1
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Chapter 7
Link:http://www.wpxi.com/news/18994981/detail.html#-
Summary
More and more new businesses are being set up and most of the time they are faced with money problem such as cost of advertisement. So to help the small businesses, Scott Rudy established a bartering business called Pittsburgh Trade Alliance, where you can trade services for other services. If a business needed shoes, they would call the PTA to help them find a business to produce the shoes. Instead of paying the bill back with cash, the business pays with their service. In the last three years, Scott has seen a 30% growth rate in his business with around 600 business owners in Pittsburgh bartering with his business.
Connection
The concept that connects the article to the textbook is the barter system. In this case businesses are trading services for other services. Even though the Pittsburgh Trade Alliance is doing well, there are several of problems that are bound to happen this barter system. One of the problems linked with the barter system is the value of the service. The set value/price of the service is hard to establish, so you may think a certain price is reasonable but other business might not think so. Another problem is divisibility, let’s say a car is worth 10 motorcycles but if the owner of the car wants only 1 motorcycle, it is impossible unless he sells the car and buy the motorcycle with money.
Reflection
I think this system of trading services for services is a great idea to help new/small businesses but one problem a new business might face is low demand for their service. If a member in the PTA offers a service that is not quite up to par and does not have money to upgrade the quality, it would mean that other businesses are likely to reject their services. With no way to expand, the business is expected to fail.
Comment @ Rafaat's Blog
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6427811171909326196&postID=4103346747492875589&page=1
Summary
More and more new businesses are being set up and most of the time they are faced with money problem such as cost of advertisement. So to help the small businesses, Scott Rudy established a bartering business called Pittsburgh Trade Alliance, where you can trade services for other services. If a business needed shoes, they would call the PTA to help them find a business to produce the shoes. Instead of paying the bill back with cash, the business pays with their service. In the last three years, Scott has seen a 30% growth rate in his business with around 600 business owners in Pittsburgh bartering with his business.
Connection
The concept that connects the article to the textbook is the barter system. In this case businesses are trading services for other services. Even though the Pittsburgh Trade Alliance is doing well, there are several of problems that are bound to happen this barter system. One of the problems linked with the barter system is the value of the service. The set value/price of the service is hard to establish, so you may think a certain price is reasonable but other business might not think so. Another problem is divisibility, let’s say a car is worth 10 motorcycles but if the owner of the car wants only 1 motorcycle, it is impossible unless he sells the car and buy the motorcycle with money.
Reflection
I think this system of trading services for services is a great idea to help new/small businesses but one problem a new business might face is low demand for their service. If a member in the PTA offers a service that is not quite up to par and does not have money to upgrade the quality, it would mean that other businesses are likely to reject their services. With no way to expand, the business is expected to fail.
Comment @ Rafaat's Blog
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6427811171909326196&postID=4103346747492875589&page=1
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Chapter 6
Summary
This article is based on the fact that even though people are saving money, at the same time, they are also getting poorer. The reason is due to the sudden urge to spend less, as a result, the U.S and global economies is heading downwards. During the last recession, in 2001, a solution was given by President Bush that urged the American people to get out and shop. As a result, the recession was mild. The saving rate fell below 1% and stayed there from 2005 through 2007. Retailers and economists still consider the case that more consumer spending would be a really great thing but the nation's political leaders have concluded that it's too soon to issue calls for more shopping.
Connection
The connection between this article and chapter 6 is Keynesian economic theory and the paradox of thrift. Worried about the economy and their future, tons of people started to save money instead of spending it. As a result businesses pay out less money. With a reduced level of income, people will not be able to save as much and as a result saving would be reduced. This is an example of the paradox of thrift. People increase their level of saving incase of being laid off but this only worsens the economy which ironically increases the chance of people getting laid off. The Keynesian economic theory states that if the demand is not sufficient to provide everyone with a job. It is the responsibility of the government to provide the necessary spending. With the aggregate demand for goods going down due to expectations of being laid off, money is being taken out of the economy. To get the money back into the economy, government spending should increase so that consumer spending would get better. Another plan would be to urge people to spend money, like in 2001.
Comment
I believe that with our current economic state people should be spending more money instead of saving it because if government spending or consumer spending were to increase, more money would be circulating around. The increase of demand would lower the unemployment rate which will lift the disincentive to spend money. Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values, states that "If the moral of today's crisis is 'Let's stimulate this and bail out that, and as soon as things get back to normal, we can go back to a debt culture,' that's just not a sustainable idea." I agree with him on the fact that it isn’t a sustainable idea and that we need to change how we behave.
Link:http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1879195,00.html
This article is based on the fact that even though people are saving money, at the same time, they are also getting poorer. The reason is due to the sudden urge to spend less, as a result, the U.S and global economies is heading downwards. During the last recession, in 2001, a solution was given by President Bush that urged the American people to get out and shop. As a result, the recession was mild. The saving rate fell below 1% and stayed there from 2005 through 2007. Retailers and economists still consider the case that more consumer spending would be a really great thing but the nation's political leaders have concluded that it's too soon to issue calls for more shopping.
Connection
The connection between this article and chapter 6 is Keynesian economic theory and the paradox of thrift. Worried about the economy and their future, tons of people started to save money instead of spending it. As a result businesses pay out less money. With a reduced level of income, people will not be able to save as much and as a result saving would be reduced. This is an example of the paradox of thrift. People increase their level of saving incase of being laid off but this only worsens the economy which ironically increases the chance of people getting laid off. The Keynesian economic theory states that if the demand is not sufficient to provide everyone with a job. It is the responsibility of the government to provide the necessary spending. With the aggregate demand for goods going down due to expectations of being laid off, money is being taken out of the economy. To get the money back into the economy, government spending should increase so that consumer spending would get better. Another plan would be to urge people to spend money, like in 2001.
Comment
I believe that with our current economic state people should be spending more money instead of saving it because if government spending or consumer spending were to increase, more money would be circulating around. The increase of demand would lower the unemployment rate which will lift the disincentive to spend money. Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values, states that "If the moral of today's crisis is 'Let's stimulate this and bail out that, and as soon as things get back to normal, we can go back to a debt culture,' that's just not a sustainable idea." I agree with him on the fact that it isn’t a sustainable idea and that we need to change how we behave.
Link:http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1879195,00.html
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Chapter 5
Summary
Recently on the news, businesses from all over the place are firing their workers in attempt to save money. Black Box studio located in Vancouver recently became one of those businesses. Electronic Arts has confirmed that they are planning to reduce the workforce by 10 per cent or 1,000 people to save $120 million a year. Black Box studios employs more than 350 artists, engineers, designers and producers but by the end of March 31, upwards of 200 people are expected to lose their jobs. EA’s director of communications, Colin Macrae, states that the decision was about cost reduction and not related to the product. He also added that Vancouver is an expensive place to do business due to the competition for talent and the cost of real estate.
Connection
The Concept that links the article to the textbook would be Demand Deficient Unemployment. The reason why people are getting laid off is because of the lack of spending from the consumers. With this lack of consumer involvement in the economy, businesses are having difficulty selling their products. With sales going down, businesses will not need that much workers. Unemployment due to decreased sales is called Demand-deficient unemployment
Comment
I think that this is a serious problem, if this whole situation were to continue on, it will only result in countless of people losing their jobs. With more and more business letting employees off, it creates a disincentive for people to spend money. This creates a chain, due to the lack of spending from people, it forces businesses to lay off some employees, this will then cause an disincentive to spend money, which then comes back to lack of spending from people and it continues on until something happens that motivates people to spend money. Since Video games are considered a “Want” and not a “Need”, people will hesitate when deciding whether to buy it or not. The only solution I could think of is for the economy to recover, so that people aren’t afraid to spend money but until then we will be seeing a lot people getting laid off
Link:http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/announces+significant+layoffs+Vancouver+Black+studio/1207476/story.html
Comment @ Michael Li
Recently on the news, businesses from all over the place are firing their workers in attempt to save money. Black Box studio located in Vancouver recently became one of those businesses. Electronic Arts has confirmed that they are planning to reduce the workforce by 10 per cent or 1,000 people to save $120 million a year. Black Box studios employs more than 350 artists, engineers, designers and producers but by the end of March 31, upwards of 200 people are expected to lose their jobs. EA’s director of communications, Colin Macrae, states that the decision was about cost reduction and not related to the product. He also added that Vancouver is an expensive place to do business due to the competition for talent and the cost of real estate.
Connection
The Concept that links the article to the textbook would be Demand Deficient Unemployment. The reason why people are getting laid off is because of the lack of spending from the consumers. With this lack of consumer involvement in the economy, businesses are having difficulty selling their products. With sales going down, businesses will not need that much workers. Unemployment due to decreased sales is called Demand-deficient unemployment
Comment
I think that this is a serious problem, if this whole situation were to continue on, it will only result in countless of people losing their jobs. With more and more business letting employees off, it creates a disincentive for people to spend money. This creates a chain, due to the lack of spending from people, it forces businesses to lay off some employees, this will then cause an disincentive to spend money, which then comes back to lack of spending from people and it continues on until something happens that motivates people to spend money. Since Video games are considered a “Want” and not a “Need”, people will hesitate when deciding whether to buy it or not. The only solution I could think of is for the economy to recover, so that people aren’t afraid to spend money but until then we will be seeing a lot people getting laid off
Link:http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/announces+significant+layoffs+Vancouver+Black+studio/1207476/story.html
Comment @ Michael Li
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
chapter 4
Summary
The Greater Vancouver Regional District is considering putting tolls on drivers who use the roads and bridges in the Lower Mainland. By putting tolls on the drivers they are hoping that it will reduce the amount of drivers, which will then lower the amount of traffic and also reduce greenhouse emissions. In London, when the toll of $18 was placed into action, the traffic into downtown dropped by 20%. Drivers said that they would probably not drive to their destinations if the toll was put into place, instead they would take the bus or the SkyTrain.
Connection
The topics that connect this article to the textbook are direct tax and benefit-received approach to taxation. If the driver were to use a bridge and was forced to pay a toll that would represent direct tax since the tax is imposed on the person who is intended to pay. The benefit-received approach states that individuals should be taxed on the basis of the benefits that they receive from the government, so in this case the benefit the individuals receive from the bridge from paying a toll is that it saves them time by getting to their destination in a short amount of time.
Reflection
This would lower the traffic in The Greater Vancouver Regional District and also it would be great for the environment but what about the people? This creates a financial burden on citizens. The middle and lower class families will probably be affected the most but I guess that they can’t do anything about it unless they try avoid the bridges with the tolls but that will probably take them longer to get from point A to point B.
Link:http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=3110a796-7ccc-4363-8281-436a0bbcb44e&k=66306&p=2
*Comment @Calvin Dai's blog
The Greater Vancouver Regional District is considering putting tolls on drivers who use the roads and bridges in the Lower Mainland. By putting tolls on the drivers they are hoping that it will reduce the amount of drivers, which will then lower the amount of traffic and also reduce greenhouse emissions. In London, when the toll of $18 was placed into action, the traffic into downtown dropped by 20%. Drivers said that they would probably not drive to their destinations if the toll was put into place, instead they would take the bus or the SkyTrain.
Connection
The topics that connect this article to the textbook are direct tax and benefit-received approach to taxation. If the driver were to use a bridge and was forced to pay a toll that would represent direct tax since the tax is imposed on the person who is intended to pay. The benefit-received approach states that individuals should be taxed on the basis of the benefits that they receive from the government, so in this case the benefit the individuals receive from the bridge from paying a toll is that it saves them time by getting to their destination in a short amount of time.
Reflection
This would lower the traffic in The Greater Vancouver Regional District and also it would be great for the environment but what about the people? This creates a financial burden on citizens. The middle and lower class families will probably be affected the most but I guess that they can’t do anything about it unless they try avoid the bridges with the tolls but that will probably take them longer to get from point A to point B.
Link:http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=3110a796-7ccc-4363-8281-436a0bbcb44e&k=66306&p=2
*Comment @Calvin Dai's blog
Monday, November 24, 2008
ChapterThree
Link: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20081120/OPINION03/811200315
Summary
This article talks about Stephanie Hoy’s goals to reduce the influence tobacco companies have on youth and promote tobacco-free lifestyles. Stephanie Hoy is part of the Louisana Youth Prevention Services in Alexandria and she stated that youth could have a great impact for those who smoke. To support this fight against youth smoking, youth around the state are joining the youth-led anti-tobacco movement called Defy. One of Defy’s campaigns is Raiseup. What the campaign is trying to do is to raise the excise tax on cigarettes by $1. Studies show that for every 10 percent increase in the excise tax, youth smoking decreases by 7 percent.
The concept that connects this article to chapter 3 would be excise taxes. The purpose of this excise tax isn’t to provide the government with more money but instead its main purpose is to stop teens from starting to smoke. For the teens who are working and earning around $6 an hour, they wont have enough cash to spend on things like clothes or food, if the excise tax increase by $1. If the increase is put into place, the teens will probably think twice before spending their earnings on cigarettes.
Reflection
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