Spendella

  Inflation is the overall increase in cost of products and services. Increase in taxes and fees leads to inflation. Inflation also generally causes due to scarcity. When the cost of business increases, the prices of the products increases and this abrupt increase, the income rate supposedly goes down. These things forces the employees to search better paying jobs or work relentlessly hoping their employer will give them a raise. Similar is the case, when the personal income tax, property tax, sales tax, auto registration fees increase then either the employee has to live on less or ask the boss for a hike. The ever increasing inflation has forced the common man to borrow money from banks and other...

Countries across the world rely heavily on oil and its byproducts to create much of the energy that their citizens consume. The availability of gasoline to power vehicles, boats and aircraft in the United States of America is dependent largely upon oil that is imported from other nations, and particularly from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC, founded in 1960, is a conglomerate of major oil producing and exporting nations that are estimated to produce 40 percent of the world’s oil and to possess about two thirds of the world’s known oil reserves. OPEC monitors the worldwide oil market and establishes pricing for oil which affects people throughout the...

The World Bank Indicators show that the national rate of growth in the period between 1997 and 2003 was 0.7%, while the world average was of 1%. In the 70’s, the South Korean economy was based mostly in industries like automotive and the heavy industry. The country’s GDP has been growing up until 1990, when it began to slow down, as it had matured. The financial crisis in Asia that began in the year 1997 weakened the South Korean model. In 1999 the country’s economy began recovering and continued to grow until 2001 when, due to exports that were falling and the global economy slowing down, the economy stopped growing as much. Industry and services cover bigger parts of the country’s GDP: 36...

INTRODUCTION   Whatever the comments trying to lead the public astray be coming, the entrance of world depression 2008 can not be overlooked since it stands well entered in the Indian economy. The decision regarding closure of Tata’s Jamshedpur motors plant for three days, decision of Ashok Leyland to run only for three days a week for coming two months, decreasing interest rates, decrease in CRR, lowered REPO rate, cut in SLR, index of stock market in reverse gear, Rs 275000/= crores released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to help industries and investors etc. are the events which indicate that RBI and the Government accept the entrance of depression 2008 in the Indian economy. Among all...

Foreign Direct Investment Foreign direct investment is defined as a company from one country, which makes a physical investment into constructing a factory in another one. The company can also make investments to acquire lasting interest in enterprises that operate outside the economy it invested in. The link with the FDI is made of a parent enterprise and a foreign affiliate, forming together a corporation, known as multinational. To qualify as FDI, this investment must also allow and afford the control of the parent enterprise over the foreign affiliate. This kind of control is defined by the UN as owning 10% or more of the shares or voting power of a firm, which is incorporated, or the exact...

Most people have heard the expression, "killing the goose that laid the golden eggs," but many cannot recite the complete story. It goes like this: A poor farmer one day discovers a glittering golden egg in the nest of his pet goose. At first he thinks it must be some kind of trick. But as he starts to throw the egg aside, he has second thoughts and takes it to an appraiser. The egg is pure gold. The farmer can't believe his good fortune and becomes even more incredulous the following day when he discovers another golden egg. Day after day, upon awakening, he rushes to the nest to find another golden egg. He becomes fabulously wealthy. It all seems too good to be true. But with his increasing wealth...

The recent economic current events in the global financial markets has prompted a response that is both too late to avert the crisis and does not address the root causes of the problem, which is selfish and greedy behaviour of people who are not held accountable for their actions. This is a worrying situation in its own right, but also points to more serious concerns about the approach of governments around the world in regards to environmental issues. The bail out of the financial institutions threatened by the economic collapse was effected quickly and the resulting small increase in market performance was virtually instantaneous, though the long term effects of this situation are still far from...

Netherlands Economy With a prosperous and open economy, the Netherlands depends mostly on foreign trade. The economy also enjoys stable industrial relations, low unemployment and inflation rate, the country being an important European transportation hub. Industrial activity predominates in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. As of January 1, the Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, changed to euro currency, and the country is one of the top European nations to attract foreign investment. The Netherlands is currently the 16th largest economy of the world, with the annual economic growth (GDP), between 1998 and 2000, at nearly 4%, high above the...

Pakistan is one of the most significant country in the world these days particularly due to war against terrorism. Even Pakistan is one of the main issues of current USA politics. This is evident from the statements of US politicians and current debates between US Presidential candidates. Globally it appears that Pakistan is under fire all over the country so it is important to know Pakistan a more in detail. Pakistan is spread over 778,720 SQ KM and it's among 10 most populated countries of the world. It is gateway to china and central Asian countries through Afghanistan. It also neighbors India and Iran. Since Russian invasion to Afghanistan, Pakistan is front line state helping Afghanistan to...

The Greeks are catching a lot of flak at the moment for their massive national debt problems, but most of the countries giving them grief should look in the mirror. They might notice their own debt is massive as well. Given this, why are the willing to help the Greeks? The numbers from Greece are not good when it comes to measuring the national debt in the country. The deficit is a shocking 12.7 percent of the countries entire economic output. This is a huge number and is making buyers of debt very hesitant to provide the assistance that Greece needs. This is multiplying the problem and forcing an already stressed Eurozone to step up and promise assistance. The promise, however, is a very...

The US economy has been treading water for the past couple of years with conditions continuing to decline. Fuel costs and the foreclosure rate are acting as undercurrents. There are currently no economic indicators showing a light at the end of the tunnel. While this does not mean that relief is non existent, it is highly unlikely that conditions will improve in the very near future. These times may bring a sense of insecurity, however, they may also bring us as Americans back to a more conservative way of thinking. As Americans we tend to live a bit beyond of our means. We have nice cars, decorated homes, stylish clothes and dinner at restaurants. We also carry credit card debt, second mortgages...

The way the price of oil and gasoline are spiking upwards, you'd think people would be rioting in the streets. A few dozen truckers demonstrated in D.C. yesterday and there's been calls for nationwide strikes; however, so far so good. But me thinks the top is about to pop, and when it does, you won't be able to get the toothpaste back in the container. No way! Meanwhile, still living in a fantasy world in Saudi Arabia (trillions of dollars can cause people to lose sight of reality you know) and OPEC leaders warned oil prices could hit $200 a barrel and there would be little the cartel could do to help. Well, maybe! The comments made by Chakib Khelil, Algeria’s energy minister, came as oil prices...

Unemployment is now the cause of almost half of all foreclosures on conventional mortgages, raising concerns that mounting joblessness will stall any housing recovery and could cause more foreclosures next year. The increase in unemployment as a cause is a significant shift from 2007, when foreclosures were primarily driven by the large number of homeowners who had taken on risky loans. Many were first-time home buyers or those who bought during the housing boom that ended in 2006. Now, layoffs and the recession are playing the pivotal role in driving mortgage defaults. The 4.3 million people collecting unemployment is the most since 1974, the Labor Department says. During the first half of the year...

Introduction: Economic policies including fiscal and monetary policies will affect the transport industry, in the United States the modes of transport include air, road, rail and water transport networks, the transport industry provides 7% of total employment in the United States and a high percentage of GDP levels. After September 11 the travel industry experienced a decline in performance. Supply and demand: The price in the travel industry is determined by market forces, the market demand and supply will determine the price of services offered, the market will adjust accordingly as a result of shifts and price elasticity of the services offered. An upward shift in the demand curve in the travel...

Philippines Economy The Philippines is one of the poorest countries in Asia, although, at some point, there had been great expectations concerning its economic growth. After the end of World War II, The Philippines were expected to become Asia’s economic powerhouse, but in reality, it was not the case. The Philippines exports many electronics, as it involved in manufacturing activities for certain MNCs ( multinational corporations ) like Texas Instruments, Toshiba, Intel, Matsushita and Fujitsu. This way, the manufacturing industry makes room for many jobs. More and more Filipino businesses and individual users move their activities online, buying personal computers and networking systems. The IT...

We've had the "head fake" as 2008-2009 took the markets to incredible lows up to March 9, 2010. And then everything turned around. I said way back then that there would be no DEPRESSION as we've come to know the definition of the word: however, a very strong down turn (deep recession) was definite. And so it was. But now everyone is on the RECOVERY band wagon. I don't believe it and neither do a lot of people much smarter than me.  So, let's move from my last economic commentary (The Cardinal Climax) thanks to Arch Crawford and move along with the like of Gerald Celente (maybe even George Soros) and others who aren't so cheery about tomorrow. Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh told an audience on...

Forget about national healthcare! It's not going to happen. We don't have the MONEY! In fact our government doesn't have the money to do the things it's been doing for quite some time now. The reality of the Obama legacy for the history books is not going to be a good one; however, it was all started by the Bush administration that carried the label of compassionate conservatism which cloaked insane economics!   America is bankrupt- too big to fail? Read the Roman road and I'm not talking Biblically. While Obama and the Democrats are trying to SPEND their way out of debt (who in the hell can do that?) with a new budget that adds yet another $1.8 TRILLION (and that number is wildly conservative if...

  For the economically disadvantaged community on both kids and adults alike, the mental health benefits of leisure travel presents vast significant and social improvement in their mental health outlook. Leisure travel brings about greater personal impact for the individual versus the person who has not traveled. Being able to get away and relax creates a wonderful sense of euphoria and excitement. Leisure travel is very important in reducing the amount of stress on both adults and children and even more so on those on a lower income scale. The quality of life is drastically improved, along with personal growth, fulfillment, and a higher self-esteem. As the disadvantaged person’s amount of...

It was, still is big news, Toyota has to recall 8.5 millions of cars due a problem in the braking system.  Nissan announced today that 539.864 cars will be recalled to break pedals and fuel gauges.  They announced that no accident has happened yet.  This seems like big news today, but this happens all the time and the good news is that most manufacturers fix the problem,  On the other hand, some of the issue are rather serious, like airbag issues, fuel tank issue.  Some small overview  Last Sunday, 28-2-2010,  GM recalls 1.3 millions Chevrolet and Pontiac Compact Cars sold in USA, Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail. They blame partially the supplier which is again...

As the possibility of a global double dip recession looms in the distance, the life settlement market is seeing some positive signs.  After a difficult 2009 and early 2010, life settlements look poised to be on the rise.  Overall, industry participants are cautiously optimistic about the near term future of the secondary life insurance market. Industry experts are drawing some optimism from recent anecdotal evidence. Life settlement providers were previously paralyzed due to a lack of funding. Some went out of business, but those that survived are now seeing a return of funding sources.  In fact, some providers are now representing multiple funding sources and aggressively looking for cases from...

The price of gold per ounce is exploding! Gold bullion has gone up forty-six dollars in the last couple of days alone. Gold is now up eleven percent year-to-date. Gold has also broken above the critical $900 level. I'm going to explain the reasoning behind the recent explosive move in gold. I'm also going to explain why I feel that the price of gold per ounce is going to rise even higher in the coming weeks and months. Let's go back to a couple of weeks ago - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, along with several other Fed governors began talking tough about inflation. The financial markets wrongly got the impression that the Fed would begin to raise interest rates, possibly as soon as August...

No doubt about the pawns in this international game of chess. The general public, the six pack majority, the middle class, the poor, come to think of it about anyone without a major financial interest in oil fits the Webster’s definition of a pawn; “a person used to advance another’s purposes. So if most of us are pawns who are the kings? Think about it. If you believe Congress, the news media (at least the broadcast news media), the administration and the analysts you can pick between the major international oil companies, oil producers, China, or the gas guzzling Americans. There is no agreement and it is almost as if there is no thought about it. The oil companies and oil producers are...

It's been forecast by everyone but those beating the Obama Democratic drums. Even today, many pundits were saying that inflation wasn't going to be much of a concern but then Thursday afternoon, Ben Bernanke & Boys raised the Discount Rate from .50% to .75%! This is the opening salvo of interest rates that might have to reach DOUBLE DIGITS to contain the massive printing of money that's been going on.  The Federal Reserve decided Thursday to boost the rate banks pay for emergency loans. The action is part of a broader move to pull back the extraordinary aid it provided to fight the worst financial and economic crisis since the 1930s. The move won't directly affect borrowing costs for millions of...

Three fourth of the PIGS have now been downgraded. Portugal, Greece, and Spain have taken their initial hits. Italy will follow, but how about Ireland and maybe a place in the West called California? The euro is the official currency of the European Union (EU), and is currently in use in 16 of the 27 Member States. The states, known collectively as the eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.   On Thursday the highly regarded Nouriel Roubini said that the Euro could be TOAST in days. Well, here's his exact quote, "The euro zone's days may be numbered. In a few days, there...

The next shoe is about to drop in the financial dominos that have been falling. Instead of falling and flowing down stream though, things are moving upstream. The subprime crisis expanded into a prime mortgage debacle, which took down the banking business, which took down large corporations (though too big to fail), which is in the process of taking down the US government. Can you say the US$ hey-days are over?  Who really buys into the nonsense that we can take TOXIC loans out of the banks and mortgage companies and transfer them to the government without any difficulties. How does that work? Tell me! How sane is that? Toxic assets and bad debt are toxic and bad regardless of who has them. Look at...

Clapham Common is one of London’s most popular open-air resting places for Clapham property owners as well as many more people from all over London who flock to this location in their hoards during sunny summer days. In an effort to improve the current offerings that the common provides, the Lambeth Council, with financial assistance from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), have given the go ahead for a major revamp of the common’s tennis courts. The Clapham Common tennis court makeover budget is set at £250 000 and is expected to be completed within 3 months. The project will aim at revamping of the current courts, as well as installing state-of-the-art floodlights on five of the courts. The...

Italy Economy After once being the dominant political, military and economic power in the world, the post-war era of rapid industrialization left its mark on the Italian economy, which, today goes under the name of the ‘Sick Man of Europe’. In 2007, Italy had a population of 58 million and a GDP (PPP) of almost $1.8 trillion. Italy is the tenth largest economy, in terms of purchasing power parity, and the seventh largest in terms of nominal GDP. With an extremely small bur robust medium enterprise sector, having family businesses Italy has not been so successful in its attempt to establish its multinational corporations. Well-known brand names from the fashion world, or wine or...

    “We intend to produce the first real Syrian wine: a high-end product positioned internationally, targeting the Syrian Diaspora and seducing Syrian consumers,” said Karim. He reckons that the Syrian project might prove to be a more challenging one, as it requires nurturing a nascent wine culture.   The Saadé venture is not the first of its kind. Over the years, the family’s mercantile past morphed into the Johnny R. Saadé Group, also known for its international shipping company CMA (Compagnie Maritime d’Affrêtement). The group currently includes a tourism arm and a real estate company, the winery project being the most recent addition to its core activities. The two young brothers...

Several months ago a friend of mine was telling me about a new wine preservation gadget. He suggested that I try out the new Epicurean Preservation System (EPS). "My Vacu Vin works just fine," I insisted. Reluctantly, I moved forward with this challenge, wondering at that time why I was doing this. As a sommelier and wine writer, I am often asked to review wines and wine related products. Research is a key component to further wine education and any good written review, so I accepted my friend's challenge. I contacted the Epicurean International Company ( and before I knew it I was speaking with Anthony Lemme. I was the lucky recipient of a short seminar regarding the benefits of their Epicurean...

In 1997 the US Congress approved the Real Estate Capital gains tax cut, which eliminated the capital gains tax on primary home real estate held over two years for single filers up to $250,000 and $500,000 to married couples.  This made real estate the most favored investment class.  Soon there was a rise in real estate prices in an unprecedented manner which continued over the next ten years.  Some point after 2000, in many places, it became cheaper to rent than to own, an obvious sign of over-inflated prices.              Around the same time Congress was persuaded to pressure the mortgage industry to provide loans to those it claimed had been unjustly denied loans in the past...

The resent financial crisis has impacted almost every country in the world. But in Pakistan case it was the past governments performance rather than the financial crisis which played a major role in the slow down of the economy. But the last couple of months have given the country economist a bit of breathing space. Foreign exchange reserves have reached dose to ten billion dollars. It is the payment of first installment of loan by International Monetary Fund (IMF). Bold steps taken by government against some of the foreign exchange companies have resulted in the decline of rupees value against dollar.     Pakistan import bill both on account of merchandise and services has fallen. So one can hope...