New House of Commons research report on carbon trading
Published at the end of January 2010 I came across this excellent report whilst researching an updated presentation on carbon trading and carbon taxes. The hmtl version of the report from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Commission can be found here. The role of carbon markets in preventing dangerous climage change
Here are some additional links to useful recent news articles and resources on carbon trading and carbon pricing:
Slumpflation? UK inflation jumps to 3.5%
A bump in the night or a worrying sign that higher inflation will impose deal cuts on the real incomes of people taking pay freezes or the millions of savers being offered derisory interest rates on their deposit accounts? Consumer price inflation jumped to an annual rate of 3.5% last month prompting the Governor of the Bank of England to unlock the quill pen and write a letter of explanation to the government.
The reasons behind the latest surge in inflation look clear cut
1/ The lagged effects of the fall in sterling on import prices
2/ Much higher oil and gas prices and rising import prices for metals and other raw materials
3/ The effects of the reversal of the temporary cut in VAT (nb VAT is likely to rise to 20% by year end)
4/ Less discounting in the January 2010 sales compared to the same time last year when the UK retail sector looked close to melt-down!
And we can always blame the snow ........!!!!!
5/ Snow last month raised the price of certain seasonal vegetable prices, with cauliflowers rising by the highest amount since at least 1996 and the cost of carrots doubling
Snow as the cause of a spike in inflation .... do you get my drift?
Expect inflation to come down in the months ahead - the pricing power of retailers and manufacturers remains very weak and there is probably a substantial margin of spare capacity in the economy following the 5% decline in real output last year.
Britain is no longer a high inflation country despite the gloomy predictions of those concerned about the size of quantitative easing.
Economist: Storm before the calm
Stephanie Flanders considers the latest inflation figures (BBC news)
Inflationary pressures in China
This BBC news video provides an interesting window on the pressures for wages to rise in the booming city of Shanghai. The impressive rebound in Chinese economic growth is driven by the strength of the underlying growth forces in the economy together with the impact of the huge fiscal stimulus. But for many young professionals growth is causing the cost of living to surge - food and property prices are the main concerns. Inflation is a genuine risk for the Chinese economy - what might the Chinese authorities do about this?
read more...»Metal prices on the rise again
What do the following businesses have in common?
Anglo American
Antofagasta
BHP Billiton
Eurasian Natural Resources
Fresnillo
Kazakhmys
Lonmin
Randgold
Rio Tinto
Vedanta
Xstrata
AS Macro: Sterling and the UK Economy
The Bank of England estimates that the pound has depreciated by around 25pc since mid-2007. And in 2008-09, sterling registered an even larger depreciation against the dollar than its 1992 exit from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. In trade-weighted terms, the decline was the biggest since figures were first calculated in the early 1980s.
The fall in the external value of the pound has many possible consequences for an open economy such as the UK. At AS level it is important to identify these effects and explain them using an AD-AS framework. Then support your answer with some good evaluation points and (where possible) supporting evidence.
Rated: 
(5/5), based on 2 reviews
Evolution of an Economic Recovery
Where will a sustained economic recovery come from for the British economy? The Governor of the Bank of England talked last week of a battle of strength between the tailwinds from the recent macro economic policy stimulus measures set against the headwinds from continued financial fragiity in the world economy. There are some positive signs:
read more...»Supermarkets accused of price gouging
The Guardian today carries a story about alleged price gouging by the supermarkets. Tesco and Asda refute the charge but they are said to have lifted the prices of a number of necessary purchases for many household goods in the lead up to Christmas.
“Both supermarkets, according to Bridgeman, would be able to use their sales data or information from loyalty cards to identify those purchases customers feel they have to make at Christmas and then target these categories for some steep rises “to extract maximum profit” from shoppers who have neither the time nor capacity to go elsewhere. So household cleaning goods, shaving products, toiletries, lightbulbs, batteries, pickles, sauces, herbs and spices typically consumed at Christmas, favourite seasonal drinks, hangover and indigestion pills, and must-have family presents were all categories seeing dramatic hikes on some lines”
Price gouging involves charging more for consumers whose demand is price insensitive, in other words the price elasticity of demand is low. This would allow the retailers to achieve a higher profit margin on their sales as they extract consumer surplus and turn it into extra producer surplus. The accusation is a strong one more so because many thousands of families on lower incomes may have suffered price hikes at a time when budgets are already under enormous pressure from the effects of the recession and rising utility and energy bills.
More here: How supermarkets can cut ‘thousands of prices’ but your bills may go up
Find a stock market game that works
For some time I have been searching for a real time stock market trading game that works, one where 99% of the hard-graft is done by the software rather than teachers having to input every change. And also one that is intuitive to the students and which gives them a full array of trading options. VSE Marketwatch has provided a neat solution and within a week of a launch, 152 teams of Year 10 and Year 11 students are trading away in our 2010 stock market competition.
read more...»Rated: (5/5), based on 2 reviews
China the hungry teenager
Hamish McRae is on excellent form in this piece in the Independent - China’s latest growth surge is the result of an enormous fiscal stimulus and a massive (and unsustainable) rise in credit.
One of the short term consequences is that China’s turbo-charged growth is once again putting upward pressure on world commodity prices. Just as a hungry teenager will happily eat food long into the night, China’s incremental demand for natural resources and manufactured components is threatening another rise in cost push inflationary pressures in the world economy. This is one of the inflation risks facing developed countries and a factor behind fears of a rise in short term and long term interest rates before a recovery gains sufficient traction.
Assorted Links (9 Jan)
1/ The Times - Top Ten Credit Crunch Films - Kevin Maher chooses his selection of recession related films
2/ The Times - Prices of new cars will be open to offers - deep discounts in the prices of new cars are expected as the car scrappage scheme draws to a close.
3/ Independent - Virgin gets clearance for launch into banking - a good example here of one of the barriers to entry in the banking industry. Virgin needed a banking licence to break into the retail banking sector - it now has one
4/ Telegraph - The shortlist for worst takeover of the century - a super piece looking at some of the disastrous mergers and takeovers of recent years - some great examples to use in evaluation for essays on business integration/growth
5/ Vox - The impact of crisis-driven protectionism on EU exports: The “Russian doll” effect - useful background on the rise of protectionism in the global economy and the impact this has had on the EU economy
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