Why The Price of Oil is Volatile

A look at why oil prices are volatile. Readers Question: Dear Economics Help. Why is the petrol price so volatile and why when oil price falls don’t the prices of other commodities and services stay the same? The price of petrol is closely linked to the price of oil. In 2008,  the price of oil …

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Flexible Labour Markets and Immigration

There is an interesting article in the Economist about immigration and the impact on the Irish economy. Immigration tends to encourage a range of emotive responses, but, its impact on the flexibility of labour markets is worth considering. In the boom years, Ireland was growing by up to 5% a year or more. Growth was …

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How Recessions Affect Companies

Readers Question: how do recessions affects a company operations? Recessions involve lower output so usually consumer spending will fall. Therefore, firms will see a fall in demand for their products. The extent of this fall in demand depends on the products they produce. For example, if they produce luxury goods like sports cars or organic …

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Is the Price of a Starbucks a Rip off?

The price of a small (illogically called the ‘Tall’) Starbucks Cappuccino is now £2.05. The Venti now costs £2.65 (2008 prices) This year the price of Starbucks drinks have increased by more than the rate of inflation. Costa Coffe and Cafe Nero have both kept their prices below £2, but, industry analysts argue that it …

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Monetary Policy and Politics

Why is monetary policy easier to conduct than fiscal policy in a highly divided national political environment? Monetary policy is usually implemented by independent monetary authorities. For example, in UK, monetary policy is implemented by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. Therefore, they can take politically unpopular decisions such as increasing interest …

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New Zealand Interest Rates and Inflation 2008

Readers Question:  What is the relationship/theory between the OCR (Official Cash Rate) and Inflation? The Official Cash Rate is the interest rate the New Zealand Reserve Bank use to control inflation. It is very similar to the base rate used by the MPC, Bank of England. Graph Interest Rates New Zealand Because New Zealand commercial …

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Predictions for Euro vs Dollar 2009

Readers Question: WHAT ARE THE PREDICTION FOR THE DOLLAR $ AGAINST THE EURO FOR 2009? 2009, will probably see both EU and US economies enter into recession. So far, the EU has been slow to cut interest rates; it has given greater prominence to the spike in inflation rather than the slowing economy. However, the …

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