Subprime Crisis and the Global Financial Markets

Readers Question: To what extent can the subprime crisis affect the global financial market? The subprime crisis refers to the rising number of defaults on US subprime mortgages. Basically, US mortgage companies sold a lot of inappropriate mortgages to people on low income and poor credit histories. Rising interest rates, and falling house prices are …

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The Most Profitable Company in the UK (2008) – Shell

But, do they deserve it? Last year, Shell made profits of $27.6bn (£14bn). This equates to profits of about £1.5 million per hour – which by any stretch of the imagination is not a bad hourly earning. The profits have been criticised by trades unions, environmentalists and motoring organisations. Motoring organisations claim that petrol is …

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Categories oil

Mortgage Equity Withdrawal and Economic Growth

housing-equity-withdrawal

Readers Question: Does mortgage equity withdrawal enhance economic growth? There is good evidence that mortgage equity withdrawal can lead to higher levels of consumer spending and economic growth Definition of Mortgage equity withdrawal – Mortgage equity withdrawal occurs when homeowners remortgage taking out bigger loans to take advantage of rising property values. Suppose you bought …

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Why is Government Reluctant to Boost Demand?

Readers Question. Explain how interest rates could be used to boost the economy. Why, then do the govenment frequently hesitate to take such steps. Interesting Question. Generally, lower interest rates help increase consumer spending, investment and economic growth. Lower interest rates help increase Aggregate Demand for various reasons. Lower interest rates make borrowing cheaper encouraging …

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Effects of American Economic Decline on Vietnam

Readers Question: What are the effects of the economic decline in America to the country of Vietnam? If the US economy entered into a recession the main effects on other countries would be: 1. A decline in exports. American consumers are a key component of world trade. If there was a decline in exports to …

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Should Government Cut all Taxes?

Readers Question: What the benefits and the negative effects of reducing all taxes? I wrote an Essay on the advantages and disadvantages of tax cuts The idea of cutting all taxes is key element of libertarian politics. Cutting taxes is often a mantra repeated by conservative parties, although in practice, they usually find it more …

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Sorry, I lost £3.5bn on the Stock Market

Yesterday, I mentioned future contracts could be used as a way to insure against risky commodity prices. This is one way that future contracts can be used. Unfortunately, future contracts and options can also be used to speculate on the stock market. Stock market options enable investors to take a position on the stock market …

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