Single Seller:
You don't see any other gelato (Gelato is different from ice cream. Quote Gelato Uncle: The taste is more intense - !!!) seller in HC, do you?

Unique product:
The closest substitute gelato is probably the Meji yogurt sold in Fishtank -.-

Barriers to entry:
You can't set up your gelato shop in HC unless you are invited (to help raise funds no doubt).



qiuting.




Hello,

Click to download notes/summary of the various econs topics:
(i've checked, it's legal to do so)


Resource Allocation:
click here

Firms and how they operate:
click here

Market Failure and Government Intervention:
click here


credits to Zhuoyi from Fivelesslnotes



ceteris paribus,
qiuting





Just for fun, since Ashton has completed his very own parody of the song :D

The original 'A Whole New World'.. with a twist.










Hi all,

I came across this website which incorporates economics into music in the form of flash animations!

I feel this would be an effective way to reach out to students, especially if the students are familiar with the music used. It could perhaps be shown during lectures, as a short few minutes break to lessons taught with lecture notes.

Unfortunately, I am unable to request for access to the "Animation Database" and hence cannot evaluate the usefulness of the videos. (I can only view one very short demo video here .)

Perhaps the economics unit might want to take a look at the website? ..because it is stated on the website that



















Found a cool econs-related activity, of sorts.
It is probably below the standard of wht we're learning,
but it's interesting nonetheless.
Try it out when you're free.

Look at this (http://www.rockwellsite.com/files/bw/59_full.jpg) picture,
and do this (http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/em276/flash/popupActivity.html) activity.
See how much you score ! Lol I got 16 out of 20 qns correct (80%) and this is elementary level stuffs. Gosh I suck.
You can also open your own lemonade stall here : http://www.ae4rv.com/games/lemonade.htm

Enjoy !

~ Eileen




http://netec.mcc.ac.uk/JokEc.html

1.
Humor is evolving, now we have a refinement:
"Economics is the only field in which two people can get a Nobel Prize for saying the opposite thing" is true, but is not strong enough. Better:

"Economics is the only field in which two people can share a Nobel Prize for saying opposing things." Specifically, Myrdal and Hayek shared one.

Roberto Alazar

(A rumor has it that there was a similar case in neuroscience, Golgi and Cajal, maybe economists are not so different!)

2.
A mathematician, an accountant and an economist apply for the same job.
The interviewer calls in the mathematician and asks "What do two plus two equal?" The mathematician replies "Four." The interviewer asks "Four, exactly?" The mathematician looks at the interviewer incredulously and says "Yes, four, exactly."

Then the interviewer calls in the accountant and asks the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The accountant says "On average, four - give or take ten percent, but on average, four."

Then the interviewer calls in the economist and poses the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The economist gets up, locks the door, closes the shade, sits down next to the interviewer and says "What do you want it to equal?"


3.
To an economist, real life is a special case.


4.
An econometrician and an astrologer are arguing about their subjects. The astrologer says, "Astrology is more scientific. My predictions come out right half the time. Yours can't even reach that proportion". The econometrician replies, "That's because of external shocks. Stars don't have those".






-April 21,2008. HOME section of The Straits Times.

from http://singaporeluxuryhomes.biz/ :
"In 2007, average property prices have gone up 31%. For prime luxury properties, we are outperforming the market with more than 50% gain. Looking forward in 2008, we expect prime luxury property prices to rise 10%-20% year on year. Singapore was recently ranked one of the Asian cities with the most expensive properties. Rents are continuing to rise rapidly and thus providing better yields for investors."



rising property prices

WHY

"commodity price rises have brought wealth"
"rising affluence have also generted another market for 2nd homes and holiday homes"

based on YED, increase in income >> increase in the demand for normal goods >> more people buying houses, wanting to own their own properties, and 'upgrading' (ie moving into larger houses) some of them even owns more than one house now.

"prices grew strongly in the emerging economies, esp China and central and eastern Europe"

emerging economies >> developing at fast pace >> economic booms >> increased incomes >> more comfortable lifestyles and demand for luxury goods



from http://singaporepropertyfrontiers.com/2008/03/27/luxury-home-prices-to-fall-32-by-2010-nomura/ :

Source : Business Times - 27 Mar 2008

"As a result, mass residential prices will remain flat in 2008, climbing just 0.5 per cent, Nomura believes. And as new supply is completed in the prime districts, it expects prices to fall 10.3 per cent in 2009 and 10.1 per cent in 2010 - a total fall of some 19.4 per cent from the 2008 peak."

"Residential rents are likely to remain firm in the short term, given the low vacancy rate, Nomura reckons. But rising new supply is likely to cap rental gains from the second half of this year"

"Average rents are expected to peak in 2008...But with supply on the rise, rents will ease."




An article on the merger of Australian banks on Westpac and St. George.





This would be a horizontal integration, as both are banks providing the same service.
It has already been stated in the article that "the combined bank would have greater access to funding and generate savings. The concept of economies of scale can then be brought in, as the combined bank would probably enjoy Administrative and Managerial economies, and rationalisation would also get rid of duplicated services. This would then lead to increased cost savings. Also, it would create a oligopoly market structure in Australia as the combined bank would have 25% of market share, with several large banks like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (worth A$58billion) having the rest of the market share.




YO!


ECONS > JUST LECTURE NOTES.

I am here to recommend an interesting econs-related book that i have borrowed last month but.... didnt have time to finish before the due date .




---
Chapter one excerpt:
What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?

Who cheats? Just about everyone . . . How cheaters cheat, and how to catch them . . . Stories from an Israeli day-care center . . . The sudden disappearance of seven million American children . . . Cheating schoolteachers in Chicago . . . Why cheating to lose is worse than cheating to win . . . Could sumo wrestling, the national sport of Japan, be corrupt? . . . What the Bagel Man saw: mankind may be more honest than we think.

source: http://freakonomicsbook.com/reviews/index.html
---

I have spotted a copy of this in the school library today by the way.... so yea...

(=


ceteris paribus,
qiuting.




Here's another econs article :

(click to enlarge)


...(continued)


-EILEEN




I found something to support the Shocking Economics video

it is a website by American Freedom University (Shocking Economics is a global educational project)

http://shockingeconomics.com/AmericanFreedomUniversity.com/Shocking_Economics.html

the details in the video are current as of 1 Oct 2007.
and are based on details by IMF (2006) and US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

alternatively, if you guys are interested, you may want to check out the GDP of countries and GSP (gross state product) of states (of US) at the websites below:

Countries GDP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

States GSP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP_(nominal)

hmm, is GSP similar to GDP?

anyw, the GDP page is updated in 2007
but the GSP one reflects only details of 2006 stuff

so im not very sure if you can use the facts ):

however i found out that it is true that USA's GDP far exceeds that of Japan (#2) and Germany (#3)
here are the IMF 2007 stats:

USA 13,843,825million
Japan 4,383,762million
Germany 3,322,147million.

USA's GDP is clearly more than 3x that of Japan and more than 4x Germany.


- Jasmine K




Hey guys I found a really really cool video on Youtube. Check it out:




And some jokes to end off:

"Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose your job. These economic downturns are very difficult to predict, but sophisticated econometric modeling houses like Data Resources and Chase Econometrics have successfully predicted 14 of the last 3 recessions."


"Talk is cheap. Supply exceeds Demand."


"Q. What does an economist do?
A. A lot in the short run, which amounts to nothing in the long run. "


"President Truman once said he wants an economic adviser who is one handed. Why? Because normally the economists giving him economic advice state 'On one hand and on the other...' "



HArry =)