Wednesday, September 17, 2014

How much is "50 Cent" the rapper worth in Foreign Currencies? Economics is FUN!

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On David Wessel's Twitter feed he retweeted this: I thought it funny as well. Using my meager Excel skills, I cobbled together t...

Basic Supply and Demand illustration. Hope it helps.

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The corn crop for this year (2014) is scheduled to be the most productive ever, with per acre yields in the 162 bushel range ( a bushel is 7...
Monday, September 15, 2014

Literally and figuratively the butter spread is getting wider. See how that affects trade flows.

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The price of butter has surged in recent days as well as recent months. Here is a graph I created showing the price of butter in the US and ...

"Mainstream media" article that extensively uses elasticity to describe a market. What a pleasant surprise!

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A terrific article that explains the current market for corn using many micro and a few macroeconomic concepts. Bumper crop is bummer for...
Saturday, September 13, 2014

"5 Tips for Investing" and a piece of advice on one of them from someone who has been there.

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USA Today has very short article " 5 Tips for College Students Interested in Investing ".  They may seem superficial but there ar...
Thursday, September 11, 2014

How to read a "Cross Currency Rate" chart for the lesson on Foreign Exchange Rates.

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One way students might encounter an exchange rate chart is in the from of "Cross Currency Rates" It is in table form and can be ...
Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The wage you are paid is not the total cost to employ you. See the numbers here.

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One of the many reports the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out is " Employer Costs for Employee Compen...

Need a primer on "Tax Inversions"? Link to a nice one here.

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Confused by the issue of "Tax Inversions" as brought to prominence by the Burger King/Tim Horton's merger? This document HE...
Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Education Spending in the OECD countries. How does the US stack up against the rest?

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This terrific interactive is from the OECD website, the statistic gathering arm of the European Union. See how various countries stack up...
Monday, September 8, 2014

Reason Number Infinity as to why Walmart and Costco are NOT in the same business--New Tire Edition.

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I need some new tires for my 2010 Toyota Camry.  Thought I would check Walmart and Costco websites to price compare. I kinda  knew what the ...
Wednesday, September 3, 2014

San Francisco, Urban Farming and Housing Costs---a lesson in Opportunity Costs.

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Another adventure in Opportunity Costs. How Urban Farming Is Making San Francisco's Housing Crisis Worse  (The Atlantic) The City ...
Saturday, August 30, 2014

Discrimination is alive and well against fruits and veggies in the EU.

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The European Union (EU) has strict standards (see HERE ) when it comes to the sale of certain fruits and vegetables. In order to be sold i...
Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Fuel for Food in the Upper Mid-West. Caught in the Opportunity Cost trap.

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The allocation of scarce railroad track from the transport of food to fuel has created a costly consequence for agricultural interests. The...

Burger King and King Sugar. One wants to pay less taxes and the other wants to receive more tax dollars. One is way worse than the other.

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Ah, the arrogance of royalty. The freak-out continues over Burger King moving to Canada because of the purchase of a MUCH larger company ...
Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Comparing Apples to Burgers when it comes to taxes. One is a Whopper and one has a small worm hole--don't assume which is which...

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It is possible to be a corporate "traitor" without leaving the country. Last year Burger King paid a total of $88 million dollar...
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