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#1: link to your Internet-based news article : http://www.currenteventarticle.com/
#2: Paragraph (4 sentences minimum) summarizing your article for the reader
#3: Paragraph (4 sentences minimum) with thoughts/opinions on the article
***POSTINGS ARE DUE BY 10:00 P.M. ON WEDNESDAYS (unless otherwise instructed in class)
*** CURRENT EVENT POSTINGS MADE AFTER 10:00 P.M. ON WEDNEDSAYS WILL RECEIVE NO CREDIT
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Get tough on banks, watchdog tells U.S.
ReplyDeleteSplit TARP oversight panel releases report saying Treasury risks prolonging financial system woes if it ignores liquidation and restructuring of banks.
1. http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/07/news/economy/tarp_report/index.htm
2. This article is about how TARP, the panel responsible for oversight of the economic plan has just released subpar results for Obama’s plan. They, as well as many others, have criticized Obama for ousting the former CEO of GM, Rick Waggoner, while simultaneously allowing big bank CEO’s to remain in their positions. The report detailed that the Treasury has spent about $200 billion on bank bailouts. Elizabeth Warren, the chairperson of TARP, has also stated that the only way the country will get better is if there is a new focus on credibility.
3. I completely agree with the results proposed by the oversight panel. I think that Obama’s administration is wasting time and tax dollars on temporary stimulus. If the recession is longer than anticipated, all that Obama has currently set forth will be for nothing. History has made it clearly evident in previous recessions that what Obama is doing rarely provides permanent security. I think that the treasury needs to try something different; or they could start a war, that might help too. In all seriousness, I think that the banks should be held responsible and not given money; if they should fall, then so be it. In order to rebuild the system, it has to fall first.
http://www.switched.com/2009/04/07/gm-and-segway-partner-on-crazy-p-u-m-a-vehicle/
ReplyDeleteWith GMs latest financial crisis they are doing anything and everything in their power to get people excited about this once thriving company and get them to start investing again. Their latest attempt is no longer in the car industry exaclty but rather in future tansportantion. Everyone remembers the whole Segway craze and how it was supposed to save the o-zone and reduce the dependency on oil, well GM and Segway Inc have joined forces. They have come up with a seated segway that is still controlled by your body weight and pressure and still runs on two wheels that weighs 300 pounds and can reach speeds as high as 35mph. They call this mechine the PUMA. Executives are hoping that this invention will save the company and get the ball back rolling while others think that the ball will flop.
while I hope that PUMA will be able to save the company I highly doubt it. Haven driven a Segway myself I can personally say that it was one of the most awkward and unsafe thing ever. As far as the weight sensors go the mechine i believ was way to sensitive to weight change. for example you can't use to much pressure or it will throw you off, just like me and it wasn't fun having a 200 pound mechine on you. this new segway is 300 pounds and is shaped like one of those wierd european cars except it only fits one person, cant go as fast, has no door or other safety features and has 2 wheels. while their is no official guess to how much the PUMA will cost executives say that it will cost about 1/3 of an average car. so say an average car costs $25000 that means this things will be about $7500. i would rather pay the full $25000 for a car that is an all weather vechicle and can fit more that one person. while it is a valid attempt by GM it will ultimately flop because there are better alternatives to a segway.
Article:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7148582/
Summary:
This article is about how rates on 30-year mortgages fell to the lowest level on record for the second consecutive week. The article explains that rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped from 4.85 percent to 4.78 percent. It is the lowest in the history of Freddie Mac’s survey, which dates back to 1971. Rates, according to the article, are down by more than a full percentage point from a year ago. These low rates, as a result, sparked a surge in refinancing activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association said that its weekly application index climbed 3 percent, and nearly 80 percent of applications came from borrowers seeking to refinance.
Opinion:
I think it is a good thing that the mortgage rates have fallen. It can help get the economy back on its feet again. However, lenders have tightened their standards dramatically over the past year, so the best rates are only available to those with solid credit. Overall, I think that the fallen mortgage rates are a positive thing that is happening right now in the economy.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/29/citigroup-wants-to-pay-big-bonuses/
ReplyDeleteWith Citigroup receiving more bailout money and showing no sign of improvement Citi has asked the governments permission to pay some “key” employees big bonuses. Citi says the people that they are looking to give bonuses to are the heavy hitters who have made huge profits for them in the past. With out compensation Citi says these employees will walk and find the bonuses else where, just like many top traders and bankers already have due to the compensation restrictions. Douglas McIntyre says “that even though the tax payers will howl with disapproval, the government needs to help Citi retain its key profit makers. And if we do not give the best traders and bankers the bonuses it will surely only make it harder for big America financial firms to make money.
Personally I agree with the article to some extent. With Citi being at its worst point we have to give motivation to those employees who have helped the company immensely in the past. However I do not think that the bonuses need to be six figures. Citi is obviously not in the financial position it once was and simply can not dish out that much money to people who have helped, but that doesn’t mean they cant give some sort of bonus.
1: http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/27/news/economy/stimulus/index.htm?postversion=2009042805
ReplyDelete2: This article is about Obaamas stimulus plan and where the money is actually going. In just under 10 weeks the gov't has planned to invest over 75 million dollars into the plan. So far 14.5 billion has been spent, mostly all of that has gone to medicaide because of the rising costs of medical care. The massive recovery package was designed to stimulate the economy and create jobs, as well as assist states and people suffering from the recession by providing funding for education, Medicaid and other public services. The government plans to pump 499 million dollars into the stimulus package within the next few years.
3: I believe that the idea of the stimulus package is a good idea but in the long run will not do much for the economy. I believe that with money and time the economy will start to come back strong. I believe that too much money will be spent to the point where it will not produce enough positive effects on the economy and will just become more debt added to what we already have.
1. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Consumers-give-spark-of-new-apf-15078502.html?sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode=
ReplyDelete2. This article is about how the American economy has shrunk by a lot within the first 3 months of this year. Although now consumers are stepping it up and spending more, this could help rebound the economy and become a turn around for this recession. Many analysts now think that the economy is shrinking at a far lower rate then it was before in January which is defiantly a good thing. Most analysts believe that the economy should start growing again by summer or more likely the final quarter of this year (October-December).
3. I think that this is a good article. I truly believe that the economy is starting to rebound with the stock market on the rise and consumer spending increasing I think these are all positive indicators that the economy is starting to turn around. Of course we would all like the economy to turn around as soon as possible but I think what analysts are saying about summer to the last quarter of the year is defiantly realistic.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/30/smallbusiness/bling_your_ipod.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2009050106
ReplyDeleteThis article is about John Mayberry, an IT technician who got annoyed that his Ipod couldnt hold all of his songs. so being the genious that he is, he decided to make a chip that could make his ipod hold up to 240 megabites of songs, videos, photos, etc. even though by doing this you break the warranty of the Ipod, he was getting large numbers of orders, and one month later the company had solved its supply problem and upgraded 500 iPods.
i think this article has no actual meaning at all. i think its a story simply for business. i think that after reading this article, more people will want their ipods hacked to hold massive amounts of data, so John Mayberry will be raking in profits. if i were apple, i would possibly talk business with him and see if they can give him a large amount of money in exchange for the chips to make ipods larger
Flu shakes travel industry
ReplyDelete1. http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/28/news/international/swineflu_travel/index.htm
2. What this article is about is basically that the travel industry is on red alert after the Swine Flu outbreak from Mexico. This is similar to the SARS cases previously. It warns that if the $770 billion travel industry is hit by this outbreak, this could deal a huge blow in our slowly recovering economy. If the number of travelers decreases, our entire economy could be hurt. In addition, there is also a chance that if this Swine Flu outbreak continues for another month or two, the number of visitors into the country could drastically decrease, funneling millions out of our slow economy.
3. I feel that there is some real danger, but not as much as there is made out to be. There may be some small trickles in the travel industry, but the ramifications will be comparatively small. I think that if this does continue, the entire economy will be dragged down because any one industry has connections to all others. Again, I feel that this flu is just a scare and will blow over with minimal damage.