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Category: economics

House prices in the UK on the rise?

House prices in the UK on the rise?

And interesting article on the BBC website today talks about how house prices were higher last month than they were a month before. It’s interesting because the increase is a month-on-month increase rather than a gradual increase which could be attributed to seasonal frustrations. Here’s what the trend looks like: Interesting, isn’t it? Well, there’s also a quote from an economics expert who maintains: “With the housing market still overvalued, activity still at levels which would normally result in falling…

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Carrots are better than sticks

Carrots are better than sticks

photo credit: DanielaNob I came across an interesting article in New Scientist today where research into the “common goods” game provides insight into how collaboration between different individuals in enhanced by incentives rather than hygiene factors. We all experience “common goods” in some share or form, for example when we make use of public health services. The notion behind them is that everyone contributes a tiny amount and makes use of the good when needed. Typically though, certain advantages are…

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Economy beats expectations

Economy beats expectations

Image via Wikipedia Interesting article about how the economy in the UK is shrinking at a slower rate than was expected. That must be good news right? Here’s a snippet from the article: The 0.7% decline was a significant improvement on the 2.4% contraction in the previous quarter. But the annual drop of 5.5% remains the biggest since records began in 1955. It’s a bit too early to see whether this is an emerging trend of just a seasonal glitch….

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Understanding the current economic crisis

Understanding the current economic crisis

Do you have a good grasp of what has caused the current economic crisis? If you haven’t here’s a great video to watch: The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo. It’s an excellent video called The Crisis of Credit Visualized produced by Jonathan Jarvis as his thesis for his Media Design course. The graphic instruments used are great, but I particularly like it because it explains the current problems we have succinctly and elegantly. So if you…

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Why are the markets falling again?

Why are the markets falling again?

Interesting article on BBC looking into why markets around the world are still falling. I’m picking out the most intesteresting question to share with my readers: How much further down can the markets go? Spotting when markets have reached the bottom is a tricky and risky process. Many traders believe in the idea of capitulation, which broadly means a market surrender. This is when investors are prepared to get out of the market at any price because they have given…

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It’s just water ..

It’s just water ..

I was listening to a speech by Bill Bertera from Water Environment Federation who was speaking in New Orleans which was still rebuilding from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. The talk was about water and how it affects our lives. I was thinking about how we assume we’ll have clean water when we open a tap and the whole industrial process behind the collection and purification of it. That leads to thoughts about the economics of water provision and the…

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