Oil prices rise

I have grumbled consecutively since last five posts about the Dubai trouble but the Dubai government reassuring steps and the immediate action taken by Dubai's central bank have acted so as to curb the growing fears of the world. It is due to these steps that oil has rebounded to near $77 a barrel Monday in Asia. Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 52 cents to $76.57 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.91 to settle at $76.05 on Friday.The United Arab Emirates central bank took steps to avert any run on banks by panicked depositors, pledging Sunday to offer additional money to foreign and domestic banks in the emirates amid concerns that UAE banks have some of the biggest exposure to Dubai World's debts.The promise of cheap funds signaled to global investors that the country's federal government -- backed by oil money -- will do what it can to limit the fallout from the indebted Dubai emirate.The weakening dollar and the strengthening of Asian markets today have also helped create the rise in oil prices.

Ignored warnings hit Harvard hard

Here is an article about how the people including Summers, one of the greatest economist did not pay heed to to growing market concerns and ended up jeopardizing the world's largest college endowment.
Who cares about the finanial crisis, we have $36 billion

Global GDP trends

I have found this extremely interesting graph of the changing contributions of different regions to the world's GDP and it shows some pretty interesting trends, I t seems that Asia, with ever-growing economies of China, Malaysia, Taiwan etc is showing the greatest positive trend. Wish I could name Pakistan in these countries also but alas! my wishful thinking.

Oil rises to near $77 as Dubai debt fears ease

I have grumbled consecutively since last five posts about the Dubai trouble but the Dubai government reassuring steps and the immediate action taken by Dubai's central bank have acted so as to curb the growing fears of the world. It is due to these steps that oil has rebounded to near $77 a barrel Monday in Asia. Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 52 cents to $76.57 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.91 to settle at $76.05 on Friday.The United Arab Emirates central bank took steps to avert any run on banks by panicked depositors, pledging Sunday to offer additional money to foreign and domestic banks in the emirates amid concerns that UAE banks have some of the biggest exposure to Dubai World's debts.The promise of cheap funds signaled to global investors that the country's federal government -- backed by oil money -- will do what it can to limit the fallout from the indebted Dubai emirate.The weakening dollar and the strengthening of Asian markets today have also helped create the rise in oil prices.

European stocks down as Dubai debt worries linger

I have been bemoaning the far-reaching impact of Dubai's problems for quite some time now and even though it seemed obvious that its effects are going to hurt around for some time, every latest news increases anxiety and concerns. European stock markets have fallen again today amid concerns about Dubai's debt problems, even after the United Arab Emirates' central bank pledged to make extra funding available to all banks in the country, including foreign institutions with local branches. Asian markets rebounded by around 3 percent after tumbling heavily on Friday, when European and U.S. stock markets had regained their poise.Investors in Europe, a different story altogether (fussy as they are!!) , continued to worry about the fallout from Dubai World's announcement last week that it wanted to postpone forthcoming debt payments until May. Much of the $60 billion debts held by the government investment company are thought to be with European banks, particularly those in Britain and so, it seems, they are going to continue crying for some time.

Most expensive college

Going to college is a major investment. It can cost anything between $200 (government subsidized colleges) to upward of $55000(some top colleges in the US).Even though I am a strong supporter of good education,I truly believe that it is the individual's opinion that counts as to whether such hefty spending on college is warranted. Only an individual can decide whether he is content with a state subsidized college or only a private expensive college would do.Here I post a link to a website which lists the 100 most expensive college is the US. Although the page states US but as I have come to realise that education is most expensive in the US, so we can assume that they are the most expensive colleges in the world with a few exceptions here and there.
Most expensive colleges

Continuation

I will now point out what I think are flaws in the Telegraph article. First, the author assumes that the future developments would be common enough that they will be even able to fulfill the requirements of the super-rich. Although, I seem to be inadvertently underscoring the author's line of reasoning and one might point out that this shortage would in itself trigger the rationing function of price and might induce even more exclusivity but this logic can only be applied to the assumption-filled textbook world. Here I can quote the example of body parts such as kisneys which suffer from inefficient allocation creating black markets and smuggling; many people who can pay the market price even can not buy the parts. Also there is no guarantee that the future developments would be free of side-effects, which is a major deterrent even today to consumers endorsing and using advances in bio-technology (O! I wont eat that genetically engineered tomato even if it is the yummiest; there are rumors of endowed antibiotic resistance in those things).Moreover, we are nowhere fully cognizant of our genetics to be able to categorically list out the diseases to which we are prone. We may have been able to isolate all our genes but we do not know the functions of the majority and it seems unlikely that we will be able to in next 20 years. Here, the author also assumes little to no role played by the government in the near future to reduce this disparity. I find this assumptions unwarranted as even as early as the present, groups are pressurizing government to keep a watchful eye on the implications of ongoing research on genetics. So I would not go on to say that the scenario is not possible but it does not seem likely and this post is not intended to be derogatory to the author as I wholeheartedly accept her to be more qualified and experienced than me.

Recently, a Telegraph writer, Amy Willis, wrote in her article about how she expects that advances in medical technology will be such that they will increase the life expectancy but these new advances will be available only to the elite given their hefty price tag. She also goes on to say that this disparity in the availability of those significant medical developments will cause an evolution of a rich class with a longer life expectancy.
I may not be very qualified to challenge anything she says but I do believe that the reasoning has its fair share of flaws.I am extremely tired right now so I will point out those when I have had my rest

How Much Do I Need For Emergencies?

As cliched as it may sound life is full of turns-nasty and nice.We can be minting money one day and the next thing we know, creditors are banging our front door for repayment.As I write this sentence, I am reminded of a German business tycoon who was completetely indebted by creditors and committed suicide by lying infront of a train. We can never be assured of our bright future and it is this idea that forms the basis of insurance.But do we actually need insurance? If yes,which plan is the best for us. Here is a nifty little tool to tell you how much money you require for an emergency. The internet is palgued by emergency calculators but what I really like about this calculator is its simplicity-no long-winded question or technical names. Just answer simple questions and you get a simple answer-and that is just about it.
EMERGENCY MONEY CALCULATOR

Dubai looks to its brother state for aid in its financial woes

While world markets struggle to absorb the shock of Dubai's financial woes (Take a peak at my previous post for a recap), the hitherto ambitious leaders of the Emirate meet their counterparts of the neighbouring state whose balance sheet is flushed by revenues from oil aka AbuDhabi. Few are aware of what actually went inside the august halls in Al Ain on an important Islamic feast day on Friday. But their new relationship is clear. Abu Dhabi has the cash and cache to be Dubai's white knight -- in a Gulf version of a too-big-to-fail bailout or to help calm markets with promises to intervene if Dubai's fiscal mess deepens.
It seems like the decisions Abu Dhabi takes will likely determine the fate the one dreamland-in-the-desert state.Thus it seems mocking that just this month, Dubai's ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, assured international investors that all was well with Dubai's finances and told media critics to literally "shut up."(Too bad the Maktoum was too angry to put up a show of courtesy)
However,it would be wrong to classify Abu Dhabi's intervention as pure filial sympathy.The intervention might be symbiotic: a stronger Dubai is necessary for a thriving Abu Dhabi.Thus, Abu Dhabi is also moved by its own economic well-being to help Dubai.

All my relatives who live in Dubai are extremely worried about the financial troubles it is facing and many a people plan to return to their home country given the uncertainty but as I read this news I came to be aware of the bigger implications of Dubai's financial problems. Oil prices sank below $76 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors curtailed their risky bets on commodities amid uncertainty about the global fallout from Dubai's financial troubles. While I understand that all the oil prices fluctuations make sense but I have to admit I never thiught that way.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was down $2.09 to $75.87 at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, extending losses from European trade. Trading in the U.S. was closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.Just a year after the global downturn derailed Dubai's explosive growth, the emirate is now so swamped in debt that it's asking for a six-month reprieve on paying its bills. Its main development engine, Dubai World, has said it would ask creditors for a "standstill" on paying back its $60 billion debt until at least May, news that roiled markets worldwide.

Sacrifice.... and Game theory???

For the first time in all this past time, I really see recession hitting in my country and ironically it is not that I find people buying less of Iphones and Playstations; I see recession hitting in on the several sacrifice animal markets. What used to be a thriving market, with hundreds of cattle, which started at least two months before is hardly any noticeable affair this year.Cattle have been reduced in markets exponentially. And hardly anyone is interesting in buying the cattle left:this may be because of recession and I think the downward multiplier effect is much noticeable. However I think there is another factor which is responsible:effect of other people's decisions on a rational consumer's decisions - yes, the game theory. I have discussed about some of the motives an individual has in mind while observing this ritual and I also believe that to a significant extent, the Sacrifice is observed because this is a practice which extends throughout society, so people are sometimes obliged to do it i-e since everyone is performing sacrifice, I may not want to be the odd one out and this might enhance my desire to perform the sacrifice. Since, there is a very pronounced downward multiplier effect in the country, there is no desire to buy some cattle just to 'go with the social norm'. Thus, the phenomenon of diminished sacrifices is further aggravated. However, it would be devilish of me to dismiss all performed sacrifices as products of societal pressure, since many are still committed to perform the ritual due to its purest objectives but it is true that the effect of societal pressure can not be ignored.

Eid Mubarak!!!!

Before I forget, before I go to my village where it is impossible to post anything and before the time has passed, I wish you all a very very happy Eid Mubarak.

Wealth distribution and Eids

As muslims in Saudi Arabia celebrate the yearly muslim festival of Eid and people in my area eagerly await for it (Eid is tomorrow!!), I ponder about the tradition associated with Eid-ul-Azha i-e sacrifice. While my family has not been lucky enough to observe this tradition every year but we have been able to perform this sacrifice whenever our finances gave us leeway. I am thinking about its implications as a way to reduce the difference between rich and poor so as they can enjoy the Eid equally. Since most of the people in my country rarely get to eat any meat, it is a delicacy in every sense of the word: so sacrificing an animal and giving its meat to the poor is indeed a genuine effort to ameliorate their constraints on enjoyment due to financial limitations (Here, I assume that eating meat is an enjoyment for the poor which I think it is).However,putting away my rosy-coloured spectacles, I see a lot of people not observing the tradition with its purest objective, either they do not give away the portion of meat to poors or save the best for themselves. I think this is the fault in the basic aim of a sacrifice:had it been any simple animal slaughter,giving away some meat to the poor would have been scarcely necessary. Since this is THE Sacrifice, I think it is imperative for us to not to discriminate.And it is through this equal distribution only that we can achieve our much sought after aim of reducing disparity between rich and poor.

America's Fastest-Growing White-Collar Paychecks

I read this article about the highest paid administration jobs in the US and I would like to share this article with all of you.While the controller and the Managing director cover up the rear end of there rankings, I leave it to you to check out which administrative job is the most highly paid.
Highest Paid Executive Jobs

Everybody not living under the overly cliched rock knows that things in the financial crisis are not as bad as they were before and we can justifiably say that we are heading towards a really slow and torturous road towards economic recovery but what if somebody told you that the really slow and torturous recovery is even slower than we expected?A private forecast of economic activity over the next six months has come up with a rather sorry report that says recovery was even slower up than expected in October, signaling slow growth next year. The Conference Board says its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.3 percent last month. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had expected an 0.5 percent gain.The index climbed 1 percent in September.The Conference Board forecasts economic activity by measuring current jobless aid claims, stock prices, consumer expectations, building permits for private homes, the money supply and other data. While some measures may be getting better (consumer expectations??) and some getting worse but at a smaller rate than before (jobless people!!), the future still is uncertain about the exact magnitude of recovery and all we can do is wait and pretend that everything is just fine.

Yale open courses

The world renowned Yale university is offering Yale open courses on their website. What are those open courses all about? Well, they are actual videos of Yale classes in various subjects so one can learn even beyond the walls of Yale.With admission rates of close to 8%, very few lucky people will be able to actually receive the edification inside Yale's forbidden gates. This program as one Yale professor said "as delivering an Ivy league standard education to a wider audience, "It’s not the full Yale experience, unfortunately, but it’s something." allows a reach of Yale education internationally.Here is the link for the Yale open courses,
http://oyc.yale.edu/

Scholarships

If anything is in vogue in the pedant's world, it has to be the number of scholarships given. Despite being a recipient of a full scholarship throughout my high school, I had initially struggled to comprehend the economic logic behind the giving away of scholarships. After all, how could a private, profit-maximising firm make a seemingly rational decision to waive off full tuition for a large percentage of students? Places like my present school have as much as 20% of the student population on some form of scholarship. But as I sailed through my junior year, I gradually started to comprehend the benefits of those scholarships. First of all, since most schools in my area work as close to perfect competition as can be thought of, most schools are price takers and therefore, all schools have to provide similar levels of scholarships in order to keep the students from leaving. (Although schools like Aitchison are exception as they have gained fame for being tough in giving out scholarships and hence, achieving the title of a highly selective school).The scholarship recipients are usually the brightest, fun-filled people there are. Its no surprise that schools can promote the image of being active in extra-curriculars because thanks to those scholarships, they have state level debaters, actors or whatever. And it doesn't take someone to be a rocket scientist to understand that the scholarships attract the world distinction holders about whom the schools can brag about for the next hundred years or so. The scholars would also be the only ones who wold be likely to get into the top colleges and promote the schools reputation as a 'feeder' school to Harvard, Yale, Cornell etc. All the reasons in general and the last reason in particular go on to attract more students which in turn means more revenue for the school. Thus, a happy ending is achieved: the bright minds get full rides till A levels and the schools can brag about how many of their kids got into an Ivy league institution. Therefore, scholarships are NOT as worthless as everyone thinks.

It seems ridiculously obvious that all those budget touchscreens like Star and Corby seem to be working like magic in bringing wheelbarrows full of cash as revenue for the Samsung guys.Samsung has continued its outstanding performance in Q3 of the year, achieving 35.86 trillion Korean won (about 31 billion US dollars) revenue. The consolidated operating profit is 4.23 trillion Korean won (3.6 billion dollars) indicating that the company has been in excellent form for the past three months. Those numbers are respectively 18.5 and 185.8 percent higher than those for the same period of last year.As usual lately, the mobile division is among the best performers in the conglomerate. It registered 10.71 trillion (9.1 billion US dollars) won in revenue reached which is a 20.6 percent increase year-on-year The operating profit of 1.03 trillion won (874 million US dollars) for the third quarter is a quarter-best for the industry. Above, I post a graph to show the current market shares of leading cellphone manufacturers:it seems my speculations were right about LG and Samsung steadily increasing market share for Samsung's share has increased by 15% quarter-on-quarter to 60.2 million units to 20.8 %,crossing the 20% mark for the first time.

Unemployment rate hits 10.2%, worst since 1983

If there was anything that caught my undivided attention while perusing my online articles, it was this: US's unemployment rate rose above 10% for the first time since 1983 in October, a much worse jump than expected as employers continued to trim jobs from payrolls.The reading, reported by the government Friday, is a sign of the continued weakness in the labor market even though the economy grew in the third quarter following the longest and deepest downturn since the Great Depression. The government reported Friday that unemployment rate spiked to 10.2%, up from 9.8% in September. It is the highest that this rate has been since April 1983. Economists had forecast an increase to 9.9%.
According to a survey of top forecasters by the National Association of Business Economics last month, the consensus estimate among economists was that unemployment would hit a high of 10% in the final three months of this year and the first quarter of 2010.
This news shows that we, or rather the US has yet to see the worst of unemployment rates given the continued uncertainty of employers.

KSE index shoots up again

For about a week or so, the KSE 100-index has been plummetting to a low of a shade over 8700 but now the latest news is that it has again taken a hike and not only crossed the psychological barrier of 9000 but also ended a little over a 100 points above that. The influx has been caused by an increase in direct investment by foreigners who might have been hesitant to invest in the days before, given the recent wave of terror and the much hyped (not in a good way) NRO. This incident further highlights the importance of stability to a country's economy. Although the pernicious effects of instability are nothing new to Pakistan( the Lawyer's movement, remember and also the effects of every word of Musharraf's speech on KSE highs and lows), it is high time for us to give leeway to the economy to settle and have a smooth growth. Stock market, in particular, is vulnerable to such instability as most of the trading is based on anticipation.