Will the UKs wallets be dry?

Will the UKs wallets be dry?

Over the past couple of years the UK has been struggling and battling to get out of the never ending recession. This recession has resulted in devastating circumstances from 2009 onwards over the years:



The Telegraph

• Unemployment rose by 877,000 from April 2008 to hit 2.49 million in the three months to October 2009.
•  The recession saw a 12-month slump for manufacturers with output down almost 14% year on year at its worst point - the lowest seen since the 17% fall in output in 13 successive months of decline between 1979 and 1980.
• Borrowing is set to hit a record £178 billion in the current financial year - 12.6% of the country's entire output - due to a slump in tax take and higher spending on unemployment benefits and economic stimulus measures.
•  To combat recession the Bank of England slashed interest rates to just 0.5% in March last year - the lowest since the Bank was founded in 1694.

Contrastingly, 2013, near to an end has shown that the UK has successfully mananged to slowly but surely come out of the recession. However 2014 is not promising anything spectacular, but instead warns the economy to prepare for upcoming crisis'.

It has been predicted by the 'Resolution Foundation' that if the UKs interest rate increases up to 3% from 2014-2018, people that use more than half of their disposable income to repay debt will increase from approximately 600,000 to 1.1 million people.

Additionally, although the UKs future may look much more rosy than its former crisis, it is believed that the number of households exposed to debt will double. This is inclusive of mortgages being a prominent factor causing debt.

With this prediction, the UKs wallets will have to prepare for a change in their standards of living!

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev warns Cameron on immigration

It is has come to the attention of the public recently that the coalition government are forming intense restrictions and rules that will stop EU migrants living comfortably in the UK like they have previously done.

The coalition government has suggested that housing benefits should be taken away from EU migrants until they acquire a job, furthermore, it has been proposed that EU migrants should wait 3 months before they receive out of work benefits. 

President of Bulgaria, Mr Plevneliev, suggested that the measures are unnecessary and believes that Britain must stay true to themselves and their legacy as "a great global power that pioneered integration". He believes that the measures proposed are simply moving Britain towards nationalism and nationalism even though politicians believe there have been an influx of migrants at an unacceptable rate.

He added: "Bulgarian people are raising a lot of questions today about the democratic, tolerant and humane British society. Are we in Great Britain today writing a history of a switch to isolation, nationalism and short-term political approaches?

"Of course, Great Britain will make its planning and will take its decisions. But some of them could be right, some of them could be wrong. Some of them are bold and some of them are, I would say, not long-term orientated decisions."

Theresa May from the Home Secretary has suggested that a cap for around 75,000 EU migrants will be necessary for the future whilst Clegg has immediately condemned this suggestion and described it as unnecessary, illegal and unworkable.

It is obvious that although the no entry barrier may be popular in political opinion, however the economic costs of the barrier could have a greater effect.

Nick Clegg has said "are we really that keen to see the back of German lawyers, Dutch accountants or Finnish engineers? Do we want the NHS to fall over and the City of London to grind to a halt?"

The introduction of such tough barriers could possibly lead to the destruction of recovery for the UK as it could lead one step closer to leaving the EU. 

What do you think about the situation? Feel free to post your opinions and views here. Thanks.

Nelson Mandela dies aged 95

The man who spent over 20 years in jail, fighting against the segregation of the races in difficult periods, has now passed away. Nelson Mandela had been recovering from the intensive medical care that he receieved for a lung infection, he spent three months in jail. President Jacob Zuma stated "Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss". "The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was one of the world's most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years." - Adapted from BBC News.Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said he was "not only an amazing gift to humankind, he made South Africans and Africans feel good about being who we are. He made us walk tall. God be praised."It has been stated that Mandela's body will be moved to Pretoria and the funeral should be taking place next Saturday.Let us take the opportunity to show appreciation for the astounding work that Mandela had done during his time in power. His political influence shall always be recognize and he shall never be forgotten. Mandela was an instrumental force in the bridging of the gap between many nations. He had and still has a massive international presence and the world shall continue to celebrate a great life. R.I.P Nelson Mandela.

U.S calls on North Korea to release war veteran

The United States called on North Korea on Saturday to release an elderly U.S. military veteran held in custody since last month and who Pyongyang has accused of killing civilians during the Korean War 60 years ago.

Merrill E. Newman, an 85-year old former special forces officer, is in good health, his family said in a statement after getting an update on his condition from Swedish diplomats who had visited him in the North Korean capital over the weekend.

"He has received the medications that we sent him and medical personnel are checking on his health several times a day. Merrill reports that he is being well treated and that the food is good," the family said. Sweden's North Korean embassy gives consular help to the United States, which has no mission there.

The family, based in California, called on North Korea to release Newman, who has a heart rhythm disorder, as an act of compassion, taking into account his health and his age.

"All of us want this ordeal to end and for the 85 year-old head of our extended family to be with us once more."

Swedish embassy officials were granted access on Saturday to visit Newman, the U.S. State Department said, the first access by Western officials to him since his arrest.

Newman was detained at the end of a trip to communist North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The DPRK has no diplomatic relations with the United States which fought alongside South Korea in the 1950-53 war.

"Given Mr. Newman's advanced age and health conditions, we urge the DPRK to release Mr. Newman so he may return home and reunite with his family," a State Department official said in a statement.

The White House also urged Newman's release in a brief statement.

On Saturday, North Korea showcased Newman as a criminal, showing a video of him making a full confession and apology as if the battles of the Korean War were still raging.

The state KCNA news agency said Newman had been a mastermind of clandestine operations and confessed to being "guilty of a long list of indelible crimes against DPRK government and Korean people".

'BEG FOR PARDON'

In the patchy video, Newman appears composed and is shown reading aloud from a handwritten statement dated November 9, 2013, in a wood-paneled meeting room. At the end, he bows and places a fingerprint on the document.

"I realize that I cannot be forgiven for my offensives (offenses) but I beg for pardon on my knees by apologizing for my offensives (offenses) sincerely toward the DPRK government and the Korean people and I want not punish me (I wish not to be punished)," Newman was quoted as saying by KCNA.

One of the world's most isolated states, North Korea nourishes memories of the 1950-53 war with South Korea and the United States to keep its impoverished people distracted and the family of founder Kim Il Sung in power. His grandson, Kim Jong Un, is North Korea's current ruler.

It remains technically in a state of war with the South and with the United States because the war ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

Newman, who lives in a retirement community in Palo Alto, California, was pulled off an Air Koryo flight in North Korea minutes before it was due to depart for Beijing on October 26.

His wife, Lee Newman, told CNN that her husband went to North Korea to "put some closure" on his time during the U.S. military. It was "an important part of his life", she said.

In Pasadena, California, a yellow ribbon was attached to the front door of Jeff Newman, Merrill Newman's son, as a symbol the family was waiting for his return home.

During the war, Merrill Newman trained a group of partisan fighters known as the 'Kuwol Regiment', or 'Kuwolsan' in Korean, according to a former member of that regiment.

It was one of many groups of anti-communist partisans under the command of the U.S. Army 8240th Unit, nicknamed the 'White Tigers', which co-ordinated some of the most daring missions of the Korean War, embedding undercover agents deep in enemy territory and spying on and disrupting North Korean wartime operations, according to documented histories of the regiment.

"He is a criminal as he masterminded espionage and subversive activities against the DPRK and in this course he was involved in killings of service personnel of the Korean People's Army and innocent civilians," KCNA said.

Newman, in his statement carried by KCNA, said he trained men in guerrilla warfare against the North, including how to sabotage communications and transport lines.

Public documents in South Korea and the United States show U.S. officers worked as advisers to groups of anti-communist partisans during the Korean War. The conflict pitted the Communist North, backed by China and the Soviet Union, against the republican South, backed by the United States.

KCNA gave no indication of what might happen to Newman.

After the war, Newman worked as a manufacturing and business executive before retiring in 1984, according to a biography of him in a February 2012 newsletter from Channing House, his retirement home.

North Korea is also holding another American, Christian missionary Kenneth Bae of Korean decent, arrested last year and sentenced in May to 15 years of hard labor on charges of committing hostile acts against the state. The White House also expressed concern for Bae and renewed its call for his release on Saturday.

Adapted from Reuters

Rememberance day -The future is what we make it!

The future is what we make it!

'The anniversary of the World War One armistice - signed 95 years ago - has been marked in the UK with a two-minute silence.

Ceremonies have taken place at military bases, town halls, churches, schools, and at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.' BBC NEWS

Some years ago it was easier to quote 'The future is what we make it! ' than today. People made decisions for often a greater good and there were less complexities which would sway judgement.

Today we remember those who risked their lives and made a brave decision for the world to be a better place and for us to have a future and for the future generations to come. The soldiers fought for something that was worth fighting for something valuable, life. But now the world has changed and we hear more bad than good. We turn the television on, we see the news and we hear about the dispute going on in Syria, we hear about innocent soldiers who served our country being murdered in order for others voices to be heard. We hear about suicide, stabbings and multiple killings, and it's not often that we hear anything good. The world has become insensitive to  humanity.

The economy and government all seem to focus on what is being imported and exported, whether interest rates have decreased or increased, whether a business will strive and whether we will be going to  experience another recession or a boom. In this day and age we try to suceed without creating a firm and stable foundation. The soldiers fought and died for our country leaving us with the means to live a firm and stable life.

So what is it that we are fighting for?

Transport Evolution

Transport Evolution!

Transport has continuously been subject to change. From the 1900's and the use of animals, to 2013 with automatic system based modes of transport. Regarding transport the economy is striving and it is improving day by day. The most popular methods of transport are bus, train, tram, airplane and cycling. The government aim to improve transport in order to increase output and reach customer satisfaction. Factors such as navigation systems have been put into place and the general layout of London buses have evolved and have become more comfortable, spacious and beneficial.  There are also Boris bikes all around London which encourage exercise as well as preventing additional pollution. Now scientists and constructors are looking for even better ways to enhance the evolution of transport by making all modes of transport electricity based and to have a 0% pollution rate. This aim hopes to fulfill an eco-friendly policy and increase the efficiency and durability of transport for the next hundred of years. It is very optimistic and smart however it is questionable whether the economy is ready to respond to such changes as it may require the price of traveling to increase and an increase in tax and other factors to also increase, therefore having left a recession not to long ago,  we are unsure whether this will be another great investment or just another mistake.



What do you think?
Feel free to comment and share  :)

World Bank president says US default would be 'disaster'

The president of the World Bank has warned that the United States is just "days away from a very dangerous moment" caused by the ongoing partial shutdown of the government.

Due to the spectre of America defaulting on payments if an agreement is not reached, Jim Yong Kim has predicted, the world is heading for an economic disaster.

US Commerce secretary Penny Pritzker has since suggested that the US 'will pay it's bills' and resolve the crisis.

Also, according to recent reports, the democrats are willing to negotiate on anything in order to resolve the issue at hand.

The democrat's Harry Reid have said that conversations are cordial since talks have been going on in Washington to try and fix the dispute between the Republicans and Democrats.

Economic confidence surges down within a week of shutdown

It has not even been a week since the shutdown of the public services in the US, however, it is reported that there has been a drastic decrease in the economic index for the nation.

 After Obamacare was declined by the legislature due to the already high debt of the U.S, there was an economic breakdown of services as the executive and legislature could not come to a reasonable agreement, this meant that many services were closed down. During this period, the economic index has now fallen down to minus 34, 14 lower than the previous week and the lowest since December 2011!

The legislature are adamant that they will not allow Obamacare to go through as it will raise the debt ceiling, however the treasury have already notified that the debt ceiling will need to be raised by October 17th before some bills go back to default.

Do you think the Legislature should allow Obama to pass Obamacare in a bid to get rid of the controversy at hand?

Education this...education that...

Does education hold the same value as before?

Over the couple of years the education system has been manipulated, changed and experimented with. From cancelling SATS to examining in Summer only. Students have experienced positive and negative changes. For example some students are grateful for there being no exams in January as it extends preparation time whereas others disagree as it takes the opportunity of early retakes away. 

Others question the teaching ability in their schools.

The guardian quotes

'How can students best judge educational quality? It's a question that seems fitting in light of the huge changes in the sector over the past year, with universities seeing a 8.4% fall in student applications, theunrestricted ABB+ recruitment plan, and the announcement of theResearch Excellence Framework (REF) – to name a few.'

On the other hand the education sector feelings are mutual through the recent strikes they have claimed to take e.g.

''The two biggest teachers' unions are threatening a national one-day strike in England before Christmas in a row over pay, pensions and workloads.'' BBC NEWS

Problems within the education system keep on increasing and the problems are shown in the attitudes of both teachers and students.

So the questions that are asked now are;

Is education worth it?

Is the stress and debt of University worth the price and time?

What if your years studying don't ensure a well payed job?

Do people out of education who are successful prove education to be pointless?

Just some food for thought

Oh-Zeal from Wenger huh?

After all Arsenal's talk about having a financial warchest of over £70 million, everybody started to consider the idea that it might be a lack of ambition at Arsenal, but Wenger has surprised the whole world. It's official! £42.4 million has been spent by Arsenal on one player!!! We will see Ozil make a switch to Arsenal on a five year contract and will earn a modest £140,000 a week. Terrific signing by Arsenal but question on the agenda. Now that a significant amount of funds has been spent on one player, do Arsenal still have a large amount of funds available? Did they actually have funds available or are they like a lot of other clubs, in DEBT?  Lastly, what can Ozil bring to the British economy? Are his earnings enough to help boost the economy with the rest of the high earners countrywide? Well now the transfer window has closed, we can all progress with our normal lives, thanks for reading.

Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a possible £78 million. What happened to financial fairplay?

Hello everyone, I am pretty sure everyone has seen the latest twist to the transfer saga of Gareth Bale with a proposed move of £78 million to Real Madrid... Wait... What happened to 'financial fairplay'? The deal has been dragging on for over two months now and Tottenham are apparently prepared to accept the deal till September 2nd (D-DAY) in a bid to prevent Arsenal from making any signings from Real Madrid. Pressing question on the agenda now. Do you suppose Real Madrid are representing economical behavior as a club? Bear in mind, Madrid purchased Kaka from AC Milan for £57.2 million and Christiano Ronaldo for £82.7 million in 2009. I predict that some individuals would suggest, you have to buy quality with money, but, is this the extent we must really go to? 

 On the other hand, Arsenal seem to be playing it the Economical way with Wenger not spending a penny from his transfer kitty so far. The only signings to date are Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre and Mathieu Flamini from AC Milan both on free transfers. Last queation, do such big fees for players have any effect on the economy of the paying club?

If you have any opinions or questions, please feel free to post below.

A trip to the money gallery.

Hi everyone, I trust that the summer holiday is going well. I made a trip to the museum but focused particularly on the money gallery. It explained the introduction of currency, nonetheless, ranging to the possibilities of currencies becoming extinct with the new introduction of electronic payments such as 'Google Wallet'.

The Earliest Coins

The earliest coins originated from 650 BC, Lydia (modern Turkey), made from Electrum, they bared the Lion.s head, therefore it is viable to assume that, these coins were authorized by the King's of Lydia.

Detail of gold coin of Croesus Lydia (modern Turkey) about 600-550BC
These coins are often attributed to the legendarily wealthy King Croesus of Lydia, these coins also show part of a lion and face the forepart of a bull. Gold and silver coins were issued in several weights for different denominations.

Apothecary Tokens - Britain, 1666-9
Apothecaries sold medical treatments and gave people medical advice, tokens were issued in at least 100 towns, common designs include the arms of the Apothecaries' company and a pestle and mortar.

Commercial Bank 20 dollar note - Mauritius, 1839

Commercial banks were permitted to issue notes in the British colonies, although there were certain barriers due to the fact that British government had an idea that there would be bank collapses if notes were over issued as there would be a further result of inflation, this prediction was mainly developed from the banking crisis in the 1820's.

Do you suppose we are approaching the end of cash? 
The first experiments involving electronic cash took place in the 1990's, however, since then, it is of course true that many new ways of payment such as debit cards, online banking, etc were introduced. Customers from 1995 had an electronic wallet to check how much money they had on their bank cards. Even though there were claims that the 'Mondex machine' would replace cash nationwide, the trials ended without a launch of the service.

'Wave and pay watch' - 2010
With the introduction of cashless payments, a new type of technology came into action, the wave and pay watch. This has a chip embedded where it was swiped against a special reader. Some manufacturers wanted to combine wearable apparel with the technology in order to make payments.

Google Wallet - 2012 aka Contactless Payments
The Google wallet software app allows payment card information to be stored, furthermore allowing customers to make quicker payments in shops at the point of sale by simply swiping or tapping the handset on a reader.

 Do you think we are possibly approaching the end of cash and moving towards 100% electronic payments?Feel free to leave your opinion below.

Is this Realistic?

The Bank of England has an inflation rate target that has been percieved as unrealistic and limitting as it could lead to higher rates of unemployment and/or even interest rates increasing. 

The Telegraph quotes

'The inflation target would be credible if economic agents believed the Bank would stick to it, even if doing so might lead to recession or unemployment. But few people believed that before forward guidance was issued. Now it seems like there may be rising inflation scenarios that would trigger interest rate rises, and so markets think the average “expected” rate of interest is now higher.

And so they should, for recent economic data suggest recovery is now well under way and the medium-term policy risk is that the Bank will raise rates too little too late, not that it will raise rates too soon.'

What do you think....Is this realistic?  http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/inflationreport/infrep.aspx

BFG (Bust For Greece) meaning help from the BFG's (Big Friendly Giant's)?

Hey Guys. A critical update on Greece here. Has anyone been monitoring the bad economical situation in the past year? It may come as a shock to some, but even though Greece are the 34th largest economy worldwide with a $292 billion nominal GDP, and have EU power, their 2010 government debt crisis dragging up to now, received a further blow.
Economists in the past year, predicted that this financial issue would be rectified in the coming years, however, in the July, the economic index fell from 93.5 to 91.7. Big blow to the future prospects of Greece. What do you think?
Sources claim that the decrease in consumer index has risen from the decline in consumer trust which has an impact mainly on industry. Will Greece need any sort of help from its fellow EU siblings or the US in order to re-instill the prosperity and positive future for itself?

If you have any ideas or opinions, feel free to post them in comments.

The American Dream..?

On July 24th President Obama gave a mesmerizing and hope filled economical speech. Obama focused on the factors that can allow the economy to grow moreover the factors that will not. However the future of the Americans on various blogs, books and social networks questions the optimism of this Utopia as the attitude and ideologies of the Americans are determinants.  

LINK:  http://kunc.org/post/video-transcript-president-obamas-knox-college-speech-economy

The Changing Economy vs The Middle Class

The Great recession started to create great problems for the Middle class citizens

E.g.

Salaries did not keep up with inflation rates 

Kids who were talented and smart enough couldn't afford to go to college

Taxes were raised and for the Middle class citizens ate more out of them than Upper class citizens which resultingly created disparity.

Before the Great Recession

After WW2 the middle class was part of a prosperous economy. This prosperous economy consisted of fair wages which meant life was generally fair.

Sadly the engine of the prosperous economy began to stall as global competition arised forming more jobs oversea, stripping the American economy of jobs. It then became difficult for the union to fight for the middle class and the situation of taxes increasing also arised.

Obama's economical aims and progressions

Obama has said that he will not wait until another president is elected and will use every minute he has left effectively. 

Obama aims to:

• use new energy 
• have more manufacturers
• improve healthcare
• invest in new technology
• monitor banks 

What has been achieved

• Invested in new technology
• Took on a broken health care system
• Enforced tough new rules on big banks e.g. cut down on credit cards
• Changed the tax code
• Created 7.2 million new jobs in the business sector
• Deficits are falling by the fastest rate in 60 year

Is it enough?

Although Obama is beginning to pick up the economy and aims to improve it gradually, the question asked is, is it enough? For example will these changes in the economy be sustainable or in fact prove to be successful only in the short term.

Which is why we would love to know your opinion through comments

:)

Great Britain sees recovery in exports

Hey guys and girls! Hope the summer period is going well for everyone? It looks like it's great news for the UK as there are finally some signs of recovery since the mind blowing economic collapse in 2007. Government figures suggest that the British Chambers of Commerce are accurate on this occasion as trade index has reached 118.2 which is a 2.9% rise from that of last year. According to John Longworth, director general of the BCC, optimism for for future prospects are high as well as consumer confidence being on a high.
So on the whole, it can be suggested that the UK is rising out of the Economic depression as Exports are one of the components of AD. Does anyone remember being taught AD = C+I+G+(X-M)? The X stands for exports, which further suggests that AD is possibly rising, potentially raising GDP levels. Great right?
Nonetheless, Ernst & Young have predicted that the UK is expected to gather pace as early as 2014! This is mainly due to a steep rise in exports and business investment. It has also been calculated that GDP is expected to rise by 2.2% for 2014 and 2.5% for 2015. However, there are some conditions to go by. This figure can only be reached if there is a maintenance in consumer spending and housing recovery as this will cause AD to rise through less saving and more spending.
Exciting stuff! I will ensure to keep everyone posted. Thanks for reading!

Welcome everyone!

Good day everyone, welcome to Written By Students. This first blog post is written by myself - Daniel Yamoah and my class mate, Mosope Onanuga. Together we will effectively be the the authors and main owners of Written by Students (WBS). We aim to post as frequently as possible as long as we discover the most interesting current affairs cutting across the continents of this world on any Economics related topic such as Real GDP rates, currency changes, etc. We are A Level students envisaging ourselves in the Economics related world around 10 years from now, we are fans of Economics which is why we have chosen to post about it. Thank you for reading and enjoy!