Household Debts Make a Comeback in the U.S.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/business/dealbook/household-debt-united-states.html?ref=economy

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that the national household debt has reached a new low of $12.7 trillion. According to the article, “The growing debt level shows that many of the millions of Americans who struggled during the recession have repaired their credit to qualify for loans. It also suggests a rising optimism about economic growth among banks and other lenders.” One of the major causes for household debt has been student loans, which is definitely a blockade in preventing Americans from buying homes or expensive consumer items. In addition, debt from auto and credit card loans could play a significant part in increasing the national debt and put the U.S. back into a state of a “mortgage meltdown” just like ten years ago.

If the increase continues, how do you think this will affect our economy?

Do you think there are ways of decreasing household debt?

If you do believe so, then provide some examples. If not, explain why.

How to Become a Millionaire on $56,000 a Year

“When many of us “think of millionaires, we picture high-powered executives cruising around town in chauffeured limousines.”

According to Maurie Backman for The Motley Fool, you don’t need to have an insanely high salary to be a millionaire, in fact you can become one easily with the median household income for the US which is around $56,000 a year.

Get your priorities straight

Success does not come from luck or a one time investment. Rather it comes from working hard, living below your means, and saving early on. Ideally, you should be saving 10% of your salary each year for retirement, regardless of how much you earn

Choose the right investments

Even if you start investing early, the investments you choose play an equally important role.  Adopting a more aggressive investment strategy is a key component of growing wealth, and if you start saving early on, you'll have plenty of time to ride out the stock market's ups and downs.

On the other hand, if you play it too safe, you'll get much less bang for your investment buck.

All you need to become a millionaire by the time you retire (or even sooner) is a smart savings and investment strategy from the start. You must also be willing to adopt a lifestyle that supports your strategies. If you prioritize your savings early on in in your career, you will eventually become financially successful down the line.

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Questions
1) Do you think this is good advice?
2) What other ways can you save for your retirement/future?
3) Do you believe there are more components to being financially successful than saving and investing?

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/16/retirement/millionaire-salary/index.html?iid=hp-grid-dom

From Donald Trump to Sheryl Sandberg: what they want graduates to know about success

From Donald Trump to Sheryl Sandberg: what they want graduates to know about success

Donald Trump told graduates at Liberty University that "The future belongs to the dreamers, not the critics."

Will Ferrell told graduates at the University of Southern California that "You're never not afraid. I'm still afraid. I was afraid to write this speech."

Elizabeth Warren told graduates at the University of Massachusetts "If elected officials don't hear from people like you then the policies they set will be by the people they do hear from."

Sheryl Sandberg told Virginia Tech graduates "Speak up when you see injustice. Lend your time and your passion to the causes that matter."\

Arnold Schwarzenegger told University of Houston graduates "None of us can make it alone. None of us. Not even the guy that is talking to you right now that is the greatest body builder of all time."

Howard Schultz told Arizona State University graduates "Your generation will transform our economy and create millions of jobs. You will develop cleaner energy. You will make it so racism only exists in history books."

Discussion Questions

1. Which of these leaders messages do you hope to apply to your own future?
2. How can we use what they suggest to help us in college and career after Aragon?
3. What goals can you set for yourself based on one or more of these leaders' suggestions?

How Venezuela Stumbled to the Brink of Collapse

How Venezuela Stumbled to the Brink of Collapse

Venezuela used to be the wealthiest economy in Latin America, but GDP decreased 10% in 2016 and now its economy more closely resembles Syria's. With 700% inflation, approximately twice the rate of South Sudan (a borderline failed state), money has become nearly worthless. Citizens are hungry and black markets and violence have become the norm. When President Hugo Chavez died in 2013, he left the current President Nicolas Maduro a weak economy. With oil prices falling in 2014, Venezuela, the nation with the largest proven oil reserves in the world, faced economic disaster. Now President Maduro may seek a new Constitution to begin rebuilding Venezuelan society and their economy.

1. What are some things you think Venezuela could do to begin fixing their economy?
2. What happened under Hugo Chavez that you think led to these economic problems (can find this in the article)?
3. Should other nations in the Americas and globally help Venezuela and if so, how?

Behind China's $1 Trillion Plan to Shake up the Economic Order

Behind China's $1 Trillion Plan to Shake up the Economic Order

China plans to invest $1 trillion into its "One Belt, One Road" plan to improve infrastructure across Europe, Asia, and Africa. This plan is described as globalization 2.0 and has been compared to the Marshall Plan, which offered U.S. aid to Europe to help nations rebuild following WWII, only much larger, more ambitious, and more comprehensive. President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and President Xi of China has used this as a green light to build trade relationships across Eurasia.

1. Is China poised to become the leading economic power in the 21st century?

2. Should the U.S. be investing more in infrastructure so as not to fall behind the development pace of the Chinese?

3. What risks is China taking with this "One Belt, One Road" plan? Do you think they will pay off?

Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

Lyft, the ride hailing company, and Waymo, the self-driving car unit under Google have announced a deal to bring self-driving vehicles to the public. Uber is also investing hundreds of millions of dollars to develop this technology in what could become a multi-billion dollar industry. Waymo vehicles have logged more than three million miles of on the road testing in California, Arizona, Texas, and Washington and could be ready for mass adoption soon.

Discussion Questions

1. What do you see as the costs and benefits of self-driving cars? Do the benefits outweigh the costs?
2. If self-driving cars become widely adopted, should there be a mix of human operated cars and self-driving cars?
3. How could you envision Lyft and Waymo working well together? What trouble could they encounter?

Economists Debate If Tax Cuts Pay For Themselves Listen· 3:49

http://www.npr.org/2017/05/09/527541011/economists-debate-if-tax-cuts-pay-for-themselves

Our current administration under Trump's presidency is pushing a business tax cut. In order to garner more support for this position, they are arguing that tax cuts are able to pay for themselves and remain self-sustainable. They cite the Laffer curve as evidence; stating that with lower taxes, businesses will have more money to be able to invest into the economy and hire more people. Their new employees will end up paying income tax, and eventually the tax cuts will be able to pay for themselves at that point. There have been tax cuts in the 1920s and the 1960s, immediately followed by an economic boom, further supporting the viewpoint that tax cuts could in fact finance themselves. Even with all the speculation, it is still unsure if tax cuts are self-sustainable, as there are no concrete links between tax cuts and economic prosperity.

Do you think tax cuts could bring more money into the economy?

How much would you cut tax by?

Should tax cuts be enacted right now?

Teenage girls who code get encouragement from U.S. bank

Teenage girls who code get encouragement from U.S. bank

10,000 girls from 80 countries participate in a challenge to design apps to solve problems in their communities. U.S. Bank backed teams from Latin American countries and Somalia in their quest to come up with financial apps such as Piggy Saver to help kids get into saving habits. Teams presented to the U.S. Bank CEO and the best teams will win the opportunity to present to Silicon Valley venture capitalists who are considering investing in their apps.

1. Should U.S. schools be promoting coding and web design more given its increasing importance in the world?

2. Is the industry for developing apps overcrowded or do you believe there is more potential future growth?

3. Is this a good way for U.S. Bank to promote saving among young adults and the population as a whole?

Amazon Lowers Free Shipping Minimum

link


Amazon has now lowered the minimum for those who are not Prime members to $25 of eligible items.
Making it easy for consumers to qualify for free shipping, the company has lowered the minimum 29% where it stood before at $35. Considering consumers shop more online from their computers or mobile device this was their next move. Also, another reason why Amazon made this change in their Free Shopping Policy is due to the fact that Walmart has made an offer for shipping that used to be better for consumers before this change made by Amazon.

Questions:

1) Was lowering the Free Shipping Minimum an efficient move for Amazon to make? Explain.

2) Would the change in their Free Shipping policy tempt you to order online from Amazon?

3) Is this a reasonable minimum, or would you want it to be lowered even more?

Welcome at the White House: Some labor unions over others

Welcome at the White House: Some labor unions over others

President Trump has supported construction, auto, steel, and coal workers unions, but not other labor unions. He's trying to be a blue collar President, but does not support raising minimum wage to $15. Trump has pushed for $1 trillion of infrastructure spending, rejected the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal created by Obama, and supported the Keystone XL pipeline, which President Obama blocked. Trump is not an ally of the two largest teachers unions in the nation. Only 10.7% of workers today are members of a labor union.

1. Why do you thing Trump supports some trade unions, but not others?

2. The article suggest that Trump may not actually care about workers and instead is more partial to company managers. How do you think he feels about workers rights?

3. Do you like Trump's plan to spend on infrastructure, back off the TPP, and negotiate better terms for the US on NAFTA? Will these policies help the U.S. economy in the years to come?

Big retailers hope to prove they aren't dying

Many big chain stores are beginning to struggle. It is predicted that JCPenney, Macy's and Kohl's sales and profits will fall. Although shares of Macy's and Kohl's have both dropped nearly 20% this year, they have not plunged as badly as JCPenney which dropped more than 30%. Because of these drop in sales, many retailers are closing stores including Macy's JCPenney, and Sears. Mall- based chains are struggling even more than these other big chain retailers. Wet Seal, Aeropostle, Pacific Sunwear, American Apparel, and The Limited have all filed for bankruptcy. The reason chain stores are losing sales is because of stores like Walmart or Amazon. Amazon and Walmart, which now owns many online stores, are thriving with their sales which rivals all the store based companies. Shares of Walmart are up more than 10% while Amazon's stocks have raised more than 25% this year.

1. What can struggling stores do to thrive?

2. Do you think online stores will always thrive more than store based companies?

3. Why are online companies succeeding so much more?

The Fed's Labor Market Index aims to give a bigger picture of the economy

The Fed's Labor Market Index aims to give a bigger picture of the economy

The Federal Reserve labor market index integrates 19 different indicators on employment. It is designed to get around the problem of people who haven't looked for a job in the past month not being included in the unemployment rate. It also gets at other issues such as part-time workers not being differentiated in the official unemployment rate. On Friday unemployment numbers were released and the 4.4% rate was the lowest in a decade.

1. Should we be happy with the 4.4% unemployment rate that was released Friday or would the labor market index likely give us a more complete story of the employment picture?

2. Who gets credit for the 4.4% unemployment rate? The Federal Reserve? The Obama administration? The business cycle? Trump's first 100 days?

3. Does it make sense for the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates given the low unemployment rate and extended period of low interest rates this decade?

Self-Driving Cars Will Change the Automotive Landscape

LINK

From Google to Tesla, everyone seems to be wanting their hands on the futuristic technology, technology that has had the tech world in a frenzy. All are eager to change the automobile industry, hoping to revolutionize the way cars are used. In the article, it states that there will definitely be competition between the traditional car industry and the new modern industry. Also, it would mean a decrease in body paint and repair stores as the cars are predicted to combat drunk driving and any possible collisions. I expect for the demand of these cars to be unsurprisingly high. With the attractive features of reduction in traffic violations and no hands, it will be sure to rock the automobile world.

Questions:
With the promise of safety, would you purchase a car like this?
What do you think are some cons of a car that requires no human interaction?
Would you trust machines to be in control of your life?

Taco Bell sales jump; plans more fried chicken 'innovation'

Taco Bell, owned by Yum Brand which also owns pizza hut and KFC, invented the deep fried chicken shell that taco bell put on their menu. The new item "lured" in more customers and plan on adding more "Naked" chicken menu items. The sales jumped up to eight percent by 3 months. The Naked Chicken Chalupa was the game changer. The result was positive for taco bell but put other food chains such as McDonalds in a negative position by struggling to get customers.




1. Would new cheap food items such as deep fried chicken continue to increase sales for Taco Bell?
2. Does "fried chicken pieces shaped like tortilla chips served with nacho cheese dip" sound appetizing?
3. Is the presented name of "Naked" a good way to title food?

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Yum-beats-Street-1Q-forecasts-11117282.php  

Apple needs the ‘iPhone 8’ to succeed more than ever

link

Apple is facing pressure due to their highly expected next-generation iPhone, Apple reported that it sold fewer iPhones than analysts had projected the company’s second quarter.

The reason for the lack of phones being sold is being place on the buyers. It is being said that most buyers held off on buying the iPhone 7, in order to get the next generation one in the Fall. The low sales and high competition on smartphones is said to be stressing apple.

Apple sold 50 million iPhones in the past quarter, 1 million less than in the same period last year. Apple had expected to sell 52 million units. “The company reported $52.9 billion in revenue, slightly below analyst estimates.”On an earnings call, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said that Apple did not correctly estimate how popular the iPhone 7 Plus would be compared with the iPhone 7, which caused some supply problems.”

Questions

1. Should Apple be worried about their recent phone sales?
2. How can they increase sales?
3. Would you be willing to buy their next iPhone?

Brand Ivanka: inside the tangled empire of the president's closest ally

Ivanka Trump has taken on a complicated role as one of her father's political advisors. She seeks to to continue to manage her businesses while also being the first daughter and a political advisor. Many people have become concerned with how Ivanka's business interests and political interests are in conflict. Although Ivanka has taken steps to separate herself from her fashion brand such as transferring management and giving up her her day-to-day control, her financial ties and ownership of her companies remains a problem. Many believe that the next step for Ivanka will be to sell her company and cut all financial ties, but the Trumps do not believe that Ivanka is violating any conflict of interest laws. Ivanka Trump and her family seem confident that Ivanka can successfully run her business and be a political advisor for her father.

1. Do you think that Ivanka Trump is in ethical trouble over the conflict of interest laws?
2. What do you think the best solution to resolve this conflict of interest is?
3. Why are the Trump's holding onto their business ventures so tightly when they are now the first family? Do you think that this is right?

Article

Delta is making all in-flight entertainment free

link

On almost all airplanes, there are TV's on the back of the seats with a variety of movies, tv shows, music and more. Of course this is convenient and useful on any flight, but you usually have to pay some ridiculous amount of money in order to access whats on the TV. Delta Airlines has announced that they will now be offering all of this for free. Delta will be one of the only airlines offering entertainment for free to all customers. The only downside to this is that it will take away a great source of income from the company. Delta will now need to find other ways to get the money that they are losing by providing free entertainment.

Questions:
1. Does this make you want to fly on Delta Airlines?
2. Do you usually use the TV screens during your flight?
3. What do you think the company could do to get more money?

I can't believe it's not Chicken!?!

Lab-Grown Meat Coming to Supermarket Shelves Soon?

@http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/05/01/lab-grown-meat-coming-to-supermarket-shelves-soon.html

Which one?











Using the power of weaponized Silicon Valley, we are proudly introducing a new kind of chicken that tastes like chicken, feels like chicken, smells like the chicken--but is actually not the chicken. What we have here is science at work surpassing the levels previously thought known to man, and literally using animal cells as the fundamental resource for the chicken tendies at your local Rite Aid. So basically meat supply is going to look like cells growing on a petri dish and the development of muscle will prompt Science Guys(tm) to harvest it and cook it for you. It is said that this technique would take a whopping 6 weeks to fully amalgamate that pseudo chicken taste, and frankly the technique and speed calls into question some economic implications. Production as of now is $6000 per pound of meat which may be raising some eyebrows for Agriculture guy at Washington but this is actually a significant reduction from the initial $18000 it cost per pound. Obviously, when this left stroke goes viral the meat industry is going to be in shambles. We are looking at a $200 billion meat and pultry empire about to collapse because some kids in Silicon Valley decided $5 20 chicken nugeest from Mickey-Ds wasn't good enough. By genetically creating the meat, this is that technology thing that Mr. Felder was talking about that is increasing the supply and lowering production costs rather than slaughtering the chickens at Davis. It's going to be interesting to see what the meat scene is going to look like once we graduate college, and hopefully there will be cheap dinosaur chicken nuggets for all.

Questions:
1. Do you think there are ethical concerns by being Bill Nye and creating artificial chicken meat?
2. How do you think the meat empires (Foster Farms) is going to respond to their gradual destruction?
3. Do you think their will be health propaganda against these fake chickens by the kids at Washington?
4. What is your favorite place to get chicken tendies, and how do you feel about the possibility of that being replaced by lab-grown chicken meats?