!!! Impact of Lower Interest Rates on Economy !!!

     According to the study of international affairs today, it is important to study about how lower interest rate could affect the economy of a country and how well it could help the economic growth. My understanding of this article is that, the Bank of England’s interest rates would like to stay low as long as the economy is weak. This article mainly relies on its reference to secondary sources.

 Interest rates are basically the market pricefor offering money.

    In my opinion, lower interest rates make it inexpensive to borrow, which encourages spending and investments among consumers. A fall in interest rate might shake the economic growth and  business as well. Low interest rate means low inflation, which means lower income growth. Basically, lower interest rates will increase disposable income. No matter how well the business runs, it merely depends on the economic environment to be healthy. When interest rate remains low, business may borrow money willingly. And, customers have more cash after they pay their loan payments, and they can spend this extra cash to boost their spending which in turn positively affects the economy. 
    Lower interest rates mean that the costs of borrowing are less; therefore consumers will feel like they are cash rich and be more tempted to spend money in shopping and buying other things. On the other hand, prices tend to rise when interest rates are low, because it will stop consumers from spending too much money which could affect the economy in a negative way.

    Low interest rates help the economic growth in a big way. For example, when interest rates are lowered, peoples' borrowing power goes up, which lead to consumers having more money to spend, causing the economy to grow and inflation to rise.

    In conclusion, lower interest rates overall could boost the economy in a positive way.

The Cost of Ebola

     Presently, Ebola is the most popular subject among people with so many interested in learning about  this dangerous death disease. Ebola is not only spreadable, but it’s also scary and expensive to manage financially.

      This article relies on its reference to primary sources. Controlling Ebola disease could impact the U.S economy and the environment negatively. The economic impacts could be measured in dollars. As we all know, the first Ebola case was in Texas, where someone died  a few weeks ago from the disease in the United States. Government is taking all the steps to curtail the disease from being spread.  

       From a financial point of view; first, it is extremely expensive to treat patients with Ebola disease. For example, a week ago, the stocks at NYSE went down because of the Ebola crisis in the United States. Couples of schools in Texas were closed due to this highly contagious disease. If this disease spreads further, most of the parents have no choice to withhold their children from school, which means the parents will have to stay home with their children. If parents stay home instead of going to work, then the level of workplace productivity in Texas could be affected. 

        Second, numerous people may choose not to travel due to the fear of Ebola, either internationally or domestically. This can have a detrimental effect to airline and tourism industries, which can significantly harm the economy. Third, the cost involved in sending military personnel and medical team to Liberia/Africa will cost U.S. millions of dollars. 

       Fourth, the overall cost involved in managing Ebola here in the United States and abroad will be extraordinary high, if the present trend in Liberia continues. In my point of view, Ebola  is one of the planet's deadliest disease and one of the leading causes of sickness and death in society today.

The Images of 2012: New York Times

             

By Andrew Sullivan for The New York Time

According to this article, , the year of 2012 could be the year of disaster.  This article relies on its reference to secondary sources. In my point of view, the images of 2012 show us that global warming can be a reason of Hurricane Sandy. We all know that the earth as a whole is warming up. According to this image, I strongly believe that global warming could affect us economically due to the change of the weather conditions, especially in specific area. Generally speaking, if the warm weather causes hurricane, then there will noticeably be a lot of economic damages through flooding and buildings. Agriculture will also be affected tremendously by the changing weather patterns. 

Police Fatally Shoot Knife - Wielding Man in Times Square

Second, crimes affect the economy in a negative way. The knife and gun crimes also affect the economy.  One reason would be the cost of keeping the criminals in Prison, Another is the cost of treatment for the victims. 

The space shuttle landed in New York city which is pretty fascinating. When you see this picture, the first idea that comes to our mind is NASA.  NASA is the place I would always want to work once I graduate from college.  Outer space is very fascinating to me.  NASA technology provides economic benefits all across the United States.  We get the accurate weather forecast because of the satellites in the space.  With the help of satellites, we can predict natural calamities such as floods, storms, hurricanes, and some natural disasters.  Technologies are proving us the best economic benefits in several ways.  Therefore, if we look at the images of 2012, some of them are affecting us economically, and some of the images show us that we are gaining some economic benefits as well.  In conclusion, the year of 2012 could be the year of disaster as well as the year of beneficial to every individual in certain ways. 

Asia: Slow Breeders ; India's Parsees Community

An exhibition of photographs of India's ancient Parsees community, taken by Sooni Taraporevala.

     India’s culture is rich and unique in itself. The culture of India has been designed by its unique geography, long history, and diverse demography.  This article relies on its reference to secondary sources. The Parsees community is one of the smallest communities, a group of people who migrated to India centuries ago from Persia, now also known as Iran. Since then, they fully united and contributed to the economic, political, and culture life of India.  However, the sad truth is that the Parsees community is now dying off.  I strongly believe that the failure has been blamed on several factors, including migration, inter-community marriages and low fertility rate. Parsees communities have been counted separately from the first public census, since they are not a Hindu religious minority and have achieved popularity in Bombay for their significant economic and cultural help to the growth of the city.  

         Today, the Parsees community is more economically advanced and wealthy than it has ever been before.  Personally speaking, I have two final thoughts. One has to do with the issue of Parsees politics. When I was in India, people used to tell me that Parsees community is the oldest, which establishes Asians in Britain, but traditionally they have never drawn attention to themselves. That is the reason why Parsees girls will not pick Parsees boys for marriage. My second and final though would be based on the population decrease throughout each generation due to low rates of marriage and childbirth. In my point of view, Zoroastrianism will live or die depending on the selections that today’s Parsees community and Iranian Zoroastrianism make. This seems to be we are basically killing both a community and a religion by continuing without our current behavior of late marriage, non-marriage, and limited childbirth. This tragedy could be the greatest one the Parsees face today. Because of the tremendous contributions that the Parsees community has given to India and the rest of the world economically, it would be a shame for the Parsees people to become extinct. 

The creation of a Parsees settlement in India

CONNECTING EUROPE : Logistic Lisbon

Port of Lisbon

 Portugal’s capital is Lisbon. This city is the leading economic driver, with a growing financial sector and one of the major ports on Europe’s Atlantic coast. When you think of Portugal, the first thing comes to our mind is Christopher Columbus who discovered the New World for Europe. Since the age of discovery, Lisbon has been a harbor of departure. The port of Lisbon has helped to support the country’s presence on the worldwide stage.  The port of Lisbon primarily deals with the strategies of major shipping operators, who actually determine the geometry of the world’s sea transportation networks.  According to the logistics systems, the new port of Lisbon is significantly expanding the Lisbon region up to the uppermost level, which will be based on advanced technologies, alongside plans for the new Lisbon Airport and the high speed train.

            In addition, Portugal’s trade links with direct services to Canada, the U.S, Brazil, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and many European ports.

           Why the Lisbon Metropolitan Area is such an importance city today? The Lisbon metropolitan area is of such central importance today, since Lisbon is considered as a global city because of its importance in finance as well as international trade. In my opinion, it seems like the port of Lisbon has well played a significant role in logic, regional, and national development. If the port of Lisbon is to carry on in its role of national development and it will have to be a modern, economical path, which means greater focus not only at port operations, but the whole logistical chain. In the future, the port of Lisbon shall contribute to the creation of a riverside identity in the area, support Lisbon to take its place as a European and Atlantic metropolitan area, and strengthen Portugal’s economic competitiveness .