RRJ3

Sky
Feb.19th.2010
Business Economics

Reference:
Sewell Chan (2010,February 18th). “In Surprise Move, Fed Signals Pivot to Normal Policy”. The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/business/19fed.html?scp=1&sq=Fed%20Raises%20Interest%20Rate%20That%20It%20Charges%20Banks&st=cse

Summary:
The federal government keeps the interest rate at the lowest point for propping up the economy until this Thursday. As the words of Swell Chan, “In surprise move, fed signals pivot to normal policy”, the step that fed had made was unexpected. The fed pushes up the charges of short-term loans. The change would not directly affect home mortgage, credit card or auto loan rates, but it shows the intension of fed that bringing back up the cheap loan rates to norm. Although the fed make an “extraordinary” step on changing the charge to the bank of interest rate, broader interest rate will not increase quickly or sharply.

Reaction:
As the economy warms back and is not anymore in the lowest point, the federal government finally takes the first step on increase the short-term loan interest rate. It is a surprise movement, but people know that the action would be taken anyway sooner or later, as lower the interest rate is part of the plan of stimulating the economy during the recession. It won’t affect the home mortgage, credit card, or auto loan rates for now. So people would not get pressure from it for living by now. But the market would be affected in some degree. According to Dennis P. Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, “My point is that the public and markets should not misinterpret today’s move. Monetary policy, as evidenced by the fed funds rate target, remains accommodative. This stance is necessary to support a recovery that is in an early stage and, in my view, still fragile.” So I think people do not have to worry too much for now. The progress will be taken slowly, and the fed will give a breathe on it.

Vocabulary:
Pivot: axis, central pin around which something turns; focus, center.
Extraordinary: going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary.
Loan: money lent at interest.
Timing: the ability to select the precise moment for doing something for optimum effect.
Crisis: an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending.
Struggle: to proceed with difficulty or with great effort.
Mortgage: a conveyance of or lien against property (as for securing a loan) that becomes void upon payment or performance according to stipulated terms.
Necessitated: force, compel.
Unwinding: to become released from tension.
Inflict: to cause (something unpleasant) to be endure.
Bet: a choice made by consideration of probabilities
Default: a failure to pay financial debts.
Abate: release, decrease.

Sky
February 2, 2010
Reference:
TARA SIEGEL BERNARD (February 2, 2010, 11:16 am) Fidelity Cuts Trading Fees and Waives Commissions on 25 E.T.F.’s. The New York Times, Retrieved February2,2010. http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/fidelity-cuts-trading-fees-waives-commissions-on-25-etfs/?ref=business.
Summary:
Fidelity cuts there trading fees $7.99, and all of brokerages can free traded at least three years. It can help customers to lower costs and taxes. The present of Fidelity Investments said they had thought customers had a lot of choices in the society. They wanted to issue three times as many E.T.F.’s as Schwab including bond offerings; they also want to set up investment portfolios for customers. Unfortunately, the fidelity still does not provide the lowest trading commissions in the industry, but the adjustment does help them to defeat some competitors.
Reaction:
Fidelity that way means their group still worried about business marketplace. They wanted using small profits but quick turnover policy instead of losing money. Every company don’t want to cut their profits in order to attract new customers or much more transfer quantity. But it is better people which had their company account. Although they surrender part of the profits for customer, they still more expensive than other competitors. But this way can promote customers choosing online deal.
Vocabulary:
Commissions: an authoritative order, charge, or direction.
Waive: to refrain from claiming or insisting on; give up; forgo: to waive one's right; to waive one's rank; to waive honors.
Trading: the act or process of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities, at either wholesale or retail, within a country or between countries: domestic trade; foreign trade.
Undercutting: to cut under or beneath.
Announced: to make known publicly or officially; proclaim; give notice of: to announce a special sale.
Proprietary: an owner or proprietor.
Mutual: possessed, experienced, performed, etc., by each of two or more with respect to the other; reciprocal: to have mutual respect.
Various: of different kinds, as two or more things.
Investors: A person who purchases income-producing assets.
Platform: a horizontal surface or structure with a horizontal surface raised above the level of the surrounding area.
Portfolios: a list of the financial assets held by an individual or a bank or other financial institution.
Purchased: buy.
Representative: person or thing that represents another or others.

RJ 1

Sky
Jan 27th, 2010
Business Economics

Reference:
Reuters.(2010, Jan 28). “Japanese export rise for first time since crisis began”, The New York Times. Retrieved in Jan, 26th, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/business/global/28yen.html?ref=global

Summary:
Since the Financial Crisis, which began from 2008, the exportation for Japan increased for the first time these days. As a matter of fact, exports have been raised 12.1 percent in December from a year earlier overall, including the shipments to the Asia region, which are about more than half of all exports of Japan, especially the part of China. Exports to China actually increased 42.8percent, the number compared to one year earlier rose 10.7 percent. Surprisingly, the exports to United States went down about 7.6 percent. There are two main reasons to explain that. First of all, the instant growth of the whole Asia area could help the economy of Japan to avoid another recession. Secondly, Asia’s urgent demand for the goods from Japan just compels the prospect of the market. That is basically why Japan want to increase the exports to the Asia area. Although the exports toward United States decreased, “we can’t rely too much on strong growth in those countries, so Japanese exports will continue to focus on shipments to Asia”, said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. In fact, there still is an obstacle on the way of recovering of the economics in Japan. That is the extraordinary increase of the Yen. It will force the government to face the pressure of deflation in the future.

Reaction:
Increasing the exports of Japan to the whole Asia area could benefit both Japan and the whole Asia area, but also could put the pressure on the Asia area especially China. The pressures are from the influence of those exports on the sales of their rural products. But as the Yen just reached the highest point which contracts with US dollar, the prices of export goods from Japan must be expensive in some degree. The government of Japan is facing the challenge of the exports of Japan would bring a better view of the world’s economics in the future.

Vocabulary:
Financial crisis: Economical problems that include stock market crashes and the bursting of other financial bubbles, currency crises and sovereign defaults.
Recession: A recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity over a period of time.
Rekindle: To revive.
Appreciate: To increase in value.