Economics Flashcards
MPC decision on 3 Nov. 2022
What was happening simultaneously in gilt markets?
How was forward planning used?
+0.75% increase to 3%
Record high since GFC
Bank has started “quantitative tightening” - selling gilts to cause a decline in money supply growth
Minutes indicated rates wouldn’t rise to the 5.25% priced in by markets
Breakdown of UK aggregate demand
C. - 65
I. - 15
G. - 22
X-M. - -2
What % of poor countries are at or near debt distress?
Amount of world debt? Implications?
60% - countries unable to fully fulfill financial obligations
$300 trillion in 2021, record amount and up from $226 in 2020
Poorest will be worst hit. Less money to key industries and increasing interest rates increase repayments.
Why has Julie Hunter launched a lawsuit against against Amazon in the UK?
Any similar cases?
For anti-competitive practices. Alleges they have been featuring their own products despite better products being available.
Seeking £900m
European Comission investigating amazon 2x as well
How is Australia using its factor endowment to “challenge China”
Opening a new rare earth metal mine in Central Australia. Have strategic value and China have threatened restricting exports.
How does M&S’ 5-year plan (now aimed for 3-years) reflect changing economy?
Losing 67 “full-line” stores to lose space
50% of sales now come from online
How much of US inflation is driven by corporate profits?
“53%, historical highs.” Congresswoman Katie Porter
Why have we averaged 2% growth in 2010-2019 but no increase in disposable income
Growth has been driven by consumption, not investment and so productivity has been stagnant
When did income inequality start rising
1970s, until then an increasing number of wages went to labour but since then it has fallen. More goes to owners of capital / stocks.
Between 1979 and 2012, what do the “distributional national accounts” show.
Bottom 50% received 10% of growth while the richest 10% gained 40%
Why did binance pull out of a takeover of FTX?
How many withdrawals did FTX have to cover?
Liquidity issues “beyond our control or ability to to help”.
Has to cover $8B in withdrawal requests.
How many workers do Meta plan lay off? What are it’s priorities? (November)
11,000 (13% of workers)
Will focus on high growth tech (AI, advertising, metaverse etc. ) as revenue wasn’t as stable as expected during covid.
Why has Bangladesh made a $4.5B deal with the IMF?
How many countries have done it so far this year? (Nov 2022)
Struggling economy. High growth in recent years challenged by weakening demand for garment exports and high inflation.
3 including Bangladesh
How much does the Inter-American Development Bank invest per year in Latin America?
$14B
How much revenue did Yeezy bring in for Adidas?
Why have sportswear brands been struggling?
$1.5B (12% of revenue)
Lots of surplus stock
Increased competition addressing environmental concerns especially
Example of Indonesia’s factor endowment?
Contains 21m tonnes of nickel, 1/5 of world supply. Needed for electric car batteries.
How did the services industry contribute to Gross Value Added in 2021 to the UK economy?
Contributed $1.7T, 80% of the total.
How much less would a women from a working class background earn in a professional managerial role?
What about the general class pay gap for the same jobs?
£9450
£6718
What did Germany offer $170m for at COP?
To help countries recover from climate related disasters. The project needs $210m to start
Why are taxes as % of GDP at their highest in almost 4 decades
Slow growth and ageing population means more spending needed.
Does not mean better public services.
Public and private investment as % of GDP in 2022 vs other G7 countries?
Predicted 17% (keep updated) vs predicted 22-26%
Peak value of cryptocurrencies last year vs now (November)
$3trn vs &$830B
Predicted fall in disposable income Apr 2022-23
4.8%
How did the autumn statement split savings via tax rises vs spending
20% tax rises
80% spending
What is energy intensity of GDP and how has it changed in the US
The amount of energy needed per unit of GDP.
It has fallen, USA’s GDP up 29% from 2005 and its territorial emissions down 15%
How many countries have achieved energy decoupling and what is it
The separation of GDP from CO2 emissions.
Around 32 countries, mainly rich European economies and the US bit some South American too.
Losses incurred by Disney+ July-Sep
$1.5B
How much tax did BP and Shell pay from 2015-2020
They paid “negative tax” they received more money from the government than tax paid apart from Shell in 2017.
Worker remittances as % of GDP in Nepal
around 23%, much greater than FDI or overseas development aid
What is tiered pricing, how is it used in Santa Fe
Having a certain price up to a certain quantity, and then paying progressively more. Used in Santa Fe for water: all families are provided with the essentials and then richer ones pay more for excesses i.e. washing the car or watering the lawn
How energy efficient are Britain’s 30m
Some of the worst in Europe
1/3 were built before 1945
Estimated damage done to Pakistan by the summer floods
$30bn
What did the World Bank chief warn about (Dec)
Growing debt burdens on poorer countries (35% more than 2021), and a need to be more forgiving (especially China as the largest lender)
What was the likelihood of several big price moves in markets in August 2007, according to Goldman’s models?
Each one should have been less likely than winning the UK lottery 21 times in a row.
Who wrote the Theory of Moral Sentiments
Adam Smith, he sought to link ethics with our innate sympathy/ empathy with one another.
How much did Microsoft agree to pay to merge with Activision-Blizzard in Jan 2022
$16b
How many regulators worldwide have taken interest in Activision/Microsoft merger
16
Since when and where has the biggest rise in inequality across developed countries been? (post-ww2)
In the US and UK, post-1980s
How much of our imported food do we get from the EU
75%
How does Adobe show a proposed takeover can cause problems for a firm?
Investors thought they were paying too much ($20B) for Figma and sent their stock price down.
Up to date example of a joint venture (aviation)
Rolls-Royce and EasyJet powered a modern plane engine with green hydrogen. Helps both towards net-zero commitments
House prices in Northern Ireland relative to pre-GFC
Still below pre-GFC peak
How long are median house prices expected to fall in the UK
Until Autumn 2024 (OBR)
How many branches will HSBC close from April 2024
114
How has Brexit affected UK food bills, according to LSE
Added “£210” to the average bill. Non-tariff barriers like additional checks/ paperwork. Up to 88% of price rises being passed on, esp. for meats
How did the British airline cap and trade scheme fail in 2021
Government gave away 4.4 million at the start of the year and the industry only used 3.4, essentially £240 million subsidy.
…due to depressed demand from COVID
How has TotalEnergies responded to the increase in the Energy Profits Levy?
Cut 25% (£100m) of its planned investment
What are the “Edinburgh Reforms”
“Biggest financial services shake-up in decades”, says the government. Will aim to cut red-tape, most likely repealing post-GFC regulations
What did the WTO say about Trump’s steel tariffs?
How has the US responded
They broke WTO rules
Biden said he stood by them, to protect steel industry. Shows increasingly shaky governancee of global trade.
Breakdown of recent telecom merger in Canada? How much do Candians pay for wireless broadband.
$20B merger makes the second biggest canadian provider. Originally blocked then overturned. They already pay the highest bills in the world.
What did the head of the IMF predict about the world economy in 2023?
That one third of the world will fall into recession
What has Sweden discovered in the North of its country
A large rare earth metal deposit, will take 10 years to bring to market
First month that inflation in America fell since May 2020? (disinflation)
Dec 2022, fell by .1%
Amount of domestic American subsidies for green industries
$465B
Why is americas justice department suing Google
For illegally dominating the online advertising market
How much does Adani spend on capital spending in India
7% of all spending by top 500 companies
Shell profit 2022
$40B - record profit
Indonesia’s GDP growth 2022,relative to other years
5.3%,most in 9 years
Recent example of brain drain
IT workers in belarus - 20,000 of estimated 60,000 workers have left since the war.
What’s happened to JetBlues $3.8b purchase of Spirit Airlines
Sued by American government - budget airline monopoly
How much will the poorest countries have their debt costs increase by in 2023
+35%
Country that pays more on debt service than exports/ primary income
Mozambique - debt worth 400% of GNI
Industry with high MES, why is this the case?
Pharmaceuticals:
Bulk purchasing of raw materials
Economies of scope/ efficient use of manufacturing facilities
High costs of R+D - need high output to offset costs
Estimated cost of bringing a drug to market in the US
$3bn
When did UK wages start stagnating?
How much has this cost the average British worker?
2008 - cost around £11000 a year
Country with lowest investment/ GDP in the G7
Britain
