A Landmark in the Air

A French airliner landed early Sunday morning at the Baghdad International Airport marking a realization of new potentials for both Iraq's economy and France's and Iraq's business relationship. The flight was the first since the Gulf War that carried passengers (in this instance, French officials and journalists). The French airline hopes to make the trip regularly, although the price for tickets is rather high. Economy seats will cost about $2100 each and business class seats will cost about $3500 each. However, right now there isn't enough customer interest due to worries about the security of such a trip given the country's current struggle. In general though, the flight leaves many optimistic about the future.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39932326/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

Maybe it's just me, but it seems the news articles I've been reading lately have been rather optimistic. The fact that a European country has organized and successfully completed a flight directly into Iraq's capital is great news for everyone. This also means Iraq's economy is starting to look a little brighter. Just little steps at a time is what's going to have to happen and this is one of those steps! However, I don't blame people for being a little leery at flying into a country in such turmoil. I think that for now, the passengers are just going to be people with business things to take care of, like the officials and journalists etc. As things improve though, people are going to be more willing to purchase the tickets and hopefully then flights will be more regular and the benefits will grow.

French Minister of Foreign Trade Anne Marie Idrac

Crisis in the Housing Market

The unstable housing market is one of the main reasons the economy is having troubles getting back to steady ground. Foreclosures are the main concern and they have "soared to record highs." Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman recently said that bank regulators are looking into whether or not corners have been cut in regards to foreclosing homes. They're taking the issue of the possibility of bad foreclosures seriously and are looking into whether or not in may be due to problems in the system. They're also looking into the effects this may have on financial institutions and the real-estate market. Also, the cause of such a large foreclosing crisis is primarily due to people taking out loans on their homes they didn't understand and now owe more money than their house is worth.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39828590/ns/business-real_estate/

This issue seems like it's one that'll be very difficult to resolve. Like the article said, the housing market it the main reason we're struggling to get back to a steady economic ground. Foreclosures have crippled the stability of many families and if people are even deeper trouble than they thought, it's certainly not a good sign. However I'm not quite sure how these reports on the investigations of improper foreclosures will turn out and I really don't know if finding a lot of mistakes will help or hurt us. I do know that large mortgage and financial companies shouldn't have to be double-checked for suspicion of cutting corners. Cheating the system definitely won't help us get where we need to be!

Ben Bernanke (Fed Chairman)



(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreclosure)

Economy has Bright Spots Despite the Gloom

Right now, the economy isn't doing all that bad. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 are both up more than 5% this year. All told they're both up 15% for the year but there are some stocks that are up by as much as 60-100%. The trend seems to be that industrial companies that make big construction equipment and luxury hotels and clothing stores are up the most which is supposedly expected after a recession. This is a time where people might hesitate on spending money but money managers are saying that this is the time to keep spending in the market. People with good jobs are starting to spend their money more freely again. All around the world there is a building trend and American countries are the ones supplying machinery etc. to the other countries, especially China. Also, spendings around Christmastime this year are expected to increase as well, displaying trends similar to that of 2006. One last thing though is that even though some of these companies are doing much better, they're still a ways off from their historical averages.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39712099/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

Once again, I find myself reading an article about the good parts of the economy and the brighter side of it, which, is definitely not a bad thing in my book! I remember in another article I'd read that the company Caterpillar was doing quite well and it seems the trend of machinery companies such as that doing well in this economy continues. Also, one part of the article I didn't mention above was that the dollar is weaker but this may be a good thing because that makes other currencies stronger so they're able to buy more American products. I feel pretty optimistic about the economy but the tough part now is getting people to continue spending their money. And hidden underneath the rise of some companies is the fact that they're actually still lower than their averages in the past. Then again, getting the economy back to better health will be a process where we'll just have to work our way up little by little.

Stocks Go Up with Activity

Activity rose in the U.S. services sector last month which led to a rise in stocks. Generally, the whole world experience an uplift in the stock market. Japan had previously been having problems with maintaining a strong currency while prices were falling, but its central bank slashed its key interest rate almost to zero. Big news for the Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa when their shares rose 9.8% after it said it would invest in Univision Communications. Also, NASDAQ rose 2.3 % (54.42 points) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.7% (184.33 points) while the NYSE had 5 stocks rise for every one that went down. Also, buyers gained more confidence when the S&P broke a key technical barrier. Lastly, with the help of the Fed the economy could be boosted along with more investing action.

I think this is incredibly great news! It's still a little weird to me, I can't believe that our economy is improving. It's so slow I don't know how true it is. But it's numbers like these that restore confidence in the U.S. economy! The article just seemed to be full of nothing but good news which is rare when it comes to articles on the stock market and such. It also gave me a few ideas for the stock market game we're playing in class. A few companies that did really well inlude DuPont and Caterpillar Inc. Also, a few companies I'd noticed real successful students had invested in were on a list of "Market Movers." These include the Ford Motor Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. Hopefully I can use this to my advantage! And I really hope that this great uptrend doesn't lead to an incredible downturn!

Index		Last	Change
I:DJI		10934.08	+182.81 +1.70%
I:COMP		2395.36	+50.84 +2.17%
SPX.X		1159.45	+22.42 +1.97%

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39515168/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

Students or Servants?

At St. John's University in New York, there was once a dean whose name is Cecilia Chang. Also known as the V.P. for international relations and the former dean of the Institute of Asian Studies. However, notice the word 'former' in front of 'dean.' This is because she was caught for taking advantage of her students by making them run chores for her. The crazy thing is that these chores are everyday things such as taking her to the hair salon, driving her to the airport or even doing laundry! The students were threatened that if they didn't perform these tasks they would lose their financial aid. After 30 years working at St. John's, Chang may find herself in jail for 20 years if convicted of federal charges.


What a world we live in! It's crazy how people who you think would be "above it all" turn out to actually be way lower than we could have possibly imagined. Apparently, three of her "students" had recorded 122 days of service for her! What childish behavior from a person at such an elite postition! I don't care if you're an elementary teacher or a university professor or a dean, students are students, not servants. Also, how incredibly selfish of her to make them do such everyday things! I'm quite sure university students are plenty busy on their own time with taking care of themselves AND homework and whatnot, there is definitely no time to run extra errands for their deans! Her behavior is unexcusable and I hope the court doesn't let her get away with it.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39453126/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/