Reflection: China is falling apart because they are going down non-stopped. We always believe that China is so powerful that it could not go down but go up. China has very cheap labor and many industries because of cheap labor. Stephen McDonell argued that the trade war is beneficial for the Chinese economy because they were trying to step down because of the natural environment damaged for years. This destruction caused much unserviceable debt to the country. Also, the Chinese government was trying to control steam, so they do not go out too fast. In response to the new trade to help with the trade war, China said that they are going to boost US imports, and the US agreed not to add some tariffs on some products. President Donald Trump said that it would be “transformative” to the United States. According to this, it is suitable for China if they are stepping down because they already ruined their country by buying trash from other countries, the environment pollution from industries, and their people working many hours in poor conditions and not getting paid enough. 

“China's Economic Growth Hits 30-Year Low.” BBC News. BBC, January 17, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51144892.

Trump Expands Steel Tariffs, Saying They Are Short of Aim

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/business/economy/trump-steel-tariffs.html

Summary: President Trump announced on January 27, 2020, that he plans to expand tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. He argues the existing tariffs did not improve American production. In 2018 he placed 25% of tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminum. Imports for these goods went down since the tariff was applied. Also, he says that products made of steel and aluminum will expand. Southwire says the tariff will ensure fair competition in the world market. Some economists say that increasing tariffs on steel and aluminum will raise the price of goods made of these goods. It would encourage companies to buy outside of the country instead of producing in the United States. 

Reflection: President Donald Trump tries to impose tariffs on significant goods to encourage American companies to produce more instead of buying from other countries. In Trump’s campaign, he always said how we wanted to improve American business and new jobs for Americans. Imposing tariffs on goods may help companies to start producing from themselves, and consumers will buy American products instead of outside products because tariffs will make it more expensive. However, the United States buy raw goods to produce their goods. Economics is aware that Americans goods made of steel and aluminum would become more expensive, and the consumer will take the lowest price. Unfortunately, other countries have cheap labor and vast goods, which make them powerful in production and sales. Material and labor control the price; it can go up or down depending on how abundant goods, and services. The president’s decision may not have enough improvements because consumers usually choose the cheapest good. Imposing more tariffs will make American goods even more expensive and foreign goods will keep making their way into America. 

Swanson, Ana, and Peter Eavis. “Trump Expands Steel Tariffs, Saying They Are Short of Aim.” The New York Times. The New York Times, January 27, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/business/economy/trump-steel-tariffs.html.

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/business/economy/fed-interest-rates-decision.html\

Summary: The Federal Reserve officials had their first meeting this year, and they decided not to change interest rates. Jerome Powell, one of the Fed, said that our economy is fueled with jobs, and consumers are willing to buy products and services. The interest rate now is about 1.5 to 1.75 percent. Central banks are not going to change interest rates as long as inflation goes up or stays the same. Donald Trump argued that the Fed should lower rates because it is affecting the country at a disadvantage. The Feds are facing difficulty in keeping their plan because of the coronavirus that hit China. China was declared a state of emergency which affected many of their international operations. On Wednesday, Donald Trump signed an American Free Trade Agreement to bring peace with China, and our business could flow easier.

Reflection: Interest rates are the amount charged for borrowing money. It is good news to know that interest rates are not going up for business, students, and people that need to borrow money. Students and businesses can take advantage of interest rates, not going up. Students usually borrow money to pay for education, if the interest rates stay low, the possibility of paying for school earlier is higher than with higher interest. It is also cheaper. Businesses can borrow money to invest in their own business to expand. It is beneficial to get money with a lower interest rate because the business will pay less money back for borrowing money. In the article, Mr. Powell said that inflation should be money up because the unemployment rate is low, and the country is expanding a lot in the past year. However, other analysts say that it is better to have lower interest rates because people will be willing to spend more. The interest should stay the same or go down because people will be willing to borrow more money and spend more, and businesses can use the money to invest and create new jobs. 

Smialek, Jeanna. “Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged.” The New York Times. The New York Times, January 30, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/business/economy/fed-interest-rates-decision.html/.

Reflection: As we study in class, the GDP measures the gross domestic product within the country. A high GDP is a sign that prosperity and economic growth is going up. Economists are predicting a very low GDP for China in 2020, which means that the standard of living is going down. However, the GDP can change annually - a hope for society. When the level of productivity in China is at high levels, the population can enjoy a high standard of living. The goods and services are in large quantities and quality. Some companies asked their employees to work from home, attempting not to lose production. The small business as restaurants and small stores are the ones being more affected because people are not consuming, and the employees are not able to get to their jobs. China should not expect much from this year because their production is stuck, and the comeback can take almost half-year. Unfortunately, China's population is suffering from coronavirus, nine hundred people killed, and many countries are in danger. The year of 2020 has already started tough for Chineses and big industries that have their manufacturers located in China. 

Citation: Woo, Stu, and James T. Areddy. “China's Businesses Struggle to Resume Work.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, February 10, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-businesses-struggle-to-resume-work-11581342727?mod=business_lead_pos2.

Reflection: Unfortunately, many of Macy’s stores around the U.S will close, and 2.000 people will lose their jobs. Macy believes that investing in online sales will reduce their cost and sales even more because online sales are being prevalent. It seems that many retail stores are closing in the past two years since online sales are becoming more popular as amazon. Online sales are a danger for employees because it is closing many stores and reducing employees in those large companies. At least Macy’s plans to open different style stores which will help create more jobs. As we learned in chapters 10 and 11, the GDP measures the gross domestic product, and many economists believe that it is not the right way to measure. I believe that this situation proves that it is not the right way to measure because the company will make more money, but the employees will reduce their income. The GDP fails to measure the well-being of the population. 

Pascale, Jordan. “Macy's Closing 125 Stores, Cutting 2,000 Jobs As Mall Stores Struggle.” NPR. NPR, February 5, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/02/05/803016213/macys-closing-125-stores-cutting-2-000-jobs-as-mall-stores-struggle.

Link: https://www.scnow.com/business/with-unemployment-rates-at-all-time-lows-region-s-economy/article_f3ec2119-21c3-5bd2-a386-b3e77af841cf.html

Summary: According to the SCNOW news, the unemployment rate is very low compared to previous years, and the growth rate is high since last year in South Carolina’s northeastern counties. The North Eastern Strategic Alliance says that last year the region invested 572 million dollars in their company and created 1,100 new jobs. In September 2019, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) hit a low rate of 2.1 percent in the region. The governor of South Carolina is surprised by the number and said that the goal was to reach this low, but never imagined it was possible. In the past decades, the northeastern regions had the highest unemployment rate. McGill says that a few years ago, the rate was 16 percent, and it was impossible to believe that it could reach 2.1 percent. The unemployment rate is low, resulting in higher wages. Now, companies are recruiting skilled workers since their average wage increased. The value of final goods and services increased by 2.8 percent over six years, higher than the national growth rate. The governor thanks companies for investing in his communities and the people for reaching the lowest unemployment rate. However, he also expects slower activity because of the 2020 elections, where companies will hold huge decisions. The four companies in the area are planning to create more jobs since they are investing $187.9 million in 2020. 

Reflection: Since we just learned about the unemployment rate and how the low rates affect the economy, this article explains what is happening in South Carolina. The BLS ( Bureau of Labor Statistics) is responsible for measuring the unemployment rate in the United States by counting every adult over 16 years old and divided into three categories; employed, unemployment, and not in the workforce. They reported the lowest unemployment rate of 2.1 percent in the South Carolina region. This article brings hope for South Carolina, where they hit the lowest rate and highest growth rate. Not only in South Carolina but all of the states, the unemployment rate is very low. The health of South Carolina's northeastern people will probably increase because the workers are earning more money, which will lead to a better diet and healthier workers. The turnover will decrease because the firms are paying high wages, and employees are more satisfied with their jobs. The quality of service and product will also increase because these companies are recruiting more skilled workers. All of these benefits affect the quality of life of these people. Also, we have to understand that the unemployment rate never falls to zero because the economy is always changing. Companies are always looking for a balance between quantity demanded and quantity supplied. 

reports, From staff. “With Unemployment Rates at All-Time Lows, Region's Economy Continues to Grow.” SCNow, February 16, 2020. https://www.scnow.com/business/with-unemployment-rates-at-all-time-lows-region-s-economy/article_f3ec2119-21c3-5bd2-a386-b3e77af841cf.html.

Link: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/economy/global-recession-coronavirus/index.html 
Summary: These past few days have been full of insecurities because of the Coronavirus that seemed to be only affecting China and countries around it. Unfortunately, the virus reached over 100 countries and strong economic nations. The United States, as one of the largest and most influential economies, has been falling dramatically. The stock market fell over a thousand points, and it had to be stopped. Airlines, restaurants, shops, and factories had to shut down around the World. There are around 200,00 people affected by the Corona Virus and approximately 8,000 deaths. The government of the United States and most of the countries requested to shut down and declared a state of emergency. According to Julia Horowitz, economists affirm that the global recession is here. The World’s biggest economy doesn’t seem to be recovering anytime soon. China appears to not have many cases as before, since the end of December, when the virus became an outbreak in China. Now, the virus has reached Europe and North America, where the governments are trying to control the pandemic. The government is taking dramatic actions to stop the virus by closing public spaces like malls, schools, large businesses, and prohibiting gathering of more than ten people. All of these actions are seriously affecting the global and national economy. 
Reflection: As China is still struggling to get back, the United States will probably be in the same shape in a few days. The U.S. government is trying its best to protect the population and the economy by banning people from traveling outside and spending money on unnecessary goods. This reduction will cause an economic fall in the United States that will probably take years to recover. Specialists think the year growth will decrease and the GDP to fall. The senior member of the International Economics Institute says that the markets need to continue functioning because it can go dead sooner. The U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it would cut interest rates close to zero and will make it easier to borrow U.S. dollars to banks around the World. The New York Fed will inject up to $500 billion into the markets to help the economy. The Trump administration economist Kevin Hassett said that the global recession is close to 100%. The global recession is a period of economic decline in the World. This recession will cause unemployment, low numbers of trades, fewer capital flows, and the GDP will decrease. 

Horowitz, Julia. “The Global Coronavirus Recession Is Beginning.” CNN. Cable News Network, March 16, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/economy/global-recession-coronavirus/index.html.

Reflection: Economists believe that unemployment claims will rise in a couple of months, and unemployment rates. Many states received more than double the number of applications in the past week and expected to receive even more. The article says how a nationwide company already laid off 80% percent of its workers and will lay more than thousands in the next weeks because they had to close many restaurants and resorts in the United States. As we studied in class, unemployment rates going up is always a bad sign of the economy. The coming months will be rash on the population because many people will be trying to overcome this epidemic that left many problems economically. What makes it even worse is the fact that there are no predictions for the next months. We are living a moment of uncertainty. I believe that the economy around the world will suffer a lot from this tragedy, and it will take longer to overcome. The Senate passed a multibillion-dollar emergency aid to help the unemployment insurance program. They are also trying to address direct payments as a stimulus package. It also says that families affected by the coronavirus would be permitted to get individual benefits. The government is trying its best to don’t fail the country economically, but I believe it’s a difficult situation for the government and the population. Due to the fact, the GDP will decrease, consumers will slow down, and business would take longer to rebuild. 

“Coronavirus Drives up Unemployment Claims.” POLITICO. Accessed March 23, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/19/coronavirus-drives-up-unemployment-claims-137067.

Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/venezuela-crisis-mode-struggles-fight-coronavirus-200323194559123.html

Summary: Venezuela is living a nightmare because of the coronavirus issue. There’s at least 70 cases of the virus confirmed in the country. The number seems to be low compared to other countries but since Venezuela is not in a good economic form. The healthcare system has difficulties with resources and infrastructure. Also, many doctors emigrated to neighbor countries because of communism. The health professionals are complaining because of the lack of adequate clothing for protection and medication. According to Al Jazeera, the whole country only has 80 intensive care beds available. President Maduro announced that the country will enter a quarantine because it’s very necessary. The population is seeking to find alcohol and marks but there’s none. Also, Al Jazeera says that the bottle of alcohol is very expensive. He said that the cost for a bottle is $4.17 while the minimum wage is $4.85 and people have to choose between food or medicine. Maduro asked the International Monetary Fund for five billion dollars to help them face the pandemic. But, the IMF refuses to help. 

Reflection: Venezuela is a CHAOS because of communism. Maduro took over many companies to control the country. However, the government couldn’t manage the companies and the companies started to fail. Many people lose their jobs because the companies were broken. The employment rate went very high and people started to not have food on the table. Most of the population in Venezuela had to emigrate to neighbor countries. Brazil was the most affected because of the immigration. Some states were overpopulated; schools and hospitals were full and public parks were home for immigrants. Maduro did not want to leave the presidency and Russia was supporting him. Now, Maduro asked for five billion dollars to help the country with the coronavirus issue. The IMF refused the help arguing that his government was not recognised by the international community. Cuba sends doctors to help the healthcare program and China sends thousands of diagnosis kits to test for the virus. But, the population is very worried because they feel helpless and many Venezuelans don’t have health insurance. 

Melimopoulos, Elizabeth. “Venezuela, Already in Crisis Mode, Struggles to Fight Coronavirus.” Coronavirus pandemic News | Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, March 23, 2020. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/venezuela-crisis-mode-struggles-fight-coronavirus-200323194559123.html.

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/02/weekly-jobless-claims.html

Summary: The article talks about the number of Americans that filled the unemployment insurance in the last week. According to the Labor Department, the number of claims reached 6.6 million. Over the past two weeks, it brought to 10 million unemployed Americans. Economists expected to reach 3.3 million unemployed. Liz Ann, an investment strategist, says that she expects worse to come. Before they shut down, the highest week for claims was in 1982 and 2009, with approximately 680,000 unemployments. The article says that the forced shutdown and the social distancing policies caused joblessness that the nation has never seen before. It also talks about Massachusetts that has high numbers of unemployment fillings. Congress passed a bill approving $2 trillion to help workers to stay unemployed longer. The biggest group affected are the bartenders, athletic coaches, wait staff, food prep workers, taxis, truck drivers, and supervisors. 

Reflection: According to this article, we can see unemployment is rising, and economists believe that the worst to come. We are living with much uncertainty about what’s going to happen after this pandemic. As many specialists think, we are going to face a difficult time because many corporations are going to fire the employees and reduce the hours. This article connects to chapter 15 about unemployment. As we learned, the labor force is enormous, but the number of unemployed will be higher than expected, resulting in a high unemployment rate that we probably never saw before. I also connect to everything we have learned in macroeconomics because when the unemployment rate is high, the GDP, the health and quality of living, the demand and production decreases. People will have less money in their pockets, and it will reduce their consumption. It also connects to chapter 20, because it talks about the number of output falls, the number of unemployment rises. Firms choose to produce a smaller quantity of goods and services, and then they lay off workers. I also believe that the nominal value of the money will always be the same, but the real value will go down. This will affect consumers because the ability to buy goods and services decreases. It looks like a chain when something goes wrong; the whole chain goes down. 

JeffCoxCNBCcom. “US Weekly Jobless Claims Double to 6.6 Million.” CNBC. CNBC, April 2, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/02/weekly-jobless-claims.html.

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/13/some-small-businesses-are-starting-to-get-rescue-funds-but-payouts-overall-are-lagging-behind.html

Small businesses start to get rescue funds, but payouts overall are lagging

Summary: Trump's administration created a program called "PPP" to help small businesses. The government approved 860,000 applications for $210 billion of loans. Banks find problems to help small businesses because of the lack of information from the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration. Some financial institutions are suspicious if the government is assuring enough of the banks. The legislation requires borrowers to use 75% of the loan to pay their employees, and bankers are wondering what happens if the loan is not forgiven, how banks will receive the money back. Banks already funded about 35% to 40% of the loans because they are confident that the law will meet the intended. However, banks are concerned with the lack of information by the government on what borrowers have to do to get their loans forgiven. 

Reflection: As we can see, the government is trying to provide people with money to keep the economy running. The government is providing checks to citizens, providing loans to small businesses, and influencing large companies. The government and everyone are worried about what's going to happen when the pandemic is over. Economists expect unemployment to go up as businesses reduce their demand. As demand goes down, the unemployment rate goes up. People will reduce their expenses because they will prioritize what is necessary as food and housing. This whole pandemic crisis connects to our class because it's affecting the economy. We learned in the entire semester about how the crisis affects the economy, and now we are living on it. In Chapter 21, it talks about how the government controls interest rate and taxes. I connect the actual situation with the automatic stabilization because as people are losing jobs and reducing income, they will not be able to contribute within the economy with expenditures and taxes. Since people are not making money, they are adding to the tax system. This will dramatically affect our economy because the government will have to reduce their expenditures in every area. It also connects to the fact that the interest rate is going to go up because people will lower expenses. 

Citation: Steveliesman. “Small Businesses Start to Get Rescue Funds, but Payouts Overall Are Lagging.” CNBC. CNBC, April 13, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/13/some-small-businesses-are-starting-to-get-rescue-funds-but-payouts-overall-are-lagging-behind.html.

https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-latest-north-korea-confirmed-cases-infections-world-health-organization-1498909

Summary: For the first time, North Korea confirmed COVID-19 cases. Kim Jong-Un, the leader denied for many months that his people were infected. They reported that only three areas of the country had confirmed cases. According to the AFP, quarantine and preemptive measures were taken, and they closed all borders and blocked sea and air lanes. The government said that they are educating residents about the virus. The three areas affected were the capital Pyongyand, South Hwanghae, and North Hamgyong. Specialists are skeptical about the only three areas affected because they are located at the top and bottom of the map of North Korea, and the capital in the middle. They believe that the whole country is infected since the bottom and the top was reported. The residents said that the country has a good healthcare system and they have the fewest confirmed cases in the world. Others said that the leader did nothing to help them and he blamed the citizens for not following the quarantine guidelines.

Reflection: North Korea is under the dictator Kim Jong-Un. The socialist country reported for months that they did not have any cases. However, yesterday he reported cases in three areas. The areas reported seem a little off because the bottom and the top of the country were affected, which means more areas were affected too. Since, the country only makes trades with China, outside people are worried how the population is going to survive because many North Korean starve since they don’t have much production and the demand is very high. In February, the United Nations offered help with goggles, thermometers, and stethoscopes. But, they refused help and argued that their healthcare system was good. A source reported that during Kim Jong-Un's speech, he (the leader) blamed the people that were infected and said how they didn’t follow the requirements. While saying to reporters that the country was wrong for not following the quarantine requirements. The country is very powerful because of the weapons but their health system is very poor since they don’t have technology. Also the population has reduced food and work in extreme poor conditions. The world is worried how North Korea is going to deal with the outbreak since they refuse help and for being so closed. 

Citation: Kim, Soo. “Coronavirus Cases in North Korea Have Been Confirmed for the First Time.” Newsweek, April 20, 2020. https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-latest-north-korea-confirmed-cases-infections-world-health-organization-1498909.