Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Economy

Convertible Securities: An Overview

Convertible securities are financial instruments that offer investors the flexibility to convert them into a different form or type of security, typically common stock. These securities provide investors with the potential for both fixed income and equity returns.

Types of Convertible Securities

• Convertible Bonds: Bonds that can be exchanged for a predetermined number of shares of common stock.
• Convertible Preferred Stock: Preferred stock that can be converted into common stock.

Key Features of Convertible Securities

• Conversion Ratio: The number of shares of common stock an investor will receive if they exchange their convertible security.
• Conversion Price: The price at which the convertible security can be converted

The United States: From Prosperity to Crisis

The Roaring Twenties

Economic growth in the United States continued throughout the decade following the end of the war (1918-1929). It was the decade of prosperity, the Roaring Twenties, in which the American way of life and the values that underpinned it (initiative, individual effort and success), which guaranteed the wealth and wellbeing of its citizens, became a model for the whole world.

Economic growth was based on a comprehensive transformation of goods manufacturing processes, which were dominated by technical innovation. Taylorism and Fordism helped increase productivity and reduce costs. The rise in workers' wages, advertising campaigns, hire purchase (payment for something in regular amounts)... Continue reading "The United States: From Prosperity to Crisis - The Roaring Twenties and the Wall Street Crash of 1929" »

It affects the behavior of consumers in a broad sense such as, for example, prompting them to make decisions that they would not have otherwise adopted.  

An Overview of Europe’s Film Industry

Ivana Katsarova

Despite pioneering both technological and content innovation in cinema, the EU film industry is currently characterized by the strong presence of Hollywood productions (70% market share in 2013). The major US companies benefit from vertical integration, encompassing both production and distribution, which allows them to spread risk and reinvest profits. To address the financing challenges faced by EU film companies, various film-support schemes have been established, totaling €2.1 billion in 2009.

Within the EU, the "big five" – France, Germany, the UK, Italy, and Spain – account for approximately 80% of releases, industry turnover, and employment.

Challenges Facing the European Film

Economics Study Guide

Fundamental Economic Concepts

Scarcity

Limited amount of resources to fulfill unlimited wants. Law of Diminishing Returns: As a company maximizes its factors of production, production becomes more difficult.

Opportunity Cost

The next best alternative sacrificed when making a choice.

Thinking at the Margin (T@M)

Making decisions based on the next unit or increment.

Production Possibilities Frontier (PPF)

A graph showing the possible combinations of two goods or services that can be produced with given resources and technology. Guns vs. Butter: A classic example of a simple PPF illustrating the trade-off between producing consumer goods and military goods.

Market Systems

Product Market

Where goods and services are bought and sold by... Continue reading "Economics Study Guide: Key Concepts and Definitions" »

International Trade: Barriers, Payments, and Protectionism

• Trade Barriers: Tariff or non-tariff measures.
• Balance of Payments: When trading, financial transactions occur among consumers worldwide, creating constant money flow. This is "the system of accounts that records a nation's international financial transactions, transactions between inhabitants and worldwide, using a double-entry bookkeeping system."
• Payments:
  • Goods imported
  • Spending by tourists
  • Outside investment
  • Foreign military spending
  Receipts:
  • Exports
  • Transportation payments
  • Payments from FDI abroad
• Accounts:
  • Current Account: Export and import of goods and services.
  • Capital Account: Record of investment (direct, portfolio, short-term).
  • Reserves: Export and import of gold, changes in foreign

DIVIDEND POLICY

Factors Influencing Dividend Decisions

Rate of Asset Expansion

Companies planning significant expansion may retain earnings to finance growth, avoiding the cost and time involved in raising new capital.

Profit Rate

A company's profitability directly impacts its ability to pay dividends. Higher profits lead to more available cash for distribution to shareholders.

Earnings Stability

Companies with stable earnings are more likely to consistently pay dividends compared to those with volatile earnings.

Access to Capital Markets

Easy access to capital markets allows companies to raise funds for expansion without retaining earnings, providing flexibility in dividend policy.

Control and Ownership

Management may retain earnings to maintain control... Continue reading "Understanding Dividend Policies: Factors, Models, and Strategies" »

Regressive Tax

A regressive tax is a tax that takes a larger percentage of income from low-income earners than from high-income earners. It is the opposite of a progressive tax, which takes a larger percentage from high-income earners. A regressive tax is applied uniformly to all situations, regardless of who is paying.

Regressive Tax vs. Progressive Tax

A progressive tax is a tax whose rate increases as the payer's income increases. The higher the income, the higher the proportion of their income is taxable. A regressive tax is the opposite. Its rate increases as the payer's income decreases. The progressive tax affects high-income earners, while the regressive tax affects the low-income class.

Zero-Based Budget

A zero-based budget is a method... Continue reading "A Guide to Basic Financial Concepts" »

Oligopoly

Oligopoly is a market structure with a small number of firms, none of which can keep the others from having significant influence. The concentration ratio measures the market share of the largest firms. A monopoly is one firm, duopoly is two firms and oligopoly is two or more firms. There is no precise upper limit to the number of firms in an oligopoly, but the number must be low enough that the actions of one firm significantly influence the others.

Perfect Competition

• All firms sell an identical product (the product is a 'commodity' or 'homogeneous').
• All firms are price takers (they cannot influence the market price of their product).
• Market share has no influence on prices.
• Buyers have complete or 'perfect' information—in the past,

4.3. Driving Forces and Game Changers

• Employment is a major political concern, but labour productivity is also important.

Labour productivity can be improved by the capital ratio (K/L, machinery to labour ratio), or by rises in total factor productivity (TFP).

Work total factor productivity (TFP) is the product of improvements in technology innovation, human capital, and management competences.

Golden days: 1944-1970. Many technological advances: electricity, internal combustion engine, running water, communications, chemicals, petroleum, etc. This led to the development of knowledge-intensive branches like ICT (Information and Communication Technologies).

Productivity is increasing more slowly since the 1970s than during the Golden Age, in part... Continue reading "Driving Forces and Game Changers: The Transition from Industry to Services" »