Chapter 2: Economics - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

[VIDEO] The Volcker Rule Explained

September 14, 2016

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ranks among the most important laws passed in recent history. It’s also extremely complicated, amounting to some 14,000 pages of various regulations and restrictions. The video below takes a look at one of the key provisions of this landmark bill: The Volcker Rule, or the stipulation that banks cannot act like hedge funds and gamble with their own cash reserves. Although reviled by many on Wall Street, supporters say the rule Continue reading →

Finance, Regulation, Ethics, Dodd-Frank, Wall Street, Volcker Rule

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Videos

[VIDEO] NAFTA Explained

August 29, 2016

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

As the Trans-Pacific Partnership inches closer to ratification in the U.S. and abroad, the debate surrounding free trade agreements like it has grown more intense. This video takes a look at one of the first of these tariff-eliminating multinational deals, NAFTA, and the ways that it has remained controversial.

Questions:

Do free trade deals like NAFTA or TPP provide enough of an economic benefit to justify their potentially negative effects on the U.S. job market?
How do tariffs encourage Continue reading →

Manufacturing, NAFTA, TPP, Free Trade, Economics, Global, Ethics

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Videos

Uncertainty Abounds After Brexit

July 1, 2016

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

A week has passed since more than 17 million voters in Great Britain chose to leave the European Union, leading to confusion and plummeting stock markets throughout the world. And while the immediate economic fallout from the “Brexit” decision has tapered off in that time, political leaders as well as regular people still don’t know what will happen next. In fact, British citizens aren’t even sure who will be running their country in a few months. Prime Minister David Cameron Continue reading →

Europe, Economics, Immigration, Global, Government, Ethics, Brexit, EU, Politics

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

America’s Poorest Areas Remained Racked by the Recession

March 23, 2016

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

According to economists and government officials, the Great Recession officially ended in the middle of 2009. If you ask an average American, however, you’ll likely hear a different answer. 64 percent of people surveyed last year in a Fox News poll said they believed the U.S. economy was still in a recession. A poll conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal the year before came up with similar results. And now thanks to an in-depth study by the Continue reading →

Rust Belt, The South, Economics, Demographics, Inequality, Recession

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Uncategorized

Trading Pits Become a Thing of the Past

July 30, 2015

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Trading commodities is a complicated business. Employees in the industry not only have to possess financial intelligence, they also must be able to seemingly predict the future based solely on projections and estimates. For years traders like these thrived in the “pits” of Chicago and New York’s stock exchanges, shouting about everything from livestock to produce as they searched for deals. These financial foot soldiers eventually became pop culture icons, with frantically yelling floor traders appearing in everything from serious Continue reading →

Finance, Product Distribution, Wall Street, Human Resources, Innovation

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 17: Accounting, Chapter 19: Securities Markets

Wisconsin Becomes a Right-to-Work State

March 30, 2015

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Near the end of February, the Wisconsin legislature passed a controversial bill that could change the face of labor in the state. Under the new “right-to-work” law, employees in unionized, private sector workplaces can choose whether or not to pay their union dues. According to Governor Scott Walker and his supporters, the law grants more freedom for individuals to choose where they work. “This legislation will ensure that Wisconsin’s workers have the sole power to determine whether they wish to Continue reading →

Regulation, Right-to-Work, Ethics, Wisconsin, Unions, Labor Relations, Compensation

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

The Economy and the Plummeting Birth Rate

January 16, 2015

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

In 2007 the American birth rate was clipping along at a steady pace. With an average of 69.3 infants being born for every 1,000 fertile-age women, U.S. citizens were making enough babies to keep the population stable. Then the economy took a nosedive the next year and the birth rate quickly followed suit. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, as of 2013 Americans were making only 62.5 babies per 1,000 potential mothers, an amount that falls well below Continue reading →

Demographics, Health, Birth Rate, Economics

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics

The Enduring Power of the Dollar

November 30, 2014

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

The stock market crash of 2008 sent shockwaves across the world’s economies, leading many to speculate about the future of American financial policy on the global stage. In the eyes of many experts at the time, the U.S. dollar was especially at risk of losing its decades-long dominance. After all, the inferno of the financial crisis spread so fast because many nations measure their own currency against the dollar. When its value plummeted, so did countless other currencies.

The debacle Continue reading →

Economics, Global, Currency, Finance, China

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions

The Myth of the Labor Skills Gap

August 26, 2014

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Economists have long argued that a skills gap is growing among the American workforce. Hundreds of businesses both large and small have echoed this sentiment, claiming that there aren’t enough qualified people to perform certain jobs. However, in most cases this line of thinking simply doesn’t add up. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unemployed people exceeds the number of jobs available in every industry. In durable goods manufacturing, for instance, there are approximately 576,000 idle Continue reading →

Ethics, Training, Manufacturing, Labor Relations, Unemployment, Compensation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

EU Nations Add Underground Economies to GDP

August 5, 2014

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Even though the U.S. has a gross domestic product (GDP) valued at nearly $17 trillion, that huge figure still doesn’t come close to providing a complete picture of the American economy. Each year billions upon billions of transactions go undocumented, untaxed, and ultimately unrecorded by official GDP statisticians. Whether it’s earning a few bucks by mowing a neighbor’s lawn or by selling drugs, these concealed deals all form what’s known as the underground economy.

Many economists have said that it’s Continue reading →

Ethics, Europe, Finance, GDP, Financial Data, Underground Economy, Regulation

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility