Business Structures and Economic Indicators

This week in personal finance, we learned about business structures and economic indicators. To measure economic activity, one must measure the country's GDP. It is the market value of all final goods and services produced within a given period. To be included within a good or service, it must be a final good, be PRODUCED during the time period, and be produced within a NATION’s borders. We calculate GDP by the formula, C + I + G + X = GDP. C stands for consumption by consumers. I stands for investment by businesses. G stands for government spending. Lastly, X stands for net exports. GDP shows us how well a country's economy is doing. Other things that we must take into consideration are standard of living, the unemployment rate, the rate of inflation, the consumer price index, and the national debt. Another thing we learned this week was the business cycle. It consists of prosperity, recession, depression, and recovery. It is about how businesses thrive, slow down, have a downfall, and start to go back up again. We also learned about business structures. There are sole proprietorships, corporations, and partnerships. These different structures act in different ways and effect the way that businesses run all around the world. Overall, this week was very busy and we learned so many different things. We mostly got to understand how the economy runs and how we can calculate it. Overall, it was a very fun experience, especially, when we played the studying game.

iPhone becoming cheaper by the minute!

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/05/technology/mobile/walmart-iphone-price-cut/index.html?iid=obinsite
Written by James O'Toole on March 5, 2014

Wall-Mart started slashing prices on smart-phones last month. They cutting the prices on Samsung Galaxy S4 and for Apple's 16-gig iPhone 5s and 5c, for costumers signing two-year contracts with AT&T and Verizon. Almost all contracts are down in their prices and new phone devices are also being released soon!!! These sales show that the smartphone market is reaching saturation. It is becoming harder and harder for new products to create the success they had previously. According to Asymco Industry analyst Horace Dediu, the adoption of smart phones will taper off in late 2015.

The article is very relevant to what we have been learning in class and to the economy at its current point. It shows how more people are starting to veer off from the cell-phone track and that they are becoming more cheap. Sales are increasing consumer buying and it's very productive for the consumers and producers. However, it has become harder and harder for them to enter into market as products are not having the same about as success as before. Overall, this post shows how the economy is improving things mostly for the consumers as they are shorting prices and making things cheaper; however, companies are finding it harder and harder to make a better success.