Explosions Devastate Peaceful Protests in Turkey

Peaceful protests were unfortunately destroyed today in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. At least 80 people have been killed and almost 200 injured after two explosions occurred, this all 3 weeks before parliamentary elections occur. The protests were a result of the armed conflict between the Kurdish militant and the Turkish state. Turkey is facing economic uncertainty, political instability, violence related to conflicts with the Kurdish rebels and the Islamic state group, and an overflow or Syrian refugees resulting from the war there. This could have a huge impact on the country internally, with less peaceful and more revolting protests occurring, as well as externally and the countries surrounding Turkey, as well as their allies. Due to the bombings just recently happening, we do not know very much, but Turkish police are investigating to see if it was the work of suicide bombers. Many people think it was the Kurdish rebels, however. Turkey is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, and has been since 1982. This was the worst terrorist attack in the country's history. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/world/europe/ankara-turkey-explosion-deaths.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

IMF's Lagarde: China's slowdown is 'healthy'

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/09/news/economy/china-lagarde-imf/index.html?iid=SF_LN

The world economy had slower growth but did not blame this on China for their lack of growth.  Christine LaGarde of the IMF says that the slowdown was expected and is healthy because China cannot continue to grow at a such high rates as they have in the past. Their growth was previously driven by building roads railroads and housing but they are transitioning to growth based off consumer spending. Their population is not growing as quickly so they cannot continue to build. They need to slow down there and grow in other areas. China has a growth rate target of 7% this year which is sill very high but lower than the days of 10% growth. The IMF expects growth of 6.8 % and 6.3% in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Italy Sends Eritreans to Sweden as E.U. Migrant Relocations Begin

A group of Eritrean asylum seekers left from Rome to go to Sweden.  Their reason to go to Sweden is to start a relocation program to help the European union to deal with the largest movement of refugees since World War II.  With this relocation program was to help 160,000 asylum seekers that are currently in Greece and Italy and shall spread them between all the European countries within two years.  There are more than 580,000 migrants and refugees that have come to the European Union by sea and this is causing problems in Europe.  There any many people that have different views about the refugees and migrants coming to Europe.  As of now the only migrate that fall under the relocation program are Syrians, Eritreans, and Iraqis.  In this program they will be fingerprinted, given shelter, legal status, and a welcoming atmosphere in the countries that they will be placed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/world/europe/italy-sends-eritreans-to-sweden-as-eu-migrant-relocations-begin.html?ref=world

"Netflix and Chill" will become a slightly more expensive date

The hugely popular online streaming service, Netflix, has decided once again to raise the cost of a subscription by $1. The monthly price will rise from $8.99 to $9.99. While Netflix has struggled some with sales, and this increase in price may show their need for more revenue, they still have an increasing number of subscribers each day. They do not predict that raise in price will deter many people because it still stands as the most popular online streaming service.

Streaming is becoming the dominant form of watching television and movies, quickly putting cable and satellite out of business. Many customers are opting for streaming because of the selection, convenience, price, and lack of commercials. Netflix has also created many of its own TV series and movies that are widely popular, like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, which attracts many customers as well. The majority of customers are probably willing to pay a little bit more because of these benefits, but we will see if this price increase helps or hurts the company's overall revenue.

http://www.wired.com/2015/10/netflix-will-charge-one-dollar-standard-plan/

Here's why Ferrari thinks its so special

Ferrari is going to park on the New York Stock Exchange soon under the ticker symbol, RACE. It is planning to sell 17.2 million shares for as much as $52 each! This would allow the luxury company to raise a total $894 million and be valued at $9.8 billion. In this way, Ferrari would be valued at nearly 35 times its yearly profits for the first half of the year. One of the reasons it would be valued so high is because the company claims it is not just a car company, rather it is a ‘luxury’ company. Other competitors like Daimler and Audi trade at below 10 times earnings, while only Hermes trades at about 38 times profits.  Although Ferrari’s sales growth has been quite slow due to the lesser number of new customers every year and its revenues growing at only 5% per quarter, the company has come up with this new ‘luxury’ term that appears in its modified IPO filing 151 times, and investors are just unwilling to ignore that. The good news is that the fancy company wants to build more of its good-looking Ferraris soon in order to satisfy its global demand for high-end luxury products from avid car lovers. 

http://www.businessinsider.com/we-now-have-details-on-ferraris-ipo-2015-10

Economists See U.S. on Cusp of ‘Full’ Employment, WSJ Survey Says

The United States is on the cusp of full employment after recovering since The Great Recession. According to 56% of the economists surveyed, the United States will reach full employment within the first half of 2016. Close to a fifth of the economists surveyed think that the U.S. has already reached full employment. Stephen Stanley, the chief economist of Amherst Pierpont Securities, states that there is still a lot of people who felt they've been left behind, but 5% unemployment is much better than the 10% we reached during the recession. Another aspect to look at is wage growth. Usually, when full employment is reached, wage growth is to follow, but this may not be the case today. Michael Moran, the chief economist of Daiwa Capital Markets America, says, "There's some lag between reaching a tight labor market and wages going up." One reason for this is even because as the unemployment rate has fallen, the labor force participation rate has also declined. One demographic factor that can attribute to this is the aging population retiring, and more young people getting higher education.

What do you guys think about full employment and wages?

Buffet bets on rail superhighway to beat trucks ascoal fades

After this year,  BNSF Railway Co. will be more than 99 percent finished with a second, parallel line to its 2,200-mile (3,500-kilometer) Los Angeles-to-Chicago route. Doubling up will create a rail superhighway speeding deliveries of toys, electronics, autos and other goods, because trains won’t have to yield to each other on sidings as they do on single tracks. a high speed multi tracks that will link the busiest U.S. container port to the biggest railway hub, What will this do for the economy? hopefully it'll help the market to flourish.

Full Article:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/buffett-bets-on-rail-superhighway-to-beat-trucks-as-coal-fades/ar-AAfbqyk?li=AA4Zjn

The Direction of Volkswagen

With the recent scandal committed by Volkswagen of cheating their emission tests on an estimated 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide, it created an enormous issue for the company of how to steer the formerly reputable company in the right direction. The first step taken was that of having the CEO Martin Winterkorn step down and be replaced by former Porsche Chief Matthias Mueller. Mueller has been with the Volkswagen family since his apprenticeship days as a toolmaker with Audi.

Mueller's claim for the future of Volkswagen was that they would survive, but the time associated with that as well as the road to future success will be long and rocky. In order to recuperate the losses associated with this dilemma, the notion of massive job cuts has been circulating around the company in order to make massive savings. Volkswagen has stated that they have set aside approximately $7 billion in order to remedy the situation with a technical fix; however, the potential total cost could reach a number several times higher than that. VW will be coming out with a technical fix in the nest few days in order to try and create a quick fix to the situation.

Credit Suisse stated that in the worst case scenario for Volkswagen, they could end up paying out upwards of $87 billion due to the cost of recalls, legal actions by authorities, customers, dealers, shareholders, and also the future loss of business. It will be interesting to see how VW responds to this crisis and also how long it takes them to restore their image and regain the trust from their cult like following of customers.   

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/06/news/companies/volkswagen-crisis-ceo-savings/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom

Opposition of Venezuela

Venezuela’s opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, was sentenced to nearly 14 years in jail. Lopez already served an 18 month term in solitary confinement. A global human-rights lobbyist stated, “The charges against him were never adequately substantiated and the prison sentence against him is clearly politically motivated.”

Lopez’s only motivation was to oppose the current Venezuelan leadership. Venezuela has an overwhelmingly Catholic religious backing most importantly by the Pope. The Pope has various connections and it is questioned why the Pope didn’t make an immediate condemnation of the verdict. The Pope put many of the problems with this ordeal with the bishops. Archbishop Roberto Luckert Leon condemned the current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for expelling thousands of Colombians solely based off their difference of views. While, the Pope in the background, endorsed bishops including Archbishop Robert Luckert Leon from solving how to mitigate a big humanitarian crisis. The Pope is finally beginning to make a stand stating that he will not speak to the Venezuelan leader until human rights improve.

In conclusion Venezuelan’s political and social aspects are corrupt. Anyone who protests or tries to speak their minds get sent away. Mr Lopez is a prime example of this because the current Venezuelan leader accused him for being responsible of subliminally fomenting violence even though he was only about peace and finding a solution. If the Venezuelan government refuses to openly talk about why diplomatic human-right abuses can’t be discussed, the world hopes that the Pope will free Venezuela of allowing condemning sublimation.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/09/pope-cuba-and-venezuela?zid=305&ah=417bd5664dc76da5d98af4f7a640fd8a

Zimbabwe: Drought and a weak rand may do more than a decade of sanctions to spur change

The economy of Zimbabwe is close to collapse. The IMF believes that their economy will grow by 1.5% this year, but this number seems optimistic due to a drought halving the country's maize crop, leaving 1.5 million people in need of food aid, prompting businesses to lay of workers en masse, and leaving homes in the dark due to 18 hour power cuts in part of the capital. In addition to the drought, the slow down in South Africa is hurting Zimbabweans. About 3 million Zimbabweans work in South Africa, where they earn rands, which has fallen 15% against the dollar this past year. It is believed that remittances boost Zimbabwe's national output by more than 10%, a significant contribution to the economy.

Robert Mugabe has been president for 35 years and has run a corrupt regime, propping up those close to him, fiercely cutting down his enemies, and forcing his people into poverty. Rigged elections in 2000 prompted Western countries to place sanctions on Zimbabwe and development aid had been halted, however those sanctions were quickly lifted and aid now helps feed the citizens.

When economic crisis hit in the 1990s, President Mugabe defaulted. In the 2000s when he ran out of money, Mugabe simply printed more. When hit again with economic crisis in 2008 due to hyperinflation, Mugabe ditched Zimbabwe's currency in favor of the dollar. Now, there are no more viable options for Mugabe to take - he can't borrow money or print it. For the first time, there is no way around economic crisis and there is a real possibility for political change.

Zimbabwe imports much more than it exports. Every dollar used to pay for imported food is one that could be used to pay the salaries of the soldiers and policemen that keep Mugabe's party, ZANU-PF, in power. The shortage of cash is forcing deflationary internal devaluation on Zimbabwe's remaining private companies. Consumer prices have fallen 3% and companies have been forced to sack workers or cut pay. This economic crisis is challenging Mugabe's regime and forcing the government to make dangerous choices that could lose him the muscle that has kept him in power for 35 years

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21669966-drought-and-weak-rand-may-do-more-decade-sanctions-spur?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/ed/backstothewall

Future Implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Pact 

The U.S., Japan and 10 other Pacific nations have just recently come up with the largest trade pact in two decades, which is thought to be a huge political and strategic victory for both U.S. and Japanese leaders. The pact lowers trade barriers among the various countries, along with helping countries specialize in producing and exporting goods and services they can specialize in. This will attempt to lower consumer prices. The pact will have affects on all industries. For example, U.S. dairy farmers will be more able to sell milk to Canada, which opens up a whole new market. The pact also implements a 5 year minimum period of market exclusivity on each country before pharmaceutical companies have a cheaper competition (known as biosimilars). Originally, the want was to make the period last for 12 years, which went in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. However, other countries did not agree to adopt this, which left the U.S. as the only one utilizing the time period. The 12 years is actually better for data protection of biologic medication because it allows the stimulation of research and development, while simultaneously giving access to biosimilars in the appropriate manner. 

Although the pact has been much celebrated by the Obama Administration along with other countries involved with the new trade deal, there are a number of negative repercussions that could result from it. First off, people opposed to the deal think that it will continue to leave underdeveloped counties without access to necessary goods and ability to export/import. New patents and market exclusivity have ben imposed, possibly making it harder for countries with less leverage to be as flexible. This concept, may lead back to the idea of certain countries and companies monopolizing the market. Another thing to consider is that the lowering of import tariffs could potentially create a "backdoor" for Chinese goods to be snuck into the U.S. It may also be potentially easier for contaminated food to make its way into the United States, with big exporters having more lenient inspection rules. Also, there could be job loss in the U.S. due to companies that are vulnerable to import competition. Lastly, while Congress believes that there should be currency provisions in the deal, other counties such as Singapore and Japan are strongly opposed to the currency provision. 

As the trade deal is still extremely new, it is evident that the details need to be worked out. After details are established, clarity will perhaps shut down certain concerns and critiques of the detail. However, it is still important to think about any future changes the deal could promote. Are there other potential positive or negative implications of the deal? Is the opposition right to be so critical?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/business/international/what-changes-lie-ahead-from-the-trans-pacific-partnership-pact.html?ref=business

Valeant’s Drug Price Strategy Enriches It, but Infuriates Patients and Lawmakers

Like many older adults in today's society, medications for illnesses and diseases is a necessary expense taken away from their income.  However as this cost is inevitable, companies such as Valeant have made this cost immensely higher.

For example, take the case of Bruce and Susan Manes.  Bruce suffers from an inherited disorder called Wilson's disease targeting the liver and nerves resulting in severe damage to both structures.  Before Valeant owned the medication the Manes were paying $366 a month for his medications and since Valeant bought the medication in June it has increased the price to $1800 a month.  Bruce and his wife and 55 years of age and his wife has picked up a second job just to pay for this increase in price of her husband's medication,  She stated in the article saying, "My husband will die without the medicine, we just can't manage another two, three thousand dollars a month for pills."

Valeant operates by buying up already existing drugs in the market and raising the prices astronomically and buying companies and laying off their employees, instead of investing in research and development within their company and developing new drugs.  In comparison to the competition, Valeant has increased their prices this year alone by 66% which is five times more than their competitors.  Valeant spends 3% of its overall sales on research and development in comparison to the competition which spends 15-20%.  The government is threatening to take action and the company's stocks have taken a hit recently.  However, the company is not incredibly worried about the implications the government could have at this time since much of the world is focused more on the upcoming election.

The company fired back at these allegations saying that it, "prices its treatments based on a range of factors, including clinical benefits and the value they bring to patients, physicians, payers, and society."  They also said that since insurance companies take most of the hit from these high prices, no one is denied the drugs that they need.  However, with the increases in prices, insurance companies are beginning to stop paying for these medications since the cost is differed to not only insurers but hospitals, taxpayers, and higher premiums and co-pays for everyone.

While there are some generic alternatives for the medications that Valeant offers, most do not because of their lack of popularity for a competitive company's research and development teams.  The United States unlike other areas does not have controlled drug prices, Consequently, pharmaceutical companies have relied on their high price business structure to ensure their revenues and profits.

However as Susan states and I agree, "this madness has to stop."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/05/business/valeants-drug-price-strategy-enriches-it-but-infuriates-patients-and-lawmakers.html?ref=business&_r=1

NBC Launches Streaming Channel

http://www.multichannel.com/news/programming/nbc-streaming-channel-launches-roku/393967#.VgHayD5iyrk.linkedinNBC is the first prime time TV network to launch their entire inventory on to a Roku streaming channel. NBC currently running TV shows in addition to a vast inventory are giving Pay TV consumers more reason to cancel their subscriptions. By allowing Roku users to have next day access to their currently running shows they are removing the week long wait time most Pay TV On Demand services have. This latest addition to the Roku inventory is giving more evidence to the shift we're seeing in tradition TV consumption. Over the Top connected devices (devices connected by wireless connections) are becoming more popular with TV consumers, allowing them to watch TV on their own time, not fearing missing a prime time show or having to wait a week to view it. This change in technology and more premium content like NBC changing with it, could result in Pay TV providers such as Time Warner Cable to changes services or get out of the market to make room for the new evolution of TV technology.