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Scooped by
Graham Watson
onto Microeconomics: IB Economics |
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Reduction in yields means UK will be dependent on imports for wheat in coming year and possibly beyond
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Negative scientific and press reports on the efficacy of carbon credit projects has led to a ‘direct pullback in buyer investment’
Graham Watson's insight:
It seems as though the market for carbon offsets has collapsed to some degree with the market value of offsets down by over 60% as a result of a fall in demand for such schemes, in large part because of doubts about their effectiveness.
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A UAE-based recycling app helps businesses divert their food waste away from landfills and make growing food in the desert nation less challenging.
Graham Watson's insight:
This Reuters clip looks art the recycling app ReLoop which is trying to help businesses use food waste more efficiently, turning it into compost and helping grow food in the desert.
That said, such farming is itself likely to be inefficient, and generate a number of negative externalities.
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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that green energy projects would be kickstarted across the country within months. He plans to create a publicly-owned company, Great British Energy, should Labour win the general election in July.
Graham Watson's insight:
Today's electioneering appears to be focused on energy - with Labour pledging to boost green energy and the SNP claiming that this would be bad for Scotland, because it will reduce demand for its fossil fuels.
That said, it would be good for the environment, and the job argument is an argument about the 'net effect' on jobs - with new jobs being created too.
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Regulator understood to be looking at ‘recovery regime’ for Thames Water and others in sector
Graham Watson's insight:
With water companies still struggling, it seems as though the regulator is exploring a number of different options to allow them chance to 'recover'. In this instance, it is thought that fines for sewage leaks and so on could be reduced. However, it isn't a universally popular solution with a number of opposition politicians arguing that it lets the companies off the hook. 
prameswariursula@gmail.com's comment,
May 30, 9:09 AM
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IPPR research examines transport emissions by income, gender, location, ethnicity and age
Graham Watson's insight:
A breakdown of the sources of transport pollution, and well, I never, wealthy white men are the biggest polluters. In their SUVs and all.
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The deal will create a financial business with millions of customers and about £89bn worth of assets.
Graham Watson's insight:
Confirmation of a merger in the banking sector, with the Coventry Building Society having bought the Co-operative Bank. Not only will this increase their range of financial products, but it will increase the number of branches and customers in the group, and potential allow them to obtain some economies of scale.
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A household using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,568 a year.
Graham Watson's insight:
The energy price cap is falling with the average bill due to fall by £122 in July, to £1,568, the lowest for two years.
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The inquiry comes amid worries that there is lack of information available for pet owners.
Graham Watson's insight:
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have announced an investigation of the market for veterinary care, citing a lack of information in the market, a lack of choice for some, the sizeable profits earned by some veterinary companies and the ongoing regulation of the sector.
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Employers in UK, one of 15 countries studied, willing to pay 14% wage premium for jobs requiring AI skills
Graham Watson's insight:
It seems as though jobs that require AI skills are now earning a wage premium, with people in those sectors earning 14% more than other workers, because these skills boost their productivity.
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Airline profits rise despite fuel costs as it warns deliveries of Boeing jets could be further delayed
Graham Watson's insight:
A 20% rise in fares has seen Ryanair's profits rise by "34% to €1.92bn (£1.64bn) despite a sharp rise in fuel costs". Surprisingly, this seemingly implies that the demand for fares is inelastic - with the rise in price seeing a less that proportionate change in quantity demanded, although, of course, other conditions of demand are likely to have changed, so other factors are likely to have contributed to the airline's stronger performance.
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Pent-up demand from would-be buyers pausing their plans last year has led to price rise despite mortgage rates remaining elevated
Graham Watson's insight:
D&S basics - with the added bonus of the macroeconomic implications of rising house prices...
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Plastic is one of the most incredible materials in the modern world - but the way we use it damages the environment. What’s the solution?
Graham Watson's insight:
This BBC clip looks at the double-edged nature of plastic: it has significant utility, but how well do we use it? The clip highlights the extent to which it is useful, but also the extent to which plastic waste generates negative externalities.
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If the forecast proves correct, it would mean a typical annual bill could be £500 lower than last summer.
Graham Watson's insight:
Cornwall Insights are forecasting another 7% fall in energy bills and the energy price cap this summer, meaning that, if true, bills would be £500 lower than the same time last year. |
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Rules target contaminants such as mercury, benzene and lead released by coke ovens used by facilities to burn coal
Graham Watson's insight:
News from the US, where new rules are being introduced to tackle a number of forms of toxic air pollution - mercury, benzene and lead - released by the coke ovens used to manufacture steel.
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The regulator will examine the tie-up which is the biggest banking deal since the financial crisis.
Graham Watson's insight:
The merger between Nationwide and Virgin Money is being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). They are concerned about the implications of the merger for competition in the sector, and this has implications for innovation, consumer choice, the quality of service amongst other things.
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Takeover is latest by a US conglomerate gambling on fossil fuel production as profits surge on rising energy prices
Graham Watson's insight:
Horizontal integration in the oil industry, in what looks like a defensive move to consolidate the market as it shrinks, with ConocoPhillips buying Marathon Oil for $17.1bn. It looks like an attempt to squeeze the last bits of value out of fossil fuel production to me.
prameswariursula@gmail.com's comment,
May 30, 9:07 AM
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Global industry ‘in crisis’ as fears about Brazilian harvest help push wholesale prices to record highs
Graham Watson's insight:
D&S, derived demand, what's not to like.
However, concerns about the size of Brazil's orange harvest, means that the forward price of orange juice has risen, incentivising juice makers to think about substituting in favour of other fruit.
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Water watchdog decision on bills in England and Wales delayed until after election, as Thames crisis looms
Graham Watson's insight:
It looks like the regulator, OFWAT, is going to refuse most suppliers requests for big price rises, with the request from Southern Water, for a 91% increase over 5 years and Thames Water for 59% over 5 years particularly eye-catching.
I can only hope that they're refused with appropriate gusto, perhaps reminding the boards of these companies in particular that their need for such price rises reflects an absence of management over the preceding years, and that they'd be better justifying their salaries by getting on with some management in its stead.
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WWF-Norway says the government has breached the law ‘without adequately assessing the consequences’
Graham Watson's insight:
This Guardian article looks at the negative externalities associated with deep-sea mining, with WWF-Norway taking the government to court because it has breached its obligations to protect the marine environment.
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Food group illegally prevented retailers from sourcing products from EU states where prices were lower
Graham Watson's insight:
Naughty, naughty Mondelez having been found guilty of anti-competitive practices by the European Commission of stopping distributors buying and selling their products in different markets, in the search for greater profit.
In essence, it seems like a way of trying to control distribution channels, and runs contrary to EU law. Other firms that have fallen foul of this include VW who at one time used to stop Northern Italian car dealerships from selling to German customers who'd travelled across Switzerland and into Italy to buy cheaper cars.
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Southern Water wants to increase its bills by £436 a year, but is not expected to get approval.
Graham Watson's insight:
The process of negotiating future bill increases in the water industry, with firm's asking for the ability to increase bills by between 24% and 91%, in the case of Southern Water.
At this stage, negotiations with the regulator are a 'game' - in the strictest economic sense of the term - with the firms presumably bidding high in the hope of being allowed to increase their bills by as much as they can.
Given the figures quoted, I'd also like to see the regulator fix executive pay in nominal terms for the 5 year period too; they might start justifying their salaries at this point.
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The FDA is developing front-of-package labels that corporations may have to start printing as early as 2027
Graham Watson's insight:
This lengthy Guardian piece looks at the relative lack of food labelling in the United States where food producers have been reluctant to adopt the sort of traffic light system used in Chile or any other such scheme in the other countries with them.
However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may be on the point of changing all of this and by the start of 2027 this might become law, meaning that food manufacturers have to provide better quality information to their customers, allowing them to make healthier choices and potentially reducing rates of obesity and the negative externalities associated with it.
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Even the English Breakfast Society has welcomed the ‘baozi’ as supermarket chains feed off interest in world food
Graham Watson's insight:
Changing consumer tastes, with the rise of the bao bun is highlighted in today's Guardian, and I have to say they are lovely, not least at the excellent Tiger Bites Pig on Stephenson Street in Birmingham.
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A report suggests shareholders have taken billons but failed to invest as water bills look set to rise.
Graham Watson's insight:
A report from the University of Greenwich suggests that water industry investors have banked over £85bn in dividends since the sector was privatised, perhaps explaining why there's been such a lack of investment in the sector.
However, the figure is contested by both the water companies and the water regulator, OFWAT.
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Luxury-wine makers, producing some of the most expensive wine in the world, will pay up to $50,000 for a single barrel to age their wine. But not just any barrel: a foudre. A foudre is a massive wooden vat that impacts and preserves the overall taste of the wine. Making a foudre starts with French oak, a tightly grained wood that adds unique flavoring to the wine. Cooperages like Foudrerie François pay close attention to the quality of the wood they source to make the foudres they sell and ship all over the world. The wood is so precious — and so expensive — that the French government heavily regulates its sales through annual auctions of oak forest plots.
Graham Watson's insight:
One of the more unusual luxury goods - French oak barrels - this clip looks at the use of these barrels in wine making, and the unusual regulation of the market. |
Farmers are already concerned about the impact of the exceptionally wet weather this year on wheat yields, with the UK likely to be dependent upon food imports and potentially beyond. It's a classic application of D&S theory with wider macroeconomic implications.