Horizontal Integration - Pure Gym buys LA Fitness
In a class example of horizontal integration in the competitive market for fitness gyms and health clubs, Pure Gym has made an agreed bid for LA Fitness in a deal that will make it the biggest...
There is a growing body of opinion that coal is the major villain in climate change. In six months world leaders are due to seal a global climate change agreement in Paris, which some countries say...
Climate Change Coal and Intervention
There is a growing body of opinion that coal is the major villain in climate change. In six months world leaders are due to seal a global climate change agreement in Paris, which some countries say...
Greek bank deposits fall to 10 year low
The news that deposits in Greek banks have fallen to a ten year low is a reflection that savers are getting increasingly nervous about a Greek exit from the Euro. Deposits are the life blood of the...
Shazam turns to image recognition
One of my favourite British tech businesses is the music recognition company Shazam. It now has over 100 million users and has become the first tech start-up in the UK to be valued at over $1...
Generation G - The Greek Brain Drain
Fresh evidence is emerging of the scale of the brain drain affecting the beleaguered Greek economy. Some estimates find that nearly 200,000 well-educated Greeks have left the country in recent...
Revision Presentation - International Competitiveness
This is a revision presentation on international competitiveness which we define as the ability of a business or a country to compete effectively in international markets
How Nash Equilibrium Changed Economics
In this short 3 minute video from the Financial Times, Ferdinando Giugliano explains why the work of John Forbes Nash - who died in May 2015 - is so important and how the Nash equilibrium theory...
Financial Markets - Teaching the New A Level Economics
I'm guessing that you are starting to really get your head around the changes to the A Level in Economics now and are about to start the real planning for next year once the final A2 exams have...
A brilliant article in today's Guardian flags up the possibility of admitting more competition on one of the most profitable parts of Britain's rail network, the East Coast mainline. The current...
Markets are good, but we need clear signals
Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the general election result is the abuse which is now being heaped on the metropolitan liberal elite from many quarters. Theirs is truly a difficult mind set to...
Wow Business and Economics hits Hong Kong
Last week our flagship CPD courses Wow Business and Wow Economics hit the rather rainy shores of Hong Kong. Both events were delivered at Sha Tin College and attracted a group of teachers from Hong...
UK Manufacturing and the European Union
The general election is over and the British electorate now need to prepare to cast their votes in a simple IN/OUT referendum on the UK's continued membership of the European Union. If 50%+ vote...
China cuts tariffs on imported consumer goods
High import tariffs and an appreciating Yuan against the US dollar have been factors causing many middle class Chinese consumers to source their favoured Western consumer brands through overseas...
Is Globalisation in Retreat?
This article from Heather Stewart of the Observer (May 2015) considers the argument that globalisation is not inevitable and that the factors that have driven the rapid growth of cross border trade...
I have been reflecting on some of the major policy issues facing developed and developing countries and how they relate to the Edexcel Unit 4 economics course. I hope that this summary of key...
Mining for Polyhalite in a National Park
The Financial Times reports on plans to apply for the right to mine for polyhalite in the North York Moors national park. It raises many issues connected to cost benefit analysis. Will it be an...
Economics Revision Webinars with Geoff Riley
Latest Update: Monday 25 May
I am hosting a series of short, free revision webinars in the run up to the May and June papers. The listing of webinars is shown below together with the link for each...
Stiglitz on Falling Living Standards in the UK
This interview with Joseph Stiglitz in the Guardian is largely about the United States but there is also an important section on the UK in which Stiglotz highlights the steep decline in real living...
Cost of renting rises above £750 per month
A chronic under-supply of affordable houses to rent is shown by new data which reveals the average monthly rent stands at £774 in England and Wales, according to data from Your Move and Reeds...