ECONOMIC PRINCIPAL # 5

TRADE MAKES EVERYBODY BETTER OFF

1. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW.

2. PICK YOUR FAVORITE RECIPE.

3 WRITE OUT THE INGREDIENTS AND THE STEPS IT WOULD TAKE TO MAKE IT

4. USING THE VIDEO AS AN EXAMPLE, REWRITE THE RECIPE AS IF YOU WERE UNABLE TO BUY ANY OF YOUR INGREDIENTS. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THEM ALL FORM SCRATCH. IE: GROW VEGITABLES, WHEAT AND PROCESS THEM TO MAKE THEM USEABLE FOR YOUR RECIPE.

$1,500 SANDWICH

Stock Market Simulation Lesson

Investopedia Stock Market Challenge

For the next unit in our Economics Class we will be learning about how the Stock Markets works by participating in a simulation. You will be given $100,000 in imaginary money which you will use to invest in the Stock Market. The aim of this simulation/game is to make money by investing your original $100,000 wisely and then buying and selling your stocks as you see fit.

Setting up your portfolio:

Go to the following link: simulator.investopedia.com
Click the “Get Started” tab. This link should take you to the registration webpage. Choose a user name (you will use this to sign into your account) and try to pick a name that other people will recognize, such as your last name.

After entering your information, you will be taken to the Investopedia website, where you will click “Join Game.” (Our game name is _brent economics_)

The next screen will show your portfolio summary, which should be $100,000 in cash. To chose your stocks, click on “Trade Stock” (located on the right side of the screen under “Portfolio Summary.”)

4. This will take you to a new screen. Put in the stock symbol (for example, Microsoft’s symbol is MSFT) for a company whose stock you want to buy. If you like a company but don’t know the stock symbol, you can click on “Lookup Symbol” and type in the company name and it will tell you the symbol (assuming they are a publicly traded company).

5. After typing in the stock symbol, enter the quantity of shares you want to buy (for example 100 shares). Keep the price at “market” and keep the duration button at“Good till cancelled.” Click on “preview order,” this will show you how much money you’re spending (For example, if Microsoft costs $30 a share and you buy 100 shares, your order will cost $3,000 plus $12.99 for the trade.) If this is the order you want, then click on “submit order.” After this screen, the program will allow you to comment on why you choose the stocks that you did, if you don’t want to, just click on “skip.”

Keep in mind that every time you buy or sell stocks, the commission costs is $19.99.

Picking Stocks

How should you pick stocks? There is a wide variety of advice on how to choose stocks; a few links are listed below. Another good way is to ask advice from parents or friends who work in investing or are familiar with the stock market. The basic idea is that you want to buy a stock at a low price and then have it increase in value (“Buy low, sell high”). For example, if you bought one share of Microsoft for $50 and the stock price increased to $75, if you sold it, you would have a profit of $25. We are hoping that one of the brown-bag speakers will address choosing stocks in more detail in the future, but for now, some general notes about choosing stocks:

 Most experts recommend having a diversified portfolio, meaning that you hold investments in more than one industry. So, for example, you may want to have stocks in technology companies, consumer goods, and energy companies. That way, if one sector is not doing well (and your stocks are losing money), you will hopefully be making money in other sectors.
 Experts also recommend thinking about what products/services you use regularly. For example, if you eat regularly at Chipotle and think it is a good company and will continue having strong demand, then you may want to invest in it.

Before you decide on which stocks will make up your portfolio, check out these websites with more information about choosing stocks

CNN Money.com’s guide to choosing stocks

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson5/index.htm

Investopedia guide to stocks and the different markets

http://i.investopedia.com/inv/pdf/tutorials/stock_basics.pdf

Yahoo Finance is also an excellent website for learning more about the stock market.

http://finance.yahoo.com

International Politics and Economics Project

PART A

1. If you do not have it already, download the Country Information Form HERE.

2. Using this link: The CIA World Fact Book, fill in all the information requested on the form.

Complete these steps and hand the form in to me for 1/4 of your credit for the whole project

Click here for Part "A" Rubric

CLICK HERE FOR PART B

International Politics and Economics Project

PART B

Congratulations !

You have just been made Supreme Ruler of the country that you have chosen out of an old laser printer toner box!

You have absolute control over your country’s politics, diplomacy and economic system.

You now must use your control of these things to solve your country’s greatest crisis (which you also, coincidentally, pulled out of an old laser printer toner box)

On the Document that you have created with your name and the name of your country, (The one you just sent me) you are going to create a “step-by-step” “plan of action” that will address your countries particular crisis. (Hunger, Child Labor, etc…)

Use the “Project Form” that you created, and the links on my website (the ones listed under the name of your country) to learn about your country’s particular crisis.

1. Read and take notes on each of the articles (paying close attention to the Economic, Cultural, Political and Diplomatic factors you finds that are particular to your country.)

2. Create a “plan of action” that will remedy your crisis and send me the finished plan on your document. The plan MUST address/deal with all the Economic, Cultural, Political and Diplomatic factors that are a part of your country’s culture and infrastructure.

You are limited by these same factors as well. For example if your country was devoutly Catholic and your issue is “Overpopulation” you could not rely on abortion or birth control to fix the problem, since the Catholic Church does not allow these things.

If you have any questions regarding this part of the assignment, please let me know ASAP !