The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about U.S. dependency on foreign oil. Other topics in this edition include the FBI’s legal battle with Apple over privacy and security, a decline in currencies for oil exporters, and Delta Airlines’ unusual strategy to increase profitability.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The (Domestic) Optimal Bundle Spring Edition: Volume 10
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about U.S. Navy budget cuts. Other topics in this edition include President Obama's proposal to levy a tax on oil to fund public transportation and a decline in the U.S. government budget deficit.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The (International) Optimal Bundle Spring Edition: Volume 11
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about the Make in India Initiative. Other topics in this edition include the role of toads in combating the Zika virus in Latin America, solar panels in France, and Chinese pollution.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Spring Edition: Volume 9
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about rocket mortgages. Other topics in this edition include yen depreciation and Argentina's debt restructuring proposal.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Spring Edition: Volume 8
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about populist sentiment against the Federal Reserve. Other topics in this edition include the economic impact of violence in Jerusalem and the global impact of Chinese economic volatility.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Abominable Bundle
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This Christmas edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about holiday shopping. Other topics in this edition include efficient gift giving, the UN climate change summit, and the ECB's stimulus program.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Fall Edition: Volume 7
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about slash-and-burn practices in Indonesia and their role in emitting carbon. Other topics in this edition include PlayStation 4's ability to elude government surveillance, the G-20's discussion on financial stability measures, and the implications of the terrorist attacks in Paris last week.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Fall Edition: Volume 6
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about San Francisco's Regulations of Airbnb. Other topics in this edition include the Keystone XL Pipeline, the Catalonian Secession Vote, and Britain's Possible Withdrawal from the European Union.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Fall Edition: Volume 5
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about the legal status of FanDuel and DraftKings. Other topics in this edition include a housing bubble in London, military conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan, and Japan Post's IPO.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Fall Edition: Volume 4
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about the Peoples' Bank of China's decision to cut interest rates. Other topics in this edition include the Italian government's budget reforms, mortgage lending regulations, and the effect of low oil prices on Middle Eastern governments' budgets.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Fall Edition: Volume 3
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about how financial markets are affecting emerging market economies. Other topics in this edition include the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the UN and World Bank's response to humanitarian crises in the Middle East and North Africa, and a debate on which unemployment rate is most indicative of economic health.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Fall Edition: Volume 2
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about whether the U.S. Congress should ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Other topics in this edition include the Federal Reserve's decision to not raise rates, General Motors's settlement regarding ignition switch defects, and Volkswagen's production of 11 million cars which violate EPA clean energy standards.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle: Fall Edition, Volume 1
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about the Federal Reserve's decision on whether to raise the federal funds rate. Other topics in this edition include falling oil and gas prices, the European Union's response to an influx of Syrian refugees, and the U.S.'s lagging efforts in exploration of the Arctic Ocean.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Summer Edition: Volume 2
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about the effectiveness and consequences of a cigarette tax. Other topics in this edition include the National Debt, African economic growth, and the potential privatization of the Pennsylvania state liquor system.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Summer Edition: Volume 1
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee. This is the first edition of the Optimal Bundle jointly overseen by new Print Education coordinator Steve Leonard and Vice President of Education Joe Kearns.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features an op-ed about an application of perfect competition and oligopolistic market structures to the 2016 U.S. Presidential primary elections. Other topics in this edition include the consolidation of the health insurance market, the AIG civil trial, and the expiration of the Export-Import Bank's charter.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Special Report on the Millennials
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee. It centers on a single economic topic covered in-depth from multiple perspectives.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features the Millennials, in an attempt to determine whether or not the generation of people born between the 1980s and early 2000s will have a better economic future than their parents.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
The Optimal Bundle Special Report on Women and the Economy
The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee. It centers on a single economic topic covered in-depth from multiple perspectives.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features women and the economy, in an attempt to understand the global and domestic changes in female labor force participation, equal pay, and executive board quotas.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.
Op-Ed: The Fuel Behind the Rocket
By Kevin Grant McClernon
Securities markets in the United States are red-hot. The Nasdaq Composite recently hit its eerie 5,000 point mark – reminiscent of the 2000 tech bubble implosion – and the benchmark 10-year Treasury is trading below 1.9%, as of March 25th. As investors worldwide pour into domestic markets, we have to ask ourselves: are investors fueling another bubble? The answer, in my humble opinion, is no. The term bubble is fairly subjective, but it is most commonly associated with the phenomenon where asset prices rise based on large amounts of market speculation, rather than fundamental analysis. Massive speculation in the housing market led to the financial crisis in 2007. The dotcom bubble in the late 1990s and early 2000s was the quintessential bubble – some technology stocks gained nearly 1000% within days of going public. Fundamentals couldn’t support this. So what’s different about today? Since the Nasdaq bottomed out at around 1,250 in March 2009, it has jumped 284%. As of March 25, the Index stands at 4,888 -- admittedly, an absurdly high growth rate for a 5-year span. However, the difference is the fuel behind the rocket. Bubbles are a result of over-speculation, which is not necessarily the case today. Then what’s fueling today’s rise? Investors are hungry. They’ve sat patiently for years in a low-to-zero interest rate world as the global economy recovered from the financial meltdown. Select German, Japanese, Swiss, and Swedish short- and medium-term government debts are currently paying negative interest. The EU is on the brink of deflation and the ECB just embarked on a massive new stimulus round aimed at pushing bond yields down even further. Growth in most EU countries is less than 1%, China is revising its growth forecasts downward at an alarming rate, and there continues to be uncertainty in the Middle East. And that leaves us with the current star of financial markets, the United States. Growth forecasts put GDP growth around 3% for 2015 and the Fed is expected to raise rates at some point this year, making domestic securities even more enticing.The capital inflows into the US securities markets, therefore, aren’t speculative by nature. As prices rise, returns should continue to thin out. Investors will presumably keep piling into them until the returns on American securities are on par with the paltry returns elsewhere. The market may be saturated, but it doesn’t appear to be a bubble. It just begs the question: to where else should investors turn? Sourceshttp://tcrn.ch/1BLjWFU http://bv.ms/1HFOMGQhttp://cnnmon.ie/1zPuF1s http://bit.ly/1DogR4Dhttp://bit.ly/1EosY1q http://bit.ly/1EosY1qhttp://on.wsj.com/19yDqYg http://bit.ly/1xUqabZhttp://yhoo.it/1yx5ilBhttp://on.wsj.com/1wd0iQH
Op-Ed: Beware the Bursting Bubble
By Joe Kearns
No two bubbles are alike. The most famous tech bubble, the dot-com bubble of the 1990s, experienced substantially different market conditions than those existing today. The NASDAQ Stock Market reached a peak of 5,408.62 in March 2000, compared to a real value (in 2000 dollars) of about 3,600 today. The U.S. economy has grown so much since 2000 that the NASDAQ would have to hit 8,500 to reach the same position. None of these facts, however, rule out the possibility that there is another tech bubble ongoing today. Though there appears to be no widespread tech bubble across the public markets, there are numerous signs from private equity and high-end public tech companies that there is a bubble elsewhere.The current tech bubble is concentrated in specific parts of the tech industry. Across the broader tech industry, late-stage financing from private equity firms nearly tripled since 2000 and supplanted IPOs. According to Bloomberg Business, late-stage companies received two-thirds of the $59 billion of investments in U.S. tech startups in 2014. In one year, a record 62 firms were valued at more than $1 billion, a total which was nearly three times the total in 2013. Curiously, investors are willing to pay more to reap fewer benefits. Hedge funds and mutual funds are now paying between 15 and 18 times projected sales for tech companies annually, compared to 10 to 12 times five years ago. SharesPost 100 Fund investment manager Sven Weber warns that as the number of billion-dollar startups increases, so will the odds that investors will suffer huge losses.There is evidence that a correction to the tech bubble is underway. Private equity firms like Bain Capital Ventures and SharesPost that financed late-stage deals are beginning to scale down investments in expensive tech companies in favor of cheaper startups. Those firms are ahead of the curve, as tech companies like Box Inc. and Hortonworks Inc. are going public at valuations lower than their final private-funding rounds. These occurrences show what happens when irrational exuberance takes the valuation of some firms to unreasonable heights. Now is the time to take cover. The bubble is already beginning to burst.Sourceshttp://bloom.bg/1HqALOAhttp://on.mktw.net/1C3DuWihttp://tcrn.ch/1BLjWFU
Uber Going Public: Wishful Thinking
By Camille Mendoza
Uber has become a staple in every city dweller’s phone screen, and investors have taken notice. Hedge funds like Tiger Management are speculating that the personal driver service, which is valued at $41.2 billion, will be going public. Fortune writer Tom Huddleston adds fuel to the fire, on the heels of recent news that Uber’s CFO Brent Callinicos had stepped down. Huddleston argues that a more Wall Street-savvy CFO could help Uber’s transition from private to public. Given recent controversies, this idea is problematic. Governments are threatening to sue or ban the service in many cities, as they claim that unlicensed drivers should be illegal. Additionally, there have been several allegations of Uber drivers raping women in places like Delhi and Philadelphia. As Fortune writer Kevin Kelleher argues, the ongoing high-profile controversies could weigh on the company’s shares in the public market. For these reasons, going public is both unwise and unlikely. Uber should remain private until it wins these regulatory battles, or crashes while trying.Sourceshttp://for.tn/1F01b3Thttp://for.tn/19zpPzL