Economic Trends

Long-term trends grow from short term trends. We attampt to determine the short term trends and where they are pointing.

government mortgage refinance program

How Successful is the HARP Government Mortgage Refinance Program?

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H.A.R.P. Government Mortgage Refinance Program It’s been nearly four years since the original version of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) was announced by the White House and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). HARP is part of an Obama administration initiative to bring stability to the U.S. housing market by helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. […]

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Amsterdam Stock Exchange

The Amsterdam Stock Exchange: Centerpiece of Market Economics

2 Comments / Economic Trends, Investing, Stock Market / By

In the year 1602 a new form of business organization was introduced that would change the course of economic history. The Dutch East India Company – known in its native Holland as Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie – became the first company to offer shares of ownership to the general public, thus allowing any person who became

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What Happened with the U.S. Ratings Downgrade Problem?

Economic Trends, Government / By

Was the U.S. Ratings Downgrade from AAA to AA in 2011 a Problem? Before Standard & Poor’s cut the United States’ credit rating last summer, few economists or politicians believed that the United States could ever lose its gold-standard AAA rating. As a stable, vibrant democracy backed by a strong military, it was inconceivable that

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How Teachers Adapt to Different Learning Styles

Economic Trends, Education, General / By

Different Learning Styles You’ve probably heard that  everybody learns differently. These different learning styles might be broken down to  visual, auditory and kinesthetic, or seeing, hearing and touching. Either way, educational experts will tell you that learning styles are a reality, and that the best kind of teacher will know how to adjust their methods

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Crowdsourcing– Is There Wisdom in the Crowd?

Economic Trends, Health / By

In the last few years a new phenomenon has begun to emerge that has been able to tap into the wisdom and resources of crowds… For more than a decade scientists tried to unravel the mystery of an aids like virus using high powered computers. But the computers had a limitation, i.e. they aren’t very good at spatial reasoning. So they turned to a game called “Foldit”. The game is designed to allow players to manipulate multicolored virtual molecular structures that look like Tinkertoys and has more than 236,000 registered players. By throwing that much free brainpower at the problem…  in less than 10 days the puzzle was solved!  Thus demonstrating the power of crowdsourcing and online gaming. The key is discovering how to harness it for good and people are constantly coming up with new ideas for instance Healthline.com has come up with a crowd funding for cancer patients similar to the old jar on the 7/11 counter asking for donations to help specific cancer patients. It allows you to set up a campaign and then promote it online. 

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