Assume that United States residents invest heavily in the Australian government and stocks. In addition, Australian residents invest heavily in the United States.

Because your firm imports goods from Australia, you are assigned to forecast the value of AUD (the Australian dollar) against the USD – i.e., you forecast St(AUDUSD). Explain how each of the following conditions will affect the value of the AUD, holding other things equal. Then, aggregate all of these impacts to develop an overall forecast of the AUD’s movement against the USD. (Please plot a figure to explain each condition, except for question f. No figures, no points.)

a. U.S. inflation has suddenly increased substantially, while Australian inflation remains low. (7 points)

b. The U.S. interest rates have increased substantially, while the Australian interest rates remain the same. (7 points)

c. The income level in the U.S. increased substantially, while the Australian income level has remained unchanged. (7 points)

d. The U.S. is expected to impose a new small tariff on goods imported from Australia. (7 points)

e. In Australia, the recent dysfunction within the two major political parties has seen seven different Prime Ministers take office in the past decade. You expect that this situation may be going to get worse and assume Australia is not a safe haven. (7 points)

f. Combine all expected impacts to develop an overall forecast. (2 points)

In the social discussion of minimum wage labeling in the United States, many commentators regard Costco as an example of how high wages can make companies more successful, and often take Costco's competitors such as Walmart and target as counterexamples, believing that these examples are not enough to provide employees with corresponding benefits. Other commentators think Costco's model is difficult to apply to different types of enterprises, and they think that salary is only one of the many factors to be considered for the company's success. Costco pays about 40% more to its employees than Wal Mart and target, and provides more comprehensive medical and retirement benefits, which saves a lot of employee turnover costs. Costco refuses to lay off staff, invest in staff training and give them full autonomy to solve problems. "The extraordinary loyalty [of employees] to [Costco co co-founder Jim sinegal] is due to his firm rejection of the view that 'I either care for my shareholders or my workers," said Thomas Perez, the US Labor Secretary. "It's a wrong choice," he said
While few disagree with the benefits of fair treatment of employees, some commentators attribute Costco's success to its broader business model, which promotes productivity rather than employee satisfaction. Megan McArdle, a columnist and economist, explains: "a typical Costco store has about 4000 SKUs (inventory units), most of which are stacked on pallets so that store employees can act as cargo managers themselves. Wal Mart has 140000 SKUs, which have to be sorted, replaced, reordered, delivered and so on. People tend to underestimate the cost of complexity because management problems don't simply add up, they multiply. " In addition, McArdle pointed out that Costco mainly targeted grocery stores rather than department stores, and catered to the needs of the general affluent customer base in the suburbs.

Question 1: Wal Mart, Costco's rival, pays its employees much less. When Costco pays employees 40% more than its direct competitors, how to maintain its operation and profitability? Why do some people say it's realistic, and others say it's unrealistic?

Question 2: Do you think Costco's other business practices contribute more to success than to improving employee pay and satisfaction? Can these two strategies be implemented?

Question 3: Is a company that does not follow Costco's compensation model an "unfair employee agency"? Should all companies treat their employees like Costco? This is discussed from the perspective of result theory and fundamental rights.

1. Students select a Middle Eastern nation to compare to the United States. Use the links on the Central Bank and Monetary Authority website to research both Central Banks.

2. Students submit a paper that addresses the following areas;
         a. Compare and contrast when, why and how each central bank was established.
         b. Compare and contrast two mandates of each central bank.
         c. Compare and contrast the degree of autonomy and transparency of each central bank.
         d. Compare and contrast the role of each central bank in the market for domestic interest rate policy.

What can the United States do to lower the amount of undocumented immigrants entering the country?

In Chapter 3 of We Wanted Workers, we read about legal immigration, as well as illegal immigration. While it is said that undocumented immigrants come to the US because of the employers in the US wanting cheap labor, and the immigrants wanting better lives in the US, it is still an illegal activity. I personally feel that more can be done to help lower the rates of illegal immigration. What do you think the US can do to lower the illegal action of undocumented immigrants entering our country?

1. Insomnia has become an epidemic in the United States. Much research has been done in the development of new pharmaceuticals to aide those who suffer from insomnia. Alternatives to the pharmaceuticals are being sought by sufferers. A new relaxation technique has been tested to see if it is effective in treating the disorder. Sixty insomnia sufferers between the ages of 18 to 40 with no underlying health conditions volunteered to participate in a clinical trial. They were randomly assigned to either receive the relaxation treatment or a proven pharmaceutical treatment. Thirty were assigned to each group. The amount of time it took each of them to fall asleep was measured and recorded. The data is shown below. Run an independent samples t-test to determine if the relaxation treatment is more effective than the pharmaceutical treatment at a level of significance of 0.05. Report the test statistic using correct APA formatting and interpret the results.

****PLEASE HELP WALK ME THROUGH SPSS, I HAVE BEEN STUCK ON THIS PROBLEM FOR DAYS! ****

1. Your company has a strong brand name in the United States, and you’re ready to enter Africa, especially West Africa. You decide to acquire a local company in Liberia. Considering your understanding of branding, would you use the existing US brand in Liberia? Would you use it in all of West Africa? Or would you use your strong US brand globally? Would you use both brands in the same markets? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various strategies, taking into account the trust factor of brands, the influence of local differences, and the country-of-origin effect.

QUESTION #2

John works at a financial institution in the United States and his job profile makes him interact with the various components of the nation’s financial system. He is of the view that a nation’s citizenry is better-off when everyone is self-sufficient and no one needs to borrow from or lend to someone to succeed in their respective ventures. In fact, he comes from a family background that considers borrowing to be an embarrassment. To be debt-free is what he sees as an important pillar of financial success.
His friend and co-worker Mary does not fully agree with him. Though she sees self-sufficiency as desirable, she wonders whether it is possible to achieve such a state or even whether it is desirable to be economically selfsufficient. Her spiritual teacher tells her that everything in the cosmos is interconnected and interdependant.
While she contemplates on the puzzle, she absent-mindedly opens a package that she has just received in the mail. She usually uses her office address for shipping as she has found things often getting stolen when delivered at her home address while she is at work. The package is from one of her favourite shopping portal. On one of her online visits to the store a couple of months ago, she was attracted by the colour, shape, size and shine of a jewellery item and decide to buy it. After saving a part of her salary, she had happily clicked the “Buy now” button last week. And now that the item is here, she forgets about national economic welfare and her disagreement with John. Instead, she focuses on prying the package open and to lay her hands on the contents inside. As she has her first look at the jewellery, she feels her heart dropping from the ribcage. The actual physical size of the item she ordered is much smaller than how it appeared on the website and it does not even seem to be as shiny and smooth as it was in the online picture. She feels bitter and deceived. More so, because the seller does not have a good return policy and she will have to bear the shipping and re-stocking fees if she decides to send the item back. She decides to lodge a complaint with the shopping portal anyway and ask for a refund.

Question 2
As a finance student, how would you describe Mary’s online shopping incident? What has she been a victim of? Explain your argument.   

Between 1980 and 2014, income inequality in the United States has increased in part due to expanding international trade. How does expanding international trade contribute to income inequality?

Select one or more:

a. It allows producers to exploit workers and reduce the wages they are willing to pay workers.

b. It raises the cost of producing goods and therefore lowers the value of labor's services.

c. It increases the demand for a wide array of products which in turn increases prices beyond the reach of average-income individuals.

d. Domestic firms can now hire low-skilled workers anywhere in the world, putting U.S. workers in competition with foreign workers. This has caused the wages of unskilled workers to be depressed relative to the wages of other workers.

Please show your work

9.3.1

The income of males in each state of the United States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are given in table #9.3.3, and the income of females is given in table #9.3.4 ("Median income of," 2013). Is there enough evidence to show that the mean income of males is more than of females? Test at the 1% level.

Table #9.3.3: Data of Income for Males

Table #9.3.4: Data of Income for Females

Diabetes affects approximately 25.8 million people in the United States, and is the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S. Go to American Diabetes Association website and take the risk test. Share at your comfort level. What did you learn? Based on your readings this week, what would you tell a loved one at risk seeking advice? Be sure to provide appropriate references so that others may weigh in on your example.