About the economy

Vladimir Gonzalez asked:


Italian Economy

Once one of the most dominant political, military and economic nations in the world, Italy, now called the ‘Sick Man of Europe’, underwent an era of rapid industrialization after the World Wars. With a population of 58 million in 2007, and a GDP of nearly $1.8 trillion, Italy occupies place ten among the largest economies in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, and seventh place, in terms of nominal GDP.

Once World War II had come to an end, Italy was at the heart of western European institutions, like NATO, G8, the OECD, and the European Union. From an agricultural economy Italy rapidly changed to being a highly developed industrial power, and at the moment an economy ruled by service industry, making up 69 per cent of Italy’s economy, followed by industry 29 per cent and agriculture 2 per cent.

Having a small but solid medium enterprise sector, and robust family businesses, Italy has achieved less success trying to establish multinational corporations. Worldwide famous brand names from the fashion world, or automotive industries, were once family businesses. Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Alfa Romeo were all once family businesses but are now owned by Audi (in Germany) or FIAT.

Even if most of the level of technological sophistication these companies have is not very high, they are subject to increased pressures from a globalised economy, in which manufactured goods can easily be made even cheaper, anywhere else. In this background, in 2007 these growth rates were slowed to no more and mo less than to zero, with the GDP growth at 1.5 per cent, just above the previous average.

Recently, Italy has been confronted with many difficulties, such as high levels of corruption, organized crime, high levels of unemployment and external debt, illegal immigration together with the difference between the north, and the south, rich vs. poor. The repeated attempts to bring down the level of debt from 124 per cent of the GDP, as registered in 1995, were now crowned with success, and now it is still nearly 100 per cent. In the north, unemployment has declined steadily, currently averaged 6 per cent, while in the south it reaches over 20 per cent.

Italy has succeeded in time to manage the level of inflation, a major problem for Italy, but even so, it thought that prices have been doubled, once the Euro has been introduced, and thanks to the increased levels of corruption. In 2000 Italy experienced a trade deficit of over $1.3 billion, with import growth outpacing export growth.

Related links on www.economywatch.com:

General Overview of Italian Economy

Value-Added Tax (VAT) in Italy

Forbes Companies in Italy



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Cool Breeze asked:


He doesn’t even sit on any of the relevant committees.

Is he trying to lead us to believe that he is going to single-handedly fix the economy in ways that couldn’t be achieved by the hundreds of his Congressional colleagues?

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Megat008 asked:


I think the economy won’t get better until house prices start going back up. I think that’s the foundation of all this mess, a lot of people don’t have home equity in their homes right now. Do you guys think that once people have equity in their homes the economy will rebound? The government is bailing out all kinds of sectors but I think they should focus more on the housing market. Am i correct?

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abdiver12 asked:


Is the economy really as bad as people say it is? If so, how has it affected you or people you know? Has it made a major impact on the way you live your life?

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David Sanders asked:


Economic indicators should be heeded. But a weakening economy should not give you a reason for your sinking bottom line. If it does, then you may have just found the real cause for your bottom line: blaming it on the economy.

Factually, periods of economic distress are viewed as opportunities by leading businesspeople. A falling tide lowers all ships. You can make big changes in your market share if you can find a way to out-maneuver the competition while they are blaming the economy, cutting their marketing budget and sticking their head in the sand or being complacent.

Studies have shown that major corporations often made their largest gains in market share by effectively promoting during hard times, while their competition was slashing marketing budgets and laying off marketing departments. The first step which any firm should take once a downturn is detected is PROMOTE!

Too often people believe the “reason” they are having a particular problem is due to something that is happening elsewhere (and usually outside of their control). This is especially true in the business world.

Here is an example: Store A is doing very well until Store B opens up across the street selling the same kind of products. Revenues decline at Store A as Store B gets up and going. But – and this is a very important but – to the degree that the owner (and staff) at Store A attribute their decline in revenue to the existence of Store B, TO THAT DEGREE they will be unable to deal with it.Store A simply needs to step back and realize they have new competition and take concrete steps to retain their current customers and create new ones. Perhaps the owners or management of Store A need to:

Hire a marketing firm to survey to find out what the buying public really needs and wants, so they can improve their appeal to the public and customer retention. Find ways to make their marketing and advertising efforts more effective. Develop a positioning in the marketplace that sets them above the competition. Create a smart PR campaign that attracts a lot of attention at low cost. Generate an effective Internet marketing campaign to tap new resources. Or maybe they actually need to do some marketing for the first time!

 

The reason sales are down at Store A is NOT Store B. Sales are down because Store A did not effectively shift their own gears to keep their business afloat and prosperous.

That may sound simplistic, but when an executive or business owner places the blame elsewhere, this very act of “placing blame elsewhere” reduces his ability to devise effective solutions. It actually reduces his ability to think straight, because s/he is so embroiled in what is happening somewhere else.

If you were racing a sports car on a mountain road, you would certainly know you had to change gears to give you the maximum speed possible whether you were going uphill or downhill. You would easily defeat a driver who never changed gears regardless of the changes in the road. You would laugh at a driver who pulled over to the side of the road or puttered along when the grade steepened. Those drivers would never win. When the grade got steep driving up the mountain, you would downshift and give it lots of gas if you wanted to win.

The same is true in your business. This is one key element that sets a businessperson apart from the crowd – one’s ability to detect changes in their operating environment and make his or her business effectively compete in that recession, inflation or changed competitive environment.

Let’s look at one more example of this. A business considers it has “slow periods of the year.” One such period is the end of the year. Numerous professionals and businesspeople believe the end of the year simply is not as productive as other parts of the year. And of course they have statistics to back up this belief. Every year, December is just very slow.

Then there is the professional who decided he wasn’t going to have a slow December again. So, back in October and November, he figured out a few things to do for December. He reminded patients that most insurance companies do not allow you to carry over unused insurance from year to year. He offered his patients incentives to come in during the holiday season. He just plain worked on it so that his December was not a “slow period.” The result? He now no longer believes in “slow periods” and of course he has the statistics to back up this new belief.

You can always find data to match a belief. If you believe you are going to have slow periods, you’ll have them. Why would you generate the insight, focus and hard work to fix something that you “know” is not fixable? So just don’t fall for that one.

The same is true on a broader scale with “the economy”. If you believe “the economy” is the basis for your declining revenues, you are in more trouble than you need to be. Anything that is outside of your immediate control is just that: outside of your immediate control. Let your competition use “elsewhere” as an excuse to explain being broke.

Put your total focus on your internal scene, service your customers better, boost your marketing and get yourself busy improving things you can and should control. If you do that well enough, “the economy” will take care of itself.

Copyright© 2009 Creative Business Strategies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



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Car Guru asked:


What is Fuel Economy?

According to Wikipedia, fuel economy in cars is the amount of fuel required to move a vehicle over a given distance. It is usually measured by the amount of fuel used per unit distance i.e. the number of litres of fuel used to travel 100 kilometres. The lower the value, the better the fuel economy as it takes less fuel to drive the same distance.



Why is Fuel Economy important?

With petrol prices at an all time high, a few simple steps to improve your fuel economy can save you money, which is always good. Plus, burning fossil fuels adds to pollution and climate change, and adds to our dependence on oil which, as we know, is a non-renewable source of energy.

What can I do to improve Fuel Economy?  

Hybrid cars are considered to be extremely fuel efficient. A hybrid car is powered by petrol and electricity, so doesn’t burn petrol all the time. The Toyota Prius model, for example, is rated as the Top Performer on the Green Vehicle Guide from the Australian government with a fuel consumption of 4.4L per 100km.

 Can I improve Fuel Economy without spending money?

Yes! The good news is there are lots of ways in which you can improve fuel economy without buying a new car or gadgets.

On the Road



Watch Your Speed - Higher speeds use more fuel. Most cars run at a maximum efficiency around 95kmph (60mph). Website www.fueleconomy.gov shows how driving speed affects gas mileage.

Drive smoothly – Avoid stopping and starting your vehicle as it takes more fuel to get a vehicle moving than it does to keep it moving. Aggressive driving like rapid acceleration and braking also wastes fuel as when you do it, you send more fuel to the engine.



Using Cruise Control can help save fuel as you travel at a constant speed



In the Garage



Look after your car – regular maintenance will avoid fuel economy problems like dragging brakes or transmission problems. A well lubricated engine reduces friction and takes less fuel to run. Also, keeping your car clean and waxed improves aerodynamics and fuel economy!



Correct tyre pressure is vital for fuel efficiency.  Properly inflated tyres have less contact with the road, encounter less friction so the engine doesn’t have to work as hard to move the car. 

Check your air filters – dirty air filters restrict air flow to the engine which reduces performance and economy.

Clean out the boot! Added weight reduces fuel economy.



 

Some other tips



Plan your trips so you make one big trip instead of lots of small ones – a warm engine is more efficient than a cool one.

Buy fuel on Tuesdays when it’s cheapest!

Keep an eye on cheap fuel prices in your area. Check out http://motormouth.com.au/pricesearch.aspx?Region=Sydney for Sydney.



Favourite Tip

While researching this piece, I came across one tip that most people would probably be willing to try – work a four day week! By driving to work one day less a week, you can save on fuel costs and help the environment. Now that’s one idea I will be pitching to the boss…



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tai fan asked:


What if the lower class got billionaire tax returns, middle class got millionaire tax returns, etc.

I hear so many people mouthing off saying this would improve the economy. Is there any proof that it would? Is this idea just foolish? I don’t study economics so I don’t know but I am interested.
This is only hypothetical

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