They are repeating an economic policy out of the 1930s
— starting to cut spending and raise taxes before a recovery is
assured — and hoping today’s situation is different enough to assure
a different outcome.
The parallels to 1937 are not reassuring. From 1933 to 1937, the United States economy
expanded more than 40 percent, even surpassing its 1929 high. But the recovery was still
not durable enough to survive Roosevelt’s spending cuts and new Social Security tax. In
1938, the economy shrank 3.4 percent, and unemployment spiked.
We are left to hope that we have absorbed just enough of the 1930s lesson. » The full New York Times article - By David Leonhardt - Published: June 29, 2010.

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• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Key World Economies and Comparing Their Current Volatility -
  Overview | Students review key economic terms and ideas necessary for understanding world economies. They then research the economies of countries in the Group of 8 (20) and present how their economies have changed over the past five years and how the relationships among these countries affect each other in light of world events. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Plan for Recovery-
  Overview | Students examine the "who, what, where, when, why and how" of the proposed stimulus plan for the U.S. economy; they then write their own proposal outlining how stimulus funds might benefit their community. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Comparing the 1929 Stock Market Crash to Today's Wall Street Crisis -
  Overview | Students use resources from The New York Times to compare the circumstances under which the Great Depression came about to the circumstances of the current economic crisis. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

WASHINGTON — Credit rating agencies would lose their formal role in evaluating certain bonds backed by consumer loans, like home mortgages, under rules proposed on Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Instead, The companies issuing these bonds would have to vouch for their soundness... (and) also be required to keep a chunk of the securities in their own portfolios so that they retain some of the bonds’ risk, under the S.E.C.’s plan.
The asset-backed securities that would be affected by the new rules are bundles of loans, like residential mortgages, student loans or automobile loans. They are converted to bonds for sale to investors, whose returns are generated from the payments on the loans.
The companies selling the bonds would also have to give the government extensive information, in a form that is easily searchable, on all of the individual loans that make up the portfolio behind the bond offering, and update it on a continuing basis. » The full New York Times article - By Edward Wyatt.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding Credit Cards and Credit Card Debt -
  Overview: Students examine and learn the basics about credit cards and credit card debt, then create an informational brochure for young students. Go to this Economy and ESL Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Plan for Recovery-
  Overview: Students examine the "who, what, where, when, why and how" of the proposed stimulus plan for the U.S. economy; they then write their own proposal outlining how stimulus funds might benefit their community. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Key World Economies and Comparing Their Current Volatility -
  Overview: Students review key economic terms and ideas necessary for understanding world economies. They then research the economies of countries in the Group of 10 and present how their economies have changed over the past five years and how the relationships among these countries affect each other in light of world events.  Go to this Economy and Society Lesson

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:57:22 +0700 Economics http://lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ sec-moves-to-tighten-rules-on-bonds-backed-by http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/opinion/18krugman.html Dollar Weakens as End to Yuan Peg Signals Confidence in Global Recovery

June 21 (Bloomberg) -- The People’s Bank of China two days ago indicated it’s abandoning the 6.83 yuan peg to the dollar adopted to protect exporters during the global financial crisis.
The PBOC said in a follow-up statement a more flexible currency will “direct resources to domestic-demand driven sectors such as services” and help curb an excessive reliance on exports, signaling it anticipates the currency will rise.
“It’s an indication that they’re more confident in the recovery in both China and in the global economy,"said Lee Hardman, a foreign-exchange strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in London. » The full Bloomberg article - By Keith Jenkins and Yasuhiko Seki.

(Jupiter images)

(January, 2008) Mexico. Brazil. Argentina. Mexico, again. Thailand. Indonesia. Argentina, again. And now, the United States.
The story has played itself out time and time again over the past 30 years. Global investors, disappointed with the returns they're getting, search for alternatives. They think they've found what they're looking for in some country or other, and money rushes in.
But eventually it becomes clear that the investment opportunity wasn't all it seemed to be, and the money rushes out again, with nasty consequences for the former financial favorite. That's the story of multiple financial crises in Latin America and Asia. And it's also the story of the U.S. combined housing and credit bubble. These days, we're playing the role usually assigned to third-world economies. Read Column » By - Paul Krugman, New York Times.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Key World Economies and Comparing Their Current Volatility -
  Overview: Students review key economic terms and ideas necessary for understanding world economies. They then research the economies of countries in the Group of 8 (20) and present how their economies have changed over the past five years and how the relationships among these countries affect each other in light of world events. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:20:54 +0700 Economics ESL http://lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ links-between-world-trade-interest-rates-and-cur-1 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/business/17volcker.html?scp=5&sq=louis%20uchitelle&st=cse Paul A. Volcker, 82, has the support of many former Wall Street leaders for a rule prohibiting banks from trading securities for their own gain. Some favor even tighter restrictions....
Image source
At 79, Mr. George Soros says, he has watched Goldman Sachs, and other firms like it on Wall Street, grow too big to fail, which means that no administration could allow such giants to go through Mr. Volcker’s orderly liquidation and disappear. That would be too damaging to the financial system, the economy and the political party in power.

Original image source

The solution for Mr. Soros is to avoid failure in the first place. The big Wall Street firms “would have to be closely regulated to make sure they don’t fail,” he said. “You may decide to break them up, or restrict the number of markets in which they are allowed to operate and you would need to impose capital requirements” to curtail risk-taking.
Derivatives contracts are a major source of risk, and Mr. Soros would limit their use. These contracts — offering insurance, for example, on trading positions — are still ubiquitous. When they come due in great quantities, as they were about to do in the fall of 2008, the contagion spreads, undermining one financial institution after another. More in the New York Times article » By Louis Uchitelle.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Key World Economies and Comparing Their Current Volatility -
  Overview | Students review key economic terms and ideas necessary for understanding world economies. They then research the economies of countries in the Group of 10 and present how their economies have changed over the past five years and how the relationships among these countries affect each other in light of world events.  Go to this Economy and Society Lesson
• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Plan for Recovery-
  Overview | Students examine the "who, what, where, when, why and how" of the proposed stimulus plan for the U.S. economy; they then write their own proposal outlining how stimulus funds might benefit their community. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:37:05 +0700 Economics http://lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ elders-of-wall-st-favor-more-regulation http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/business/27norris.html?_r=1&sq=floyd%20norris-banks%20lobby%20to%20keep%20big%20profit%20maker&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=all The history of nearly all markets is that customers suffer if dealers are able to keep them ignorant of what is actually going on.

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(Unless) Timothy Geithner, the secretary of the Treasury, can persuade legislators otherwise, one of the great bank lobbying campaigns will have succeeded, in large part because some companies that buy derivatives from banks have been persuaded that their costs will rise if needed reforms were made.
Until the beginning of this decade, that was true in the corporate bond market, where actual trades were kept confidential. That made it easy for bond dealers to charge big markups when they sold bonds to customers.
After regulators forced timely disclosures, the bid-ask spreads — the difference between what customers paid when they bought bonds and what they could get when selling them — declined significantly. The result was smaller profits for bond dealers, and better returns for bond investors.The full article » Keeping Derivatives in the Dark By Floyd Norris, New York Times.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Plan for Recovery -
  Overview: Students examine the "who, what, where, when, why and how" of the proposed stimulus plan for the U.S. economy; they then write their own proposal outlining how stimulus funds might benefit their community. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Impact of Keynesian Economics During a Recession -
  Overview: Students define and examine the role of Keynesian economics during recessions and depression, then write a memo to President Obama advising him on how to put Keynesian principles into practice. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:35:54 +0700 Economics http://lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ opaque-markets-breed-insider-profits-and-abuse-of http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/business/economy/18leonhardt.html?scp=10&sq=david%20leonhardt&st=cse

The economy still needs help. So White House officials are looking at creating a new version of cash for clunkers — this time for home weatherization.
The idea has a lot to recommend it. The housing bust has idled contractors and construction workers, who could be put to work insulating homes and caulking air leaks. Many households, meanwhile, would save substantial money — not to mention help the climate — by weatherizing their homes, research by McKinsey & Company has shown. All in all, a cash-for-caulkers program seems like a promising part of the jobs program for 2010 that Mr. Obama has suggested he is planning. From » A Stimulus That Could Save Money - By David Leonhardt in the New York Times

Graphic courtesy of Help - New Mexico Inc. (Original image)

• The New York Times - Learning Network - It’s Easy Being Green -
  Overview: Students will read about simple things people can do to make their homes more energy efficient. They then create posters advertising simple things people can do to make other places where they spend time more energy efficient as well. Go to this Economy,Society and ESL Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - We’ve Got the Power -
  Overview: Students will research various sources of renewable energy. They will discover how each source can be used to generate electricity, the potential benefits and drawbacks of each and which source might best power their home or school. Go to this Economy and Science Lesson.

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:53:57 +0700 Economics http://lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ creating-jobs-lowering-costs-and-saving-energy http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aOvyz1rBOKuk The U.S. economy faces a “significant chance” of contracting again after emerging from its worst recession since the 1930s, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said.
Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2001 for showing that markets are inefficient when all parties in a transaction don’t have equal access to critical information, which is most of the time.

Original image source

Stiglitz said it’s difficult to predict the economy’s trajectory because “we really are in a different world.” He said the crisis of the past year was made worse by lax regulation that allowed some financial firms to grow so large that the system couldn’t handle a failure of any of them.
“These institutions are not only too big to fail, they are too big to be managed,” he said. More in this Bloomberg article » By Michael McKee.

Congressional oversight panel report: “The nation’s banks continue to hold on their books billions of dollars in assets about whose proper valuation there is a dispute and that are very difficult to sell,” the panel said in its latest monthly report.
The Federal Reserve estimated in May that American banks still had about $599 billion in assets to write down. Goldman Sachs and the International Monetary Fund estimated the total at about $1 trillion. And RGE Economics, headed by Nouriel Roubini, has estimated the total at $1.27 trillion. From this New York Times article » By Edmund L. Andrews.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Plan for Recovery -
Overview: Students examine the "who, what, where, when, why and how" of the proposed stimulus plan for the U.S. economy; they then write their own proposal outlining how stimulus funds might benefit their community. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:05:22 +0700 http://www.lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ difficult-to-predict-the-economys-trajectory http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/cash-charge-or-save/
Original Guardian image and article source »

Nebraska-based Buffett has built a vast army of US followers who admire his flair for picking successful investments and acquisitions. His fortune is estimated at $37bn (£22.5bn), ranking second only to Bill Gates's $40bn on Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's richest people.
Buffett said the credit crunch served as a reminder of the need to teach children about money: "What better time to help educate our kids about financial responsibility." From this Guardina article » By Andrew Clark.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Preparing an Annual Budget -
  Overview: Students play a game to determine if they know the costs of common items. As consumers, they then develop their own personal finance budgets to determine how they might reduce their personal spending.Go to this Economy and ESL Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding Credit Cards and Credit Card Debt -
  Overview: Students examine and learn the basics about credit cards and credit card debt, then create an informational brochure for young students. Go to this Economy and ESL Lesson.

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:00:12 +0700 http://www.lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ cash-charge-or-save http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13900898 The Original Getty Image and Economist article »

DIAGNOSING - what is wrong with America’s health-care system is the easy part.
Even though one dollar in every six generated by the world’s richest economy is spent on health—almost twice the average for rich countries—infant mortality, life expectancy and survival-rates for heart attacks are all worse than the OECD average.
Meanwhile, because health insurance is so expensive, nearly 50m Americans, an obscene number in such a rich place, have none; those that are insured pay through the nose for their cover, and often find it bankruptingly inadequate if they get seriously ill or injured.
Cost cutting - If the private sector does not meet certain cost-cutting targets in, say, five years, a public-sector plan should automatically kick in. Such a prospect would encourage hospitals and doctors to accept a painful but necessary reform now. More in the full Economist article »

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Measuring the Impact of the Recession on Families and Communities -
  Overview: Students consider the loss of health care coverage among the unemployed and other ways that the recession affects the U.S. economy and families. They then examine and collect evidence of its effects on their own communities. Go to this Health and Building Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Developing Public Awareness Campaigns About Health Issues Affecting Life Expectancy -
  Overview: Students investigate the relationships between health care, socioeconomic class, racial background and life expectancy in America and create public awareness campaigns designed to inform people about specific health risks that are known to lower life expectancy.
  Go to this Health and Building Society Lesson.

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:07:48 +0700 Health http://lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ healthcare-reform-in-america-this-is-going-to-h http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/technology/26barcode.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=gerry%20c.shih&st=cse
Original NYT image source »

Bar Code Is 35
The design was straightforward — 59 black and white bars. And the inventors’ objectives were simple enough, too — to speed up the grocery checkout line and give supermarkets a new tool to track their stock.
Today, bar codes are scanned more than 10 billion times a day around the world. And after 35 years, they are both the mundane minutiae of modern life and cultural icons of cold efficiency, identification and control. From this New York Times article » By Gerry C. Hih.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating the Technologies That Affect Our Lives -
  Overview: Students consider how the technologies they use impact their lives by investigating recently developed technologies and proposing new technology innovations for the future. Go to this Economy and Science Lesson.

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:08:24 +0700 http://www.lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ game-changer-in-retailing http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/28/business/wbecon.1-415835.php?page=1 Image source
This recession will pass but:

Where will new, real sources of growth come from? Not from Wall Street, probably. Nor, obviously, from Detroit. Nor from Silicon Valley, at least not by itself. Well before the housing bubble burst, the big productivity gains brought about by the 1990s technology boom seemed to be petering out.
So for the first time in more than 70 years, the epicenter of the U.S. economy can be placed in Washington. And Washington won't merely be given the task of pulling the economy out of the immediate crisis. It will also have to figure out how to put it on a more sustainable path - to help it achieve fast, broadly shared growth and do so without the benefit of a bubble. Obama said as much in his inauguration speech when he pledged to overhaul Washington's approach to education, health care, science and infrastructure, all in an effort to "lay a new foundation for growth." Read this New York Times article » By David Leonhardt

• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Plan for Recovery -
Overview: Students examine the "who, what, where, when, why and how" of the proposed stimulus plan for the U.S. economy; they then write their own proposal outlining how stimulus funds might benefit their community. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Impact of Keynesian Economics During a Recession -
Overview: Students define and examine the role of Keynesian economics during recessions and depression, then write a memo to President Obama advising him on how to put Keynesian principles into practice. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

]]> Editor@lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:13:54 +0700 http://www.lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ economy-lessons-1 http://www.lfslessonsasia.com/thaiconstitutionlesson.html

Editor: Improving Thai laws and courts, as stated in the article: Biggest Legal overhaul in (Thailand) in over 200 years...." assumed a reliable Thai Constitution and a competent and credible Thai Justice system, but these don't exist.
The abuse of power that led to the military and court installed government of Abhist Vejjaiiva is another step backward.
The current excuse for holding on to power is to first fix the Thai economy,
but much of the damage to the economy was done by these same people who now claim they should decide how to fix it.
A healthy and sustainable Thai economy and society can only evolve when the majority of Thai's have a say over how they live.

(AFP)

Giles Ungpakorn, (who left Thailand and is now in exile in the UK after the current government filed les mageste charges against him) was a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University and said the whole justice system should be overhauled, from the police to judges to bureaucrats. He advocates trials by jury and elections for judges to increase public accountability.
"The constitution (sponsored by the military) has a problem right from the start," he said. "Giving power to unelected civil servants who tend to be very conservative is a step backwards." - The Asian Sentinel article - By Daniel Ten Kate  

Looking Back: Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, one of the country's leading constitutional lawyers, (said) the practice of coups in Thailand is a bad habit that needs to end. "If we didn't have this coup the Thai people could have learned more about democracy and politics and about how to develop," - Quote from: News Analysis: Democracy, Thai style - Ban the politicians - By Thomas Fuller International Herald Tribune Published: October 6, 2006

A Learning Foundation Lesson - Compare and Contrast the above statements and stories. - Go to this ESL and Law Lessson.

The Learning Foundation - Making Good Laws - Go to the Law and Society Lesson: "The Thai Constitution(s)"

]]> Editor@www.lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:44:38 +0700 http://www.lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ how-to-improve-thai-laws-and-courts-the-whole-j-1 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Why-Its-Taking-So-Long-To-Fix-usnews-14497964.html;_ylt=ApZD_2JOkfJOm5g6ZaP1GM.7YWsANobody Image source
Editor: Excessive use of debt and risk followed by a loss of confidence that the problems can be fixed will take time and diligence to repair.

Broken banks. The markets rise and fall on every whisper out of Washington about the direction of President Obama's bank-bailout plan. But whatever the plan, it will take years before the balance sheets of teetering titans like Citigroup and Bank of America are healthy again. An effective plan might generate confidence that the feds are on the case, but there is no conceiveable plan that will repair the most troubled banks anytime soon.
If there's any good news, it's that the working parts of these banks will continue to function while the broken parts get dismantled. That's what the federal interventions are supposed to do. In other words, they might resume something that looks like normal lending before all the problems are solved.
More in this Yahoo Business News article. » By Rick Newman.

"The people that behaved well are no doubt going to find themselves taking care of the people who didn't behave well," Warren Buffett said in this » AP article

• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Plan for Recovery -
Overview: Students examine the "who, what, where, when, why and how" of the proposed stimulus plan for the U.S. economy; they then write their own proposal outlining how stimulus funds might benefit their community. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Impact of Keynesian Economics During a Recession -
Overview: Students define and examine the role of Keynesian economics during recessions and depression, then write a memo to President Obama advising him on how to put Keynesian principles into practice. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

]]> Editor@lfslessonsasia.com (Keerock Rook) Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:21:25 +0700 http://www.lfslessonsasia.com/wordpress/ why-its-taking-so-long-to-fix-the-economy http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/08/business/col09.php Image source

The legal difficulties in Asia related to inconsistent interpretation and implementation of the law, David Maund, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, a debt-restructuring consultancy explained. "That tends to be an issue particularly in places like the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India and China," he said. Read The full International Herald Tribune article »By Umesh Desai and Andrew Marshall for Reuters.

Learning Foundation Simplified Mock Trials:

• Two related cases: The Case of "Finishing too Late" - A Contract Dispute, and Appealing a lower court opinion/ "The Road Builder vs The Sales Company"
• "Freezing Bus Fares" Appealing a lower court opinion
• "The 18th Thai constitution?" - What makes a law good lesson plan.
• "It's my country/I can do what I want!" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett wrote:
Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.

Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”
» Warren Buffett's article.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing Causes of the Economic Crisis -
Overview: Students use several different resources from The New York Times to discuss, analyze, and present on the causes and effects of the 2008 economic crisis.review key economic terms and ideas necessary for understanding world economies. They then research the economies of countries in the Group of 8 and present how their economies have changed over the past five years and how the relationships among these countries affect each other in light of world events.  Go to this Economy and Society Lesson 

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Comparing the 1929 Stock Market Crash to Today's Wall Street Crisis -
Overview: Students use resources from The New York Times to compare the circumstances under which the Great Depression came about to the circumstances of the current economic crisis.  Go to this Economy and Society Lesson 

Global food shortages have placed the Middle East and North Africa in a quandary, as they are forced to choose between growing more crops to feed an expanding population or preserving their already scant supply of water.
For decades nations in this region have drained aquifers, sucked the salt from seawater and diverted the mighty Nile to make the deserts bloom. But those projects were so costly and used so much water that it remained far more practical to import food than to produce it. Today, some countries import 90 percent or more of their staples. Read the IHT Article »

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Natural and Human Threats on Fresh Water and Marine Ecosystems -
Overview: Students examine various fresh water and marine ecosystems, researching the aquatic life they support, threats from nature and humans, and preservation efforts. Go to this Science and Economy Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Addressing the Causes and Effects of the Global Food Crisis -
Overview: Students learn about the reasons for Australia's rice shortage and its impact on the rest of the world. They then individually identify the causes and effects of another agricultural commodity's recent changes in the global marketplace. Go to this Science and Economy Lesson.

The International Energy Agency once again cut its forecast for global oil demand growth this year, primarily due to record prices and the dimming U.S. economic outlook.
But prices have barely risen in some of the fastest-growing oil-consuming nation, giving drivers in these countries little reason to cut back.
Incremental consumption in China, India, the Middle East and Latin America - where most fuel prices are subsidized - now accounts for all of the energy agency's one million barrels per day global forecast for growth in oil consumption this year.
That is bad news for oil consumers in the rest of the world, who face record crude costs. Read Article »By Emma Graham-Harrison - Reuters

Related Issue: Even as today’s oil prices rise above $130 a barrel, prices for oil futures - promises to buy oil for a set price on a fixed date - have closed above $145 for some of the longest contracts. Clearly, there is a substantial expectation in the market that oil prices will continue to rise. But is it justified? » Join the discussion with Daniel Altman - The International Herald Tribune

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring How Gas Prices Are Set and How People Feel About Paying More to Fill Up -
Overview: Students investigate how gasoline prices are set and conduct surveys to find out how much people know and what they think about this topic. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Using Facts about Gas Prices to Determine More Economical Summer Options -
Overview: Students share opinions about the current state of gas prices. They then conduct research to determine how their summer plans might be affected. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

Dam-building, over-extraction for drinking, industry and agriculture, invasive species, climate change, pollution and shipping were among the various activities whose impact the group assessed.

Five of its "top 10" are in Asia, such as the Yangtse, Mekong, and Ganges, though Europe's Danube and North America's Rio Grande are also included. - Article link - BBC News

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Natural and Human Threats on Fresh Water and Marine Ecosystems
Overview: Students examine various fresh water and marine ecosystems, researching the aquatic life they support, threats from nature and humans, and preservation efforts. Go to this Science Lesson

It emphasizes the quality of individual plants over the quantity. It applies a less-is-more ethic to rice cultivation.
Harvests typically double, if farmers plant early, give seedlings more room to grow and stop flooding fields. That cuts water and seed costs while promoting root and leaf growth... Read this IHT Article » By William J. Broad

More about improving crops:

Monsanto executives say that a new technique called marker-assisted selection could double the rate of gain made from breeding. That technique does not involve altering crops by putting in foreign genes. Rather it uses genetic tests to help choose which plants to use in conventional cross-breeding, vastly speeding up the process and improving its efficiency. » Monsanto pledges to lift food supply - By Andrew Pollack - IHT

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Addressing the Causes and Effects of the Global Food Crisis -
Overview: Students learn about the reasons for Australia's rice shortage and its impact on the rest of the world. They then individually identify the causes and effects of another agricultural commodity's recent changes in the global marketplace. Go to this Science and Economy Lesson.

The drought's effect on rice has produced the greatest impact on the rest of the world, so far. It is one factor contributing to skyrocketing prices, and many scientists believe it is among the earliest signs that a warming planet is starting to affect food production. Read this IHT Article » By Keith Bradsher

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Addressing the Causes and Effects of the Global Food Crisis -
Overview: Students learn about the reasons for Australia's rice shortage and its impact on the rest of the world. They then individually identify the causes and effects of another agricultural commodity's recent changes in the global marketplace. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson 

"India has decided to invest in the water sector mostly through public money, but China has decided to allow private companies, including foreign investors, to participate in water supply and sewage products .... As a result, most of the listed companies in Asia that have water exposure are focused on the China market." Christopher Wong, an analyst with UBS, wrote in a recent research note.
He added "We believe intense competition for water projects and opaque regulations has dampened the attractiveness of water projects in the near term," Read the article » -By Sophie Taylor and Alison Leung (Reuters)

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Complexity of Water Disputes -
Overview: Students discuss their community’s water sources and assess the factors affecting the water availability and quality. They research water disputes around the world and understand common factors among them. Read the article » (China) Choking on Growth - New York Times - Go to this Economy and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating an Educational Guide on Water Safety -
Overview: Students research water pollution and create a class guide to raise the public's awareness about this issue. Go to this Science and Economy Lesson.

As advanced science (communications and international agreements) play a larger role in courtrooms across the country (and the world) judges who earned degrees in English, the humanities (or only Law as in Thailand) face the daunting task of making informed decisions about some very technical disputes. Read the entire article Judges get crash course in sciences - By Mike Baker - Associated Press Writer.

"... This is a problem for Thailand. They ignore the scientific evidence. The judge, the attorney, the police... I think they don’t know much about forensic science, especially DNA...." read the rest of the Interview with Dr. Porntip - Foreign Correspondent.

• WWS - World Wise School- Is That a Fact?
Overview: Understanding the difference between fact and opinion is critical to our ability to examine our reactions to events and people. Stereotypes and prejudices are often based on opinions that are perceived as facts. Go to this Building Society Lesson Worksheet.

• The New York Times - Learning Network  Learning About Cell Renewal Throughout the Body
Overview: Students learn about the latest research on cell and tissue renewal. They then explore the various internal body parts and systems examined in these studies.  Go to this Science Lesson.

• The Learning Foundation - Simplified Mock Trials - "What to Teach" - Simplified Mock Trial.

In the late 1980s, amid Japan's seemingly unstoppable boom, Industrial Bank of Japan briefly became the biggest company by market value.
That was just before Japan's asset bubble burst, plunging banks into a crisis from which they only recently emerged. Now, analysts are buzzing about whether China's boom will be a replay of Japan's. Similarities include surging asset valuations, strong economic growth, the aggressive exporting of capital and a belief the good times will never end.
Read Article » By William Pesek - Bloomberg News

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Key World Economies and Comparing Their Current Volatility
Overview: Students review key economic terms and ideas necessary for understanding world economies. They then research the economies of countries in the Group of 8 and present how their economies have changed over the past five years and how the relationships among these countries affect each other in light of world events.  Go to this Economy and Society Lesson. 

No country in history has emerged as a major industrial power without creating a legacy of environmental damage that can take decades and big dollops of public wealth to undo.
China’s problem has become the world’s problem. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides spewed by China’s coal-fired power plants fall as acid rain on Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo. Much of the particulate pollution over Los Angeles originates in China, according to the Journal of Geophysical Research. The full International Herald article - By Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating the Human Costs of Global Trading
Overview: Students create a standard of living profile for a developing nation, and compare it to the same measure for a developed nation. They then evaluate the pros and cons of industrialization in a developing nation and the responsibilities developed nations have to their trading partners. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

Overview of Lesson Plan: Students research and debate the positive and negative aspects of expanding nuclear resources, biotechnology, and nanotechnology in the future. Go to this Science and Society Lesson.

"Telecom companies will, in their migration to 3G, need fibre optic networks. They will need the right to lay down fibre across fields and roads, across towns and rivers. Or they will need to partner with someone who does have the right of access - someone like Egat." More about fibre-optic broadband - Article - Bangkok Post.

use of composite polls - "Running energy" by Alan S. Brown - Mechanical Engineering Magazine

"In Finland...one of the biggest money earners for the railway authorities is not actually operating the rail network, but laying fibre alongside the track and providing wholesale connectivity to mobile phone operators and cable TV companies...."
Egat's true value lies in the 'right of access' from Article by Don Sambandaraksa - Bangkok Post

• The New York Times - Learning Network -
Exploring Technological Solutions to Global Challenges Go to this Science and Economics Lesson

Related story: Haze from forest fires, frequently deliberately lit by Indonesian land and plantation owners to clear land cheaply, has become a regular problem for large parts of Southeast Asia over the last 10 years.

Indonesia has predicted the haze will be much lighter this year because of greater efforts to combat the fires (which) caused health problems and billions of dollars of losses from falling tourism revenue and flight delays in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
Indonesia is the third-highest emitter of carbon dioxide worldwide, mostly due to the fires, scientists say. The full article - The Associated Press Published: July 15, 2007

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Dynamics of Forest Fires
Overview: Students reflect on the ecological and chemical changes caused by forest fires. Then they work in groups to create diagrams showing how specific variables can affect a forest fire and the chemical reactions that take place during combustion. Finally, students use their knowledge to evaluate fire prevention and management techniques.
Go to this Science, Economy and Health Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Using Technology to Help Fight Fires
Overview: Students explore how digital maps and global satellite positioning are helping firefighters. Students will then research what factors promote fire danger and various fire-fighting techniques. Go to this Science, Economy and Health Lesson.

Hamburgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, and even milk and carrots all taste better to children if they think they came from McDonald’s, a small study suggests. From: If It Says McDonald’s, Then It Must Be Good - By Nicholas Bakalar - New York Times

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing Factors That Influence Interest Levels in Fast Food
Overview: Students investigate the influence of fast food brand names on food choices and analyze the factors that contribute to branding preferences. Then they write an opinion essay on the corporate responsibility to influence food choices. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

"I think that it would be unrealistic to expect the rule of law to continue for long without making sure that there is a democratic base for it," said Martin Lee, a legislator and lawyer who was founding chairman of the Democratic Party, in an interview.
"So far we are fortunate because we inherited the rule of law from the British and the judges so far are very independent, but remember the Communist Party doesn't like independent judges.
They want judges who will give them judgments that they want." Lee said. The full article By Donald Greenlees - International Herald Tribune
Published: June 29, 2007

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Educating Youth on Voting and the Electoral Process
Overview: Students create voter education campaigns to raise awareness of and interest in the government for future voters.  Go to this Law and Society Lesson

One explanation for the waning U.S. clout in foreign-exchange markets is something that gets little attention: the country's lack of currency reserves. The $41 billion of U.S. currency reserves seem puny compared with China's $1.07 trillion, Japan's $884 billion and even Malaysia's $82 billion. At the moment, the United States has fewer reserves than Nigeria's $42 billion, Indonesia's $46 billion and Poland's $49 billion.

Yet in a world littered with risks - from slowing U.S. growth to global imbalances to terrorism to bird flu to the yen carry trade to overheating in the Chinese economy - one wonders how wise it is for the United States to have so few reserves.
The truth is that when it comes to swaying currency markets, the United States has little money to put where its mouth is. Viewpoint: U.S. financial clout loses sway By William Pesek Bloomberg News

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating the Economy of Foreign Nations
Two-day lesson plan, students examine what a basic unit of currency means and how it affects world finances. On the first day, students consider the value of the American dollar in light of its devaluation on the global market and gain a deeper understanding of the terms used to describe this economic situation. On the second day, students consider events that may shape the global economy and create board games utilizing their knowledge of foreign currencies and world economics. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson