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Morning

  • Indicators
    • Consumer Price Index, Inflation and Deflation
    • Labour force & Unemployment
    • Gross Domestic Product (economic growth)
    • Balance of payments
    • Exchange Rate
  • What determines the level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in an economy such as the UK?
  • Why do growth rates differ between economies?
  • Why is economic growth important for investors?
  • “The Goldilocks Scenario” no more boom & bust until 2007!

Afternoon

Keynesian Economics – the policy saviour of the world in 1936 and 2008? Discuss

  • Who was John Maynard Keynes and what was his contribution to economic thinking?
  • Why does Gordon Brown think Keynes is the answer to the UK recession?

An alternative perspective: The “Chicago School” and Monetarism, Professor Milton Friedman, Margaret Thatcher and Reaganomics.

  • The role of the money supply in a modern economy
  • Supply side policies and their impact on the UK economy
  • The “Credit Crunch” of 2007 and the Wall Street Crash of 1929: the lessons and the comparisons. The views of JK Galbraith.
  • Has the Bank of England’s independence been a success?
  • The prospects for the UK economy, next 5 years
 
 

Morning
International Trade

  • The laws of comparative trade. Why countries specialise and then trade with each other
  • The role of the organisations: General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade and World Trade Organisation
  • Exchange rates: how they are determined on the FOREX market
  • Factors that lead to an appreciation or depreciation in the exchange rate
  • The role of the International Monetary Fund
  • Should the UK join the Euro and what are the advantages and disadvantages for business and investment?

Afternoon
Applied Economics

  • An entrepreneurial investors’ perspective
  • Opportunities in a recession and survival of the innovator
  • A product portfolio approach
  • New markets/old markets: where is the greatest value and at what cost
  • Competitive advantage in 2009 : Michael Porters’ Five Forces Analysis applied to the real estate sector