What Is an Economic Forecast?

An economic forecast is a projection of the growth rate of a nation’s economy. Such a forecast provides an important input to policy decisions by central banks and governments. Forecasts are typically made for national gross domestic product (GDP), a broad measure of the total value of all the goods and services produced in a country, but forecasts can also be made for individual industries or for subsets of the economy.

Many techniques are used to produce economic forecasts. At one end of the spectrum are judgmental methods that rely on the expertise of the individual forecaster to adjust forecasts produced by a suite of models, and at the other extreme are dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model-based forecasts disciplined by modern economic theory.

A forecast of economic activity is typically made for a specific period. For example, a business might want to know whether to invest in a new plant or machinery during one year or another. But economic forecasts are also made for much longer periods, such as five or ten years. Such long-range forecasts have gained increasing importance as businesses have come to recognize the usefulness of such information in planning expansion and financing.

Some categories of economic output are particularly difficult to forecast. The biggest problem is investment spending, which reflects thousands of individual and corporate decisions that can be changed very dramatically. As a result, business investment tends to be highly volatile. The erratic behavior of this category of economic output has stimulated an extensive literature on the development and evaluation of forecasting techniques.

Late Breaking Research

As an adjective, late-breaking evokes an image of the latest news and developments. Breaking news stories are frequently interrupted from regular programming to provide information about an impending disaster, such as a tornado warning or landfalling hurricane. This type of breaking news is often accompanied by lower thirds and other graphics that emphasize the urgency of the event.

Scientific meetings also feature late-breaking research presentations, but their significance is a bit less urgent. Most of the original research presented at a meeting contains information that is confirmatory, extends previous findings, or is hypothesis generating, but not likely to have a direct impact on clinical practice. However, some of this research has important implications. These are the “Late Breakers.”

The Late-breaking Abstract program recognizes novel and critically important research developments that occur during the lead up to the International Congress. Submissions must describe large clinical studies or high-impact translational research that could not have been completed by the standard abstract submission deadline.

The criteria for selection of a Late-breaking Abstract are strict and adhered to by the Scientific Review Committee. Among other things, the study must be prospective and authors must justify why experiments could not be completed by the abstract submission deadline. The selection process for Late-breaking Abstracts is a rigorous one and many high-quality abstracts are rejected if they do not meet these criteria. The pendulum may have swung too far, though, because it is possible that the hype surrounding Late Breakers might reduce the attention given to other important, relevant research that does not fit the description.

The Politics of Political Scandal

The term “political scandal” describes the public exposure of politicians’ misbehavior, often resulting in legal repercussions like fines and resignations. But the public’s response to these events depends on many different factors, including how the behavior is perceived, how it affects trust in government and politics, and whether it is exacerbated by media coverage.

In a recent study, I examined the occurrence of political scandals from the late 1980s to the present. The findings show that political polarization accelerates the production of scandals by turning accusations of corruption into partisan cudgels used in scorched-earth politics to denigrate the other side. The result is that the term corruption loses its meaning and enables political leaders to escape punishment for bad behavior by claiming that the other side is corrupt (Kepplinger, 2017b).

Even when a scandalous incident does occur, the outcome depends on the triggering event, the intensity of media coverage, and the perception of the event by the public. Specifically, scandals are triggered by an unusual event (like a celebrity’s sex life or the president’s affair with Monica Lewinsky) or by a politician’s decision to violate norms and values that are important for the office they hold (such as rewarding campaign donors with overnight stays at the White House or issuing norm-busting pardons).

In addition, the slant of media coverage varies widely based on the journalist’s ideological alignment and opinions. For example, journalists who are more liberal tend to report scandals involving Republican politicians more intensely than those that involve Democrats.

Types of Startup Funding

Startup funding is the money you use to turn your innovative idea into a viable business. There are multiple types of startup funding available, and the one you choose depends on your company’s growth stage, business model, burn rate, and long-term strategy.

The first step in securing startup funding is often personal savings and credit, which are commonly the most popular forms of startup financing. These funds typically are not as strict as a bank loan and can be used to cover a range of expenses, such as marketing efforts or the purchase of a minimum viable product (MVP). This form of startup funding is best for entrepreneurs who are confident in their business idea but may have trouble selling it to potential investors.

Venture capital funding is another common startup funding option. Investors in VC firms typically invest their own capital in startups in exchange for equity ownership. Unlike angel investors, VC firms tend to focus on businesses with higher revenue and a longer track record of success.

Crowdfunding, which involves asking a large group of individuals to make small investments in your business, is also a good source of startup funding. In addition to allowing you to reach a wider audience, crowdfunding can also provide valuable market feedback and validate your business idea. However, it is important to note that you must be comfortable sharing a portion of your business with strangers. It is also important to prepare a detailed pitch to secure this type of startup financing.

Is a Trade War Unwinnable?

When a trade war begins, supply chains are disrupted. The cost of a variety of products—from new cars to Australian-inspired avocado on toast—increases. While some of these increases can be explained by higher production costs, many are the result of increased tariffs imposed by a country on imports. As global trade becomes increasingly interlinked, a trade war can quickly spread across entire economies.

While running for President, Donald Trump disdained most current trade agreements and promised to bring back manufacturing jobs and force China to reform its trade practices, including intellectual property theft. He imposed his first round of tariffs in 2018, threatening to increase them as needed to address the country’s trade deficit with China. While the US and Chinese governments have since engaged in several rounds of negotiations, these have been largely fruitless.

During the 1930s, a series of high import tariffs in the United States and retaliation by other countries helped fuel the Great Depression. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which was enacted in response to rising protectionist sentiment in the wake of the Great Depression, raised tariffs on a wide range of goods and contributed to the economic catastrophe that began in the United States and spread throughout the world.

In light of the growing evidence that the trade war is unwinnable, it may make sense for some countries to secure deals that lead to lower tariff rates. But this will require a willingness by the Trump administration to give up its negotiating position. Given the president’s deep unpopularity abroad, this is not a likely outcome.

Managing Liquidity and Liquidity in the Crypto Market

Cryptocurrencies are a digital asset that allows people to exchange value without having to trust central authorities. Instead, transactions are verified peer-to-peer through a network that records data in shared public ledgers called blockchains. Like traditional assets, cryptocurrencies have prices that can go up or down. Some people buy cryptocurrencies to make a profit or invest in them because they believe that these assets could become more valuable. Others use them as a form of payment.

Buying and selling cryptocurrencies is done on exchanges. Some exchanges offer margin trading, which means that you only need to put up a small percentage of the full value of your position – known as leverage – to gain access to the entire market. This magnifies your profits and losses, so it’s important to understand the risks before you trade.

Liquidity

A thriving cryptocurrency marketplace requires a level of liquidity, or the number of buyers and sellers in the market. When there is low liquidity, it can be challenging for market participants – let’s call them Alice and Bob – to find each other. A skilled market maker like Charlie can help bridge this gap by strategically managing buy and sell orders to enhance the asset’s market depth. This may help reduce slippage and improve market appeal, which can boost token adoption.

The Basics of Corporate Earnings

Corporate earnings are the result of a company’s revenue minus its costs. They are an important indicator of company financial health and ultimately the economy’s growth as well, because when companies earn more, they can reinvest those funds into the business or even pay dividends to shareholders. The earnings reports that companies release quarterly or annually are a major event for the markets, filled with excitement (if expectations are met) and dread (if they aren’t).

When considering a potential investment in a publicly traded company, it’s helpful to understand what exactly these earnings figures represent, how they impact stock prices, and how to interpret them. In this article, we will discuss the basics of corporate earnings, how they impact stocks, and offer a road map for analyzing a company’s earnings report.

Investors should look at both EPS and adjusted EPS when evaluating a company’s earnings. Adjusted EPS subtracts out one-time gains or losses such as asset sale profits, restructuring charges, and litigation expenses to provide a more accurate picture of a company’s underlying profitability.

In addition to revealing earnings per share, a company’s earnings report will also include revenue data and a review of management’s forward guidance for future growth. These comments can often have a big impact on the market, particularly if they are positive or negative. It is also useful to pay attention to whether or not a company’s earnings report was filed on time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A late filing could be a red flag of fraud.

How to Revamp Your Daily Update Actions

Daily updates are regular pieces of information that keep teams informed about the status of projects or progress toward goals. When crafted well, these updates help to keep teammates aligned and productive, while also promoting a culture of clear, purposeful communication.

In this workshop, participants will learn how to revitalize their daily update practices, ensuring that they are concise and impactful. We will explore best practices for structuring daily updates, focusing on how to communicate what matters most, keeping it concise, and providing actionable insights that drive team success.

Use the daily update feature in your Action to enable users to receive notifications on their device about important developments in your company or organization. To enable this feature, configure one of your Action’s intents as the triggering intent and set the daily update option as its response. This will trigger a notification when users invoke the intent and open its Conversation. To personalize the content of daily updates, you can add custom parameters to the registration process when a user registers for your daily update intent. Instructions for adding these custom parameters vary by platform and version of Dialogflow or the Actions SDK.

To prompt users to subscribe to your daily updates, you can add a prompt that appears mid-conversation or as a suggestion chip when the conversation ends. We recommend that you show the benefit of your daily updates to the user and offer the subscription prompt only after they have demonstrated interest in your information. This way, you will ensure that your daily updates provide value to the user on a regular basis rather than being forgotten after one interaction.

State of Emergency

A state of emergency is a government’s tool to exercise additional powers when facing exceptional circumstances like natural disasters or man-made dangers like terrorist attacks. The premise is that in an emergency situation, the need for speed in deploying resources and in tackling social and economic consequences of the crisis should trump ordinary democratic checks and balances. However, the history of states of emergency shows that in practice they may be abused to entrench power in the executive or to undermine human rights.

Depending on the nature of the emergency, the level of threat and the scope of the emergency measures in effect, a state of emergency can give the president or other elected officials broad powers to respond to the crisis. This may include suspending laws and rights, and easing regulatory requirements for businesses or individuals. This is often accompanied by travel restrictions, or the closure of public buildings or other facilities.

States of emergency are most often used in the context of natural disasters, acts of terrorism or armed conflict, or pandemics. They can be activated by the President or other political leader, or may be triggered by a judge’s ruling. They typically have a specific duration, but they can be extended if the threat persists.

The constitutions of Chile and Estonia define varying levels of emergency, with conditionality over which rights may be suspended, and require parliamentary approval for the most serious levels. However, many states do not limit their use to such circumstances. For example, in Poland and Hungary, a declaration of a state of emergency allows the state to bypass the constitutionally mandated judiciary review and to derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Importance of a Well-Crafted News Alert Strategy

In a news environment where breaking events often occur as they’re happening, a strong news alert strategy can be critical to keeping your audience up-to-date and engaged. Generally delivered as mobile push notifications, they’re an effective way to get your message in front of the right people at the right time and can be set up for any keywords or topics you choose to monitor.

A media alert, also known as a press release, is an announcement of a specific event that aims to catch the attention of reporters and media professionals. It can be as simple as a one-page announcement for local reporters or a press release distributed via wire services. Regardless of its size, the best media alerts are short and concise, highlighting the “who, what, when, where and why” of your event. The aim is to pique interest and encourage reporters to attend and cover the story.

A well-crafted media alert should also provide a clear point of contact for further information or interview requests. This ensures that reporters have a single person to go to and can easily follow up on the story as it develops. It is also important that a media alert not lean too heavily towards any particular side of an issue. Doing so can lead to your organization being perceived as biased and untrustworthy by audiences. In this polarized political environment, it is more important than ever to master the art of media alerts.