EPA Prepares to Release the Rules Power Companies Must Follow to Meet Goals to Reduce Carbon Emissions

The article from the WSJ is a good summary of the issues. 

Why has the price of cordovan shoes increased?

Who would have suspected that a reduction in the demand for horse meat would make men pay more for fine shoes? This article from the WSJ reports that the price of shoes made from cordovan leather has increased and describes some of the reasons why. It is a great example of supply and demand in action. 

The article describes two events that are affecting the market for cordovan shoes. First, a reduction the supply of cordovan leather. Second, an increase in demand for haute-crafted men's shoes. Do the events have the same impact on the price of cordovan shoes? The quantity?

Electricity Prices Going Up?

This article from the Richmond-Times Dispatch reports that 

"Electricity prices are probably on their way up across much of the U.S. as coal-fired plants, the dominant source of cheap power, shut down in response to environmental regulations and economic forces.

"New and tighter pollution rules and tough competition from cleaner sources such as natural gas, wind and solar will lead to the closings of dozens of coal-burning plants across 20 states over the next three years. And many of those that stay open will need expensive retrofits."

Here are some good questions about the application of supply and demand analysis.

1. Would tougher pollution rules lead to closings of coal-burning plants?
2. Would tougher pollution rules lead to higher prices for electricity?
3. Would greater availability of natural gas lead to the closings of coal-burning plants?
4. Would greater availability of natural gas lead to higher prices for electricity?

Leverage?

This article from the LA Times describes the offer AT&T made for DirectTV. An escape clause cancels the offer if DirectTV is unable to renew its contract with the NFL. How would this affect the outcome of the contract between DirectTV and the NFL in the Nash Bargaining Solution?

Screening and game theory

This article in the WSJ, written by Levitt and Duubner of Freakanomics fame,  is a great discourse on screening. Perforn an internet search on the title if the article does not load properly.

J. Crew tries versioning

This article from the WSJ is a good example of a firm attempting to use versioning to segment buyers. Should J. Crew raise prices in original stores after it opens the budget version?

Search the internet of the title if the article fails to load properly.

Labor shortages, wages, and housing prices

This article in the WSJ is a great example of supply and demand in action. Growing demand for construction workers has created a shortage of workers. In turn the wages increase, the supply of housing decreases, the prices of houses increase, and the quantity traded falls.

Search the internet for the title of the article if if fails to load properly.

This article in the WSJ is a great example of supply and demand. It reports that increases in demand for cotton and decreases in its supply have driven up the price of cotton. The supply of cotton fell as farmers responded to higher relative prices for substitute crops. Now, in response to the higher cotton prices, the quantity traded of manmade fibers is increasing.