Monthly Archives: September 2014

http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1603781/hkma-activates-emergency-action-plan-occupy-protests-extend

Hong Kong is currently going through one of the worst protest the city has seen for decades. Tens of thousands of people right now gather around Hong Kong’s busiest areas to send a message to its government about the decision to elect candidates selected by the chinese government for Hong Kong’s next chief executive.

But what does this mean for Hong Kong moving forward. Politically, the world is unease by the government’s shock decision to hurt unarmed students however it is unknown whether ‘Occupy Central Movement with Love and Peace’ protest is actually affecting Beijing’s decision.

Personally however I think that this movement does more damage to Hong Kong than it does good. Think of Bangkok only a few months back, its protest lead to many potential tourists to switch destinations, Hong Kong is considered a ‘shoppers paradise’, but as a result of the protest, demand for domestic goods are likely to decrease, the exchange rate between the Hong Kong Dollar and US Dollar is slowly decreasing, potential shareholders are likely to back off now due to the political risk that Hong Kong is going through.

“The protest will definitely create short-term uncertainty and volatility,” (Charles Li). In the short term, the protest will only cause difficulties for Hong Kong. Being from the city itself, I can only hope that this issue be resolved as soon as possible so that Hong Kong can return to being the financial powerhouse that it once was.

Works Cited:

South China Morning Post. “Stocks set to fall at open, authorities pledge smooth market operations as Occupy protests extend.” South China Morning Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1603781/hkma-activates-emergency-action-plan-occupy-protests-extend>.

 

 

Timothy’s Chow Ethics Post

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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-longterm-jobless-20140910-story.html#page=1

Is unemployment simply because there aren’t enough jobs, or that firms/companies aren’t willing to hire long term unemployed workers? ‘From 2008 to 2012 only 1 in 10 long-term unemployed person in a given month had returned to steady, full-time work a year later’. (1) Ethically, by helping to create jobs, businessmen fulfill a ‘corporate social responsibility’, the idea that business should not only be ‘concerned merely with profits but also with social conscience such as providing employment’. (2)

Milton Freedman argues that there is only one corporate responsibility, as long as profits are being made without being deceitful. By taking a ‘political mechanism’ (3) approach in making ‘market mechanism’ decisions, for a single firm this would create inefficiencies leading to lower output and therefore generate less revenue, due to more unskilled workers. However ethically by leaving behind the long term unemployed/unskilled workers, a never-ending cycle is created in the domestic economy, low consumption of domestic goods/services and investments.

Any economy would want to produce at a full employment level. For society it would be beneficial to hire as many unemployed workers, as less unemployment benefits would be given out, giving the government extra government funding which could be used for improving the economy, such as human capitals. In the long term this would create more skilled/healthy workers which would benefit society largely.

Freedman’s argument suggests that as long as profit is being made without fraud and deceit, nothing else matters. However, in the long run alleviating poverty and unemployment will no doubt benefit the economy and society as a whole. Through the article we learn that the label of a ‘long term unemployed worker’ has detrimental effects in his/her ability to obtain work that they qualify for.

(1) Retrieved from ‘Long-term unemployed still at record levels’. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-longterm-jobless-20140910-story.html#page=1

(2), (3) Milton Friedman.’ The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits’. Retrieved from The New York Times Magazine