Mo' Playstation and Xbox Mo' Energy

With all the electronic gadgets people can own these days, one might think that U.S. demand for electricity would be going through the roof. Actually demand growth for electricity was only 0.7% in 2012, and the projections for 2013 out through 2040 never show annual growth of even 2%.

The Microsoft Xbox One and Sony Playstation 4 use at least twice as much energy per year as their predecessors largely because of new features, according to tests by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. The tests found the third major console, the Nintendo Wii U, is an "energy sipper." In the Xbox One’s “instant on” mode and the PS4′s “standby mode,” the consoles remain connected to the Internet by default, which can effectively double their consumption of electricity. As for streaming video through the game consoles, NRDC advises against it: “Don’t stream video with your game console because it requires up to 30 times more energy to play a movie than such devices as a smart TV or an external box like Apple TV, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV.”  The Xbox One uses 15 watts of continuous power so it can be awakened by voice command and the PS4 uses eight watts so its controllers can be charged. In comparison, a desktop computer uses less than two watts in sleep mode. The NRDC isn’t really trying to tell U.S. consumers how to spend their money. Wasting electricity on game consoles that are not being used has other costs. If the consoles were to become even 25% more energy efficient, the NRDC reckons they would still use as much as 11 billion kWh per year of electricity. That amount of electricity requires four 500-megawatt power plants and is enough to power the city of Houston for a full year. The dollar cost of not turning off the game console can be up to $75 a year, nearly double the cost of leaving a PC and monitor turned on 24/7.

GuarinGuarini, Drew. "PlayStation 4 And Xbox One Are Energy Hogs." Huffington Post. 18 May 2014. Web. 18 May 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/18/playstation-4-xbox-one_n_5340040.html?utm_hp_ref=technology&utm_hp_ref=technology>

Federal Reserve Bank Costing Savers Money

  Inflation and low returns on deposits have led bank customers to lose more than $100 billion in purchasing power in each of the last five years which provides consumers with information about bank rates, investing and personal finance. The Federal Reserve's low interest rate policies, designed to boost the economy, have cost savers about $758 billion since the end of the Great Recession, based on a study released recently. The study said that average money market rates have ranged from 0.08% to 0.1% over the last year, well below the 1.5% inflation rate. Our central bank is essentially taking billions of dollars a year from average Americans, who are still struggling to get by in a bombed-out economy, and it is giving it to the very banks that helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in the first place.

Fed officials have pointed to those savings, as well as the broader benefits of an improving economy, in justifying the low interest rates. Central bank policymakers are reducing another stimulus program, its monthly bond-buying effort, and have indicated they could start raising interest rates slowly next year if the economy continues to improve. If there’s any upside to the story, it’s that the Fed has decided to end the latest round of its monetary easing program and will likely no longer use artificial means to tamp down U.S. interest rates. But for bank savers, the damage is already done, and it’s not all just about interest rates. By adjusting the $9.43 trillion in U.S. bank deposits up for interest earnings and then down for inflation, the study calculated that savers lost $122.5 billion during that time. Added to losses over the prior four years, the Fed's low-interest-rate policies have cost savers $757.9 billion, the study said. Still, Gallup poll results released Monday found that Americans, by a 62%-to-34% margin, prefer saving money to spending it. The so-called saving-spending gap is much greater than it was before the Great Recession as Americans have tried to reduce their debt.

McWhinnie, Eric. "How Much Did the Federal Reserve Cost Savers?" Wall Street Cheat Sheet. N.p., 23 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/how-much-did-the-federal-reserve-cost-savers.html/?a=viewall

Mo' Jobs For Foreign Grads

Throughout several years I have come to learn that some of the most highly skilled people come from other countries. In some countries on the other side of the world it is found that the students have a greater learning capacity and greater discipline than some of those in the United States. 

This brings me to the agreement with Claire Zillman that there is hope foreign students who choose to further their education in the United States.

As said in the article, the visa that is required for foreign students to be allowed to stay here instead of being deported costs $4,000. This money most likely has to come from a sponsored company who is willing to pay the cost for these workers. This could either make a company or break a company. There are great advantages to paying for the visa for a very skilled individual and there may be disadvantages to not helping the graduates stay here. One advantage would be that these businesses who are willing to sponsor the graduate has the opportunity to expand its brand and increase in finances because they mad the effort to help the graduate with having a job. It is possible for that $4,000 to be turned into $40,00 with the right guidance. Another advantage to this is allowing the opportunity for the economy to grow. Having these foreign grads who want to stay here and work can produce big deals for the United States. A disadvantage to sending the graduates back to their home country would be the waste of money and educational service just for them to be sent back. There are many who revive money from the government and the government is not benefiting if they are not staying. It is nice to see that Americans are opening up their county to new opportunity.

Reported By: Claire Zillman   http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2014/02/20/foreign-students-visas-employment/?iid=SF_BN_River

Zillman, Claire. "For Foreign Grads, Some Hope for Employment in the U.S." Fortune Management Career Blog RSS. CNN, 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Coffee Drinking Declines 3/23/14

For many years since my discovery of coffee I have been an extremely dedicated coffee drinker. There is not a day that I go without my morning cup of coffee to give me that jolt of energy to complete my day. But there has been a recent decline in the number of coffee drinkers due to the increased production and efficiency of home coffee brewers such as the Keurig brewer. I the future, this could mean a potential loss of profits for many companies that produce non-gourmet coffee.

From an economic standpoint, the less people drink coffee the lesser the price of the coffee in stores meaning that money will be lost and companies will have to seek out ways in which they may compensate for the money that was lost. Meanwhile, coffee consumers who do not have the income to purchase home brewers may opt for an alternative and cheaper source of caffeine. Some of those sources may include soft drinks, energy drinks, and caffeinated teas. This factor may result in the increase in profits for the companies who produce these caffeinated beverages. Some of the local non-gourmet coffee sellers such as 7-11 and Quick Trip gas stations and stores will be greatly affected by the substantial decline in numbers of consumers.

Although there are many downsides to this finding, there are also many advantages. One of the advantages being that consumers will save time, gas, and money by using home brewers instead of going out to purchase a cup of coffee. Another advantage is no more hassle of trying to have that cup of coffee. Often times when going to 7-11 I see a huge crowd of people surrounding the coffee. With a home coffee brewer there will be no more need to experience the wait. So after all, the decline of coffee drinkers is very understandable.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/22/coffee-drinking-americans_n_5013544.html?utm_hp_ref=business

Nicholson, Marcy. "Americans Are Getting Even More Pretentious About How They Drink Coffee." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.