Sports Authority Going out of Business

Daniel Tollar

Mr. Reuter

A1 Economics

May 8, 2016

Sports Authority Bankrupt?

Recently, Sports Authority has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since they’re $1.1 billion in debt, it looks like this is a smart move. Sports Authority have decided to sell all of their assets as they’re auctioning off most of them on May 16, 2016. They will be closing 140 out of 450 stores around the country and will be closing two distribution centers. But, since Forbes is reporting that “Sports Authority officials have notified the United States Bankruptcy Court that the company would be unable to reorganize — and would instead pursue a sale — meaning all 450 Sports Authority stores nationwide will close.” According to the retailer, they posted a net loss of $156.6 million with total revenue of $2.6 billion in the fiscal year ended Jan. 30. Obviously, in this case, Sports Authority was yet to make a profit since the early 2000’s.

Over the last decades, there have been newer, more appealing competitors. Such as: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dunham’s Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain, Burghardt Sporting Goods, etc. Since this is the case, the demand for sporting goods will be increased since Sports Authority is closing their stores and their customers will have to go elsewhere. With all of Sports Authority’s employee’s left unemployed, this results in future outlooks for future businesses that are hiring. Dunham’s Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain, Burghardt Sporting Goods, etc., will all have an increase in revenue this next year due to the future loss of their biggest competitor in a business perspective.

The question is out there whether or not the 2008 recession sparked this downfall of Sports Authority. With the recent competition that Sports Authority have been brought up against, it also makes people think that they drove them out of business. According to a business article on The Denver Post, the main reason Sports Authority had developed this huge debt and their bankruptcy is because the retailer’s failure to adapt to changing consumers taste.

Works Cited:

Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 15 May 2016.

"Is Sports Authority Closing All Its Stores?" Florida Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2016

"Why Sports Authority Is Headed for Bankruptcy." - The Denver Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2016.

Joseph Fernandez - Airport Security

Everyone hates going through airport security. It’s as long and inconveniencing experience which can lead to uncomfortable situations with a stranger patting you down or rifling through your luggage. Recently however, this slow and tedious process is being drawn out in airports across the U.S. due to shutdowns in TSA management. It seems that the TSA has been the center in a political battle, in which the bill to allow the Department of Homeland Security to fund TSA is being blocked in congress. Because of this, the 243,000 TSA agents necessary to upkeep our airport security may be required to work without pay until a compromise can be reached.

The Transportation Security Administration was created to help ease the country’s fears of flying  in the face of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. There was a sharp decrease in demand for travel by airline as Americans didn’t trust the security that the airlines provided. Flights were grounded for the next few days and necessary precautions were taken, but it took years for the market to fully recover.

In this age, however, the TSA are under scrutiny for offering seemingly endless hassles for a service that has been proven to be ineffective in stopping real terrorist attacks. There is debate whether or not the benefits of increased security outweigh the time and inputs that it takes to go through and uphold it.

As this debate goes on however, thousands of americans are working without pay, and millions more are experiencing delays that cost them hours of their time. Hopefully a fair resolution can be reached soon, but in the meantime business trips have a new opportunity cost that can equate to a few hours at the airport or even an extra night stay away from home.

Girl Scout Cookies Made Me File for Bankruptcy

Kierra Schwab

4/18/2016

A3

Mr. Reuter

Girl Scout Cookies Made Me File for Bankruptcy

How much would you pay for a box of Girl Scout cookies? What is your price limit for these completely irresistible snacks? Half a decade ago, a box of Girl Scout cookies would go for about $3.50, which albeit expensive was doable. However as the years have passed these cookies’ pricing has grown fairly substantially and in many areas people shell out $5 for just one box. This is not even the price they should be, if the price of cookies kept up with inflation rates since 2004 “...the cookies would now cost $5.84 a box.” (Moyer). Even with the expected 10-15% sales loss, profits won’t take too harsh of a blow this cookie season, which is one of the reasons why the price is not yet nearly $6 a box.

Despite the recent raise in pricing, Girl Scout cookies still receive an extremely high yearly revenue, approximately $700 million in profit since 1999 (McEnery). Considering how popular these desserts are, it’s no wonder the sales are doing fine, I myself recently bought a few boxes in a moment of weakness and contributed to this enormous powerhouse of elastic goods. I am part of the reason why Girl Scout sales aren’t hurting too badly because with my own contribution I helped the shift taking place in the Girl Scout cookie’s economic equilibrium. The supply of cookies went up, but the demand of the consumer for cookies is so strong that even with the bigger expense, about the same amount of people are still willing to pay for their fix of peanut butter patties (aka, the superior scout cookie).

If the taste of these cookies doesn’t convince you enough to spend half your college fund on them, a lot of the profits go to helping your local council and scout troops. This means the next time you can feel people judging you with their eyes while you fill your arms with enough Caramel Delights to last the winter, you can simply retort to their stares with the satisfying fact of helping your community. This in turn helps the economy, which means that it’s ok to take out that second mortgage for just one more box.

   

Works Cited

(Moyer, Liz) "$5 Thin Mints? The Changing Economics of Girl Scout Cookies." WSJ. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

(McEnery, Thorton) "How the Girl Scouts Built Their $700 Million Cookie Empire." Msnbc.com. 30 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Los Angeles Rams

DJ Muller

Mr. Reuter

Economics

4/28/16

The Rams have moved back to their home in Los Angeles but they also brought a massive bill for their new stadium. The stadium is said to seat 80 thousand people and be the most expensive stadium ever. The final cost is expected to be 2.6 billion dollars. That's more than a billion more than the Jets Metlife Stadium which was the previous most expensive. The 3.1 million-square-foot multipurpose venue will be the league's largest International architecture giant HKS have been contracted to design the venue and have announced that it will center on a 19-acre transparent canopy, which will cover the entire stadium and parts of the surrounding development. Preliminary stats reveal nine levels featuring 70,250 general seats, approximately 250 suites, and nearly 20,000 club seats and loge boxes.

The previous stadium opened 20 years ago and held 66 thousand people total. This difference in attendance will increase the rams yearly income which in turn will give the Rams more spending money for players. Even Though the city of L.A. is dumping a lot of money on the Rams now this stadium will be more than just a football stadium. The stadium will likely be a new center of the city and host many events out of football season and make money back in no time at all.

Even though the stadium has an immense cost to begin with it’s overall a massive pull factor and will bring in tourist all year round for football and concerts among many other events.

Works Cited

"Los Angeles Rams' Stadium to Be World's Most Expensive." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

World Cup: More than Just Entertainment

World Cup More than Just Entertainment

Matt Gahan

Mr. Reuter

Economics

3 May, 2016

All around the world people enjoy the game of soccer and the world cup is just one example of how much people enjoy it.  According to the final figures from FIFA and Kantar media, the 2014 world cup in Brazil reached an estimated 3.2 billions viewers over the span of the entire world cup.  It was also said that one billion viewers alone were accounted for watching the final game on either their phones, televisions, computers or at the stadium, Estádio do Maracanã.  Considering these numbers it’s no wonder why countries are so captivated to host this major event in order to gain the economic benefits from the consumers that come with it.  

The first benefit that comes from this massive venue is that the swarm of people coming into the country to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity forces change on the infrastructure in a good way by increasing airport size, hotel size, improvement of quality of stadiums, more efficient transportation systems, etc due to the rising demand that comes with it.  It also accelerates projects because the people in charge of them want to be able to profit from the venue so they prioritize the completion of them.  After the world cup is finished the country still gains an increase of tourist attraction and this creates jobs and drives down the unemployment rate.  A report predicted 3.2 millions jobs have been created after this in civil construction, fast food, entertainment, business services and so on.

Another benefit from hosting this revenue is the increase of global trade used, in turn increasing that country's GDP not only in the span of the world cup but over years after.  As seen in the picture below of every country that’s hosted the world cup from 1954-2006 combined the GDP grows by almost an entire percent the two years after it’s hosted!  Since soccer is a multi-internationally watched sport corporations from all around the world want to try to get in and profit from the event.  This gives the Brazilian businessmen an opportunity to make international ties, which brings more knowledge and consumption to their economy.

In summary hosting the world cup is a very big deal for many countries and the underlying benefits that most people don’t realize are happening are actually affecting the economy of that country in so many ways which is another reason why the world cup is such a big deal beyond entertainment.

Works Cited

"Word Cup Benefits." FIFA International. N.p., n.d. Web.

"2014 FIFA World Cup™ Reached 3.2 Billion Viewers, One Billion Watched Final." FIFA.com. N.p., 16 Dec. 2015. Web. 03 May 2016.

"World Cup Economy." Wikipedia.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2016.

NBA Playoffs

John Carle

Mr.Reuter

Economics

5/2/2016

Nba Playoffs

The Nba playoffs are in force right now, with the first round coming to end and the second one starting. The playoffs are both great for the Nba team and the state that the team is from. There are many factors that come into play with the nba playoffs and economics. First is how often the team gets to the playoffs, second is the fan base of the team, and lastly who is the other team they play.

A big factor with the playoffs is how often the team gets to the playoff for example the Golden State Warriors are a very good team and they had a high chance of making in farther into the playoff which generates a ton more revenue for that team. For the 16 teams that make it into the playoff the team is giving $194,000  no matter if they win a game or lose a game. That is not counting all the tickets and merchandise that is sold during the playoffs. Therefore being a better team and making it farther into the playoff you have a huge trade off of a lot more money. The winning team is award 2.3 millions dollars from the NBA, the runner ups are award 1.5 million dollars.

Second factor is the fan base of team or their customers. The bigger name team the better the team is going to do with selling tickets. For a example a team like Cleveland or Goldenstate are going to have a much easier time selling tickets because they are good teams and they also have a huge fan base. Compare to a team like Detroit Pistons who do not have a large fan base. Due to a larger fan base teams are able to raise there prices of the tickets because the fans are willing to pay for them. The average nba ticket is about $177 during the regular season but if the team makes it into the conference finals that raise to $717 per ticket. So the teams that have a large fan base are going to have huge profit compare to a team that going to have to sell their tickets for less because they don't have as a large fan base.

The third factor that play a factor in the NBA playoffs is who the team is playing. This mostly comes into play for a smaller team that don't have as money as superstar players on it.  This would be like a teams that are lower seeds in the playoffs, like a 1 seed playing a 8 seed. For teams that are lower seed they still have a great trade off if it means they are going to lose in a couple games. For an example during the regular season when the Golden States Warriors traveled the tickets of the home team tickets were 10 times higher compared to a small team. This is during the regular image what teams do when it's the playoffs.

Lastly this means that the playoff are a huge economic buster for the NBA, the team and the city. There is a lot of money that is spent during the NBA playoffs, from making it into the playoffs to how big the fanbase is and who all wants to go games and is willing to spend that money, and lastly the superstars you get to watch. The playoffs are great for everyone that gets to experience them.

Work Cited

"BALLnROLL - By The Numbers: The Economics Of The NBA Finals."BALLnROLL - By The    Numbers: The Economics Of The NBA Finals. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2016.

"NBA Playoffs Bracket." NBA Playoffs Bracket. N.p., 25 Apr. 2016. Web. 03 May 2016.

"NBA Playoff Tickets: Avg Prices By Team." Tipiq. N.p., 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 03 May 2016.

Spring is Here - Minha Beg

Minha Beg

Mrs. Straub

AP Econ

1 May 2016

Spring is Here!

As the snow starts to melt, people are pulling out their sunglasses and flip flops to enjoy the warm weather that we all have been waiting for. But as the weather improves, what exactly does that mean for the employment rate in the U.S? Are people more interested in getting a job or just soaking in the sun? According to ABC News, people want go out and make money so they can spend it on other activities during the summertime. This bodes well for the US economy, because the economy benefits as more money changes hands. This means that with more people employed, people are able to spend more due to an increase in their disposable income.

Currently, our economy is still not at its peak. June 2014, marked the 5 year anniversary of the end of the Great Recession and our economy is only between one-third to half of what it used to be before the recession hit. Since the economy just got of this severe recession in June 2009, 11 million jobs were needed to bring back the unemployment rate (Johnson). Linked here  is video that explains a bit more about how our economy was after the Great Recession.

Today were are in a much better spot, but still need to continue recovering to get back to the potential output. There are many businesses that have seasonal workers, so their labor demand increases during the warmer seasons. For example, Home Depot and Wal-Mart for their garden department, Six Flags, and Hershey Park. According to ABC News, in 2011 there were over 100,000 season jobs that were open. With Home Depot having 60,000 seasonal hires openings and Lowe’s having 50,000 hires. With all of these new seasonal hires, it is a good sign for the economy because with more employment, there will be a more robust economy. This allows for there to be stability in the economy because the economy is showing signs of growth and recovery. All of this leads to an increase in consumer spending and confidence, because they believe that their jobs are secure and they can spend a bit more than they did when the economy was shaky and going through the recession. All of these positive signs will feed forward and allow the economy to grow at a steady rate, increasing the U.S GDP overall and allowing us to recover from the recession that ended in 2009.

In the picture above, you can see ever since the Great Recession ended the unemployment rate has gradually been decreasing which is a good sign. As of 2015, the unemployment rate was at 5%, which the ideal rate so we are currently in a good position for unemployment; which will hopefully stay that way as more people get employed during these warmer months.

Works Cited

Fieldhouse, Andrew. "5 Years After the Great Recession, Our Economy Still Far from Recovered." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

Johnson, Tory, and Workplace Contributor. "Spring Fling: Season Brings Tens of Thousands of Temporary Jobs." ABC News. ABC News Network, 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

TYTshows. "Is It Worse Now Than During The Great Recession?!" YouTube. YouTube, 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

"Unemployment in the United States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Mar. 2016. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.