Applying Business Concepts to Current Events

This term we will be covering many basic business concepts. Let us find some examples of these
concepts at work in the world today. Find two articles from current news sources and discuss the
relevant concepts in these articles.

Step One – Find Two Articles
Find at least two articles in newspapers, magazines or online that describe the current business
environment. Of course, we recognize this past year businesses have been significantly impacted
by the COVID virus pandemic. Just pick any business situation in which you are interested –
unemployment rates / the stock market rise / the price of gas / the trade deficit / mortgage rates /
the importance of small businesses to a thriving economy / why is the price of gasoline so high
right now? / Is the Federal Reserve Board raising rates? Lowering rates? Why? / etc. – Feel free
to pick anything business related.
Do not use reference sites like Wikipedia or government sites. Find articles about news
events. I want you to look for current news items.
Look at newspapers (NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post), magazines (Time,
Newsweek, Business Week), or the online sites for these publications or any other online news
site (CNN, MSN, PI.com). Look for reliable sources that check their facts.
DO NOT COPY TEXT!

Step Two – Write a Summary/analysis of Both Articles.
Summarize each article. Include:
Citation/source. If it is online, include a link. If it is in print, cite the publication and
date.
What is the relevant history/background of this situation? An article about high lumber
prices might include some important explanations – perhaps a shortage due to reduced
logging because of bad weather, or maybe there is a high demand from home builders in
California.
What business concept is being illustrated by the article? An article about high lumber
prices might illustrate supply and demand, etc. Write a paragraph about how the concept
applies, what affect it will have (on the economy, on you, on your city, whatever). Feel
free to express opinions, speculation, whatever. This is where you will show me you
have been thinking and analyzing, not just summarizing what you have read.