Article for Personal Finance

Repair Shops are humming. As a result of the economy, one sector is seeing an upswing in profits. You are to read and summarize the main points of the following article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124096297211566031.html

Some points I would recommend that you address are: Why has their been an increase in repair shop visits? What are the consequences for manufacturers who count on new product sales? Can we expect this trend to continue? Have you had to change a buying decision and go with a repair or have you recently purchased a big ticket item for your household? What will be the long-term effect(s) on local economies if this continues? These are just a few of the questions that you are expected to answer. Please complete this using 12 point, double spaced formatting.

Not Much Longer

Summer will be here before you know it.

Personal Finance: Please answer the movie questions. These should be done in complete sentences. Once you have finished the questions, turn them in to me. You are now to move on to the following exercises in your NEFE workbook:

Read pages 30-36

Complete Exercises 3B, 3C, 3D, and read figure 3-2

When finished, see me for the Time Value of Money Worksheet

Go to Virtual Stock Market: 

http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/GameOverview.aspx

The name of the game you will be playing is called The_Players_Club. You are given $100,000. Take this money and start buying shares of different companies. You will be asked to provide a weekly ranking and tell me which stocks you own that are winners (big gains) and losers (losses). At the end of the semester, we will determine a winner and a prize will be awarded.

We will discuss the time value of money this week. Starting early benefits your retirement will be the focus.

Computer Apps: Many of you are at various stages of Alice programming. The majority of you are either engaged in the final project or very close to starting it. I cannot stress this enough, do more than the bare minimum, I am looking for creativity and evidence that you understand the basic programming controls. Once you have finished this, you are to show it to me for grading purposes and move on. Each successive day will bring new projects that are either PowerPoint or Web 2.0 centered. Keep up the pace.

Here is a calendar project that I would like you to tackle when you have finished with your Local Power Point assignment:

http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=255

Radio: Purchase orders for the wish list will be going out soon. Plan to meet next week either during activity period or after school.

Upcoming and Current Assignments

Personal Finance: Please turn in the economics assignment by end of class Wednesday. When finished with this, please make sure that you have changed your budget. Again the link is:

www.paycheckcity.com

Allow for State of Vermont and standard deductions. Once you have done this, put the revised amount into your net income column on the excel budget spreadsheet. Also, I would like you to read and review this article on student entrepeneurs. We will review and discuss this article when you have returned from break.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123975649228419167.html

In a down economy, certain sectors rise and fall. Generally, educational enrollment will increase. Apparently other sectors rise too:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123984046627223159.html

Computer Applications: Please work on finishing your final Alice assignment (game or movie). When finished with this please show me your work and I will grade it accordingly. Remember that I am looking for creativity and demonstration of your knowledge gained while working on this project.

Radio: Please continue observing the new rules that were set forth by the tech center. Have a happy and safe Spring Break. We will not be meeting for activity period this Friday.

Spring has Sprung?

Personal Finance-Quiz on April 10th over credit terms and taxes. Also, we will use this tool for our hypothetical paycheck/salary of $39k a year:

www.paycheckcity.com

Exercise 2-4 from your NEFE books is due Monday latest. After completing this, please see me about the Nissan marketing article. This will be due at the end of Monday’s class.Here is an archived digital copy of the article: http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20070523-8240.html

Computers: The final leg of Alice is approaching. Be sure to see me about your options for the final Alice project. When we return from Spring Break, we will start our unit on effective presentations, blogging and mixboox. .This is one of thousands of Web 2.0 technologies that are floating around the net. Try it out:

http://animoto.com/

Radio Station-For the foreseeable future, only two people are allowed in the radio wing (hallway and station) at a time. This is in response to the vandalism that has occurred in the Tech Center. Failure to observe this will result in suspension of broadcast privileges and possible shuttering of the station altogether. Respect the rule.