In-and-Out Burger Baby

“In-and-Out Burger” Is heading for big D town. Over the years the California chain of In-and-Out- has decided slowly but surely to expand it’s horizons to other states. And expanding I meant tip toeing since only three other states, besides California and soon to be Texas, have In-and-Out Burgers; Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. The scarcity of this burger place around America sharply raises it’s demand for these burgers. And when I say sharply, I am probably under exaggerating. The In-and-Out Burger franchise is flying out their top “burger makers,” as they are calling them, to Texas to make sure that the burgers are made correctly. Not only will this increase in jobs around the Dallas area, but also intensify the battle of the burgers. Competition of other burger joints like Whataburger, Mcdonalds, and any other fast food place that sells burgers, will increase dramatically. But, one question does remain. Will this trend of opening and establishing of In-and-Out Burgers happen all over the country? If so, will the demand of burgers from In-and-Out drop to a point that the uniqueness of these burgers are lost?

Small comfort: Gas prices break their streak

Finally, after a more than a month of gas prices rising daily, the price of gas fell one tenth of a cent ($3.984). Over the past couple of months, consumers have been spending thousands of dollars on gas alone, leaving many questioning the future prices on gas. Although this decrease of one tenth of a percent is a change from the constant rising prices, does it provide a sense of comfort for the consumers? Oil is cheaper than gasoline, and when measured, for every $1 of oil a barrel is dropped, 2.2 cents off of gas prices are knocked off. With $10 falling in the stock market of crude oil, gas seemed to have a stand still. As the price of oil lowers, gas should be at ease for a little. Gas is an inelastic demand, though, meaning no matter the change in prices, the demand for Gas will always stay the same. It’s a necessity to the everyday life of a consumer. But this doesn’t stop them from cutting back. If consumers cut back, investors grow nervous and jobs are then lost and economy starts declining. Summer trips planned by families across America are in question to be carried out or not. With gas prices, for the moment, standing still, can there be a short sense of comfort for the price of gas in the future or not? Or will gas continue to rise?

Banks lending, consumers borrowing

According to a report by the New York Federal Reserve, more consumers are willing to borrow money from banks, and in connection with, banks now and days are more willing to lend out loans. In 2008 the U.S. hit a meltdown point of debt and ever since, debt is increasing. But is debt, to a certain degree a bad thing? Debt, in terms of good can very much so stimulate the economy. If consumers feel that they are, at a comfortable time then others, able to buy more products, then isn’t that beneficial to the economy? It’s the simple rule of economics. If consumers buy, businesses are happy. Businesses are profiting, making more money and growing. This benefits the economy in so many ways. If businesses grow, job opportunities sky rocket through the roof. Unemployment rate has a chance to drop, money Is being circulated more fluidly than before. The economy has a chance to regain it’s footing. But too much debt is of course dangerous. The problem is that consumers borrow too much money then they could possibly pay off later. When consumers can’t pay off their debts, businesses, banks, or any other loaners aren’t paid. This can cause a chain reaction that isn’t wanted. When loans aren’t paid off, the economy suffers. Jobs and money are both lost. If consumers are starting to borrow more and banks are willing to lend a little more, maybe the best idea is to be cautious. To be careful on how much is lent and borrowed.

Brazilian Blowouts

http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/13/warning-getting-your-hair-straightened-could-be-hazardous-to-your-health/

            Brazilian Blowouts have been all the rage in the fashion world. This styling technique provides the person with the treatment several months of straight, frizz free hair. Recent studies, however have shown a secret dark side to this treatment. Formaldehyde is one of the ingredients used to straighten hair, and the Brazilian Blowout process exposes both the stylist and the customer to this dangerous chemical. I think that this is definitely a situation where the tradeoffs presented show a clear decision to be made. Before this study was published, there was a large incentive to get a Brazilian Blowout that was sleek smooth hair. But now, that incentive is not enough because the incentive of not getting one is your health.  This could hurt the economy however, because people who had specialized in these blowouts will be getting less income. Then, they will spend less, which will lower GDP. Also, businesses will be spending less because they will not be buying the equipment necessary to provide the service any more, and this will also lower GDP. However, it is necessary to get rid of this service because of the health risks it poses. I do not think that this change will impact the economy severely.

Exon Mobile

In 2010, Exxon Mobil <http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/fortune/1104/gallery.fortune500_most_profitable.fortune/?source=cnn_bin&hpt=Sbin> , the largest oil company in America, reported a total profit of $30.5 billion dollars. As oil prices soar to over $100 per barrel, people around the world are paying some of the highest prices for gasoline in history. This raises the question: are consumers being forced to buy overpriced fuel while the oil companies sit back and reap the benefits? A $30.5 billion profit suggests that this could be true. My family alone spends over $900 a month in gas, and because of the close proximity of our work and school, we fall below the average familial gas consumption. However, Exxon isn’t the only company to blame for high oil prices. The number 3 most profitable and second largest American oil company, Chevron, posted a $19 billion dollar profit for the 2010 business year, making it another huge contributor to high gas prices for consumers. Businesses in the U.S. have also felt the burden of expensive oil; products are now more expensive to manufacture, ship, and sell than in previous years. Nearly every person in America, and a majority of people in foreign countries have been forced to limit their spending in order to cope with increasing fuel prices. The United States government has the power to force oil companies to rethink their rates, but little legislation has been enacted to take advantage of such power. Though President Obama has had a lot to deal with since his election, it has become apparent that gas prices are not high on his to-do list. The bottom line is: oil prices are at an all time high, and consumers are being forced to pay record amounts to simply drive to work or school -- a cost that many people aren’t able to afford in the recent economic downturn. Are oil companies infringing on American gas consumers’ right to life, liberty and property? You decide.

Facebook's Next Economic Move?

Facebook will begin paying users 10 cents if they will watch certain ads. Users will be paid in “Facebook Credits” which will yield about 10 cents per ad. The Facebook credits can be redeemed to purchase goods on Facebook Deals. Facebook Deals is a program similar to Groupon. It is hard to determine whether or not this will be enough of an initiative to motivate users to view ads. Watching an ad can take a long time and 10 cents is not very much money. Although these ads are time consuming Dan Greenberg, CEO of Sharethrough, (the company making these ads), claims that the ads will be more than entertaining. So maybe the entertainment factor will be more of an incentive for users to be motivated to watch these ads. If the popularity of these ads increase the products being advertised will also increase in demand. This is a smart move made by Facebook because they will recieve a lot of revenue from the ad company because the ad company must pay Facebook in order for them to show their ads. It is too early to determine how smart of a move it was for the Sharethrough to pay Facebook to show their ads. The success of their ads will be determined based on whether the entertainment supplied by these ads and 10 cent yield will be enough of an initiative for Facebook users to want to watch the ads. If this new innovative ad idea has a successful outcome, (sucessful, meaning many people watch the ads) than it will be extremely beneficial for the company. If ads offer a good enough initiative for people than the products being advertised will increase in demand dramatically. Since Facebook is such a highly populated website, when the popularity of the ad increases the demand for the product advertised will be extremely wide spread.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/05/06/facebook.ads.mashable/index.html

-Lizzie

Japan Crisis Effect Jaguar Production

The recent earthquake and Tsunami in Japan has caused Jaguar, Now owned by TATA Motors, to have some production problems. Although TATA Motors is based in India, as with the rest of the world, many of their parts and factories are based in Japan. At the current time, little has been released as to what items the company is facing a temporary shortage of. The problem with the companies supply, however, is that TATA Motors sources many of their products from Japan. The earthquake caused a shortage of the parts that come from factories in Japan. Most car companies source their products from other small companies, such as Samsung, or other large part makers. With much production occurring in japan, other companies besides TATA are likely to be suffering from the shortages. The effects on the market of Japan are likely to be catastrophic, because of all the money they will be losing during their time of rebuilding. Their factors of production are severely limited: their land is compromised, their labor is hard to come by, and their capital is extremely limited. Honda Motor Company is another foreign company that is affected by the tsunami. The company although they sell cars in America, has plants located in Japan which have 50% or less production rate at the current time. This is very hard on the market of Japan and also hard on the companies because they may have to spend more on parts. The United States however, may benefit from the tsunami. With the production of foreign cars such as Jaguar and Honda spending more on their parts and possibly having a shortage of vehicles available, American car makers are more likely to have the ability to compete both with price and quantity available. Overall, foreign companies who source parts or have plants in Japan are currently suffering from the earthquake and subsequent Tsunami.

George Collins

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tata-motors-japan-crisis-may-hurt-jaguar-output-2011-05-10

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703864204576314330334072082.html?KEYWORDS=jaguar+land+rover

Could Lady Gaga Play a Role In The Economy?

For years and years, society has idolized pop culture icons and music artists. It is no surprise that articles with titles such as Lady Gag to Release New Song are even more popular than ever. Since the music sensations and music industry have so much influence on society, is it possible that they are helping our economy too? The answer is yes. It is no doubt that music icons are helping shape our world’s economy. Consumers want their products and with today’s technology music artists are able to create more than just music. They are able to create revenue by selling goods and services. It isn’t uncommon today to walk into a store and find a shirt with Lady Gaga’s face on it or find sunglasses that are inspired by some of her many music videos. Music sensations like these are helping fuel are economy because people want to buy products that are created by them or inspired by them. Stores selling music inspired clothing and accessories are more popular then ever. This stores help stimulate our economy by selling the products that are inspired by music sensations and the music industry and they are creating jobs. The music industry plays a huge part in our economy because they help sell products that are in high demand and that consumers want to buy.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lady-gaga-to-release-new-song-later-today-20110509

-Alanna Moore

Microsoft May Have More Than Just Word!

Over the best few years, video chat has become increasingly popular. The communication service called Skype has been more popular then ever. People are spending hours and hours video chatting with friends and family who they would not be able to see otherwise. Skype gives its consumers a more personal feel than your average phone does. By using Skype, consumers are able to see the person they are talking to making the service more comfortable because it is most like communicating with someone face to face. Since Skype has become so popular and so powerful, it is no wonder that Microsoft is plans to buy Skype. By buying Skype, Microsoft will be able to better please consumers because the demand for video chat services such as Skype are high. Microsoft will also be able to better compete with Apple and other companies. By buying Skype, Microsoft will be buying and controlling a company that consumers want and use therefore Microsoft will be worth more and their company will be even more successful. Microsoft should buy this service, so they have better control of computer program industry. Microsoft will be worth millions more. They will also be able to help fuel our economy since consumers will want their products. A demand for their products will help our economy flourish.
-Alanna M.

Help Wanted?

With the un-employment rate quickly heading towards 9% it is a shock to hear that there is a scarce for manufactures. In this article by James R. Hagergty it says that the retirements from the baby booms generation is the main cause of why they need more workers. Hagergty also mentions that in the U.S. education these days there aren't enough math and science people which is what is needed to succeed in manufacturing. The last reason Hagergty mentions is that the number of U.S. manufactoring jobs is growing, making the demand for math and science people grow larger. Manufactures are in search for talented people who can not only weld but shape metal in a lot of intricate ways. These days manufactures are in low demand for well-talented welders. Back in the day thousands of people would apply for these jobs, and today only ten people apply for manufacturing jobs. When discussing futured with friends eveyone talks about how their math and science people and how they want to be an engineer when they grow up. So they may have a scarce of talented math and science people now, but in a few years the demand for these talented people will go down and the supply of them will go up.

Texas Ranger Season Ticket Prices

A year after the Texas Rangers made their first world series appearance tickets have only increased by less than five percent. The Texas Rangers organization was able to raise the price of season tickets because the increase for demand to see the Rangers play has gone up. The main reason increases for season ticket pricing has only gone up for prime seating locations in the ballpark. However the Texas Ranger organization actually lowered some of the season ticket pricing in some of the non-popular locations. The course of action to decrease the amount one would pay for the “bad” seats and to increase the amount one would pay for the “good” makes more economical sense for the Texas Rangers organization to turn a profit. The strategic move only makes sense for the Texas Rangers organization if people only want to sit in the “good” seats. The only possible way for the new increase in prices could backfire on the organization is if people thought that it would be more of a bargain to sit in the not as good seats for a lesser price, which is highly improbable. Another main reason why the Texas Rangers only raised their prices five percent is because they are trying to increase their season ticket base for the years to come thus giving them a sustainable revenue base. The Rangers are not trying to exploit the new enthusiasm for the team by dramatically increasing prices.

-Johne

Facebook vs. Google

Over the past two years Facebook has grown a substantial amount over the Internet and threatens other Internet corporations such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Before Facebook became popular, individuals used to find out information on their browser using search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. However recently people have been using Facebook to find out all their information. This competitiveness over the Internet has recently hurt the search engine companies particularly Google, because Google is used to dominating and controlling the Internet market. Since Facebook is becoming more and more popular, Google’s success over the Internet is being endangered economically. Google feels people are starting to find out new information on Facebook thus the demand for search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing are decreased. Facebook is also making more of a profit than Google because it hires less workers and not having to pay as many people, while still putting out the same quality of information and work. Since Facebook is earning more of a profit they are able to explore and invent new ideas that they could benefit from in the future. Google and the other search engines are not hurt quite yet, but in the near future Facebook will catch up because of their profit margins. As long as Facebook’s demand is increasing and Google and the other search engines are decreasing, Facebook is looking to become a very successful company.

-Johne

LBJ 5 Year Project

Since I live very close to LBJ and use it frequently to get to where I need to go I am pleased to hear they are trying to do something with the traffic problems that occur on an everyday basis. But before things get better they are going to get worse, that of course being the construction being added on to the heavy traffic flow. I think that the new and improved LBJ will benefit not only the traffic flow but the near by business along LBJ, and the construction companies that are supplying the work and materials. This new big project will allow the construction company to hire more workers and supply more jobs. LBJ could have a domino effect on the near by business since the businesses could see more business, the business might have to hirer more workers, thus creating more jobs. The new project on LBJ can be very impactful towards the local economy. However the only hold up with the new project is that it is expensive costing around 2 billion dollars. Now on the flip side this could hurt the economy because this raises the question of how this is going to be paid for. The article says it will be paid for through raised taxes, and tolls along the new freeway. However in the long run, this looks to benefit people more than hurt them seeing that traffic will flow more smoothly bringing twice as many drivers on LBJ prospering near by businesses.

-Johne

Moms and Depression

http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/06/the-mommy-wars-and-depression/

            Mothers have a high rate of depression, which has lead to many studies on the topic. This study shows that mothers who have solid jobs have the lowest rate of depression. This can lead to a difficult decision for mothers in tradeoffs. On one hand, a working mom is giving up time that can be spent raising her kids. However, stay-at-home moms are at higher risk of developing depression. The study connects this depression rate with the income difference between a family with two working parents and one working parent. This is another tradeoff that mothers must deal with. A stay-at-home mom is gaining more time with her children, but lowering the potential income of her household. The researchers concluded that this could increase stress and lead to depression. The mother must be looking to protect her own self interest and her family's interests in her decision. Working a full time job does offer many incentives, with a steady salary. A mother who is working could be able to afford better goods for her family, which is also very appealing. Also, working mothers who make more money stimulate the economy because they have more money to spend. However, if a mother makes the decision to change from a full-time mom to a full-time worker, this could impact unemployment rates as more people look for jobs. Ultimately, the issue is a lot more complicated than just one study can cover and it should be completely up to the mother whether she works or not.

Apple News

 CNN International has declared Apple Inc. to be the world’s most valuable brand. This comes as no surprise to Americans – think to yourself, how many people do you know that have either an iPhone, iPad or MacBook? How many do you know that have two or more of those? Exactly. Apple has become a technological superpower in today’s society whose products have become a mainstay in our daily life. We RELY on our cell phones and laptops in order to communicate, accomplish tasks, gather information or simply to entertain us. Even as I write this, I am using two Apple products, my laptop and iPhone. Part of the reason for Apple’s great success is the physical quality of their computers. Even after years of use, most properly treated Apple products still function the same way that they did on day one. However, what sets Apple apart is not just their hardware, but their software. Apple’s many different operating systems, from mobile to business, are designed to be both easy to use and easy to manipulate, and this truly translates to success for the company. Apple has proven that if you provide an easy to use and semi-affordable computer for the masses, the orders will come.

-Asante Williams
http://economics.about.com/cs/macroeconomics/a/run_out_of_oil.htm

Running out of oil? Think again.

Ever since oil was embarked upon, we have been running out of it. Many people have predicted that we would have run out of oil years ago but this proves to be false since it is still being used. These predictions are far from the truth because even if we started to see vital signs of oil wells running dry, many precautions would be taken to prevent this from happening. Gas prices would rise profusely and many of the big SUV's that are so popular today would be seen in used car lots, more than on the streets. Things such as bicycles, small cars, hybrid cars, and electric cars will be used more and more to help conserve money, as well as oil, from becoming completely obsolete in the future. The ongoing reduction of oil is shown by the minor shifts of the supply curve to the left and the common associated  manuever along the demand curve. According to statistics, consumers will have found more stable resources to use around the time oil starts to experience scarcity and by that time, gasoline will no longer be needed.

PlayStation

Recently, the gaming giant Sony PlayStation was hacked by anonymous person, otherwise known as an online “hactivist.”Sony announced to their users that their system was down and that it was being put under construction. The real story was that over seventy-seven million PlayStation users personal information was breached and available for access. The criminal responsible for this breach of PlayStation’s security is still at large and is far from being caught. This has TREMENDOUS ramifications for PlayStation’s users; almost all of their information could have been confiscated and used without any of them knowing. Sony PlayStation will have to undergo a complete security makeover. They are going to have to start from the ground up, and rebuild their once indestructible security system. From an economic standpoint, the amount of new PlayStation users would most likely drop, as well as the demand for a new version of the system. The lack of security that online users are facing is immense; they are open to an attack on their information at any time. The marginal revenue for Sony and their product PlayStation will also be affected. There won’t be any additional income from selling the gaming system for a while, due to the fear of losing credit card information. Sony is now currently rebuilding their security and they have said to be in the final stages of this rebuilding. Some of the costs for PlayStation most likely won’t be affected though. For instance, the operating cost should not change as well as the marginal cost. Is this hack of PlayStation’s security going to hurt the gaming giant for the future? Or is this just one minor slip up that will be blown over in a matter of time? Only time will tell…

Corrupt Business Affects Who?

Corrupt business tendencies have often gone under the public radar. However I believe it is time to take a closer look into the corruption of large businesses. Most people do not stop to think about how insider trading, phony accounting, securities fraud, or embezzlement of large firms will affect them. In fact, most fraud cases that involve large corporations do not affect the corporation at large; it actually has most effect on common Americans who have taken the risk in being shareholders. It is terrifying to see large companies committing any type of fraud, and yet not be publicized in the media because it is the people who read the media that will ultimately be affected the most. As shareholders invest in any given company, they are giving money and ideally confidence to the company to make the shareholder money, or in the very least protect the money invested in making smart business choices. However, when a business knowingly commits fraud of any sort, they are knowingly putting their shareholders at risk of loosing large sums of money. When corporations get caught in the act of fraud they are not punished by jail, but instead, in a sense, slapped on the wrist and fined. However it is neither the CEO nor a single businessman within the corporation who ultimately committed the fraud that has to pay the fine. No, corporations take the money straight from the shareholders. In this, the shareholders loose deprecating amounts of money, while the corporation ultimately goes unpunished and continues business as usual.

Unemployment Rates Continuing to Rise

Thanks to the Federal Reserve and their recent purchase of 2.3 trillion dollars in mortgage and debt, more Americans will experience unemployment. The amount of money flowing through the economy will increase as a result of the increase in purchased bank reserves. This large amount of freely flowing money throughout the economy could easily lead to inflation. Inflation is when there is a general increase in prices but a fall in the purchasing value of money. Inflation tends to lead to more unemployment which is definitely not needed right now in the United States since our unemployment rate is at a frightening high of 8.8%. The predictions right now say that there will be a 2.2% rise in the unemployment rate. Other predictors are saying that this will create 3 million jobs by 2012, and by the end of June 2011 there will be 700,000 new jobs. The only way for this to successfully happen is if the Federal Reserve can make a clean exit from their previous record stimulus program. Surges in the money system always lead to higher prices because the value of a single dollar would decline. This then creates more unemployment since growth and good productions would be reduced. The hopes are that the unemployment rate will be trimmed down to 7.6% by the end of 2012. But the only way this could truly happen is if the Federal Reserve is smart about their decisions. So American citizens will just have to wait and hope that the future holds favorable economic conditions that could thus lower the unemployment rate. We will all just have to wait and see what happens with the Federal Reserve, which thus determines the future of 2012.

http://economics.about.com/od/incometaxestaxcuts/a/marijuana.htm

The Grim "Reefer"

Marijuana is a widely used drug in the United States as well as abroad and it is becoming more and more popular as the years progress. The only problem with this particular substance, according to our government, is that it is illegal to buy and sell. Why does our government go through so much trouble to crack down dealers of marijuana, put them on trial, and lock them up in jail when the affects of the drug are no more harmful than that of tobacco and alcohol? This is a question that is soon to be brought up in political matters because of the overbearing costs of keeping people from using the drug. The Government would make a lot more revenue from legalizing marijuana and placing taxes on it. The fight against this drug seems pointless because people will continue to produce, sell, and buy it, causing the government to use up ambiguous amounts of money. With the government's current shortage of money, their search for sources of revenue to help pay for important economic issues such as education and health care, by the legalization of marijuana doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all.   

Iphone Tracking Your Location

The mixed market of the United States allows choices on nearly every product that we purchase. Nearly every adult in the United States owns some type of cellular device. With the needs and wants of modern Americans, many people take the trade off of size for productivity when it comes to phones. More and more people are starting to use smartphones which are typically larger and bulkier than normal phones. The Apple IPhone is a strong competitor in the United States. Nearly everyone at my school owns an IPhone or some other type of smartphone. Rarely do we worry about our privacy when we use or even hold our cell phones besides simply setting a password for our friends. With Apple’s newer software version 4.3, your privacy may however be at risk. I personally have an iphone, and have never considered trading off my the productivity of my iphone for my personal protection. The 4.3 software according to two data scientists, stores up to one years location and every place where the iphone has been. The marginal benefit of being able to see where your phone has been, possibly from a parents or leaders perspective, my be useful. The marginal benefit however is not worth the privacy invasion, in my oppinion. Apple claims that the new software update should fix this privacy problem. I recommend that all Iphone users update their phone immidiatly so that their privacy is not violated. The incentive of updating your phone is that your privacy will no longer be compromised, according to apple. The competition from Motorola, Nokia, and other companies may use this as a way to sell their products or promote their products supremecy, but the economy will show which will prevail.

George Collins

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/05/05/iphone.location.fix.wired/index.html?iref=allsearch

-Mason Reiter

-Mason Reiter
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/05/anonymous-denies-psn-hack/

Bin Laden’s death affecting economy?

Bin Laden’s death affecting economy?
Could the death of the face of modern terrorism, the master mind behind the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11th, and the most wanted man in America affect the United States economy? According to Warren Buffet, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the economy most likely will not be affected. Buffet feels that due to recent occurrences like the killing of Bin Laden that the economy won’t change. History also says the same thing as Buffet. Some of the companies that would be affected by the killing of Bin Laden would be the insurance companies. The demand for better insurance or insurance in general could go one of two ways. One way would be a demand increase for insurance. The death of Osama Bin Laden could make consumers of insurance want better coverage because of the fear that Al-Qaeda might retaliate due to the death of their leader. The other way would be that insurance companies see a decrease in demand. This idea would not be practical in my opinion, but some might feel that acts of terrorism might hardly happen due to Bin Laden’s death. Back to the ideas of business genius, Warren Buffet: he feels that natural disasters will and have had a much stronger impact on the “slow” but steady United States economy. The economy can climb and fall within a day. The ten year hunt for the most dangerous man in the world came to an end in a matter of minutes. Do you think there will be a demand for things like insurance? Another set of companies that could profit from this death are the airline companies. Traveling has been a hassle ever since the September 11th attacks, but all for good reason. There could now be an increase in consumers for airline companies because they now feel more comfortable traveling abroad. The killing of Bin Laden was just the first major step in ending the War on Terror, but for now the ending process will be just as slow as the current United States economy. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/05/02/warren-liz-derail-slow-steady-recovery/

-Mason Reiter

Hackers hurting gamers.

Recently, the gaming giant Sony PlayStation was hacked by anonymous person, otherwise known as an online “hactivist.” Sony announced to their users that their system was down and that it was being put under construction. The real story was that over seventy-seven million PlayStation users personal information was breached and available for access. The criminal responsible for this breach of PlayStation’s security is still at large and is far from being caught. This has TREMENDOUS ramifications for PlayStation’s users; almost all of their information could have been confiscated and used without any of them knowing. Sony PlayStation will have to undergo a complete security makeover. They are going to have to start from the ground up, and rebuild their once indestructible security system. From an economic standpoint, the amount of new PlayStation users would most likely drop, as well as the demand for a new version of the system. The lack of security that online users are facing is immense; they are open to an attack on their information at any time. The marginal revenue for Sony and their product PlayStation will also be affected. There won’t be any additional income from selling the gaming system for a while, due to the fear of losing credit card information. Sony is now currently rebuilding their security and they have said to be in the final stages of this rebuilding. Some of the costs for PlayStation most likely won’t be affected though. For instance, the operating cost should not change as well as the marginal cost. Is this hack of PlayStation’s security going to hurt the gaming giant for the future? Or is this just one minor slip up that will be blown over in a matter of time? Only time will tell…
-Mason Reiter