Introduction: Rick runs a small manufacturing plant that produces parts for the auto industry. Rick is thinking of expanding his operations to meet the increasing demand from car manufacturers. With this increased demand his business must grow to meet those demands. Ryan would like further information on whether it would be wise to expand his operations and make sure that the economy isn’t going to tank the second he does so. Reading information on estimates of car sales will show us an approximate need for his automotive parts.
Business Cycles, Unemployment, Inflation, International – Comparative Advantage, Exchange Rates, Trade, Etc., Monetary Policy and Interest Rates, and Fiscal Policy and Unemployment.

Business cycles of the economy are defined as either a recession or an expansion. Recessions, as we know it, are when the economy is on a free fall and economic growth is not happening. The GDP is actually receding which is why it is called a recession. Expansion is when the economy is expanding and GDP is increased every quarter. We are currently expanding from in the last two quarters, and consumer confidence is higher than the previous quarters after the recession. The current unemployment rate is 6.7 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is down from previous years. This is further proof that the economy is on the correct path to expansion and further away from the recession we experienced in 2009. This a good sign for future operations of the Ricks company. Inflation is another determining factor of the economy. “The latest annual inflation rate for the United States is 1.1% through the 12 months ended February 2014, as published by the US government on March 18, 2014.” Inflation rate determines the price level increase from time period to time period.
This means that it takes 1.1% more money to run day to day operations