Global Economics and Trade Help Desk and Q&A

[Common Territories]

Question: what is the general state of the bond market in NS at the moment? I'm trying to price some bonds for my nation, but obviously the interest rates are going to depend on what's generally available elsewhere - is there a consensus that (at least among MT players) NS is currently operating at the same low-yield levels as IRL?

As far as I remember, the only real consensus when it comes to economics in GE&T, and more accurately across all of NS, is that the NSD (NationStates Dollar) is equal in value at all times to the USD. Other than that, I've never heard nor believe there is any consensus on the values or inflation rates of bonds on the open market. That being said, you might be able to make a storefront where nations can put bonds up for purchase at varying rates and others can purchase them. Otherwise, it'll be whatever you want to base it off of.

NSD (1.00) is indeed the standard golden rule since it's simple; otherwise we'd have to ask about each other's currency and... a lot of work, as you can see. As far as im aware, there is no practice of bonds like Aquitayne mentioned. I do know personally of others on stock market storefronts selling their currency, stock, and valuables to trade, but otherwise I myself have not looked much into the subject. Though I can think of two storefronts (I can't remember their names at the moment, sorry) that are owned by two people who run many storefronts that may run such a business - I remember them doing a lot of finance and property dealings mostly, so if people can guess who im talking about and remember their names, feel free to post them because im having a brain fart right now. Lambada (if im writing it right, sorry if im wrong, and I can't remember the user by name for some reason either) does financial things, so maybe they do bond related services too. But the fact I can't really make one assured guess means the market is either open to it or just void of it. Like what Aquitayne said, you'd likely have to establish such bonds with people personally since there is little to no bond related norm like the NSD/USD. Though a storefront that sells loans and owns bonds isn't a bad idea if people are looking into owning a profitable storefront - I know a few people who already do such practice either by their nation or their businesses buying up property/stock/other investments to earn money. When I was still mostly doing PMC work I did such practices to eliminate competition by absorbing the business/user into my fold. So it's not a bad idea that maybe even I myself may get into one day when I get more time.

[Lamoni]

Are you talking about Lyras (Lambda Financial), and Yohannes?

[New Aeyariss]

Heh I always wanted to devaluate N$D .... And replace it with Nihonese gold-backed currency as global financial reserve system.

[Common Territories]

Are you talking about Lyras (Lambda Financial), and Yohannes?

Yea, thought it was Lyras who owned it. I never looked over the storefront, but I assume he does loans and such right?

Heh I always wanted to devaluate N$D .... And replace it with Nihonese gold-backed currency as global financial reserve system.

Technically Cusc, you can't devalue the NSD/USD. NSD (im gonna use NSD from here out since it's what I go by) is the simplification of currency on NS. It's basically your money, my money, that guy on the other side of the planet, and everyone elses money simplified to a 1=1 scenario to make it easier to purchase things. Lets say my currency is well over the standard 1.00 value, it'd take less of my money to make that one NSD than it would yours, which in this example is less than the 1.00 standard. Although you could devalue a nation's currency compared to others, NSD is more an OOC standard than an IC one; you could always go through each nation's currency, but it'd be complicated business. So your hopes of devaluing the NSD isn't possible, but you could always devalue other people's currency in RP.

Thought the day I resort to using your currency as a financial reserve system will never happen

[Lamoni]

Lambda Financial

[Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland]

Lambda Financial

Thanks for the link, but that appears to be a private financial services company. What I was talking about was government bonds ("gilts", for UK users; "T-bonds", for US users; etc.).

In any event, if there's no consensus as to worldwide interest rates I don't think what I was imagining would be possible anyway.

[Lamoni]

Lambda Financial

Thanks for the link, but that appears to be a private financial services company. What I was talking about was government bonds ("gilts", for UK users; "T-bonds", for US users; etc.).

In any event, if there's no consensus as to worldwide interest rates I don't think what I was imagining would be possible anyway.

I was responding to the question asked me by Common Territories.

[The United Federation of Chasetopia]

Am I allowed to ask for advice on this thread?
If so, please check out my storefront and help me with some pointers and advice. (feel free to TG them to me)

[Arctica-Aleutia]

I'm new to this part of the forum, and want to ask something:
I know you have a link to a calculator to determine how much money you have, but what rules regarding money are in place? Do I need to wait a while to "regain" money after I buy something? Because otherwise I'd just have infinite cash.
And in case I ever make a storefront, do I just add what I earn to the money I get based on my economy?

[Crookfur]

I'm new to this part of the forum, and want to ask something:
I know you have a link to a calculator to determine how much money you have, but what rules regarding money are in place? Do I need to wait a while to "regain" money after I buy something? Because otherwise I'd just have infinite cash.
And in case I ever make a storefront, do I just add what I earn to the money I get based on my economy?

No real rules as such, it's generally up to you to consider what could be afforded. Different storefronts require you to Roleplaying as different entities ie generally defence storefronts would involve you Roleplaying as part of your nation's government and you would work out the funding for that as a government would ie announce/agree a big headline contract price but actually be making payments over time as stuff is delivered. On the other hand a storefront for a shop/restaurant chain would generally involve you acting as a company/ individual with an investment to make so calcs and budgets really don't come into it the same.

You could act as though you have infinite money but people are going to spot that if you go into several big storefronts and make outlandish "purchases".

As to storefront income IIRC most people just assume that any profit is already accounted for in your national finances.

In short you don't directly gain or lose anything on GE&T but it simply gives you a chance to Roleplaying and detail certain aspects of your nation and can provide a creative outlet and showcase.

[Narashia]

Is there a template for a storefront for an oil company?

[Lamoni]

Is there a template for a storefront for an oil company?

No, there are no such templates that i'm aware of, but here are a couple of guides talking about storefront formatting:

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=227511

https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=255862

[Skvelsia]

When people ask to buy products on a storefront, how do you give them the product and take their money?

[Maltropia]

When people ask to buy products on a storefront, how do you give them the product and take their money?

It's all roleplayed, so you can presume it's delivered (instantly, if you want to and they don't specify otherwise). Money is also roleplayed, although sometimes you might be asked to post on a banking storefront to make payment.

[Prosorusiya]

So I am continuing my long work of creating an Airline, which I think I will actually manage to do over the break...there's just one question I'd like to ask: The guide to creating an airline states that I ought not to serve make believe destinations... something with which I whole heartedly agree, as my Airline Gorsky Avia is meant to be a smaller regional airline with fewer planes available to it (mostly Suhkoi Su-100s). But how is that meant to work in NS? I mean, my country exists on a alt-version of Earth, but some people live in regions whoes landmasses do not in anyway resemble the real world... how should I go about resolving this conundrum?

[Stormwrath]

Hello again.

I would like to ask: what should be included in a write-up about a tech product, and where can I get inspiration for it? What would be the recommended stuff that people would read about my product if they came across my storefront? I went through many electronics websites to get some examples and I seem to be at a loss.

[Unnamedland]

Hi. I'm interested in starting a development fund where you can donate or request money from the fund for various reasons. (I think Gegeia made one of these once, but it has become inactive.) I'm relatively inexperienced at setting up a storefront, does anyone have advice?

[The Recon Empire]

I operate a private foundation using the funds that we earn from the various businesses. It's used to promote arts, education and creative ideas, but we do provide funding for political, children, humanitarian and most recently environmental efforts.

The Legion Foundation

[Neu Engollon]

Hi. I'm interested in starting a development fund where you can donate or request money from the fund for various reasons. (I think Gegeia made one of these once, but it has become inactive.) I'm relatively inexperienced at setting up a storefront, does anyone have advice?

Regrettable name. Laudable idea.

The Legion Foundation

Yes, Legion Foundation is great. There's also a few other inactive ones floating around out there. Esperian was another one that took it to a whole different level with a private peacekeeping army and whole bureaus of aid workers in many regions and nations. Sadly, he's since CTE'd last I knew.

Hello again.

I would like to ask: what should be included in a write-up about a tech product, and where can I get inspiration for it? What would be the recommended stuff that people would read about my product if they came across my storefront? I went through many electronics websites to get some examples and I seem to be at a loss.

This depends and is very subjective. Many would say you should include some original line art or other originally created images. I think that if you are trying to market military tech, it becomes much easier to get customers, but standing out from the mediocrity is the trick. Keeping it short, sweet and flashy does the trick, but a few folks like to read the extensive write ups, too. It helps to know how to RP the purchased tech in a future thread, but also is just fun for miltech geeks.

If you're doing civilian tech, it becomes much harder to get attention to your storefront, so it would help to look at some other storefronts out there to get ideas. Basically though, you need to answer these questions:

• What is your product called?
• What does it do for the user that owns it?
• What makes it unique in comparison to similar products?
• Perhaps a little history as to how it has been utilized, if it's been in use in your nation for a bit.
• Why it was designed and for who originally? (ie Was it government commissioned?)

Obviously there's more to it to making a really good storefront, but that's a solid start. Add some images aka a 'little flash', some BB code formatting and you have a good start. Also, DO NOT plagiarize RL sites or other NS storefronts, no matter how appealing it may seem. You will eventually get caught. If you like someone's work on their storefront, maybe shoot them a TG to ask them if you can incorporate some of their work into your own storefront. You'll find if you ask first, most NSers will be flattered, honored and pretty amicable to helping you out.

[Wakendom]

I've got some quick questions here.

I'm new, and pretty much 102% clueless in this area. If I wanted to open a storefront or airline, how would I do that? And how would I know if it does well? And, also can I? My country's economy, as said on my Wakendom page, is 'Good'. Would I need a better economy do this?

Thanks for answering.

[Torontonian Canada]

Greeting's fellow states,

I have a proposal, which I plan on enacting through the role playing (because the WA won’t technically accept it). I would like to bring it here first to see how much traction it can gain, and how people react to it. My proposal is basically a NS Central Bank. It would first acknowledge 5 regional currencies (by application process) (more could be added later by more applications), and those would them get set conversion rates to NSD (starting at a 1-1 rate). Those regional governments would then purchase either commodities from companies within their region amounting to no more than 10,000 NSD. Every NSD after that will begin to depreciate their currency. However, whenever someone transfers currency from one dollar to another, the value of the new dollar will increase. For example, if someone within the SIR chose to spend 1 crown within The Black Hawks region (or purchase something within that region), The Black Hawks can make it mandatory to only purchase in TBH currency (pro's and cons of this can be discussed later). If they still go through with the purchase, then the value of TBH goes up, because people want it more, and the value of the SIR crown will be slightly lowered because less people want it, and there is less money in the system. It involves incredibly complicated algorithms and formulas which I am still currently editing (and would like some help with that, so please telegraph me if you can help), but all purchases within the Global Economics and Trade Forum would be fine, as long as someone notifies the central bank of the purchase. In addition, regions would need to make the central bank aware whenever they either buy back currency from citizens (making the currency worth more), or when they print currency (making it worth less). Our methods of contact would be through the nations region. What we have is a small site, with a password, and we have two ways of making this work. For the regions that fully trust the central bank, they can simply have nations individually send us records of official transactions (RP of course), and we would keep track of how much money they have. For those who don’t trust us, they can create a copy of the spreadsheet, and track their region themselves, and then send us a monthly update of the spreadsheet. We update the currency exchange rates and values every month as well. These are all in order to make sure that we are all on the same page, that way the trades actually mean something. I am more than open to suggestions, and, in addition, I am trying to simply make it so that we can keep track of how much money is actually out there.

Moreover, I am also keeping track of a registry for businesses which will keep them accountable to how much they are buying/selling, and how much it all costs (in order to make sure people are buying things with money they don't have.

To start, I would like regions who are interested in joining to simply post a comment with

Region Name:
# of Nations in region:
Official Currency of Region:

In addition, I am looking for a group of 10 nations who have moderate to plentiful game experience to help me run/operate this central bank. Please send me a telegraph if interested, or simply comment on this post.


This will revolutionize the game, and make the economics part actually matter. Please comment or send me a telegraph.

[Crookfur]

I've got some quick questions here.

I'm new, and pretty much 102% clueless in this area. If I wanted to open a storefront or airline, how would I do that? And how would I know if it does well? And, also can I? My country's economy, as said on my Wakendom page, is 'Good'. Would I need a better economy do this?

Thanks for answering.

As to how you do it: You invent your storefront company, make a story about it, maybe create a few products and then post a thread here.

Of you get lots of replies that are people wanting the goods/services on offer then yeah you are doing well.

You can create your storefront/company at any time. Your game side nation stats have no impact on how you Roleplaying your storefront and vice versa. That is unless you want to take the stats into consideration when choosing how your company would perform and operate but this is part of the bigger story of how you RP your nation.

Of course there is also the question of getting people to believe/accept any claims you might make but that's part for the course for any RP type.

[Torontonian Canada]

I've got some quick questions here.

I'm new, and pretty much 102% clueless in this area. If I wanted to open a storefront or airline, how would I do that? And how would I know if it does well? And, also can I? My country's economy, as said on my Wakendom page, is 'Good'. Would I need a better economy do this?

Thanks for answering.

As to how you do it: You invent your storefront company, make a story about it, maybe create a few products and then post a thread here.

Of you get lots of replies that are people wanting the goods/services on offer then yeah you are doing well.

You can create your storefront/company at any time. Your game side nation stats have no impact on how you Roleplaying your storefront and vice versa. That is unless you want to take the stats into consideration when choosing how your company would perform and operate but this is part of the bigger story of how you RP your nation.

Of course there is also the question of getting people to believe/accept any claims you might make but that's part for the course for any RP type.

Ok, so another thing, in answer to the questions about conversions is that at any time, you can go on to the [nationstates_central_bank and they will be able to tell you the conversions for all of the MAJOR currencies. If you want to become part of the central bank, simply send me a telegraph, and we will always accept you. Also, if your region would like to offer thier currency to be one of the official NSCB currencies, please just send me a telegraph.

Good luck to all of you,

nationstates_central_bank

[Yohannes]

Ok, so another thing, in answer to the questions about conversions is that at any time, you can go on to the [nationstates_central_bank and they will be able to tell you the conversions for all of the MAJOR currencies. If you want to become part of the central bank, simply send me a telegraph, and we will always accept you. Also, if your region would like to offer thier currency to be one of the official NSCB currencies, please just send me a telegraph.

Good luck to all of you,

nationstates_central_bank

Torontonian Canada: Your central bank storefront is quite interesting, I have a couple of things I want to ask. Telegram me and we may be able to work out something together hehe

[Yohannes]

It's not often that I come here to ask a question, but I am wondering of the feasibility (when applied to NationStates RP realms) of the following scenario: at the moment, I roleplay my government as in debt (I don't have to, but it's fun). I have estimated that there are more than 300 nations that are conducting their (the private institutions or for a few the public also) trade and finance (physical and through financial instruments) using my currency, and also as their government reserves holding in my currency, the Quertz russling or Quertz for short. Based on that estimate I should be able to use something along the line of a quantitative easing method as the US Fed did in real life and get away with it easily, multiple times, as institutions and individuals residing in these nations would gobble up my currency available to be bought anyway (for a wee while, I haven't storytelled or roleplayed anything of that sort also)

Okay, I can do the above multiple time, but wouldn't it be considered as a form of cheating? I can simply print out money after money, create 'paper' wealth, and none of the negative effect would apply to me because of my unique situation at the moment. I wanna hear some of your opinions, thank you!

-Donata

Edit: and even if you are unsure of what I am talking about, don't be worried to post your opinion forward! There's no right or wrong as far as I am concerned

Another edit: I realise the unique situation of my nation in character wise, and that very few other nations can get away with doing anything like this. This is the reason why I wanted to ask the opinions of the long time NS economic roleplayers: it's not a question of whether it can be done, but whether it is ethical/right (in your opinion) or not.