South Park — Margarita Securities

Stan tries to return his dad’s Margarittaville machine so that his family can have a bit more money during the recession. Turns out that his dad bought it on a finance plan, which has been repackaged and sold to investors. Similar to mortgage-backed securities, loans can be issued for assets and then re-packaged to spread out risk among risky investments. If you’re looking for an easy way to teach about the MBS crisis, this scene does a great job condensing the major components.

Thanks to Zoe Cook-Nadel for the suggestion!

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South Park — It’s Gone!

Stan heads to the local bank to put a check from his relative into a bank account, but the South Park Bank is pretty terrible with their investment strategy. Unknowingly, the economy is about to tank and depositors are finding their money is suddenly gone.

Thanks to Zoe Cook-Nadel for the suggestion!

2018 0

Trading Places — Orange Juice Trading

It’s time to short sell the orange juice commodities in Trading Places. Billy and Louis wait for the right price to sell and then hear from the Secretary of Agriculture that the market for oranges won’t be as bad as anticipated so then turn around to buy cheap.

2017 0

Trading Places — Pork Bellies Going Down

Billy, played by Eddie Murphy in Trading Places, works through the process of why pork belly prices are declining during the Christmas season.

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Wanda Sykes — Insider Trading

Wanda discusses insider trading in her comedy bit and notes that everyone participates in some form of insider trading. While Martha Stewart may have been sent to jail for insider trading, her cousin who works at Walmart will call her and tell her not to buy certain products because they’ll go on sale next week.

2017 0

EconStores — Keynes vs Hayek Debate

The great debate between Keynes and Hayek in rap form!

2017 0

Always Sunny — Gas Price Speculation

Mac, Charlie and Dennis come up with another poorly thought out get rich quick scheme by trying to start a door to door gas selling firm. After getting a loan from the bank, they plan on buying a mass quantity of gasoline, waiting for the price to go up, and selling it for profit later on. The gang believes that when the gas prices reach a certain point they would be able to undercut the gas companies and sell the product at a higher price than what they bought it for.

2017 0