Choose one of the scenarios below and write a three-paragraph essay describing its effect on prices for food, housing, and oil. Remember that the future is always uncertain, so there's no right answer. Make your best guess as to what might happen in each case based on the economic concepts you've learned so far.

Pay particular attention to how consumer demand would change and how the event would affect production costs and the business cycle.

a. The president signs a free-trade agreement between the United States and Brazil.

b. The Federal Reserve chairman says that the central bank will raise interest rates.

c. The Environmental Protection Agency relaxes environmental rules on timber production.