Blank lined writing paper
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Debut Albums and Young Man free essay sample
A more established man of his word was playing a series of golf. Out of nowhere his ball cut and arrived in a shallow lake. As he was endeavoring to recover the ball he found a frog who, to his extraordinary shock, began to talk! Kiss me, and I will change into a lovely princess, and I will be yours for seven days. He got the frog and put it in his pocket. As he kept on playing golf, the frog rehashed its message. Kiss me, and I will change Into a wonderful princess, and I will be yours for an entire month! The man kept on playing his golf match-up and indeed the frog stood up. KISS me,and I will change into an excellent princess, and I will be yours for an entire year! At last, the elderly person went to the frog and shouted, At my age, Id rather have a talking frog! The Last Ticket During a bustling occasion end of the week, a lady who was eight months pregnant went to the railroad station to get back to her significant other. At the booking counter, when her turn came, there was just one ticket left.Taking pity on an exceptionally old woman behind her in line, she offered her billet to the old woman and sent a wire to her significant other which showed up with a little blunder: Shall be coming tomorrow, overwhelming surge in the train, eave birth to an old woman. A Business Loan A representative strolled Into a bank in San Francisco and requested the advance official. He told the official that he Is going to Europe on business for about fourteen days and expected to obtain $5,000. The bank official clarified that the bank required a security for such an advance. So the agent gave over the keys also Rolls Royce stopped in the city before the bank. Everything looked at, and the bank consented to acknowledge the vehicle as insurance for the credit. A bank worker drove the Rolls into the banks underground carport and stopped it there. After fourteen days, the specialist returned, reimbursed the $5,000 with Interest, which came to $15. 41. The credit official stated, We are exceptionally glad to have had your business, and this exchange has turned out to be pleasantly, however we are somewhat baffled. While you were away, we looked at you and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is the reason would you trouble to get $5,000? The representative answered, Where else in San Francisco would i be able to leave my vehicle for about fourteen days for just 15 bucks? A Big Decision A six-year-old kid approached his dad one day and reported, Daddy, Id like to get hitched. His dad answered reluctantly, Sure, child, do you have anybody extraordinary as a main priority? Truly, addressed the kid. l need to wed Grandma. Presently, hold up a moment, said his dad. You dont think Id let you get hitched with my mom, isn't that right? Why not? The kid inquired. You wedded mine. 100 Penguins A truck driver was driving 100 penguins to the New York Zoo when his truck stalled on the freeway.The driver escaped the taxi and was taking a gander at the motor when a second truck driver halted before him and inquired as to whether he required any assistance. On the off chance that the other man would take the penguins there. He concurred. A few hours after the fact, the second truck driver drove past the first, who was all the while looking out for the expressway for help to come. The penguins, in any case, were still on the truck! l thought I requested that you take those penguins to the zoo, yelled the main driver. The second answered, l did, yet I had some cash left, so were heading off to the film now. General store Encounter A youngster was strolling through a market to get a couple of things when he saw an old woman chasing after him. Barely caring about it, he overlooked her and progressed forward. At last, he went to the checkout line, yet she got before him. Excuse me, she stated, Im sorry if my gazing at you has caused you to feel awkward. Its Just that you look Just like my child who Just kicked the bucket as of late. Im extremely heartbroken, answered the youngster, Is there anything I can accomplish for you? Indeed, she said. As Im leaving, would you be able to bid farewell mother? It would cause me to feel vastly improved. Without a doubt, addressed the youngster. As the elderly person was leaving, he got out, Goodbye mother! As he ventured up to the checkout counter, he saw that his absolute was $127. 50. In what capacity would that be able to be? he asked, l just bought a couple of things! Your mom said that you would pay for ere, said the agent. Do you have the right to enter paradise? A man passed on and went to paradise. A holy messenger met him at the Gates of Heaven and stated, Before you meet with God, I figured I should let you know weve analyzed as long as you can remember, and you truly didnt do anything especially positive or negative. Were uncertain about whether we can concede you into paradise or not.Can you reveal to us anything remarkable you did that can assist us with settling on a choice? The recently shown up soul thought for a second and answered, Yeah, when I was driving along and happened upon a lady who was being pestered by a gathering of goons. So I pulled over, got out my tire iron, and . NET up to the pioneer of the posse. He was a major, solid, bushy person with tattoos all over his body and a ring penetrated through his nose. All things considered, I detached the nose ring from his nose, and revealed to him that he and his pack would be wise to quit disturbing the lady or they would need to manage me! Im dazzled, The holy messenger reacted, When did this occur? The man answered, About two minutes prior. Return my pony! A cowpoke rode into town and halted at a cantina for a beverage. Shockingly, local people consistently had a propensity for singling out outsiders. At the point when he completed his beverage, he discovered his pony had been taken. He returned into the bar, helpfully flipped his weapon into the air, got it over his head without looking and discharged a shot into the roof. Which one of you sidewinders took my horse?!?!? he shouted with astonishing forcefulness. Nobody replied. Okay, Im goanna have another brew, and if my pony hostile to back outside when I finish, Im goanna do what I did in Texas! Furthermore, I dont like to need to do what I did in Texas! A portion of local people moved fretfully. The man, consistent with his promise, had another brew, strolled outside, and his pony had been come back to the post. He outfitted up and began to brave of town. The barkeep meandered out of the bar and asked, Say accomplice, before you go.. . What occurred in Texas? The cowpoke turned around and stated, l needed to walk home. Science Class water? Senseless Suzie promptly lifted her hand. Indeed, Suzie, whats the appropriate response? , the instructor inquired. Suzie addressed gladly, The compound equation for water is HICKMAN! Her educator looked confused. He asked, What are you discussing? Suzie answered, Yesterday you said the recipe for water is H to O! Improve Your Memory! Two older couples were getting a charge out of agreeable discussion when one of the men asked he other, Fred, how was the memory center you went to a month ago? Extraordinary, Fred answered. They showed all of us the most recent mental methods representation, affiliation it has had a major effect for me. That is extraordinary! What was the name of that center? Fred went clear. He thought and thought yet couldnt recall. At that point a grin broke over his face and he asked, What do you call that bloom with the long stem and thistles? You mean a rose? Indeed, that is it! At that point he went to his better half and solicited, Rose, what was the name of that center? Only One Copy A youthful official was leaving the workplace at pm when he found the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) remaining before a shredder with a bit of paper in his grasp. Tune in, said the CEO, this is significant, and my secretary has left.Can you make this thing work? Surely, said the youthful official. He turned the machine on, embedded the paper, and squeezed the beginning catch. Astounding, magnificent! said the CEO as his paper vanished inside the shredder. l simply need one duplicate. Superb Golf Moses, Jesus, and a more established hairy man were playing a series of golf. Moses ventured up to the tee and hit the ball. It made a beeline for the water. Rapidly, Moses raised his club and the water separated, permitting the ball to move to the opposite side onto the fairway. Next, Jesus came up and hit his ball toward a similar water hole.This time it floated for a couple of moments over the water. Calmly, Jesus strolled over to it and chipped it up onto the green. The more established man at that point teed up and whacked the ball which made a beeline for a close by parkway. It bobbed off the highest point of a truck and moved down the canal of a close by house, at that point landed securely on a lily cushion in a little lake where an enormous bullfrog gulped it. At that point a huge falcon dove down and got the frog. As hello disregarded the fairway, the frog burped and the ball dropped out of his mouth and into the gap for a delightful gap in one.Moses went to Jesus and stated, I despise playing with your father. The Butcher and the Lawyer An attorneys hound, running about released, beelines for a butcher shop and takes a meal. The butcher goes to the legal counselors office and asks, If a pooch running released takes a bit of meat from my store, do I reserve a privilege to request installment for the meat from the mutts proprietor? The legal advisor answers, Absolutely. At that point you owe me $12. 50. Your canine was free and took a meal from me today. The legal counselor, without a bar, composes the butcher a check for $12. 50.A hardly any days after the fact the butcher gets a letter from the legal counselor: $45 due for interview. Silver Hairs One day, a young lady was sitting and watching her mom do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She out of nowhere saw that her mom had a few strands of white hair standing out rather than her brunette hair. She saw her mom and curiously asked, you accomplish something incorrectly and make me cry or troubled, one of my hairs turns white. The young lady pondered this disclosure for some time and afterward solicited, Mom, why all of grandmothers hairs are white? Three Rooms in Hell A man bites the dust and goes to Hell. The Devil meets him at the entryways and says There are three rooms here. You can pick which one you need to spend time everlasting in. The Devil takes him to the primary room where there are individuals dangling from the dividers by their wrists and clearly in distress. The De
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Themes in Mario Puzos The Godfather free essay sample
This paper is an examination of the various subjects set forward in Mario Puzos epic, 'The Godfather.' This paper looks at the auxiliary plan of the book, 'The Godfather,' by Mario Puzo. The writer subtleties how the story structure of the novel prompts a large number of the troubles that perusers of the novel will confront. A portion of the issues remember challenges for how the creator of the novel can make his crowd to some degree understanding and thoughtful to the character of Michael Corleone and the brutality that is related with the wrongdoing family. The subject of good clash and internal disturbance is found all through the novel and not at all like different books about the Mafia it is told exclusively from the point of view of the lawbreakers, from within, not from the outside glancing in. The writer feels that the way where this material is introduced powers singular perusers to think about the inquiries and upsetting good issues raised by this novel. We will compose a custom article test on Topics in Mario Puzos The Godfather or then again any comparative point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page 'The principal moral quandary is the difficulty that outlines the account or the plot of the book. Wear Corleone came to America to proceed with the family 'exchange' of wrongdoing but to turn into an American example of overcoming adversity in a real manner. Notwithstanding, he can't, after the war between the distinctive Mafia wrongdoing groups takes his designated replacement Sonny, to empower his child Michael to lead the real life the Don wished him to. The Don wished to win social just as financial authenticity for his family in America. He wished to life the American dream, in spite of the fact that the fantasy started on badly gotten gains. He wished to wash his blood cash clean.'
Friday, August 21, 2020
The Evolution of Industrialization, from the Putting Out System to the Essay
The Evolution of Industrialization, from the Putting Out System to the Factory System - Essay Example Through this technique for working, the proprietor of the business would relegate a specific contractual worker and make him boss. Subsequent to employing the central contractual worker, the new temporary worker would thusly concentrate on the gathering and choose a few other junior contractual workers each with a specific undertaking that they would later on consolidate to see to the finish of the venture (Meyer, 2012). Through this strategy, the lesser contractual workers and their colleagues were allowed to hold their gatherings anyplace regardless of whether it implied leaving the site. This is the reason this framework was alluded to as ââ¬Å"putting outâ⬠in light of the fact that the rich businesses would simply putting out wares to the laborers who worked in their homes and these would putting out to other junior specialists. Through this framework, the client had an enormous task to carry out as the main contractual worker would not begin work without guaranteeing that he had all that he required from the client. It was the customerââ¬â¢s obligation to buy a portion of the significant stuff for the temporary worker to draw in his men and think of an alluring item. The putting out framework was exceptionally powerful during the start of the modern insurgency. Through this putting out framework, British officers got their guns by reaching different temporary workers in the London territory. These temporary workers would subsequently look for individuals that new inner regions in the city where they would get guns. Through this, each individual in the chain got some commission. Notwithstanding, there are cases that the contractual workers sent indicated covetousness and could even endeavor getting away with the cash. The officers were splendid and they would in the end make up for lost time to them. The bungalow business is another that won adequately during this period. This was a less confounded area of the business in that the clients knew the specific living arrangement of the spinners. With this data, they would go, leave subtleties and afterward visit following half a month or days relying upon the
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Community Drainage System - 1100 Words
Community Drainage System (Coursework Sample) Content: Community Drainage System Strategic Plan West Coast University Ruth Joseph Dr. Mart Kessack July 31st, 2016 Introduction Community water drainage system is a serious infrastructure issue that can cause a health hazard. A drainage system is made up of the natural water ways like streams, Man-made water ways like ditches and trenches, natural and artificial water-holding centers and the sewer system (Canadian Standards Association, 2015). These systems ensure water runs down stream into the right places to avoid stagnation that would otherwise be a health issue. Drainage as a health issue arises from the stagnation of water due to disruption of their paths and break down of the sewer system (Canadian Standards Association, 2015). The community is supposed to protect the systems from disruptions like constructions, farming and lack of maintenance. According to Craun et al. (2015), from 1920 to 2002, America has reported 1, 870 outbreaks of water-borne diseases. Waterborne diseases were the reason for 207 outbreaks were reported and 433, 947 illnesses. Craun et al. (2015) breaks down where the illnesses we re reported as in non-community water systems, community water systems, and individual systems. In these three categories, non-community water systems report the highest number of illnesses at 42% followed by community systems at 36% and finally individual systems at 22% (Craun et al., 2015). These cases led to thousands of illnesses reported. The trend has however been decreasing with time. The following graph still shows some community systems and the increasing rate of outbreaks resulting from community drainage systems. Community drainage systems are managed by collective responsibility, the government, and local authority. Main infrastructure features like streams and sewage system are managed by the government. Trenches and ditches are mostly a collective responsibility of the community or local authorities like city council if they pose danger to health. Trenches and ditches in farms and personal property are managed by individuals. Communities do not have the special machinery required to open swamps and maintain Trenches. They also lack funds to pay experts who can be involved in redesigning a drainage system in case of a problem. The lack of authority, funds and machines amputates the communityà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s ability to solve drainage issues in their environment. Legislation managing waterways and drainage system also lacks and therefore makes it hard to control human activities that disrupt a drainage system. The drainage system is also part of the measures to manage natural disasters lik e storms and if not included in that package cannot be controlled (Canadian Standards Association, 2015). The table above showed an increase in cases related to water-borne disease outbreaks. This is because the community drainage systems are increasing as more trenches and underground ditches are built to pass waste water. This is in response to increase in populations, homes, apartments and industries that must be served by the community drainage system. Strategic Plan Goal 1: The Community should be aware of health hazards associated with Drainage The community must be first made aware of the risks poor drainage is causing to health. They have to understand the relationship between water-borne diseases and stagnant water. * Carry out a public awareness campaign on the community and televisions. * Use survey engineers to educate people on the community drainage patterns and necessary action in case of a disruption. Goal 2: Legislation or community policy prohibiting human activity on drainage reserve land Land covered by sewage storage tanks, sewer lines, streams, trenches, swamps, etc. is land covered by the drainage system. To control disruption of this drainage, the land should be placed under public land legislation or community land. * Land covered by drainage system should be protected from misuse by law. * Punishment should be stipulated by law, on offenders that disrupt drainage system by building houses, putting farms on them, etc. Goal 3: Programs to maintain the sewer and drainage system Drainage system breaks down due to poor maintenance. Often the system in maintained after a public outcry, health hazard or streams have been blocked permanently for some time. At this time the damage is already done. A community should have a defined and written program of how the system will be maintained. * The county council or town council or even central government should have a written and signed program governing how drainage systems will be maintained. It can st...
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Implications Of The Debt Crisis Essay Online For Free - Free Essay Example
Sample details Pages: 14 Words: 4090 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? The recent global crisis had multiple causes: The general cause appears to be a rapid growth of the level of debt (especially in the case of households), accompanied by sharp increases in real estate prices. However, the complexity of the crisis was increased by the existance of individual reasons in each country. The article aims to synthesize some of the most important reasons that led to the current crisis both general and country-specific (USA, Iceland, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Spain). Donââ¬â¢t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Implications Of The Debt Crisis Essay Online For Free" essay for you Create order Last but not least, the article analyses some of the implications of the crisis for the markets and for the regulators. Introduction The financial crisis that hit the global economy in 2007 and is still continuing in 2011 has been the largest such crisis in the post-world war period. Its implications have been so numerous and some of them so radical that understanding this crisis has become a necessity for all of us. Having started as a liquidity crisis, it developed to the extent that it generated a recession in many countries, and it has had implications not only on the banking system, but also on the real economy and on the economic dynamics. The current article aims to make a synthesis of current research on this topic with regard to the multiple causes of the recent crisis (in the USA and in Europe) and to its implications. Causes of the crisis Despite the unprecedented global reach of the recent crisis, the European Commission (2009) believes some of its causes are similar to causes of previous crises, such as the Asian crisis in late 1990s or the crisis of the Nordic countries in the early 1990s. The common feature was that all these crises were preceded by long periods of rapid credit growth, low risk premiums, abundant availability of liquidity, strong leveraging, soaring asset prices and the development of bubbles in the real estate sector. Indeed, McKinsey (2010) made a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the evolution of debt levels during the pre-crisis period in several countries in the world, which revealed that after 2000 debt grew significantly in most mature economies, enabled by the globalization of banking and a period of unusually low interest rates and risk spreads. The borrowing increased substantially in the case of households, especially through home mortgages. The household debt level increased s ignificantly relatively to the household disposable income, which was ignored because the ratio of debt to assets appeared stable before the crisis due to the rising house prices. The level of debt was less worrying at the start of the crisis with regard to the business sectors, with the exception of the commercial real estate sector and some banks. Coming back to the level of debt, the McKinsey (2010) piece of research also quantified the structure of debt for a selection of 10 developed countries and 4 emerging countries in 2008. These results are summarized in the chart below, which shows what percentage of the debt of each country was issued by government, financial institutions or non-financial institutions, and what percentage of a countrys total debt is represented by household debt. All the numbers represent a percentage of the countrys GDP. Figure 1: The structure of debt for several countries as of 2008, as % of GDP. (Source: McKinsey (2010) report). These numbers have also been used by the Economist (2010a), which took the previous study further by analysing the dynamic of the increase of the government debt in analysed countries. Thus, in the 10 developed countries, the total debt increased from 200% of GDP in 1995 up to 300% of GDP in 2008. Some countries displayed even higher increases in the ratio between debt and GDP, such as 1200% for Iceland and 900% for Ireland. In the case of the latter two countries, the debt level proved unsustainable and pushed them into crisis in 2010. The chart shows that the countries for which the ratio between debt and GDP reached the highest level are the peripheral countries of the Eurozone (Greece, Portugal, Italy), but also USA, Japan, Canada and othes. The countries with the lowest ratio of debt to GDP in the sample were Russia, India and China, which also happenned to have a spectacular recovery recently following the crisis. At a more specific level, each of the countries hit by the recent financi al crisis had individual causes which influenced the development of the crisis both in specific countries and overall, since in some situations a strong contagion effect of the crisis could be noticed. With regard to the specific contry reasons detailed below, several economic indicators may be mentioned. The charts below detail the evolution of these economic indicators for the countries included and for the period 1995 2011. All data is available from the IMF and it is updated as of October 2010: Figure 2: GDP % change for a selection of countries, 1995 2011. (Source: IMF Database). The numbers represent the percentages of year-on-year changes for the constant price GDP. The numbers for 2010 and 2011 are IMF estimates, updated as of October 2010. Figure 3: Current account balance for a selection of countries, 1995 2011. (Source: IMF Database). The current account includes all transactions other than those in financial and capital items. The major classifications are go ods and services, income and current transfers. The focus of the balance pf payments is on transactions (between an economy and the rest of the world) in goods, services, and income. The numbers for 2010 and 2011 are IMF estimates, updated as of October 2010. Figure 4: General government gross debt as a % of GDP for a selection of countries, 1995 2011. (Source: IMF Database). Gross debt consists of all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. This includes debt liabilities in the form of SDRs, currency and deposits, debt securities, loans, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes, and other accounts payable. The numbers for 2010 and 2011 are IMF estimates, updated as of October 2010. Figure 5: Evolution of the unemployment rate for a selection of countries, 1995 2011. (Source: IMF Database). The numbers for 2010 and 2011 are IMF estimates, updated as of October 2010 . The USA was the first country to be hit by the crisis, and this was due to a series of issues. Firstly, the large mortgage debts, which were mentioned above. Secondly, some large financial institutions in the USA were confronted with a gradual decline in the quality of capital, as they had asset growth with increasing amounts of hybrid capital instruments, such as certain forms of preferred stock (McKinsey (2010)). Such capital instruments were unable to compensate for credit losses during the crisis, which brought a degree of vulnerability for those financial institutions in front of the crisis. Thirdly, instead of keeping loans on their own balance sheets, the banks moved towards the originate and distribute model, which led to a decline in lending standards (Brunnermeier (2009)). The banks used to create diversified portfolios of credit instruments (mortgages, corporate bonds, credit card receivables etc), then slice these portfolios into a number of tranches and sell these slices to various categories of investors. Each slice used to receive a credit rating from rating agencies and as a result, the slices were ranging from the superior senior tranche (the safest tranche, AAA credit rating, the first in line to be paid out of the cash flows of the portfolios, but with the lowest interest rate) to the equity tranche (the most junior tranche, lowest credit rating among the tranches, the last in line to be paid out of the cash flows of the portfolios, but with the highest interest rate). The low lending standards generated by such actions from the banks, combined with the cheap credit available at that time resulted in the housing frenzy that laid the foundations for the crisis. Icelands specific reason behind the financial crisis was, according to The Economist (2008), the fact that it had built a financial house of cards. Iceland represents an extreme case of a huge financial system towering over a small economy. Behind the encouraging image of low u nemployment, income per person above the average in the European Union, huge investments in green energy and inflows of foreign investment, the countrys 3 largest banks and its households built huge amounts of debt. The credit crisis was enough to make Icelands banking system, its credit rating and its currency all collapse at the same time. As a result, Icelands GDP fell by 15% from its top point to the bottom reached during the crisis. Ireland also proved to be different with regard to the way in which it was hit by the crisis. Morgan Kelly, an economist at University College Dublin, cited by The Economist (2011a), said that What happened in Ireland was very boring. There were no complex derivatives or shadow banking systems. This was a good old 19th-century, or even 17th-century, banking collapse. It appears that Irelands only reason to become hardly hit by the crisis was that during the previous decade, Ireland had turned into a nation of property developers. Ireland enjoyed average annual GDP growth of almost 10% between 1993 and 2000, which continued even afterwards, fueled by the low interest rates environment and excessive lending. Irelands fall started when property prices started falling in 2006 2007, and it continued with the crash of shares in Irish banks, the transformation of the banking crisis into a sovereign-debt crisis, the big rise in its borrowing costs and it culminated with Irelands acceptance of a bail-out from the EU and the IMF in November 2010 (the second such situation for a EU country). The rescue package received was EUR 85bn, out of which EUR 35 bn is aimed at recapitalising the Irish banking system. The cost of recapitalising the Irish banks has indeed proved to be significant. According to Deutsche Bank (2011), if the EUR 35bn amount previously mentioned would be fully used for this purpose, the estimated total cost of recapitalisation of Irish banks would reach 52% of Irelands 2009 GDP. Greece was the first EU country to receive a bail-out from the EU and the IMF in May 2010, worth EUR 110bn. Some of its greatest issues have been its high level of public debt and its high budget deficits. As The Economist (2010c) noticed, in 2001 when joining the euro, Greece already had a public debt in excess of 100% of GDP. Adoption of the euro currency allowed more favourable terms for the refinancing of government debt, and the strong GDP growth masked the weakness of Greeces public finances. Greeces government debt reached 115% of GDP in 2009 and its current account deficit reached 14.6% of GDP in 2008. Greece had leant too heavily on consumer spending and relied on foreign capital to supplement its low savings (The Economist (2010c)).Nelson et al (2010) went into further detail and listed additional reasons behind the Greek crisis: high government spending, weak revenue collection, weak enforcement of EU rules regarding debt, and others. In addition to these facts, Greece also faced certain restrictions, suc h as: impossibility to devalue the currency due to the membership into the eurozone, and the lack of competitiveness of its economy partly due to overhiring and overpayment in the public sector (The Economist (2010d)). Last but not least, Nelson et al (2010) noticed that complex financial instruments may have played a role in helping Greece accumulate and conceal its debt. One implication of the Greek crisis was the contagion effect to other European countries. Even if these countries only shared few of Greeces issues, investors still have become more prudent with respect to Portugal (which also has a high budget deficit), Spain (in need to restructure its economy) and Italy (heavily indebted). Portugal increasingly started to be seen as a potential victim of the sovereign debt crisis following Greeces crisis. Portugals weaknesses have been a large public debt and a high budget deficit, but its situation has been slightly different from that of Greece. Portugal enjoyed rapid econ omic growth before joining the euro in 1999, but afterwards it has been impacted by a steady loss of competitiveness in wages. The 1990s have been a lost decade for the economy and as a result, it became difficult to manage the countrys public finances (The Economist (2010c)). Moreover, the further expansion of the European Union towards Eastern Europe in 2004 has diverted part of the foreign direct investment away from Portugal towards the new members. Investors expect April and June 2011 to be an important test for Portugal, as Portugal will need to refinance EUR 9.5bn of public debt then. The yield of 6.7% paid by Portugal for the ten year bonds sold in January 2011 is very close to 7%, which some Portughese officials have declared that is not a sustainable level (FT, 7th Jan 2011). Spain also started to be seen as a potential victim of the sovereign debt crisis following Greeces crisis, even if Spains public debt level (at less than two thirds of its GDP) is not large relativ ely to the other countries. However, Spains problems lay with its local banks (cajas) and its housing bust. According to The Economist (2010b), Spanish banks have outstanding loans of EUR323bn to property developers (equivalent of 31% of GDP); and they already had provisions of EUR87bn for bad loans by the end of 2010. Deutsche Bank (2011) explains that in addition to this exposure of the banking system to the constructions sector, Spain is also negatively impacted by the highest level of unemployment among the major developed countries. In this respect, Spain is similar to Ireland. Deutsche Bank (2011) also highlights the major differences between the Irish and Spanish banking systems: the better condition of the two largest and internationally diversified Spanish banks (vs the major Irish banks), the heavier reliance of the Irish banks on inter-bank sources of funding, the stronger banks overall capital adequacy before the intensification of the crisis in Spain vs Ireland. Implications of the crisis for Europe The implications of a crisis can be numerous and they can refer to the financial sector, the real economy, regulations etc. As Cogman Dobbs (2008) pointed out, the impact of previous crises on the real economy has not always been the same. The direction of the impact was due to the actions pursued by governments for recapitalizing banks, introducing stimulus measures and restoring investors confidence in the economy. According to Reinhart Rogoff (2008), countries usually need two years in order to start recovering from past recessions after major banking crisis. However, there were several situations when a much longer period was needed for starting the recovery: Japan needed almost a decade (the lost decade) following the crisis in the 1990s; the USA also needed a longer time to start recovering after the Great Depression in 1929 1933, when 28% of GDP was lost. Cogman Dobbs (2008) suggest that one important aspect to assess is the impact that financial crises have on the availability of credit in relation to this, the impact of a potential shortage of credit has on the real economy and on consumer confidence has to be assessed. With regard to the availability of credit, the McKinsey (2010) report proved that 44 out of the 45 crises identified between 1929 2010 were followed by periods of deleveraging, where they defined deleveraging episodes as periods in which the ratio between total debt and GDP declined for at least 3 consecutive quarters and the total fall was at least 10%. Along these results, the report would expect that a series of sectors in some countries would deleverage in the near future (UK, USA, Spain, Canada and South Korea). The report also concluded that deleveraging episodes usually last 6-7 years and their initial years may also witness a recession. On a different note, it is interesting to mention that Lund Ruxburgh (2009) have tried to assess how the fortunes of the power brokers have changed following the recent crisi s (McKinsey Global Institute defined in 2007 the power brokers to be four large groups of investors which seemed to have an edge over others: oil exporters, Asian sovereign investors, hedge funds and private equity firms). Their conclusion was that in almost any scenario (depending on the future development of the crisis) the previously defined power brokers would remain significant players in the global capital markets. The big winners are the oil exporters and Asian sovereign investors, as the source of their wealth will persist: trade surpluses. As noticed by the authors, the rapid growth of hedge funds and private equity firms has stopped abruptly, but they are still expected to recover in the future. With regard to Europe, the implications have also been very diverse and of a very diverse nature: the decoupling of the core European countries from the peripheral ones, the creation of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), debates on the topic of European integratio n, debates on complex derivatives and their regulation, implications for the government debt issuance, and others. As mentioned above, one important aspect of the crisis is that it has not impacted all European countries uniformly. In fact there is a big divergence between the core countries (Germany, France) and the crisis-hit peripheral countries (Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain): while the core countries have been enjoying an economic recovery since 2010, the peripheral countries are still struggling with recession. Being part of the same monetary union (ie the eurozone), they are goverened by the same monetary policy. While all eurozone countries were at the height of a financial and economic crisis, there was no debate regarding the apropriateness of the monetary policy. However, following the recent divergence, such debates have increased, showing a difficult task ahead of the European Central Bank regarding the rising of the interest rate for the euro. The four main pe ripheral countries mentioned above do represent a significant 18% of euro area GDP. However, Germany and France together represent 50% of euro area GDP. (Deutsche Bank (2011)) One of the consequences of the financial crisis in Europe was the creation of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) in June 2010 by the 16 euro area member states. The EFSF has been fully operational since August 2010 and its purpose is to finance loans for euro area member states which are experiencing difficulty in obtaining financing at sustainable rates (EFSF (2011)). EFSF will be able to borrow up to EUR 440 bn by issuing bonds guaranteed by the euro area member states, and it has received the best possible credit rating (AAA) from all three credit rating agencies (Fitch, Moodys and Standard Poors). The money borrowed through such bonds will then be lent to struggling euro zone countries. EFSF issued its first bond on the 24th of January 2011 and met spectacular demand on this occasion, bankers not being able to recall such a large order book for any bond, government or corporate (EUR 40bn in orders vs EUR 5bn notional sold) (FT (2011b)). This first bond has been seen as a landmark deal and some investors said it could be a precursor to the first common eurozone bond. The European Commission also agreed on the creation of a permanent crisis mechanism: the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). ESM will become operational in 2013 when the EFSF expires and it will build on the existing EFSF. The aim of ESM will be to support countries of the euro zone which may find themselves in financial distress. ESM loans will enjoy preferred creditor status and they will be junior only to IMF loans (EFSF (2011)). The recent crisis also brought changes in the government debt issuance practices in the 16 euro zone countries. Before the crisis, these practices had converged to a common standard which involved placement of long-term, fixed rate debt denominated in national curren cy via competitive auctions. De Broeck Guscina (2010) have proved that after mid-2008 this standard could not be followed anymore, because of the increase in sovereign funding needs and the fall in investor risk appetite, which made risk premia rise. They performed a research on a sample of 3,000 debt issuances by governments in the euro zone and Denmark in 2007 2009, which was divided into a pre-crisis period (mid-2007 to mid-2008) and a crisis period (mid-2008 Dec 2009). The main findings of the research were that the new standard for issuing government debt in the countries studied was defined by shorter maturities (because such debt is less risky for the investor), foreign currency denomination (because such debt shifts currency risk exposure from the investor to the debtor), and/or floating rates (because such debt transfers the risks related to changes in global interest rates and in the countrys perceived creditworthiness from the investor to the debtor). Therefore, the im pact of the crisis was that it has forced governments to assume additional risk. This negative effect was especially pronounced in countries with high deficit and high debt. De Broeck Guscina (2010) concluded that the mentioned change in the standard for government debt issuance allowed governments to deal with the reduced risk appetite of investors and to limit the impact of high deficits and debt on interest payments, but at the same time exposed them to significantly higher risks of refinancing and repricing, and sometimes to exchange rate risk as well. One other implication of the crisis was that the use of complex financial instruments has been more and more questioned, and so were the financial regulations that are concerned with them. Nelson et al (2010) remind that during the crisis, the Greek governments used derivatives to conceal the true level of Greeces debt. For example they traded currency swaps through which they were receiving upfront payments which under EU acc ounting rules could not be recorded as loans, even if in essence they were. Some do believe that derivatives played an important role in creating Greeces debt crisis and as a result, an urgent need to tighten financial regulation for derivatives has been identified. Last but not least, on a global level, the development of the crisis also brought critics of the credit rating agencies. As stated in a previous article (Minescu (2010)), following each financial crisis there has been a lot of talk on the failure of ratings issued by credit rating agencies to predict the crises. This failure may be understood in multiple ways, such as: failure of a rating to predict default, failure of a rating to be stable, failure of multiple agencies to issue similar levels of credit rating for the same country at the same time, or failure of an agency to issue a rating in the correct category of ratings (ie investment grade or junk). Talk of the failure of ratings has been central to this recent c risis as well and in August 2007 the head of Standard Poors even resigned amid criticism received from politicians and investors about the agencies failure to signal the risk of securities backed by sub-prime mortgages. As a result of the new wave of critics directed at rating agencies during this crisis, regulators are again aiming to improve the legislation concerned with conflicts of interest that result from the business models used by certain agencies (FT (3rd Feb 2011)). Conclusions The recent global crisis had multiple causes: The general cause appears to be a rapid growth of the level of debt (especially in the case of households), accompanied by sharp increases in real estate prices. In this respect, the crisis may have similarities with previous crises, such as the Asian crisis in the early 1990s. In addition to this, there have been individual causes for each country: In USA -the increased use of hybrid capital instruments and the adoption of the originate and distribute model by the banks, which involved the creation of diversified portfolios of credit instruments and their resale as a redesigned product; in Iceland the huge growth of the debt to GDP ratio to 1200%, which led to the fall of local banks; in Ireland -the burst of the real estate bubble in the context of a debt to GDP ratio of 900% generated huge costs for recapitalizing the Irish banking system; In Greece unsustainable budget deficits, lack of competitiveness of its economy due to overhi ring and overpayment in the public sector, inappropriate use of complex financial instruments; in Portugal large public debt and high budget deficit; in Spain the housing bust and its negative impact on the Spanish banking system, and the highest unemployment rate among all developed economies. Several countries have already received external help from the IMF and other organizations: Greece, Iceland, Ireland etc. The implications of the crisis have also been very complex: lower availability of credit, the decoupling of the core European countries from the peripheral ones, the creation of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), debates on complex derivatives and their regulation, implications for the government debt issuance, criticism of the credit rating agencies for failing to predict the crisis, and others.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Happiness and Impossible Standards in Aristotles The...
Humans, throughout recorded history, have searched for a proper way of living which would lead them to ultimate happiness; the Nicomachean Ethics, a compilation of lecture notes on the subject written by Greek philosopher Aristotle, is one of the most celebrated philosophical works dedicated to this study of the way. As he describes it, happiness can only be achieved by acting in conformity with virtues, virtues being established by a particular cultureââ¬â¢s ideal person operating at their top capacity. In our current society the duplicity of standards in relation to virtue makes it difficult for anyone to attain. To discover true happiness, man must first discover himself. Physiologically, happiness is activity of the mind, predominantly inâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Each individual determines what kind of conduct is acceptable through societal conditioning achieved through personal experience. This very personalized path demonstrates that there is no true way to happiness that is the same for each individual. The only way in which one can discover their way to happiness by learning the virtues which are expected of them by society is putting them into practice. Aristotle puts great emphasis on the action and less on the knowledge of the action. Many people, particularly the young in Aristotleââ¬â¢s opinion, since they have less experience in their world will attempt to appeal to the multiple virtues that conflict with each other as they are presented to them. The mark of a wise man of experience is the ability to determine that which is good for him. Once one is able to discover the societal virtue corresponding to their particular nature and is able to pursue that which makes them active of mind and body in conformity with this relative virtue, they can be truly happy. The struggle of life is finding out exactly what makes you happy and how it is best to pursue that activity in your own culture. Aristotleââ¬â¢s definition of happiness is valid, but is only attainable in ancient Greek culture, as their virtues correspond to the cultureââ¬â¢s values. In order to attain happiness in our own cultureShow MoreRelatedAristotle s Philosophy On Ethics1330 Words à |à 6 PagesNicomachean ethics is the name of Aristotleââ¬â¢s work on ethics based on his lectures. It is said that Nicomachean ethics were named after either Aristotleââ¬â¢s father or son , as they were both named Nicomachus. Aristotle believed that happiness is what makes a person pure. To prove his point, Aristotle believed that there were four moral virtues that worked together; the virtue of great soul, the virtue of justice, the virtue of practical judgment and the virtue of being a truly good friend. TenRead MoreAristotles Philosophy on Purpose Essay884 Words à |à 4 Pag esexceptionally impressive. His greatest known works are the Athenian Constitution and Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotleââ¬â¢s works of Ethics explore a vast area of topics. He states, ââ¬Å"The goal of the Ethics is to determine how best to achieve happiness.â⬠In order to achieve happiness, one must live a virtuous life, in the mind of Aristotle. Interest is sparked in this area that Aristotle writes of because there is a natural need for Ethics in human life. John K. Roth states, ââ¬Å"Aristotle assumes that all things, humanRead MoreAristotle s Theory Of Aristotle1629 Words à |à 7 Pagesteachings of his mentor, Plato, Aristotleââ¬â¢s philosophy finds its answers to major questions from the perspective of the teleological worldview. In the very first sentence of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle introduces his teleological world view by asserting that every activity is aimed at a telos, or end, and how men move from potency to act. Aristotle then proceeds to outline his argument using the Teleological approach as he tries to answer the question: ââ¬Å"what is happiness?â⬠However, he answers itRead MoreThe Ethical Theories Of Aristotle s Theory Of A Life Well Spent On The Planet959 Words à |à 4 PagesI am unwilling to commit to only one view presented by Anthony Kenny in his chapter on ethics. Aristotleâ⠬â¢s theory on how we should live our lives is noble and worthy of being used as an example of what humans should attempt to become during the time allotted on the earth, but his theory seems to be unnecessarily complicated and tedious. Epicurus provides a theory that is more holistic but also is not without its defects, primarily that of treating the virtues as merely a means to an end. My wantRead MoreComparing Aristotle And David Hume1156 Words à |à 5 Pagesto focus on, Aristotle and David Hume. Specifically, the focus is on their ethics: what those ethics are, how they differ from each other, and which is superior. Superiority will be determined by the philosophyââ¬â¢s usefulnessââ¬âwhether the epitome of a philosophyââ¬â¢s virtue is attainable by man; and how conducive the philosophy is to human happiness. In both of these respects, Aristotle is superior to Hume. To Aristotle, ethics is not an exact science, itââ¬â¢s ruled by broad generalizations that work mostRead MorePast and Present of Civil Relations1931 Words à |à 8 PagesCivic Relations: Past and Present Introduction In his book, Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle presents five main components that encapsulate civic relationships: happiness, virtues, deliberation, justice and friendship. Aristotle introduces the concept of utilitarianism, which is key to the thoughts and ideas he portrays in Nicomachean Ethics because according to him, one must do whatever will bring the individual the greatest good. As human beings, we must focus on the good purpose-- on the end productRead MoreIntroduction to Ethics1269 Words à |à 6 PagesEthics What are we like, and what should we do? As humans we are faced with many decisions in life, which in and of itself, distinguishes us from the animal kingdom. Im sure other animals make decisions, but as humans we take into account our values and morals. In choosing which path to take with some of lifes decisions, ethics, are often at the center; heavily influencing our choices between what is right and what is wrong. Which are usually defined by society, as to what is acceptableRead MorePlato Vs Aristotle : Determining Good1668 Words à |à 7 Pages Plato vs. Aristotle: Determining Good In this paper, I will present both Plato and Aristotleââ¬â¢s arguments for what their personal views are on determining good. Plato believed that knowing good was equal to doing good. He said that if a person knows the right thing that will automatically lead him to do the right thing. Aristotle on the other hand believed that knowing good was not enough to be good. He believed that one had to practice good if one is to be good. Plato was idealistic. He believedRead MoreAristotle s View On Human Nature Essay2321 Words à |à 10 Pagesconcept of virtue theory, this is described at some length in the text Nicomachean Ethics. It is this view on human nature that I intend to explain and discuss throughout this essay with reference to some more recent philosophers to show that Aristotleââ¬â¢s view was not only linked directly to Athenian society but has managed to stand the test of time. A point I will return to later in a yet to posted article ââ¬ËCan we Consider Modern Ethics to be Aristotelian or Nietzschean?ââ¬â¢, this article is much better writtenRead MorePolitical Philosophy and Plato Essay9254 Words à |à 38 Pagescontemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Platos dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. Through his portrayal in Platos dialogues, Socrates has become renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics, and it is this Platonic Socrates who also lends his name to the concepts of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, or elenchus. The latter remains a commonly used tool in a wide range of discussions, and is a type of pedagogy in which a series of
Diversity- Rutgers Essay free essay sample
Some problems with diversity among Rutgers students have recently been the subject of five oââ¬â¢clock news channels everywhere with the tragic death of a student whose privacy wall was shattered when a video explicated his undercover sexual orientation. This is solely the fault of some ignorant people and has not, in any way, changed my view of Rutgers because what a college application cannot measure is information about prejudices that an applicant carries with them, until this essay has been made required. In my high school career, I have seen and learned about hate crimes and prejudice behavior, finding myself completely disturbed at the extent to which people will go to show their hatred of someoneââ¬â¢s practices. I have also been on the forefront of many gay slurs, but never take offense to them. The trite, yet true, statement that ââ¬Å"sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt meâ⬠has dwelled in my brain since the day I heard it as a child. We will write a custom essay sample on Diversity- Rutgers Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The words and remarks exacerbate throughout the years, but my reaction has never grown into more than an eye roll. I do dress different than most males and never took an interest in sports, rather taking interest in the sciences, fashion, and theater. Part of what I bring to Rutgers is my unconventionality. With my myriad of interests, I bring open mindedness to new things and people, never being at a loss of words when involved in a conversation with somebody new. Being raised as an Italian, family and bonds are very important to me, something I cherish above any material thing. Something my family taught me was to never stop helping someone in need until they are not in need anymore. I bring these same family values with me where ever I go, so Rutgers can be sure that this will be another contribution of mine. On a lighter note, I have a natural talent of using humor effectively in social situations. I find myself making people laugh constantly, which I use to bring many different people together. I always try my best to not only talk to a diverse group of people, but I then try to get those people to talk to other people, trying to stretch diversity even farther. This is mainly what I did with the Celebrations Club, an extracurricular activity I started in my high school. This club tried to bring together a diverse group of students of all ages, races, and backgrounds to help celebrate anything happening in the school by announcing it on a bulletin board. Starting this club showed me that I can use my humor, something I thought was only for fun, and combine it with my intelligence, determination, and social skills and start a club, something I would love to do at Rutgers. Overall, Rutgers can give me a college education, a necessity in todayââ¬â¢s world and a milestone for myself and family, as well as the college experience. Having spent most of my time at my house and school in Manalapan, Rutgers acts as a new platform for me to take everything I stated above to a broader more diverse audience of people. Rutgers can also act as a wake-up call for me to the real world happenings through the stories other students bring to this college. Rutgers University is my ticket to a successful and fulfilling life where I hope to share my experiences, learn from others, and mature into an adulthood.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)