Life and Work of a Famous Greek Thinker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Life and Work of a Famous Greek Thinker - Essay Example Aristotle was appointed the tutor to Alexander in 343 B.C (Williams 44). For three years he remained tutor to Alexander until the Prince turned 16. Not much is known of the relationship between Aristotle and Alexander, yet Alexander’s terrific career stands to be an apt testimony to the practicality of Aristotle’s philosophy. Aristotle resided in Athens in 335 B.C. to 323 B.C. It was in these 12 years that Aristotle wrote most of his works. However, after the death of Alexander, Aristotle had to flee from Athens to avoid persecution at the hands of Athenian rebels (Williams 53). As per some credible records, Aristotle died in 322 B.C (Williams 16). It is said that Aristotle wrote three treatises on ethics. However, two of them are today attributed to his disciples and it is the third one that is Nicomachean Ethics that is known to be written by Aristotle (Broadie 4). The views pertaining to ethics professed by Aristotle in this treatise present a good insight into the m indset of the mature and educated men of his age. In this treatise Aristotle lays out the principles by which the well behaved citizens need to conduct themselves. Till the late 17th century, Aristotle’s treatise on ethics had a great influence on the politics and statecraft and continued to be source of inspiration for the future scholars and statesmen (Broadie 5). One other treatise by Aristotle called Politics is regarded to be the very source of varied principles that held a great sway till the culmination of the Middle Ages (Weber 396). This treatise is not only a source of apt information regarding the ways of government in non-Hellenic States, but stood to be a pivotal instrument of defense of democracy in the times of Aristotle (Weber 396). The assumptions embedded in Politics not only were strongly entrenched in the Athens under Pericles, but the Aristotelian concept of governance by cultured gentlemen had its reverberations in Renaissance Age, till it was modified b y French Revolution and industrialism (Weber 397). Though Aristotle’s genius greatly influenced many aspects of the Greek civic life and the statecraft in the following ages, it was in the sphere of Logic that it reached its zenith (Ackrill 79). Aristotle’s dominance in logic flourished right through the Middle Ages, till he was accorded a dominion in the area of metaphysics by the Christian philosophers in the 13th century (Ackrill 80). Though Aristotle strain of Logic is today quiet antiquated, still many Catholic theologians, scientists and mathematicians prefer to adhere to his system (Ackrill 84). Aristotle’s doctrine of syllogism is the most important contribution by Aristotle to the field of Logic (Ackrill 80). When considering the contribution of Aristotle to modern sciences, two of his other works that are Physics and On the Heavens do need to be mentioned (Judson 19). These works greatly influenced the world of science in the Greek times and their domi nation continued till the times of Galileo (Judson 19). Aristotle’s views regarding planets and stars though were immensely influenced by the Pagan beliefs of his times were actually well received and accepted by the medieval Christians. Aristotle’s philosophy had a significant impact on both the Islamic and Western philosophy (Ackrill 9). Aristotle not only studied and meticulously delved on almost every subject and discipline existing in his times, but in fact made a significant contribution to the existing

Foreign Exchange Risk in Pakistan Financial Institution

Foreign Exchange Risk in Pakistan Financial Institution Abstract Companies especially multinational companies and financial institutes like banks and insurance companies are now exposed to foreign currency risks caused by unexpected movements in exchange rate. In order to survive in this competition age companies have to manage this foreign exchange risk in a planned and good manner. The purpose of this study is to describe the different types of risks faced by financial institutions in Pakistan. These risks may include translation risk, transaction risk and operating risk. Research also includes the management and measurement of foreign exchange risk and studies the different methods of hedging this risk. The research was conducted through internet, analyzing the financial reports of different financial institutes and face to face interviews conducted from different executives of different financial institutes. Foreign exchange risk has a great impact on the cash flows and operating profits of an organization while doing business abroad and organizations have to familiar to manage and hedge this risk by using different derivatives and choose the best method that is suitable to organization. Managing the foreign exchange risk through hedging and use of derivatives is very common in these days. Organization often uses leading and lagging technique and less uses the swaps and invoice currency methods. 1- Introduction In this section the back ground of the research will be presented. On the basis of back ground we will make a research question and then followed the proposition for a financial institutions foreign exchange risk. 1.1 Background of the study With the fast development of economic globalization since 70s of last century, today companies operate in as integrated world marketplace. The international market produces the global producer, supplier, customer and also global competitors. Now a days money has no national boundaries. Meanwhile the increasing global business has brought many new problems and opportunities for organizations. They also facing different kinds of risks involving operation risk, investment risk and financing risk etc. to be familiar with those risks and how to hedge and control these risks is very important for organizations. Especially the foreign exchange risk is placed at the top of the risks to be concerned for an effective management. Multinational corporations and multinational enterprises are the entities that operate in at least two countries in both ways i.e production and rendering services. Recently foreign exchange risk has got the increasing importance in both sectors corporate and literature. Focusing on different aspects, a no of studies have been done in order to develop the theory and provide the facts of corporate sector in foreign exchange risk. Some of them like Charles, Ronald and Herman tried to study the exchange rate behavior and others like Anderson Bollerslev, Diebold and Paul attempted to study the volatility of exchange rates. Present monitory system is illustrate by a mix of floating and managed exchanged rate policies that every country perused in its best interest. Any appreciation of a currency against other will bring export down and vise versa. Financial institutions must understand the foreign exchange risk in order to compete, survive and grow in their business of exports and to avoid from competition in imports. ________________________________________________________________________ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_corporation 1.2 Research questions What exchange risk does a financial institute face and whether they hedge it or not. Whether these institutions used derivatives instruments to hedge exchange rate risk or not. What derivatives are used by these financial institutions in order to hedge the exchange risk? How these organizations measure the exposure of foreign exchange. What would be the objectives of foreign exchange risk management in financial institutions in Pakistan 1.3 Purpose Main purpose of this research is to describe the actual condition of foreign exchange risk in financial institutions in Pakistan. And how these organizations manage this risk and what efforts are done by these organizations to hedge the risk. 1.4 Disposition Chapter one: Introduction Content: This part is that where the research topic was introduced along with the importance of the foreign exchange risk management, the background of study and our purpose of study. The research problem and questions has been brought up, and we provide reader with our research purpose. Chapter two: Literature review Content: it is the literature review part. It will include the theory of foreign exchange risk management concepts of foreign exchange risk, its classification, characteristics, and different methods and techniques to manage and hedge this risk. Chapter three: Research methodology Content: This part is about the methods and techniques used for research purpose that how the data will be gathered analyzed and how to reach the conclusion. Chapter four: Empirical findings Content: In this part of thesis research will be done with the help of annual reports of different organizations. The study will help in analyzing that how these organizations manage this risk and what techniques are used by them. Chapter five: Comparative Analysis Content: In this chapter we will compare the data gathered from different financial institutions and find out the managing methods used by them. Chapter six: Conclusions and Recommendations Content: this part will contain the summary of our findings, implication and results answering the research questions of existing theory. It will also contains the recommendation for future research that may evaluate this research 2. Literature Review It is the review of literature regarding the foreign exchange risk management. It also includes the concepts, characteristics by types and different methods of hedging this risk. 2.1 Foreign exchange risk 2.1.1 The concept of foreign exchange risk What is foreign exchange risk? Different authors and researchers define exchange risk in different ways. Niso abuaf defines à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“foreign exchange risk is the chance that fluctuation in the exchange rate will change the profitability of a transaction from its expected valueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (P.29)This definition is in terms of financial risk. Cornell and Shapiro (P.45) also define foreign exchange risk as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“variability in the value of a firm as measured by the present value of its expected future cash flows, caused by uncertain exchange rate changes. In this definition both the researchers emphasize the firms cash flows. Hekman (60) defines exchange risk in terms of control of firms as the possibility that operating and financial results may exceed or fall short of budget. Foreign exchange rate risk is the potential gain or loss resulting from a change in exchange rate. It is the risk arising from the adverse movements in exchange rate to the earnings and capital. It is the impact of adverse movement in currency exchange rate on the value of open foreign currency position. Banks faced this risk that arises from maturity mismatching of foreign currency positions. Banks also face the risk of failure to pay of counter party in foreign exchange business. While such type of risk crystallization does not cause primary loss, bank may undertake new transaction in cash/spot market for replacing the failed transactions. ____CGAP Portfolio, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Are MFIs Hedging Their Bets? Issue 1, April 2005 Major categories of exchange rate changes are given as follow: Depreciation: it is the ongoing decline in the value of currency in the relevance of another currency. Devaluation: it is the sharp fall in the value of currency in comparison of another currency. Appreciation: it is the gradual increase in the value of currency in comparison of another currency. For example, a financial institution that has not managed its foreign exchange risk will Lose money through currency depreciation when the value of local currency falls as compared to the currency in which the liability is held. That is, if a financial institution say bank has borrowed in US Dollars and giving debt in local currency PKR will suffer a loss if the value of rupee falls against Dollars. It must have more PKR to service the Dollar based debt. 2.1.2 Classifications of foreign exchange risk Ankrom (1974) was the first writers who classify the foreign exchange risk in different categories. Many other writers and researcher also classified foreign exchange risk in different types. These authors include Walker (1978), Whilborg (1980), Dumas (1984), and Shapiro (1989). Following are three main kinds of foreign exchange risk, Translation exposure Transaction exposure Operating exposure These risks are further defined by Shapiro in 2006. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Translation exposure, also known as accounting exposure, arises from the need for purpose of reporting and consolidation, to convert the financial statements of foreign operations from the local currency (LC) involved to home currency (HC). If exchange rate has changed, liabilities revenues, expenses, gains and losses that are denominated in foreign currency will result in foreign exchange gain or loss.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? This exposure generally affects the balance sheet and those items of income statement that already exist. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Transaction risk, result from transactions that give rise to know, actually binding future foreign-currency-denominated cash inflows or cash outflows. As exchange rate change between now and when these transactions settle, so does the value of their associated foreign currency cash flow, leading to currency gains or losses.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? This exposure affects the cash flows of an organization which can be the result of an existing contractual obligation. For example this risk may affect the transactional account like receivables (export transactions) and payables (import transactions) or repatriation of dividends. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Operating exposure, measures the extent to which currency fluctuations can alter a companys future operating cash flows, that is, its future revenues and costs. The firm faces operating exposure the moment it invests in servicing a market subject to foreign competition or in sourcing goods or inputs abroad. This investment includes new-product development, a distribution network, foreign Supply contracts, or production facilities.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? This risk also affects cash flows but impacts revenues and costs associated with future sales. The combination of two exposures i.e transaction exposure and operating exposure is also called economic exposure as said by Shapiro. This economic exposure actually affects the firms present value of future expected cash flows from exchange rate movement. Economic risk concerns the effect of exchange rate changes both on revenues (domestic sales and exports) and operating expenses (domestic input costs and imports). It is very crucial for firms to establish a strategy of managing the foreign exchange risk as they have the clear identification of various types of currency risks along with their measurement. 2.2 Measurement of foreign exchange risk For the multinational firms, they must have to face the foreign exchange risk. It is very important for them to exactly measure the foreign exposure faced by their organization. 2.2.1 Measurement of translation risk History describes four principals method for translation. These are given as follow: The current/non current method The monitory/non monitory method The temporal method The current rate method These can be understood from following table: Note: while translating the income statement sales revenues and interests are generally translated at average historical exchange rate that prevailed during the year, whereas depreciation is translated at appropriated historical rate. Cost of goods sold and some general and administrative expenses are translated at historical exchange rate and other items are translated at current rate. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Cà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?= it stands for current rate. That means assets and liabilities are recorded at current prevailing rate. It is the rate at balance sheet date. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?= it shows historical rate. Assets and liabilities are recorded at historical rate that was prevailed during the period. After knowing all the methods of translating the issue arises is that which method should be used among these four methods while translating? Financial accounting standard board (FASB) in its standard 8 which relates to the governance of treatment of translation of foreign currency financial statements from 1975 requires that organizations should use the temporal method for translation of financial statements and the resulting gain or loss from translation should be included in income statement. But this treatment was argued that this produced gains or losses which were not the economic reality of the organizations business. So any hedging for this translation risk under this method seems not realistic meaning. From the invention of standard 52 published by Financial Accounting Standard Board to the end of 1981, which replaced the FAS 8, require that organizations must use the current rat method for translation purpose. FAS 52 introduced the functional currency, which is identified b y each organization for basic economic environment and selected for each of the organizations foreign entities. If the functional currency is foreign currency, the standard requirement is to use the current rate method for any translation gain and loss that is taken directly to the share holders equity. Whereas if the functional currency is the parents company currency, then the rule described by FAS 8 should follow. The above mentioned issues can be referred to the Adrian Buckleys book named à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Multinational Financeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (2004) (P145-152). http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~igiddy/fxrisk.htm, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Management of Foreign Exchange Riskà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? by Ian H. Giddy And Gunter Dufey 2.2.2 Measure of economic exposure as Adler and Dumas (1980,19840defined foreign exchange risk as the regression of assets value on the exchange rate and recommended that exchange rate risk of organizations can be calculated by the sensitivity of stock return to exchange rate activities. Many other researchers like Popper (1997), Bodnar and Gentry (1993) And recently Martin and Mauer (2003, 2005), have been done to explore the foreign exchange exposure. Whereas Holton (2003) indicated that when measuring the foreign exchange risk is difficult it is due to the difficulty of measuring the economic risk. For the measurement of economic risk the method used is value-at-risk (VAR). in broader sense value at risk is defined as the maximum loss for a given risk over a given period of time with z% confidence. This definition was given by micheal papaioannou (2006). 2.3 Foreign Exchange Risk Management 2.3.1 Corporate Objectives of Risk Management After knowing the foreign exchange risk and its measurement faced by the organization, the company should choose to whether hedge this risk or not and further know how this risk should be managed. Oxelheim and wihlborg (1987) with mutual participation produced the idea of currency risk which is given as follow, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Risk aversion: it relates to the desire of reduction of variability of cash flows in businessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The target variable: in summaries form these are the efforts of the organization to maximize or to stabilize, measurement in accounting or cash flow, measurement in nominal or real terms.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? An effective foreign exchange risk management requires definite objectives viewing managements approach toward the foreign exchange risk. The decision making of hedging or not to hedging the foreign exchange exposure depends upon the attitude of companys management towards exchange risk management. Hedging strategy varies from organization to organization. Whenever there is a risk the risk aversion companies try to hedge this risk whereas the risk taking companies leave this risk unhedged. This is the idea arises from management of financial risks that management of financial risk is unnecessary and the gain and loss is will at last equalize in term of equilibrium relationship in the international financial market. This idea was given by Dufey and Sirininasulu in 1984: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Foreign exchange risk does not exist; even if it exists, it need not be hedged; even it is to be hedged, corporations need not hedge it.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? It is the general concept that the organizations invo lved in exports and imports should hedge the risk of foreign risk exposure as a risk averse attitude. In real terms companies prefer to manage the risk within an acceptable limit instead of adopting neither of the two attitudes. Management should be in charge for ensuring to take suitable and reasonable actions based on after-tax term to decrease the risk. 2.3.2 Theoretical appraisal of managing foreign exchange exposure it is the basic strategy of the organizations to hedge the foreign exposure that they increase hard currency assets and decrease the soft currency assets, at the same time decreasing the hard currency liabilities and increasing the soft currency liabilities. However, many debates relating to the hedge the translation exposure exist in finance literature. Pramborg (2002) pointed out that transaction exposure hedging comes to add value for Swedish companies whereas there is no value addition from translation exposure. Butler (1990) suggested that it support the general suggestion of the finance literature not to worry about this type of risk, so it might not be hedged. A reason for not hedging this risk is that translation exposure risk is uneconomic as it is based on historical book value and has no direct effect on organizations cash flows. Thus organization should concern to the exposure faced to the cash flows. Earlier experimental studies by Belk and Glaum (1990) and Aobo (1999) who have investigated the foreign exchange risk management in UK and US multinationals, show that the management of transaction exposure is the focal point of company exchange risk management for the transaction risk control the real cash flows. As compared to translation and transaction risk operating risk is less defined and more difficult to manage. It could be defined as the sensitivity of an organizations future cash flows to the unexpected change in foreign exchange rate and any change in aggressive environment caused by these currency movements. Belk and Glaum (1990) found that firms were less worried about the real impact of exchange rate varies on the competitive position of the companies. Bradley and Moles (2002) find that there is a strong relations ship between exchange rate sensitivity and the extent to which it sales, sources and funds itself worldwide. Shapiro (2006) argued that it could be concluded that organizations operating exposure is attributed to distinguish a companys product is, the internationaly expand its competitors is, the ability to shift production, the sourcing of inputs among countries, and the variation in real exchange rate. It is assumed that the firms more involved in foreign markets the greater would be the operating risk faced by the organization. Shapiro (2006) concluded that firms can easily hedge their transaction risk, competitive exposure (operating exposure) are long term and can not be dealt with exclusively through financial hedging techniques, they relatively require making the long term operating adjustment. Strategic reorientation of operating policies related to pricing, sources, location of production and financing needs not only financial managers but also requires the corporate managers. Moffet and Karlsen (1994) illustrate the use of production, financial and promotion policies to manage economic currency risk as natural hedging. Being a part of globalization business environment, diversification of international operations is very important for multinational corporations to handle operating risk. So this can give the companies to maintain competitive advantage and protective reactions to unfavorable exchange rate changes. Whenever service cost or domestic production cost is affected by exchange rate changes as compared to those of producing in foreign country, the firm can move product sourcing from those countries whose currency is devalued or plant transfered there. Strategic marketing and production regulations in general are for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"cost-effective. Another operational process used to hedge operating exposure is financial management, which are formating the firms assets and liabilities. One option is to funding the portion of a firms assets used to create export profits so that changes in foreign assets values caused by an exchange rate change are compensate by virtual changes in the debt expense in the same currency. For example, a firm should hold debt in currency of a foreign country, in which the firm increases a considerable export market. Existing text such as Glaum (1990) suggests economic exposure management should be integrated into the long-range, strategic planning system of the corporation and included with all areas of corporate decision-making. Tools and techniques for foreign exchange risk management Nowadays foreign exchange risk could not only control a firms quarterly earnings, but Also decide its survival. A variety of financial implements come into sight as the financial markets require managing the different increasing exposure that firms face. For Managing foreign exchange risk, there exist internal techniques such as matching inflows and outflows, inter-company netting of receipts and payments, transfer pricing agreement, etc, and external hedging tools involve the usage of different sorts of derivatives including forwards, futures, debt, options and swaps. Each of these techniques differs to hedge different exchange risk in each company situation. There have been many studies concerned with the effect from the use of these Currency derivatives, e.g. recent study as Allayannis and Ofek (2001), Bengt Pramborg (2002). Foreign exchange forwards A forward foreign exchange contract is a contract to exchange one currency for another with a particular amount, where the exchange rate is fixed on the day of the contract but the actual exchange takes place on a fixed date in the future. The predetermined exchange rate is also known as the forward exchange rate. The amount of the contract, the value date, the payments method, and the exchange rate are all mentioned in contract at the time of contract. Forward contracts in major currencies are available on daily basis with maturities of up to 30-, 90-, and 180-day. Two types of forwards contracts are often used: deliverable forwards (face amount of currency is exchanged on settlement date) and non-deliverable forwards (which are settled on a net cash basis). A currency forward contract is usually used to hedge exchange risks that ranges from short to medium term and whose timing is known for certainty. It is so important for Firms treasurers to deal in the forward market that they can fix the costs of imports and exports in advance for the payable or receivable amount and hedge the exchange risk. A lot of experimental researches such as Belk et al. (1992), Bodnar et al. (1995), Mallin et al (2000) and Pramborg (2002) pointed out that the most commonly used method is forward exchange contract. With forwards, the firm can be totally hedged. However, some exposures including settlement risk that exchange rate shift in the opposite direction as they predicted, and counter party risk which the other party is unable to perform the contract. Sometimes the high cost of forward contracts prevent Firms to implement this instrument to fully hedge their exchange exposure. For that reason, futures are more beneficial. Currency futures Currency future is another tool to decrease the exposure of foreign exchange instability It is an exchange-traded agreement specifying a standard amount of a particular currency to be replaced on a specific future payment date. It is likely to forward contract in a way that they permit a firm to buy or sell definite currency at a fixed price and at a future time. So far, there are some differences among these two sorts of practices. One of the futures distinctiveness vary from forward is that futures are standardized both for amount and payment date (normally March, June, September and December), whereas Forwards are for any amount and any delivery date upon which the two parties are agreed. One more difference is that forwards are dealt by phone and telex and are completely independent of locality or time while all clearing functions for futures markets are hold by an exchange clearing house. The biggest difference is in terms of liquidation that futures contracts are settled by balancing of gains and losses for each day, whereas forward contracts are settled by real delivery whether full delivery of the two Currencies or net value only at the contract maturity. Giddy and Dufey said à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“This daily cash compensation attribute mostly eliminates default risk.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Futures market and forward market both are of most important ways to hedge risk. David Tien (2002) pointed out à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Firms uncomfortable with the uncertainty involved in receiving a fixed payment in foreign currency can easily hedge the transaction using either futures or forward contracts.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Some studise as Belk and Glaum (1992) establish that none of the firms which were talked used currency futures, because the standardized features of exchange traded futures most often do not enable the companies to hedge their positions completely. Mallin et al (2000) also found that only 9 companies out of 231 respondents to their survey used currency futures. Giddy and Dufey conclude that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“forwards and futures serve similar purposes, and tend to have identical rates, but differ in their applicabilityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The largest part of big companies use forwards; futures tend to be used whenever exchange risk may be a problem. Currency options A foreign exchange option which is dissimilar from currency forward agreements and currency futures is to give the possessor of the contract the right to buy or sell a definite amount of a certain currency at a prearranged price (also called strike or exercise price) until or on a specified date, but he is not bound to do so. The seller of a currency option has obligation to execute the contract. The right to buy is a call position and the right to sell is a put position. There is option premium required to pay by those who acquire such a right. The holder of a call option can take advantage from a price increases (profit is the difference between the market price and the strike price plus the premium), while can choose not to exercise the right when the price decreases (locked in loss of the option premium). Vice versa is the situation for the holder of a put option. For the advantages of simplicity, elasticity, lower cost than the forwards, and the expected maximum lossà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ which is up to the premium paid to acquire the right , the currency option has become growing popular as a hedging tool to protect firms against the exchange rate movements. Whenever there is insecurity in the size of cash flows and the timing of cash flows, currency option agreements would be better to conventional hedging instruments such as forward contracts and futures contracts. Grant and Marshall (1997) observed the degree of derivative use and the motives for their use by carried out surveys in 250 large UK companies, found that a extensive use of both forwards and options(respectively 96% and 59%). They pointed that comparing the most important reasons for the use of forwards were company policy, business reasons and risk aversion, A good understanding of instrument, and price were prominent while the primary reasons to use option for company management. Currency swaps As a virtually new financial derivative used to hedge foreign exchange exposure, currency swaps have a rapid advancement. Since its introduction on a global scale is in the early 1980s, currency swaps market has turn into one of the leading financial derivative markets in the world. A currency swap is a foreign exchange agreement among two parties to exchange a given amount of one currency for another and, after a particular period of time, to give back the original amounts exchanged. It can be negotiated for a broad range of maturities up to at least 10 years, and can be regarded as a series of forward contracts. It is normally used under such circumstances that a firm functions in one currency but need to borrow in another currency. Currency swaps are frequently connected with interest rate swaps, as the common cross currency swaps the cross-currency coupon swap which is to pay fixed and get floating interest sum meantime buying the currency swap. Another generally used one is cross currency basis swap which is to pay floating interest in a currency and receive floating interest in another currency. The benefit of currency swaps is to facilitate each contracting part to borrow in their relative constructive market, and both parties can benefit from the swaps by lessening the borrowing costs. The use of swaps now has developed rapidly in western countries such as Grant and Marshall (1997) found that the use of swaps and forwards/futures is dominant in UK, Bodnar et al. (1995) found that swaps govern for interest rate risk management in US.

Hackers :: essays research papers

HACKERS My paper is on hackers, who they are, what they do, and my personal view on the rights or wrongs of hacking. According to the Merriam-Webster Web dictionary, a hacker is 1: one who hacks, 2: a person who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity, 3: an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer, and 4: a person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system. The definition that is most associated with computer hackers in society today would be a person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system. I think that hackers should stay out of other peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s business. They shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be able to get into otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s files. Hackers are people who attempt to penetrate security systems. The five rules of a hacker are as follows: 1. Keep a low profile 2. If suspected, keep a low profile. 3. If accused, deny it. 4. If caught, plea the 5th Amendment. 5. Hackers try not to leave traces or trails to what they have done. Hackers donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like calling attention to themselves or your exploits. Hackers need privacy to do what they do. 2 What? You want to learn what they can do? Ok. They can hack into other peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s computers. Good ones can use viruses to their advantage. They can trash systems, destroy hardware, and even do irreversible damage of data. Hackers can unleash destructive viruses, Trojans, and logic bombs. Hackers can be caught though. Sometimes hired hackers attack or assassinate other hackerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s viruses. Most hackers mean harm. Some help disable other hackers. After being caught the hacker usually goes to court.

Air cargo pkomot

The Boeing Company is one of the best companies providing a comprehensive and resent overview of the air cargo industry. It provides the biennial World Air Forecast. The findings summarise the major air trade markets in the world, giving the major trends and projects on the future improvements and performance of the world’s cargo airplane.Forecasting and planning are two synonyms which normally create confusion yet they have different meanings. Forecasting is the task of predicting the short term or long term future events by keeping statistics. The important element in forecasting is that it’s based upon some assumptions which are general.These assumptions may or may not be true and does not necessarily reflect the company’s expectations.Planning on the other hand is the creation and maintenance of a flow of events in an organisation and the process of coming up with the procedures necessary to create the desired goal in the organisation.Forecasting is a very im portant aspect in cargo industry. Some of the purposes of forecasting include: ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To identify the alternative possible futures. ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To get a justification on the plans and decisions we make. ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To provide information on possible futures so that realistic planning can occur. ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To raise awareness of the possible futures so that we have choice over which the future will support.These are just a few of the purposes of planning but overally its meant to give us a direction on the future happenings so that we get prepared.Forecasting can either be short term or long term. Short term forecast includes any current or recent past records that form a basis for the forecast. An example is the use of precipitation, thunderstorms and winds.Long term forecasting is the use of a wide range of facilities for forecasting especially that which covers a long period of tim e e.g. the use of cloud computing. This is the use of the software’s to compute the forecasts of a particular company.The use of forecasting in the companies involved in air cargo has increased over the years. One of the major contributions of forecasting is in planning.Air cargo companies have had to have an efficient plan making them set aside resources to tackle the future outcomes of the company. It has also aided in analysis. Several companies can compare themselves and know there stand. This has tremendously caused improvements in the air cargo industry.The accuracy of forecasting in the modern world necessitates the controlling process. The forecast error is currently estimated to be very small and is calculated by getting the difference between the actual value and the forecast value.The air cargo companies were affected by the traffic growth in 2008 and 2009 edition. World air cargo went upto 6% in 2007, following the previous 4% in 2006. This has declined in the yea rs 2008 and 2009 consecutively approximated to be about 3.4% in 2008. This analysis relates to the Boeing air cargo company.2009 will however be a grim year for the air cargo industry because of the magnitude at which the occurrence of global slump in trade growth is doing. Seabury forecasts indicate that 2009 will be a tough year for the air cargo companies getting 3.1% in air trade.It predicts however that this will improve in 2010 and rise to 5.1% forming a basis for further improvement in the subsequent years.Growth projections and highlights indicate the air cargo company picking up to 5.1% to 5.9% from the year 2011 to 2012. These projections are based on the fact that the change of the food and fuel prices will have a major change in the future. These two factors form the basis of the air cargo company market pricing.The success of aeronautical engineering requires several materials in its programming. As opposed to the past where the products were not of the standard the pre sent day aeronautical engineering requires enough materials.These include the use of digital and print equipment. The current data aeronautical companies utilize the geospatial machines which can decode the geospatial-referenced digits, and data which has been fused with other information.Reference:Kress, G. (1994) Forecasting and Market analysis techniques: a practical approach, London: Quorum books.

How Did the Fascists Come to Power in Italy in 1922

Why did the fascists come to power in Italy in 1922? Fascism came to power in Italy in 1922 due to a number of different factors. The roots of fascism can be found in the failure of a whole political class and system to resist authoritarianism and it was a start of a big mistake made by the Italian government, even though allot of people thought Mussolini forced his way into power, in actual fact he was invited into parliament by an incompetent and underestimating liberal party (Giolitti) who formed a coalition with the fascists party in 1921 ‘the national block'.During the time the fascists came to power there was many post war problems such as political polarization, the melt down of public beliefs in the government, extreme financial problems and great concern of a Russian (Bolshevik) style revolution. One of the most important factors in the rise of fascism was the threat of socialism, which got more and more allusive during 1918-1920, (Bienno Rosso) ‘the two red year s'. In these years the socialists were co-ordinating general strikes in the public sector, street demonstrations, riots and the seizure of factories and land.As the liberal government struggled to keep a lid on the dramatic events occurring daily in post war Italy, the fascist’s party (Fascio di Combattimento) publicised its self as Italy’s saviour thus strengthening the public’s thoughts and views about the fascist's party. Such occasions were when the liberal party organised a general strike for all public workers e. g. police, firemen, bus drivers etc†¦ , and the fascist’s party stepped in and in effect ran the country, they drove the trams and bus's around for the public and literally kept the country running.This move by Mussolini portrayed himself as Italy’s knight in shinning armour changing peoples perspective on the party's future. Many people started to believe that Mussolini and the Squadristi were the only people willing and capabl e of saving Italy from socialism and the Bolshevik rising. It was the rise of the socialist’s party that ultimately gave the fascists a reason to evolve themselves as a strong political party and to gain a foothold in the political system. Another main reason for the rise of fascism was the weak political systems running Italy in the years leading up to the fascists reign.There were no less than 6 liberal coalitions that frequently clashed. It was only a few years before that Italy’s political groups were a small minority that kept itself in power by a tactic called ‘Transformismo' this meant that the government was unreliable and had no solid policies that they followed and incapable of dealing with the country's catastrophic debt's and the anarchy of socialism, ‘Depretis, Crispi, and Giolitti were all very skilled at this. As time went buy and public moral hit an all time low people started to see fascism to be the only way forward for Italy.Another impor tant factor to consider in the rise of fascism is that Italy had just came out of a war that they did not want to be entered into in the first place (ww1), to add to insult Italy missed out on allot of things that they were promised in the peace settlement of 1919. Although Italy had gained most of Istria and Trieste they lost out on African colonies they were promised such as, the African colony of Dalmatia on the Adriatic, and had the Italian speaking town of Fiume given to Yugoslavia.The public was outraged and calling the whole farce a ‘mutilated victory' as Italy was now in a huge financial crisis. The war had cost Italy 600,000 soldiers and the fascists and nationalists were quick to blame the Italian government for their incompetence. These events led to a protest in September 1919, Gabriele d' annunzio led a group of black shirted Arditi to the town of Fiume and held it captive for 15 months. The government’s failure to keep order further weakened their credibil ity and integrity, Mussolini used this to further strengthen him in the public’s eyes.The economic decline of Italy in the post war years influenced the rise of fascism in a number of ways. Italy was on the verge of collapse, industries run down, widespread unemployment and huge inflation which saw taxes sore to an all time high, as well as around 1. 5 million strikers in 1919. In 1920 500,000 workers staged a sit-in in the metallurgical industries. Frightened by what was happening in Russia and the barbaric activities by the socialists many respectable figures in Italian society started to fear a Russian revolution was around the corner.All this tension added to the public’s frustration and made them more open minded about ideas on how to save Italy from national disaster. Bernito Mussolini seen what was happening to the country and being the opportunist that he was played on the public’s dejection and defencelessness, to secure power and fame. An enormous fact or in the rise of fascism is the fascist’s party and its leader Benito Mussolini. in his early days Benito Mussolini was a through and through left winger, after failing to find satisfaction in his teaching areer Mussolini turned to politics in 1912 becoming the editor of Italy’s leading socialists paper â€Å"Avanti†. Shortly after ww1 though Mussolini changed his tactics completely and switched from left to right when he realised that doing so would be the easiest way to power. Blinkhorn argues that Mussolini’s change of heart was not due to bribery but due to the limitations of the socialist’s militancy and policy's, Mussolini wanted complete revolution unlike most of his socialist colleagues. istorian Stephen lee said, ‘above all else Mussolini was an opportunist and his real strength lay in him having no overall system and no ideological straight-jacket', it was this resilience and pliability that made Mussolini the great force he was. A longside this Mussolini had great oratory skills which he used to engage with the public and portray himself in the way he wanted, this was a great advantage as Mussolini became editor of ‘Il popolo d'italia' which meant he could stir up anything he wanted and the whole of Italy would see it.The brute force and violence that the fascists’ party used was another key element that got them a foothold in the parliamentary system, many party's started to think they could use Mussolini as a pawn and use him to do the dirty work for them. the fascists party had a wide range of followers such as, the unemployed, demobilised soldiers, large land owners, industrialists and middle class people who all saw a use for the fascists party and started to finance their campaign, which gave then the edge over their rivals. his new excitement and hospitality by the ‘Facio de Cmbattimento' saw the numbers of fascists followers increase to around 250,000 by 1922, were as the union memb erships and strikes started to decline due to the frequent sacking and burning down of socialist buildings and beatings being handed out to socialist followers. Another big importance to the rise of fascism is the mistakes that Mussolini’s opponents made. It was Giolitti, the leader of the liberal party, that thought he could tame Mussolini and invited him to join forces and make a coalition.Giolitti thought he could manipulate Mussolini when he pleaded and keep him under control, but it was Mussolini that was doing the manipulating. once he made a coalition with the liberal party he gained 35 seats in parliament, it was this turning point that brought the start of Mussolini’s reign of terror. the 35 seats that he had gained got the wheel rolling for Mussolini and now that he had succeeded in getting a foothold in the parliamentary system people had gained respect for the fascists party and seen them in another light. ven the Vatican, journalists, the agrari(large land owners) and industrialists were following suit. The big mistake that the socialists made was organising a general strike to combat the fascists campaign but unfortunately this backfired immensely playing into the hands of Mussolini when the government gave him the role Italy’s saviour and within 24 hours the strike had been crushed and Mussolini portrayed as the hero. probably the biggest mistake was made was by the king, after the fascists planned a march on Rome to seize victory by gaining strategic points in cities.Mussolini appointed the Quadrumvirate (committee of four generals) to co-ordinate the march on Rome, and hoped that force would not be needed and the threat of it would be enough to keep order in his favour and bring him to power peacefully. no more than 30,000 poorly armed fascists were available for the march on Rome, and as they were collecting in the provinces the Prime Minister at the time, Facta, requested that the king declare martial law to allow the arm y to prepare themselves and be ready for the marchers. The king agreed to do so, but when Facta went to the palace to get the signature he needed the king refused to sign it. ome people say that the king changed his mind because he thought he would be replaced by his cousin (the Duke of Aosta), others say that it was because he was not convinced of the loyalty of the army and that he feared civil law, or that he underestimated the fascists support. for whatever reason the king changed his mind, his decision to do so gave the liberal party of Facta no choice but to resign. these mistakes made by his opponents made Mussolinis path to power easier than it should have been and on the 29th of October 1922 he received a phone call from the king offering him the premiership.To summarise the events leading up to the fascists time in power it must be underlined that these events could only have took place in this time of despare and needines, and could only have been undertaken by an opportu nist like Bernito Mussolini. Dennis mack smith said â€Å" fascism was not a system of immutable beliefs but a path to political power† He seen what needed to be done and got it done, even if it meant going against his own beliefs, he plagued the vulnerable and needy to succeed in his own goals.

Free Essays on Medieval

The Renaissance was the age of creativity, experimentation, and discovery. A new age was beginning but every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. This new age started right after the Dark Ages. The goal of the Renaissance period was to revive the lost wisdom, art, and culture. The humanists not only wanted to bring these aspects of life back, but also to start reconstructing their present culture along classical lines. The Renaissance period took place from 1265 AD to 1633 AD. The Middle Ages were coming to a close and a new age was beginning. Italy was at the center of intense creativity we now call the Renaissance, meaning â€Å"rebirth†. The Italian humanists were inspired by the classical works of Greece and Rome. The Italian humanists revived this type of culture and took it in as a new way of looking at the world. The rediscovery of their classical past helped to give Europeans a new sense of history as well as of their own capabilities. Many thinkers were now turning away and becoming less occupied with saving souls and avoiding temptation. The thinkers of this time dedicated themselves to exploring people’s individuality and educating them in their duties to society. This became the movement known as Humanism. At the same time, artists celebrated the beauty of the human body, in more lifelike paintings and sculptures, architecture, and discovering new ways to accomplish tasks. Many great accomplishments came out of the Renaissance period. Some prime examples are the Sistine Chapel, the plays of William Shakespeare, and the uniting of two kingdoms to form Spain. The Renaissance Era was the beginning of creativity, experimentation, and discovery after the Dark Ages.... Free Essays on Medieval Free Essays on Medieval The Renaissance was the age of creativity, experimentation, and discovery. A new age was beginning but every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. This new age started right after the Dark Ages. The goal of the Renaissance period was to revive the lost wisdom, art, and culture. The humanists not only wanted to bring these aspects of life back, but also to start reconstructing their present culture along classical lines. The Renaissance period took place from 1265 AD to 1633 AD. The Middle Ages were coming to a close and a new age was beginning. Italy was at the center of intense creativity we now call the Renaissance, meaning â€Å"rebirth†. The Italian humanists were inspired by the classical works of Greece and Rome. The Italian humanists revived this type of culture and took it in as a new way of looking at the world. The rediscovery of their classical past helped to give Europeans a new sense of history as well as of their own capabilities. Many thinkers were now turning away and becoming less occupied with saving souls and avoiding temptation. The thinkers of this time dedicated themselves to exploring people’s individuality and educating them in their duties to society. This became the movement known as Humanism. At the same time, artists celebrated the beauty of the human body, in more lifelike paintings and sculptures, architecture, and discovering new ways to accomplish tasks. Many great accomplishments came out of the Renaissance period. Some prime examples are the Sistine Chapel, the plays of William Shakespeare, and the uniting of two kingdoms to form Spain. The Renaissance Era was the beginning of creativity, experimentation, and discovery after the Dark Ages....

Free Essays on Obstacle

Obstacle Essay â€Å" You’re such a disappointment!† The horrible phrase one’s mother might reiterate to them over a hundred times after seeing your report card. That guilty feeling in your gut, where your stomach feels achy and you just want to lock yourself in the bathroom to get away from taking responsibility for your own actions. The hate that grows from within for all those times you received phone calls and had â€Å"better things to do,† than doing your homework. I understand, I felt these feelings of the mind shutting off. I’ve felt the embarrassment of being singled out by a teacher in class, and having that warm sensation overcome your face, where your cheeks turn rosy and the brow upon your head consumes with perspiration and drips like a leaky faucet. All because you didn’t do your homework. I must admit, the first two years of high school were hell for me. They were two of the most difficult years I have gone through in my sixteen years of existence. Laziness and slacking off consumed my mind and body. I was the queen of procrastination, but with help and guidance from a great support team I seem to be overcoming my horrible habits, if that’s what you want to call them. I guess I could complain and blame it on the ADD that I was diagnosed with, but that would be way too easy for me to do. I know my ADD has had many influences on the decisions I have made and the way I go about many things, but laziness and slacking off were my doings. I let myself succumb to these nightmares of every student-teacher relationship. When offered extra help while I was struggling in school I was too bold and pig-headed to accept the help that I needed. Instead of asking questions to further my knowledge of class discussion topics, I could be seen in the back of class dozing off, or trying to indulge in a juicy conversation with my neighbor. When exam time in tenth grade came around, I finally had to get my act together. I was... Free Essays on Obstacle Free Essays on Obstacle Obstacle Essay â€Å" You’re such a disappointment!† The horrible phrase one’s mother might reiterate to them over a hundred times after seeing your report card. That guilty feeling in your gut, where your stomach feels achy and you just want to lock yourself in the bathroom to get away from taking responsibility for your own actions. The hate that grows from within for all those times you received phone calls and had â€Å"better things to do,† than doing your homework. I understand, I felt these feelings of the mind shutting off. I’ve felt the embarrassment of being singled out by a teacher in class, and having that warm sensation overcome your face, where your cheeks turn rosy and the brow upon your head consumes with perspiration and drips like a leaky faucet. All because you didn’t do your homework. I must admit, the first two years of high school were hell for me. They were two of the most difficult years I have gone through in my sixteen years of existence. Laziness and slacking off consumed my mind and body. I was the queen of procrastination, but with help and guidance from a great support team I seem to be overcoming my horrible habits, if that’s what you want to call them. I guess I could complain and blame it on the ADD that I was diagnosed with, but that would be way too easy for me to do. I know my ADD has had many influences on the decisions I have made and the way I go about many things, but laziness and slacking off were my doings. I let myself succumb to these nightmares of every student-teacher relationship. When offered extra help while I was struggling in school I was too bold and pig-headed to accept the help that I needed. Instead of asking questions to further my knowledge of class discussion topics, I could be seen in the back of class dozing off, or trying to indulge in a juicy conversation with my neighbor. When exam time in tenth grade came around, I finally had to get my act together. I was...