Determination of Interest Rates Essay Example for Free

Determination of Interest Rates Essay Interest rates are the payments one makes to another as the cost of borrowing funds. Interest rates should be equal to different borrowers under the same prevailing economic conditions. Various factors come into play to determine the interest rate to be paid by a borrower. This paper explores the factors used in determining the prevailing interest rates. Among the factors used to determine interest rates are credit quality, local and world economic and political conditions (Lando 143). In addition, the demand and supply of funds also determine the interest rates set on borrowings. The borrower always has a feeling that the interests charged are the best deal and that better returns will accrue from the funds borrowed. In the same manner, the lender should also feel the interest charged would have the best returns. Credit quality refers to the capability of investors to pay under a given economic situation. Interest rates are charged in direct proportionality to credit quality (Singleton et al 56). Big businesses and government can easily pay for the loans borrowed plus the interests charged. An investor may also compare the opportunity cost of money over a given period. The economic condition may be in a state of either inflation or deflation, forcing the lender to consider the opportunity cost of funds over a given period. An increase in inflation rate results in an increased rate since the expected inflation rate is also accounted for in the rates set (Sullivan et al 505-506). For instance, if in a situation without inflation, the interest rate is 4%, then this becomes 7% if the inflation rate is 3%. The declining value of collateral due to inflation may affect a borrower’s ability to pay. This will increase the risks associated with the repayment ability of the borrower. The higher risks are therefore included in the interest rate charged. Political subsidies by governments also influence interest rates. Governments can lower the interest rates on borrowers by subsidizing certain loans such as college student loans, public housing loans, and other public work program loans. Conclusion Interest rates, the excess on a borrowed money paid to the lender by the borrower, is determined by many factors. The main factor is the prevailing economic conditions. These could be inflation or deflation. The government may also subsidize certain type of borrowers to motivate them to borrow. The ability of the borrower to pay, the credit quality, is also a vital determinant of interest rates.

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Society’s role in criminalizing statutory rape cases play a big part on how people look at the different cases. In society everyone expects for a younger girl to be with an older guy, so people may not see a priority in statutory rape laws. â€Å"Considering that it is customary for women to date and marry slightly older men† (M.W., 1998). Since it is not abnormal for younger girls and older guys to be together most people do not see an age gap of about three years that big of a deal. But if these people do not report a case of statutory rape then they are technically endangering a minor. Males in society do not see male statutory rape victims as victims. These men look at it as a pat on the back to the young boys who were sexually active with adult women. The men also make comments saying that they wish they could have been in that position when they were young. Some people in today’s society do not understand the priority of really enforcing statutory rape case s unless there is a huge age difference or the victim was a young girl instead of a boy. The media has a big part in which cases will be recognized. The media tends to show female victims and adult male offenders more than they would male victims and adult female offenders. Female offenders should be broadcasted just as much as the men and should not get privileges just because they are women. Statutory rape laws and child marriage laws greatly clash. According to Cocca, â€Å"of all brides in 1970, 13% were under 18; in 1980, 8.2%, and in 1990 3.7%. Of all grooms 1970 2.1 were under 18; in 1980 1.3% and in 1990 0.6† (Cocca, 2004). Yes over time the percentage of adults and minors getting married has dwindled, but it was not right to go along with in the first place. In some states... ...sibility of being parents when they cannot even legally say yes to sex. Statutory rape laws are far from perfect. Statutory rape laws are discriminating towards boys and biased towards girls. No law should be gender specific especially one that consists of people who are endangering minors. These laws have discriminated boys for over 150 years. The law should be fair to both genders and give boys the voice the need in the cases. Over the years statutory rape cases have gone underreported, mainly because people do not witness the cases themselves. Most of the lost cases involve minor males and older females. Even though some cases have been reported they do not get as much publicity as the cases dealing with young girls and adult men. Boys should get the same amount of protection under the statutory rape laws as girls do; the young men are victims just as girls are.

Ecuadorian Rose Industry

The Ecuadorian Rose Industry 1. What is the basis of Ecuador’s comparative advantage in the production of roses? Ecuador’s rose farms are located in the just about perfect position for growing long and straight roses or at least most of the farms. They are positioned at about 10,000 feet elevation in the Andes Mountains. This provides the roses with high altitude, volcanic soil that is very rich in ingredients, and located on the equator. This gives the roses about 12 hours of daylight every day. Graham) This provides an intense amount of sunlight, so farmers use plastic sheeting to create a greenhouse effect. I believe this helps keep the roses from burning up, being so close to the sun, and from freezing on the cold nights. (Hamilton) It creates a sense of perfect temperatures. (Thompson) 2. Most Ecuadorean roses are sold in the United States or Europe. Who in these countries benefit from the importation of Ecuadorean roses, and how do they benefit? Who loses? Do you think the benefits outweigh the costs?In 2006, the United States accounted for 61% of the Ecuadorean roses’ total sales. This made us the largest market in this rose industry. Europe accounted for 20% of the exports of Ecuadorean flowers, while these flowers accounted for 31% of the United States flower imports. (Alvaro) Both countries benefit overall because they can imports the roses at such a low price and most of the profits stay in the imported country. (Graham) I believe local growers are the ones who lose in this situation. If buyers can find them for a lower price, most will take it so they can keep more profits.This isn’t necessarily the best option for our country, but some companies do not care about the greater good of helping our own country. 3. How does the rose export industry benefit Ecuador? Do these benefits have any implications for the United States and Europe? With the increase of rose and other flower exportation from Ecuador, the country’s export revenue has increases and is increasing the stability of its economy. (Halberstadt) This is one of the effects of the fair trade agreement between them and the United States. Another effect is the extra money the people are getting.They are able to take classes to learn how to manage the extra money. (Hamilton) Ecuador has also been able to pave more roads, build sophisticated irrigation systems, and some schools with the taxes and revenues from growing roses. (Thompson) Developed countries, like the United States and Europe, have to understand that as developing nations, like Ecuador, become more developed they have to adhere to global standards and it is up to developed countries to help with this. 4. How should developed nations respond to reports of poor working conditions in this industry?Should importers in some way certify Ecuadorean producers, or only importing from those who adhere to strict labor and environmental standards? I believe the developed nations should h elp to encourage making the working conditions better. Although the average flower worker does earn more than the minimum wage of $120 per month, but it does not make up for the horrible conditions. I also believe importers should certify Ecuadorean producers for those following the labor and environmental standards and those who are trying to improve their operations. Plantations, like RosaPrima, have done this.Ross Johnson, a general manager of the plantation, said that they had made a lot of improvements over the years, from protective wear and equipment to cracking down of child labor. (Thompson) Works Cited 1. ) Alvaro, Mercedes. â€Å"Ecuador Flower Exports Require U. S. Trade Deal to Keep Growing. † Dow Jones Newswires Feb. 2006. 3 March 2013 . 2. ) Graham, Grace. â€Å"Five Reasons who you shouldn’t Buy her Roses† North by Northwestern Feb. 2010. 3 March 2013 < http://northbynorthwestern. om/story/five-more-reasons-why-you-didnt-buy-your-girlfrien/>. 3. ) Halberstadt, Jason. â€Å"Ecuador Foreign Trade. † Ecuador Trade Copyright 1997-2013. 3 March 2013 4. ) Hamilton, Cortney and Deb Tullmann. â€Å"Rough Cut. † Ecuador Flower Power Feb. 2008. 3 March 2013 . 5. ) Thompson, Ginger. â€Å"Behind Roses’ Beauty, Poor and Ill Workers† NY Times Feb, 2003. 3 March 2013 .

“Macbeth” and “Brave New World” Comparison Essay Essay

Freedom and individualism are a significant component of contemporary society, however there are many parts of the world where these basic human rights are not granted. The lack of these basic rights are clearly demonstrated in the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The leaders of many societies are willing to sacrifice innocent lives in order for society to function according to their visions. Many leaders are willing to sacrifice the freedom of the people in order for society to run the way they want. Furthermore, even the individuals making up the society are quite willing to sacrifice their souls in order to live in an imaginary world. As long as they perceive happiness to be present they are very content to live there. To live in the utopian imaginary worlds of Brave New World and Macbeth, freedom and individuality are often sacrificed. Sacrifice is often a necessity when attempting to create utopian societies. However, these sacrifices are not enough to convince every individual within the society. One of these individuals is Bernard, who was going to be exiled to Iceland by the director, because he does not believe in the society that individuals after Ford believed in. Even though Bernard was conditioned when he was a child, he could not accept what all the other individuals believed. Unlike the other individuals, Bernard has stunted growth and often felt isolated from the rest of society. Further alienating Bernard from the rest of society is his rejection of the promiscuous nature present in his society. He also exhibits the various characteristics of men who existed before Ford. Bernard Marx did not believe in the everyone belonged to everyone theme that was the norm in Fords society. The director wanted to exile Bernard Marx because he did not believe in the society that the director was enforcing. However, Bernard felt strong enough to meet and overcome affliction, strong enough to face even Iceland. (Huxley 106). This mentality was one of the many factors which set Bernard apart from the rest of society. Another man who sets himself apart from society is Macbeth. He plots and succeeds in killing King Duncan after hearing the witchs prophecies.  Macbeths reasons for killing King Duncan are numerous but most striking are greed and an unrelenting desire to become King. He also wants to make sure that he runs the country as he saw fit. Macbeth allows the prophecies to control him and his internal struggle is demonstrated by: This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill; cannot be good: if ill why hath it given me earnest of success (Shakespeare 27). Despite his initial reluctance, he quiets his conscience leading to the brutal murder of King Duncan. I have done the deed (Shakespeare 70). Both stories show similarity between the Director and Macbeth, who are willing to sacrifice innocent lives to obtain the society they want. Wanting and achieving the society that is envisioned is always paralleled with loss and some sort of sacrifice. Bernard Marx sacrifices the little respect that he has by bringing John Savage back to the utopian society. Bernard and John both want the society to be more independent. Fortunately for Bernard and unfortunately for the director, society accepts John and questions their own lifestyle. Bernard believes that life should be exactly the same as John wants it to be I dont want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin.(Huxley 237) Bernard took a huge risk in bringing John back to his society because he was risking definite exile to Iceland had society rejected John. Macbeth sacrifices his peace of mind and self-respect by killing Banquo and trying to kill Banquos son Fleance. At the feast Macbeth makes a fool of himself by talking to the imaginary ghost of Banquo. Blood hath been shed now, I the olden time, Ere human statute purged the gentle weal; Ay, and since too, muders have been performed Too terrible for the ear: the time has been, That when the brains were out, the man would die, And there an end: but now, they rise again, With twenty mortal murders on their crowns, And push us from our stools: this is more strange Than such a murder is.(Shakespeare 145)Many individuals take note of Macbeths strange behavior leading them to suspect him of some foul deed. Unfortunately for Macbeth, Macduff realizes that Macbeth is the true murderer. This realization leads to the eventual killing of Macbeth. This illustrates Macbeths sacrifice of his self respect and his life in order to fulfill his  prophecy. Many individuals are willing to sacrifice their souls in order to become part of the imaginary world where only happiness exists. John Savages mother, Linda, sacrifices her life by taking too much of a drug referred to as soma. Linda wants to get away from the real world and enter a world of happiness. Ever since she had a child with the Director her life changed for the worse. So the best people were quite determined not to see Linda. And Linda, for her part, had no desire to see them. The return to civilization was for her the return to soma, was the possibility of lying in bed and taking holiday after holiday, without ever having to come back to a headache or a fit of vomiting, without ever being made to feel as you always felt after peyotl, as though you’d done something so shamefully anti-social that you could never hold up your head again. Soma played none of these unpleasant tricks. The holiday it gave was perfect and, if the morning after was disagreeable, it was so, not intrinsically, but only by comparison with the joys of the holiday. The remedy was to make the holiday continuous. Greedily she clamoured for ever larger, ever more frequent doses. Dr. Shaw at first demurred; then let her have what she wanted. She took as much as twenty grammes a day (Huxley 107)Lenina introduces the drug to Linda as soon as Linda enters the world after Ford. Linda looses her life and dies at the hospital because of an overdose of soma, the drug that is supposed to provide happiness. Lady Macbeth also sacrifices her peace of mind and eventually her life so that Macbeth could be King. Lady Macbeth sets up the killing of King Duncan at the beginning of the novel. Throughout the novel, Lady Macbeth becomes involved in many of the murders committed by Macbeth. Unfortunately Lady Macbeth experiences a sleepwalking illness with recurring nightmares of the murder of King Duncan that could not be resolved. This disease is beyond my practice: yet I have known those which have walked in their sleep who have died holily in their beds.(Shakespeare 213). The lives of Linda and Lady Macbeth can also be viewed as victims of the utopian societies envisioned by the director and Macbeth. Freedom and individuality are sacrificed throughout Brave New World and  Macbeth in order to achieve the societies envisioned by the director and Macbeth. The director tried to exile Bernard just because Bernard did not accept the norm of the utopian society. Macbeth kills King Duncan after hearing the witchs prophecies of him being King so that he can run society the way he wants. Bernard sacrifices his respect by bringing John Savage back home. Macbeth also sacrifices his respect when he talks to the ghost of Banquo. Linda puts her soul on the line with an overdose of a drug called soma. Lady Macbeth also sacrifices her life in order for Macbeth to be King of Scotland. Many individuals throughout Brave New World and Macbeth sacrifice their freedom and individualism for the society that they believed in, even if it was not the society that was accepted by the majority of people. Bibliography Shakespeare, William, Date Modified: 1999, MacbethHuxley, Aldous, Date Modified: 1979, Brave New World

Biography of Vo Nguyen Giap, Vietnamese General

Biography of Vo Nguyen Giap, Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap (August 25, 1911–October 4, 2013) was a Vietnamese general who led the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War. He later commanded the Vietnam Peoples Army during the Vietnam War. Giap was the deputy prime minister of Vietnam from 1955 to 1991. Fast Facts: Vo Nguyen Giap Known For: Giap was a Vietnamese general who commanded the Vietnam Peoples Army and orchestrated the capture of Saigon.Also Known As: Red NapoleonBorn: August 25, 1911 in Lá »â€¡ Thá » §y,  French IndochinaParents: Và µ Quang Nghià ªm and Nguyá »â€¦n Thá »â€¹ Kià ªnDied: October 4, 2013 in Hanoi, VietnamEducation: Indochinese UniversitySpouse(s): Nguyen Thi Minh Giang (m. 1939–1944), Dang Bich Ha (m. 1946)Children: Five Early Life Born in the village of An Xa on August 25, 1911, Vo Nguyen Giap was the son of Và µ Quang Nghià ªm and Nguyá »â€¦n Thá »â€¹ Kià ªn. At the age of 16, he began attending a French lycà ©e in Hue but was expelled after two years for organizing a student strike. He later attended the University of Hanoi, where he earned degrees in political economy and law. After departing school, he taught history and worked as a journalist until he was arrested in 1930 for supporting student strikes. Released 13 months later, Giap joined the Communist Party and began protesting against French rule of Indochina. During the 1930s, he also worked as a writer for several newspapers. Exile and World War II In 1939, Giap married fellow socialist Nguyen Thi Quang Thai. Their marriage was brief, as he was forced to flee to China later that year following the French outlawing of communism. While in exile, his wife, father, sister, and sister-in-law were arrested and executed by the French. In China, Giap joined with Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Vietnamese Independence League (Viet Minh). Between 1944 and 1945, Giap returned to Vietnam to organize guerilla activity against the Japanese. Following the end of World War II, the Viet Minh was given authority by the Japanese to form a provisional government. First Indochina War In September 1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and named Giap as his interior minister. The government was short-lived, however, as the French soon returned to take control of the area. Since the French were unwilling to recognize Ho Chi Minhs government, fighting soon broke out between the French and the Viet Minh. Given command of the Viet Minhs military, Giap soon found that his men could not defeat the better-equipped French and he ordered a withdrawal to bases in the countryside. With the victory of Mao Zedongs communist forces in China, Giaps situation improved, as he gained a new base for training his men. Over the next seven years, Giaps Viet Minh forces successfully drove the French from most of North Vietnams rural areas; however, they were unable to take control of any of the regions towns or cities. At a stalemate, Giap began attacking into Laos, hoping to draw the French into battle on the Viet Minhs terms. With French public opinion swinging against the war, the commander in Indochina, General Henri Navarre, sought a quick victory. To accomplish this he fortified Dien Bien Phu, which was situated along the Viet Minhs supply lines to Laos. It was Navarres goal to draw Giap into a conventional battle where he could be crushed. To deal with the new threat, Giap concentrated all of his forces around Dien Bien Phu and surrounded the French base. On March 13, 1954, his men opened fire with newly obtained Chinese guns. Surprising the French with artillery fire, the Viet Minh slowly tightened the noose around the isolated French garrison. Over the next 56 days, Giaps troops captured one French position at a  time until the defenders were compelled to surrender. The victory at Dien Bien Phu effectively ended the First Indochina War. In the ensuing peace accords, the country was partitioned, and Ho Chi Minh became the leader of communist North Vietnam. Vietnam War In the new government, Giap served as the minister of defense and commander-in-chief of the Peoples Army of Vietnam. With the outbreak of hostilities with South Vietnam, and later the United States, Giap led North Vietnams strategy and command. In 1967, Giap helped oversee the planning for the massive Tet Offensive. Giap was initially opposed to a conventional attack; he had goals that were both military and political. In addition to achieving a military victory, Giap hoped the offensive would spark an uprising in South Vietnam and show that American claims about the wars progress were wrong. While the 1968 Tet Offensive proved to be a military disaster for North Vietnam, Giap was able to achieve some of his political objectives. The offensive showed that North Vietnam was far from being defeated and significantly contributed to changing American perceptions about the conflict. Following Tet, peace talks began, and the United States ultimately withdrew from the war in 1973. Following the American departure, Giap remained in command of North Vietnamese forces and directed General Van Tien Dung and the Ho Chi Minh campaign that finally captured the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon in 1975. Death With Vietnam reunified under communist rule, Giap remained minister of defense. After retiring, he authored several military texts, including Peoples Army, Peoples War and Big Victory, Great Task. He died on October 4, 2013, at Central Military Hospital 108 in Hanoi. Legacy Giap was much admired for his military skills, even by leaders in the West, some of whom referred to the Vietnamese general as Red Napoleon. Giap had no formal military training; nevertheless, he was able to drive the Americans to a stalemate in Vietnam and capture the city of Saigon from the South Vietnamese. Sources Lawrence, Mark Atwood.  The Vietnam War: a Concise International History. Oxford University Press, 2010.Warren, James A.  Giap: the General Who Defeated America in Vietnam. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Coordinating Conjunction Definition and Examples

Coordinating Conjunction Definition and Examples A coordinating conjunction is a  conjunction (such as and) that joins two similarly constructed and/or syntactically equal words, phrases, or clauses within a sentence, whether they are adjectives, adverbs, nouns, or verbs. Its also called a coordinator. The coordinating conjunctions in English are and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet. (See the coordinating conjunction and as it functions in that list of conjunctions?) Compare their use with ​subordinating conjunctions, which join items that are not of equal weight. When joining two independent clauses to create a compound sentence, place a comma before the conjunction. When they join two verbs, for example in the case of a compound predicate, you dont use a comma before the conjunction.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ Independent Clauses vs. Compound Predicates Independent clauses look  like these examples below. They each have a subject and a verb, making them complete thoughts that stand on their own: She wondered when he would get home. She decided not to call. If we were to write them as one sentence, wed either need to join them with a semicolon or a comma and a coordinating conjunction like this:   She wondered when he would get home, but she decided not to call. Note that each clause keeps its own subject and verb. If theyd be joined without the comma and conjunction, theyd be a fused sentence or a comma splice.   This version of the  sentence contains a compound predicate, two verbs that share the same subject:   She wondered when he would get home but decided not to call. Theres no comma before but because there is only one subject for both verbs. She both wondered and decided. There are no longer two independent clauses. Decided not to call cant stand on its own as a sentence. Conjunctions Starting a Sentence In some cases, a coordinating conjunction may be used as a transition at the beginning of a new sentence. It can break up a static rhythm between similarly structured sentences or lead off a very short  sentence to add emphasis to that sentence in the paragraph. Theres some debate whether writers should be able to use the conjunctions in this way or whether thats a rule that shouldnt exist. Author David Crystal explains: And at the beginning of a sentence? During the 19th century, some schoolteachers took against the practice of beginning a sentence with a word like but or and, presumably because they noticed the way young children often overused them in their writing. But instead of gently weaning the children away from overuse, they banned the usage altogether! Generations of children were taught they should never begin a sentence with a conjunction. Some still are.There was never any authority behind this condemnation. It isnt one of the rules laid down by the first prescriptive grammarians. Indeed, one of those grammarians, Bishop Lowth, uses dozens of examples of sentences beginning with and. And in the 20th century, Henry Fowler, in his famous Dictionary of Modern English Usage, went so far as to call it a superstition. He was right. There are sentences starting with And that date back to Anglo-Saxon times. (The Story of English in 100 Words. St. Martins Press, 2012) Following through with the example in the previous section, it could read like this: She wondered when he would get home. But she decided not to call. Splitting up the two sentences changes their rhythm and pacing slightly, as compared with having them joined into one sentence with the conjunction between them. Starting a sentence with a conjunction isnt a convention you want to use sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, but it can serve as a tool to create drama in a passage through altering its pacing and rhythm.

Management Planning Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Planning Paper - Essay Example Management Techniques Business Ethics form an important part of the culture of the businesses. They are very important when it comes to the normal functioning of businesses in this world. The company had made almost 65 acquisitions or mergers in only 6 years. Integrating is a lengthy process, time consuming and a very challenging exercise as there may be people who may resist these changes and create problems. The second aspect is to integrate financially by the use of the generally accepted accounting principles. It is believed generally that because of these practices of integration WorldCom was successfully able to hide its practices. The unethical issues in the company arose when the company started to face problems from the decreasing demand of telecommunications. It is then believed that the senior executives of the company were involved in fraudulent activities. (Kiron et al 2004; Worldcom Website 2010; Securities and Exchange Commission 2003) The company is designed to follow the accounting standards through which they can make accounts and these accounts are then analyzed by the managers and head of the organizations. Managers are given the sole authority to check over the employees when they face any difficulties in the culture of WorldCom. The problems faced by the workers are solved keeping in mind the view about corporate social responsibility. The firm follows strict corporate social responsibility measures which should be followed by the employees. Issues faced by WorldCom WorldCom faced a series of blows when they were targeted by the media and it was found that the company was involved in fraudulent activities. There were three major problems with the corporate culture and their style of working. The first one was the way they grew through aggressive acquisition of companies, second was the strategy of senior executive loans and the third and foremost was the way in which they did business which was against the code of corporate governance and had exposed them to threats related to fair and arm’s lengths transactions (Kiron et al 2004; Securities and Exchange Commission 2003) The acquisitions and mergers have been mentioned above where it can be clearly seen that WorldCom made a large number of acquisitions in a short time and this created for the company as a whole. It is analyzed that the senior executives of WorldCom such as the CEO Ebbers were personally devoted to financial success and because of this they started doing unethical activities at the company. It was because of the negative role of the senior executives that unethical practices flourished at WorldCom as they created such an organization culture which did not question anyone in the firm. Hence it can be said that fraudulent activities even at the lower designations was taking place at a higher rate. Hence it can be clearly identified here that inefficiency of the leader at WorldCom caused more of these ethical issues to arise (Kotter & Heskett 1992 ). The Company did not properly follow the accounting standards, while preparing the accounts to show that the profits were increasing but in fact they were not. This had led to increase profits by charging the expenses to decades instead of a few years, recognizing revenue in the same year and prove that the company had huge