Finance Essay Example for Free

Finance Essay Quiz 1 1. The raw fundamental data on the human genome cannot be patented but the genes and gene-based discoveries can. 2. The map of the human genome produced by Collins and his co-workers is available from the internet for free all over the world. In other words, the map of the human genome created by the HGP is a public good. 3. Celera genomics has no patent over the human genome. However, celera does have proprietary rights over its version of that genome. It is private good. Quiz 2 1. Any new idea applicable to the essential function of finance is termed a financial innovation. This is the loosest possible definition of financial innovation. Credit card automatic teller machines venture capital firms. 2. The distinguishing feature of ‘modern banking’ emerges from the financial innovation known as ‘securitization,’ namely: banks pool assets (from mortgages to car loans) and sell the repackaged assets. Securitized debt’ is one of the financial innovations at the heart of the financial crisis 2007-08, and refers to the creation of bonds of different seniority (known as ‘tranches’) that are fixed-income claims backed by collateral in the form of large portfolios of loans (mortgages, car loans, credit cards, etc.). 3. The CDSs are insurance contracts. The main function of the CDSs is to hedge against default. More specifically, the buyer of the CDS makes payments to the seller in order to receive protection. The buyer re ceives a payment if a credit instrument (for example, a loan or a bond) goes into default or in the case of a specified credit event such as bankruptcy. In particular, CDSs allow people to insure against the failure of new-fangled financial products. Quiz 3 1. Real A financial innovation that provides economically valuable benefits constitutes a real financial innovation. Concrete examples of real financial innovations are the Credit Card and the ATM. Nominal Nominal financial innovations are financial instruments that increase compensation without providing lasting economic benefits. Toxic A toxic (or economically malignant) financial innovation is a nominal financial innovation which singly or jointly with other financial innovations provokes a financial crisis. Sub-prime mortgage innovation. It is generally agreed that the sub-prime mortgage innovation in combination with other financial innovations and factors led to the financial crisis 2007-08, and thus, the sub-prime mortgage is an example of toxic financial innovation. Quiz 5 1. Risk means that we can compute the probability distribution of a particular event. For example, when you buy a lottery ticket there is ‘risk’ in the sense that you can compute the probability of winning a prize. Uncertainty means that the probability distribution of an event cannot be computed because there is not enough information. For example, suppose that you buy a ‘scratchy’ that offers among other prizes a maximum reward of $250,000 and that you want to compute the probability of winning this prize after one day of the release of the ‘scratchies.’ In this case, you experience ‘uncertainty’ because you have no way of knowing whether someone else has already won the maximum prize, and therefore, you cannot compute a unique probability of success. 2. The fundamental reason serving to account for the metamorphosis of risk into Knightian uncertainty can be easily understood: the investors (for example, mutual funds) who bought t he CDOs had no real comprehension of the size and location of the risks underlying these financial products. Quiz 6 1. The loosest possible definition of ‘shadow banking system’ is ‘the collection of financial institutions and activities that in some respects resemble banking activities but are subject to less regulation than commercial banks.’ 2. The investor lends $D for interest (i %) to the financial firm and requires collateral.The financial firm gives CDOs as collateral and agrees to recuperate the CDOs some time later for $E, where E = D +iD The preceding financial trade is known as ‘sale repurchase agreement,’ or briefly, ‘repo’ agreement

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Scandal in Bohemia Essay examples --

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Scandal in Bohemia The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was written by Sir Arthur ConanDoyle. The novel was first published in 1892. A Scandal in Bohemia was a short story about a woman who has pictures of herself and a high Englishnobleman. She used them to blackmail him. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a novelist, a detective-story writer, and aphysician. He was born on May 22, 1859 and died on July 7, 1930. He beganwriting The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in 1890 and finished writing it in1892. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was so successful in his writing that he gave uphis career as a physician only five years after the creation of Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson were created by Sir Arthur Conan Doylein a bar in England when Doyle was having legal problems. The story took place in March of 1888. Sherlock Holmes resided at 221BBaker Street in London, England. Inside his room were all the materials heneeded to use to solve his cases: One night, it was on the twentieth of March 1888, I was retur ning from a journey to a patient, when my way led me through Baker Street. His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up I saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind. The second half of the story took place at Briony Lodge. This is where IreneAdler resided. Her house had a small garden and was two stories high. The story began when Doctor Watson visited Sherlock Holmes. Holmestold Watson that he needed his help on a case. The case involved pictures ofthe King of Bohemia and a woman named Irene Alder. The King of Bohemiawas going to marry a woman he loved, but Irene Alder blackmailed him withthe pictures. Irene Alder was in love with the King and did not want him tomarry another woman. Sherlock Holmes came up with a plan to get the pictures back from IreneAlder. Holmes had a group of his friends cause a commotion with Irene in frontof her house. Then, Holmes dashed into the crowd to pretend that he wasprotecting the woman and was punched b y one of the men. He had concealed asmall amount of red paint in his hand. When the fight was broken up, Holmeswas on the ground with the paint on his face. He pretended that he wasseriously injured and was brought into Irene's house. While Holmes was being cared for by Irene and a small crowd of people,Doctor Watson sent a smoke rocket into h... ... human is perfect.Many people believed that Sherlock Holmes was the perfect detective and thathe would never lose a case. This short story proved these people wrong.Sherlock Holmes was able to find out where the pictures were and was able toexecute his plan. However, Irene Alder outsmarted Holmes by leaving thehouse before being caught. Fortunately for both the King of Bohemia andSherlock Holmes, she found a man that she loved and did not blackmail theKing anymore. If she did not love this man, it is probable that she would still beblackmailing the King and tSherlock Holmes would have to begin the caseagain. A Scandal in Bohemia is a short story that received more attention thanany other one written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It received this attentionbecause Sherlock Holmes, for the first time, is outwitted. Sir Arthur ConanDoyle uses deductive reasoning, which is when reasoning is used to form themost likely conclusion. He also used irony, which is a contrast between the waythi ngs seem to be and the way they turn out. Irene Alder thought that SherlockHolmes was injured and had blood running down his face, but he really was justpretending to be hurt and red paint was on his face.

Production Plan for Riordan Manufacturing

Production Plan for Riordan Manufacturing The intended principle of this study is to submit suggestions for a new process design and the supply chain at Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. The reformation will utilize the theory of Lean Production in the application of the electric fans manufacturing. The research uses Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. intranet information. This paper will present a complete production plan for two of the Riordan Manufacturing Inc. locations: Hangzhou, China and Pontiac, MI.Riordan’s plant in Hangzhou, China specializes in the plastic fan blades and fan housings, and the Pontiac, Michigan location provides the customized look and design of the fans. The research of Riordan’s China plant exposed obstacles to the effectiveness of process design and supply chain. By making cuts in their inventory costs, improving outsourcing and their supply chain should benefit Riordan. The purpose of the modified process design and supply chain will help reduce the de sign and delivery time by subcontracting its limited activities to a third party.The relocation of Hangzhou’s plant operations to Shanghai will minimize shipping costs and reduce stocking of the inventory. The application of the Theory of Constraints will modify the process into a strategic plan. The proper implementation of the Lean Production Current Production Process The Hangzhou, China plant uses a make-to-order fabrication process selection strategy when manufacturing the electric fans. Currently the plant makes fans utilizing a batch production process to allow the fans to be made specifically to the consumer’s needs.Useful reports about the industry propose that Riordan Manufacturing should move to a more aggressive process design system to meet the anticipated increased demand and to gain more market share. Safety stock will support a just-in-time (JIT) delivery process to reduce delays that are external to the business such as concerns with work stoppages and working conditions as global plants can experience. The new process design system would include maintaining electric fan capacity reflective of competitor sales performance, and based on the product demand throughout Asia and Europe.The process flow structure would be changed to an assembly line infrastructure to support increased operations and sales. An assembly model would also encompass customer specific orders in addition to safety stock and current inventory requirements. New Supply Chain Design Because the polymer material is more abundant, obtained locally, and has no availability or delivery issues, the China plant will shift the contents of its inventory to house more fan motors.Riordan will adopt a pull system to only purchase the polymer required for the daily requirements of fans and housings, which will provide additional storage space for more critical inventory. Possessing a safety stock of electric motors will prevent a slowdown in Riordan’s manufacturing pr ocess, eliminating one of the main bottlenecks in the value stream. To achieve this efficiency, Riordan will periodically place orders with a second motor supplier so that Riordan can begin a new two-bin system. In a two-bin system, items are used from one bin, and the second bin provides an amount large enough to ensure that the stock can be replenished,† (Chase et al. , 2006, p. 609). The first bin will contain electric motors for production orders to satisfy customer requirements, the second will be appropriated a safety stock that will provide the ability for consistent production runs. New Custom Orders Process To facilitate custom manufacturing of fans, Hangzhou will offload this portion of their business to the Riordan plant in Michigan (MI).This move will take advantage of the mass customization capabilities at the MI plant. Mass customization is highly effective when differentiating a product for specific customer requirements until the latest point in the supply chai n (Chase et al. , 2006). The MI plant is capable of customizing the fan design, the color of the finished part, and the new fan blade dies required per customer specifications. This move from Hangzhou to MI allows customization without disrupting the flow of material and allowing customers in North America to customize their products.The custom designs will incorporate standard fastening details, which are common to Riordan fans. Standardized parts would save the company money through volume discounts and would eliminate waste from excess inventory of different fasteners. Once the customer decides to purchase a significant quantity of fans, Hangzhou will start the production process in China where polymer is more abundant and labor is less expensive. New Logistics ProcessAlthough Riordan has used a few different companies for its shipping needs, the company will benefit by taking a different approach, which will increase operational efficiency and competitive advantage. Certainly on e area of concern is the less than optimal on-time delivery performance average of 93%, which affects negatively on the Riordan brand and customer satisfaction. Riordan will outsource its logistical requirements to the most qualified marketing partners. Outsourcing is the act of moving some of a firm’s internal activities and decision responsibilities to outside providers. † Riordan will maintain its core competencies in-house, including the intellectual property of manufacturing high performance fans and outsource other logistical â€Å"non-proprietary† standardized processes. Riordan will use logistic design concepts to ensure that fan materials, engineering, and design produce a product that meets desirable package sizes and weights (Chase, Jacobs, Aquilano, 2006).This design approach will ensure that regardless of the transportation mode selected (trucking, rail, water, or air), the customer will benefit from reduced shipping charges. In addition, Riordan wil l explore the best type of robust packaging that will produce damage free transport of the product to the customer. (Chase, Jacobs, Aquilano, 2006). Ultimately, by outsourcing logistical efforts to well established technology driven-partners, Riordan’s can provide additional value to the customer. Logistics companies now have complex computer tracking technology that reduces the risk in transportation and allows the logistics company to add more value to the firm that it could if the function were performed in-house† (Chase, Jacobs, Aquilano, 2006, p. 414). Conclusion (Danielle Garcia 200 words) Compile and run through plagiarism (Danielle Garcia) References Chase, R. B. , Jacobs, F. R. , & Aquilano, N. J. (2006). Operations Management for Competitive Advantage (11th ed). New York, McGraw Hill/Irwin.

Karl Marx Was Wrong About The Utopian Society - 871 Words

I do not think that Karl Marx was wrong about the utopian society he envisioned. We just haven’t gotten to a point in time that the utopian society can be realistically achieved. The overthrow of capitalism, when it comes, will proceed just as quickly and democratically as capitalism allowed. Out of the revolution will emerge a socialist society that will utilize and further the developmental potential taken from capitalism? Product will be directed to serving social needs instead of increasing profits. And the socialist society will build and alienation will be abolished. Workers may earn more money today than they did in the last century, but so do the capitalists. The wealth and income gaps between the bourgeois and proletariats is greater than ever. The workers relations to their labor, products and capitalists are unchanged from Marx’s day. The only difference between today’s capitalism and Marx’s is because of a more direct involvement of the state in the capitalist economy. Plus Marx theories concentrate on the more advanced industrial capitalist, he never thought that socialism would be achieved in relatively poor, politically underdeveloped countries. Marx’s vision of socialism emerges from his study of capitalism. Socialism is the unseen potential of capitalism. For a more just and democratic society in which everybody can develop their own qualities of being human. Capitalism raises a way of thinking, which gets people to accept what has happened and refuses theShow MoreRelatedManifesto Of The Communist Party920 Words   |  4 Pagesdrafted as, â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party†, is a pamphlet written by Karl Marx, that in essence reflects an attempt to explain the goals and objectives of Communism, while also explaining the concrete theories about the nature of society in relation to the political ideology. The Communist Manifesto breaks down the relationship of socio-economic classes and specifically identifies the friction between those classes. 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