Treasury Yield Curve Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Treasury Yield Curve - Coursework Example Inflation affects purchasing power of money and therefore has a major effect on interest rates. Therefore if inflation rate is expected to be 1% during the next year this is added to the risk free interest rate (say 3.5%) and so the Treasury bill rate will be: rT-bill = rRF = r* + IP = 3.5% + 1% = 4.5% The inflation rate is the main factor which determines the shape of the treasury yield curve. If the inflation rate is expected to increase, then the treasury yield curve will slope upwards; which is normal. On the other hand, if the inflation rate is expected to decrease, then this will cause the treasury yield curve to slope downwards. Another factor affecting the Treasury bill rate is interest rate risk. When interest rates rises the prices of treasury bonds decline sharply and since this is a regular occurrence all long term bonds including treasury bonds have an element of interest rate risk. A maturity risk premium (say 2.5%) is therefore added to the risk free rate resulting in the following formula for calculating the Treasury bill rate. rT-bill = rRF = r* + IP + MRP. = 3.5% + 1% + 2.5 = 7% This premium increases with the time to maturity. Therefore, the longer the period the higher maturity risk premium. ... This information tells me that interest rates are subject to various economic conditions that will cause it to rise or fall and that the trend does not have to be continuous as it would appear from the examples seen. This yield curve has a dip and a hump indicating that the interest rates on one year maturities are higher than interest rates on 5 year maturities. The interest rates on medium term maturities rises constantly between year 6 and year 20 and then falls resulting in interest rates on some long term maturities being much lower than the interest rates on some in the medium term. Part 2 Yield to Maturity The yield to maturity is the annualized discount rate that equates the future coupon and payments to the future coupon and principal payments to the initial proceeds received from the bond offering (Madura 2006, p157). Consider Wal-Mart bond which matures on July 2015 with coupon rate of 2.25% which is paid semi-annually. The value of a bond (Vb) is found using the following formula. Vb = 1000 = [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)1] + [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)2] + [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)3] + [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)4] + [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)5] + [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)6] + [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)7] + [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)8] + [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)9] + [$11.25/(1 + rd/2)10] + [$1,0001/(1 + rd/2)10] The PV table can be used to find the figures for each of the ten six-monthly period: where $11.25 is the half yearly coupon rate. The time to maturity is five years and so Wal-Mart 2.25% Corporate Bond Time Periods Interest Payment Maturity Payment Total cash Flow PV Factor (1.125%) PV of Cash Flow    $ $ $    $'000 0       1000 1 1000 Par Value of Bond 1 11.25    11.25 0.9889 11.1251 2 11.25    11.25 0.9779 11.0014 3 11.25    11.25 0.967 10.8788 4 11.25    11.25

Urban Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Urban - Essay Example Many cities are founded based on industrialization and/or trade since with many industries there for labor arises, leading to people migrating to towns; these people will require housing education and medical services. This leads to centralization of services this bringing them close to employees, and their families. This spawns a range of business to service the needs of the inhabitants, because of the industries, there is also the demand for non-skilled labor, and the workers are often not well educated and poorly paid. As a result, they cannot afford the expensive housing and end up living in informal settlements or slums and shantytowns especially in third world countries. However, urban areas are centers of administrative government with their central location allowing them to be accessed by people from anywhere. They are also centers of entertainment with many fun spots such as discos, casinos and nightclubs being located in urban area. However, cities also create a breeding ground for a plethora of crimes mostly because of competition for limited resources these include; muggings and robbery, and self-destructive activities such as drug use and other unhealthy recreational activities as people try to escape their problems in a place far away from their

International Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Security - Essay Example The conflict between Israel and Palestine is mainly facilitated by the religious disparity seen in the region with the Palestine being Arabs and the Israeli people being Jewish Christians. This essay will look at the international security situation in Israel while referring to the information from the various wars and conflicts between the country and other nations, the internal conflicts that have lasted for years and the role played by various countries in either assisting or resisting its attacks on other countries (Slater, 2006). Israel has been in conflict with Egypt, Jordan and also with Palestine with the peace talks and reconciliation process yielding little despite the effort that has been put by the international bodies to end the conflicts. The conflicts have been due to border issues and the control of fertile areas, the failure to recognize some people and regions and the control of Jerusalem and certain Israeli settlements. One of the most enduring conflicts in the history of Israel is the one with Palestine. This can be dated back to about one hundred years ago with the same arising from the right to own the land between the Eastern Shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan. The Palestinians who are few and less armed when it comes to military empowerment have witnessed about one hundred years of suppression and occupation of the land which they considered as theirs by the Israelis. The suffering and loss that has been caused by the occupation of the land has led to their fight to be recognized as a state with their struggles having little fruits to be seen. The Jews on the other hand refer to the land they have been fighting for as the land of their fore fathers and so it is their rightful inheritance that should be given to them without much fighting or conflict. Having a two state solution has been one of the options that has been proposed to

CONLeader-R2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

CONLeader-R2 - Essay Example In this way, the nature of leadership within an organization may contribute significantly to the manner in which the organization functions because the leader influences other members of the group to work towards the achievement of group goals. In the context of examining motivation of employees at an IT firm in Doha, it must be noted that cultural and religious factors play a significant role in influencing motivation of employees and organizational performance. Budhwar and Mellahi (2006:6) have pointed out that Arabic countries are primarily masculine and conform to a hierarchical structure. Hence leadership would need to adopt a contingency approach, such that a productive balance is achieved between the requirements of each task, the team needs, the organisational climate and the situational, contextual pressures. According to this approach, a leader would need to modify his or her approach to adapt to the contextual situation. For example, in a primarily masculine context such as that which exists in the Middle East, leadership by women would not be acceptable. Additionally, male leaders would also need to be sensitive to the cultural and religious needs of their primarily Muslim workforce and must adapt to those need s. According to Peddler et al (1994, cited in Cole, 1997:318), effective managers must possess â€Å"social skills and abilities, â€Å"emotional resilience†, â€Å"continuing sensitivity to events† and â€Å"proactivity, i.e, the inclination to respond purposefully to events†. This corroborates the application of a contingency approach to management wherein a leader in a management position in the Middle East. Since HRM theories have primarily been developed and tested primarily within a Western environment, their applicability in the Middle East may be limited within the Arab environment. The problem that arises when western

Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice Management Essay

Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice Management - Essay Example I tend to think that the witness is being bribed in order to offer information regarding other criminals. The bribery here is, however, done for a good cause. The information provided by this witness will help get justice for other affected individuals. An example of this is the rampart scandal that saw a cop named Rafael Perez cut a deal with the prosecutor so as to expose the masquerading police officer or rather bad cops. A series of crimes was observed before the cop was arrested. The road rage shootout that saw an undercover agent shot to death while off duty, by a white cop. This developed tension among the force, but was later settled when investigations confirmed that the black cop was involved in many other street crimes.Another incident was the bank robbery that took place in Los Angeles. The suspected bank manager implicated her boyfriend, who was a cop to the organizing of the crime. Investigations revealed that the cop together with other partners in the force were gambl ing and spending a lot of money. One of the partners was known as Rafael Perez. Investigations on the police officer were launched when 6 pounds of cocaine, stored as evidence went missing. Part of the investigation involved the formation of a team named Rampart Corruption Task Force. The force was primarily focused on prosecuting Rafael Perez. When an audit of the property room was done, it was discovered that some more pounds of cocaine was missing. The speculation made pointed Perez as the culprit.

The body as artistic and cultural expression Research Paper

The body as artistic and cultural expression - Research Paper Example From the extreme examples like punk, to being selective in the colour or design of the dress one wears- body art has supposedly normal and not so normal manifestations. Shildkrout (2001) in the article, Body Art as Visual Language, has revealed the primal impulse behind the use of body as an artistic and cultural expression, â€Å"if the impulse to create art is one of the defining signs of humanity, the body may well have been the first canvas† (pp.1). Body painting, make up, body shaping, hair styling, scarification, tattooing, piercing, and dressing up in clothes constitute the expansive genre of body art. The functional aspect of body art has been described as supporting â€Å"to rebel, to follow fashion, or to play and experiment with new identities† (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.2). Apart from this functional aspect, the use of body as a starting point in artistic expression has gone rather unexplored. This essay envisages finding out the connection between body art and a rtistic expression and presupposes that the rebellion-aspect of body art inspires artistic expressions while the tradition-aspect blocks it. If we consider each kind of body art separately, it can be seen that different meanings are associated with different kinds of body art. For example, body painting can enhance the beauty, impart a divine countenance, provide protection, masquerade and establish a group identity. Similarly, make up has the function of increasing visual appeal, providing a false identity or concealing the original one, as well as establishing authority and status. Hair styling also can enhance beauty appeal, establish a group identity or visualize rebellion. Body shaping ranges from the primitive practice of skull shaping to the modern plastic surgery, all of which again has multiple functionalities. Scarification, tattooing and piercing have more to do with group identity and rebellion. But there are also less visible uses of body art like the use of piercing as a religious ritual and the use of make up to convey codified meaning as in Kabuki theatre (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.2-4). Body art has a great many things to do with our everyday lives and it is this aspect that brightens up the narrative of Meeta Kaur in her autobiographical essay, Journey By Inner Light (2006). Here, the basic emotions associated with body art are discussed, which is after all about being happy and content about one’s own self. Kaur (2006) has started her essay by describing the beauty of her mother’s hair, the good care that her mother gives it and the passing over of this tradition to herself (pp.39). This is a clear example of how artistic expression is evident in our everyday lives. As the narrative progresses, the reader become aware of the cultural identity that is associated with long hair, for Kaur’s mother and herself (2006, pp.40). Kaur’s being a migrant family from India to America, she believes that her mother’s long hai r is â€Å"an allegiance to a homeland† (2006, pp.40). Kaur (2006) also has remarked that her mother’s hair â€Å" is a light that provides a sense of place and home between any borders, on any soil, whether she is in India, America, or any other country† (pp.40). It can be seen that in this instance, body art as simple as maintaining one’s hair long has a meaning that is deep-rooted in tradition. The second encounter of Kaur (2006) with body art is when she goes back to India, and in a comic book, sees the picture of â€Å"the ninth Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, [†¦] (in) a navy blue turban and a golden robe and [†¦] (having) a long silky beard† talking about religious freedom (pp.41). This visual also reminds how body art can impart great status to a person’s appearance. The â€Å"

Social change Assigment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social change Assigment - Essay Example His idea has proven to be a replicable and long lasting means of delivering health related services and goods to Guatemalan and Ecuadorian villages. Using this process, he has encouraged entrepreneurship thus giving villagers the opportunity to develop economically, physically and socially. This model targets individuals in rural areas especially the women who have no other means of generating additional household income. This is through overpowering the traditional method of giving handouts to rural communities as they find means of fending for themselves, and not necessarily waiting for the next donation. So far Greg Van Kirk’s method has successfully sold water filters, energy-efficient light bulbs, wood burning stoves, eyeglasses and seed -growing techniques, in over one thousand villages in the rural areas at affordable prices; improving their health and economic status. Greg Van Kirk’s development is considered a social entrepreneurship because it is a new invention which has achieved large scale sustainable, and systemic social change. This invention has also first focused on social and ecological value creation while optimizing on financial value creation. Another reason for its classification as a social entrepreneurship is that it created innovation by finding a new product, and service, and a unique approach to a social problem. It also emulates the act of devotion to the poor and the weak and also stays on top in business innovation. Social entrepreneurship shares common traits and so do their organizations. Greg Van Kirk like most social entrepreneurs believes that all people have the capacity to contribute meaningfully to economic and social development. He has a driving passion as can be seen through his innovation. The zeal to monitor and measure impact, there are several articles showing researches done to determine the strategy, benefits and new