Bear Stearns Collapse Timeline Essay Example for Free

Bear Stearns Collapse Timeline Essay This week five years ago, JP Morgan announced it would buy Wall Street rival Bear Stearns in a deal worth $2 a share – this ultimately rose to $10. Here, Financial News looks at the events in the run-up to the fall of the 85-year old independent investment bank. Financial News compiled the timeline from press releases, contemporary media reports and William D Cohan’s account of the collapse of the bank, ‘House of Cards’. May 21, 2007 After months of growing instability in the US sub-prime mortgage market, Bear Stearns chairman Alan ‘Ace’ Greenberg offers reassurances that the firm, heavily exposed to the market, is on top of things. â€Å"The sub-prime (issue) has been blown completely out of proportion,† he says, in comments reported by Dow Jones Newswires. Mid-June 2007 Serious problems become apparent at two Bear Sterns hedge funds with a high exposure to sub-prime mortgages. Investors in the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund, which managed $600m, are informed that the fund has lost 23% of its value over the year to April, reports The Wall Street Journal. The fund begins a fire-sale to minimise exposures. After the failure of a mooted rescue plan involving support from lenders, a new rescue scheme is announced by Bear Stearns, which offers $3. 2bn for a bailout of a second fund the High Grade Structured Credit Fund. The bank previously had only $45m invested in this fund’s equity, according to William D Cohan in House of Cards’. Bear Stearns later says it is providing $1. 6bn to the fund rather than the original $3. 2bn, citing the sale of assets. A decision is made not to rescue the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund, according to Cohan. August 3, 2007 Standard Poor’s downgrades the bank’s outlook to negative. The bank says that concerns over its situation are â€Å"unwarranted† as the hedge fund fallout represented â€Å"isolated incidents† and â€Å"by no means a broader indication† of the bank’s performance, according to The Wall Street Journal. August 5, 2007 Bear Stearns president and co-chief operating officer Warren Spector resigns from the bank. Alan Schwartz is confirmed as sole president. Days later, the Associated Press reports that the bank sends letters to clients reassuring them of its financial position. September 10, 2007 British billionaire Joseph Lewis expresses his confidence in the future of the bank by acquiring a 7% stake, becoming one of the largest shareholders. October 5, 2007 Federal prosecutors launch an investigation into the collapse of the Bear Stearns hedge funds. November/December 2007 Chief financial officer Sam Molinaro says that the bank has been â€Å"very conservative and aggressive† in its revaluations, according to Dow Jones Newswires. On December 10, MarketWatch reports that the bank has written down $1. 9bn related to mortgage exposure. January 8, 2008 Chief executive Jimmy Cayne steps down after widespread criticism of his hands-off response to the events of the previous year. He remains as chairman. He is replaced at the top by Alan Schwartz. In the same month, the bank announces the closure of a third fund, the Bear Stearns Asset Backed Securities Fund. Bloomberg reports that this fund has suffered a decline of 39% of its value over a year. February, 2008 Hedge fund Peloton Partners, run by Goldman alumnus Ron Beller, collapses following its exposure to asset-backed securities. March 2008 Carlyle Capital, a hedge fund based in Amsterdam, collapses as concerns over exposures to mortgages begin to multiply, causing a squeeze on lines of funding. By March 5, insurance premiums on Bear Stearns debt have risen from $50,000 per $10m of debt at the beginning of 2005 to $350,000 per $10m debt, according to William D Cohan. It soon reaches $700,000. Monday, March 10, 2008 The company’s stock falls 11% to its lowest level in five years following a Moody’s downgrade of portions of its mortgage bond holdings, writes Cohan. The bank denies rumours that it is in trouble. Investors look for ways to bet on further falls in the bank’s stock. Tuesday, March 11, 2008 ING Groep, the Dutch bank, cancels $500m of short-term funding for Bear Stearns, according to The Wall Street Journal, following an example set by Rabobank. According to a press release, the Federal Reserve announces an unprecedented lending facility in which collateral can be exchanged for funding, but the scheme cannot be accessed until March 27. In another important incident, cited by Cohen in ‘House of Cards’, Goldman Sachs refuses to stand in for Hayman Capital in a trade with Bear Stearns, suggesting hemorrhaging confidence among major financial players. Wednesday. March 12, 2008 Overnight markets for funding begin to dry up, while institutions continue to deny short-term lending to Bear Stearns. Hedge funds and other investors continue in their attempts to extract their money from Bear Stearns, which is rapidly approaching a funding crisis. Thursday, March 13, 2008. As customers continue to withdraw funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Federal Reserve begin discussions on the crisis. In a meeting on Thursday night, reported by Cohen, it is discovered that outgoings at the firm can no longer be maintained, with the firm effectively running out of cash during the afternoon. Lawyers are summoned to discuss the options for bankruptcy, while a deal with JP Morgan Chase is sought. After late night negotiations, JP Morgan agrees in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that it will provide secured funding to Bear Sterns for an initial period of up to 28 days. Friday, March 14, 2008 The cobbled-together deal fails to assuage the markets. Investors continue to pull money from the bank over the course of the day. By the evening, it is clear that a solution will have to be devised over the weekend if the bank is to survive. Saturday, March 15- Sunday, March 16, 2008 JP Morgan says it cannot do a deal without support from the Federal Reserve, due to the large number of toxic securities on the books of Bear Stearns. In response, the Fed approves a loan of $30bn saying that it is necessary to avoid â€Å"serious disruptions in the financial markets†. JP Morgan offers just $2 per share for the bank, a large loss for those whose stock was worth $30 on Friday, $60 the week before and over $150 a year before. Bondholders will be rescued by the deal, which is accepted by the board of Bear Stearns on Sunday morning. Wrangles with JP Morgan over a contract situation which potentially leaves the bank liable for funding Bear Stearns without claiming full ownership result in brinkmanship from Bear Sterns. A final price of $10 per share is agreed, with a value of $1. 45bn attached to the equity. March 25 Bear Stearns chief executive Jimmy Cayne and his wife sell 5. 66 million shares in the bank for $61. 34m, which, according to Cohan, represented a $1bn loss on the bank’s stock. May 29 The final Bear Stearns shareholder meeting takes place, at which former CEO Cayne speaks of his sadness at the firm’s demise, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing guests present.

The Irony In The Truman Show English Literature Essay

The Irony In The Truman Show English Literature Essay Truman from The Truman Show and Meursault from The Stranger both have things that foreshadow their ultimate choices in life, which include symbolism, existential themes, and irony. In The Truman Show , there is irony present throughout the whole movie. During most of the film, Truman wanted to leave Seahaven and go explore the world. He had a desire to do more than just live a quaint, common life. He is unique, and it is his motivation that makes him stand out. His enduring determination helped him find the answer. For example, he almost drowned during a storm while sailing, but he persisted on. Truman got an answer, but it may not have been the answer he was searching for. Once Truman learned that his life was a television show, he realized he would not be as unique if he left. He would not be the center of attention, and now wants to be just an ordinary person outside of Seahaven. There also irony present throughout The Stranger, as Meursault also has somewhat of an epiphany towards the end of the novel. Throughout the story, Meursault is indifferent to many things and does not show strong moral values. For example, he kills a man without strong reasoning. After getting sentenced to death, he truly realizes why he is getting punished for his actions. He understands what will happen to him and accepts it. Ironically, instead of having moral thoughts or feelings of remorse, he believes that hatred of him would make him feel less alone. However, he realizes he becomes happier when he better understands human existence and purpose. As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself-so like a brother, really-I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to fe el less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate, (Part 2, Chapter 5, P.123). He feels lonely, and it is the hate from the crowd of spectators that help him feel less alone. Meursault faced a lot of things like an existentialist. For example, he was ready to accept his consequence after he shot the Arab. He also was ready for death, knowing it is inevitable. Some existential themes include freewill, controlling your own fate, accepting your fate, and taking responsibility for your own actions. These themes are all present in The Stranger. It was the freewill that led him to shooting the Arab, because he was in total control. He chose his fate, accepted the consequences, and took responsibility for what he did. For example, he realized he was going to die, and accepted it. There are also existentialist themes in The Truman Show. Although the shows creator, Christof, tried to keep Truman in Seahaven, he ultimately could not. Trumans freewill and control of his own fate led him to discovering the truth about Seahaven, and thus controlling the outcome of his life. He accepted the reality of his life being centered around a television show, but moved on by leaving Seahaven. Although Trumans artificial world came to an end, he entered reality as he left Seahaven. Symbolically, Trumans fake world coming to an end was foreshadowed by a previous event. The light fixture that fell as Truman left his home symbolized things starting to fall apart. Shortly after this even, there were more examples that caused him to be suspicious and doubtful of the world around him. Another great example of symbolism in the film was the unfinished bridge that Truman and Marlon had conversations on. Truman was always uncertain of something when he spoke to Marlon on the bridge, and it could represent Trumans unfulfilled life and uncertainty. Although Trumans life was unfulfilled in his eyes, there is something that foreshadows him traveling in the future and discovering something. The name of his sailboat was the Santa Maria, which was a famous boat that Columbus sailed to America on. This foreshadowed Truman leaving the town of Seahaven to explore a completely new world. There is much symbolism present in The Stranger as well. For example, Mersault does not like being uncomfortable, especially from the weather. Many perceive the sun as a source of warmth, sometimes beauty, but Meursault dislikes the heat. The sun normally brings joy, emotional warmth or comfort to an individual, but Meursault seems to dislike feeling emotional in any way. He also dislikes heat from the sun. The sun was a barrier of Mersaults emotions. It also led him to murder. While walking on the beach, Meursault encountered the Arab again. The Arab reflected light off of his knife from the sun. Meursault thought to himself, All I could feel were the cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead and, instinctively, the dazzling spear flying up from the knife in front of me. The scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes, (Part 1, Ch.6, P.59). Right after this, he shot and killed the Arab. It seems like the little emotions that Meursault had took over his actions. Before walks up to the Arab and shoots him, Meursault thinks to himself, It occurred to me that all I had to do was turn around and that would be the end of it. But the whole beach, throbbing in the sun, was pressing on my back. I took a few steps toward the spring, (Part 1, Ch.6, P.58).However, towards the end of the novel he did gain some morals and understood much more about life. When he did, he looked into the window, with the sun shining behind it, and gazed at his reflection: I moved closer to the window, and in the last light of day I gazed at my reflection one more time, (Part 2, Ch.2, P.81). As you can see, existential themes, symbols and irony not only foreshadow, but affect Meursaults and Trumans ultimate choices in life.

History Of Air Asia

History Of Air Asia Air Asia was established in 1993 and commenced its operations on 18th November 1996. This airline was originally founded by a government owned conglomerate DRB-Hicom. However, on 2nd December 2001, the heaviliy indebted airline was purchased by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandess company Tune Air Sdn Bhd for the token sum of one ringgit. Fernandes proceeded to engineer a remarkable turnaround, turning a profit in 2002 and launching new routes from its hub in KLIA at breakneck speed which undercutting former monopoly operator Malaysia Airlines with promotional fares as low as one ringgit. In 2003, AirAsia has opened a second hub at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru which is near Singapore. And, it launched its first international flight to Bangkok. AirAsia has therefore started a Thai subsidiary, added Singapore to the destination list, and it commenced flights to Indonesia. Also, flight to Macau was started in June 2004 and flight to Mainland China and the Philippines started in April 2005. In addition, the flight to Vietnam and Cambodia is in the year 2005 while to Brunei and Myanmar is in 2006. With a strong yet simple slogan Now Everyone Can Fly, AirAsia has effectively placed its brand in customers mind when comes to selection of flight. In Malaysia, AirAsia is the second powerful national airline. Also, it was the first successful low cost and ticket-less airline in the Southeast Asian region. It is main based in the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). And, AirAsia has a registered office in Petaling Jaya, Selangor and its head office is on the grounds of KLIA in Sepang, Selangor. In addition, AirAsia is one of the successful businesses that have adopted cost leadership thoroughly through effectiveness and efficiency of the operation management. AirAsia has broken the travel norms around the world speedily and has become the worlds top airline. Beside this, AirAsia also has a route network that spans more than 20 countries; therefore it continues to pave the way for lower cost aviation through innovative solutions, more efficien t processes and a passionate approach to the business. The vision of AirAsia is to be the largest cost airline in Asia and for the purpose of serving the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with poor connectivity as well as high fares. There are 4 missions such as to be the best company to work for where the employees are treated as part of the big family in AirAsia, to create a ASEAN brand which is being recognized globally, to attain the lowest cost to make sure everyone in the world can fly with AirAsia, and to maintain the highest quality product by embracing technology in order to reduce cost and enhance the service levels of AirAsia. Apart from that, together with the associate companies such as AirAsia X, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia, AirAsia is set to take the low cost flying. AirAsia X was established in 2007 in order to provide high frequency as well as point to point networks to the long haul business. Its cost efficiencies are derived from maintaining a simple aircraft fleet and a route network based on low cost airports. Hence, guests will continue to enjoy the low fares through cost savings that AirAsia pass on to the guests. Moreover, AirAsia X franchises the brand name of AirAsia, Asias largest low cost carrier which uses a common ticketing website, uniform, uniforms, and management style with AirAsia. AirAsia X is also affiliated with Virgin Group and Air Canada. Reasons for Adopting Information Technology (IT) There are some factors that contributed to the adoption of IT for AirAsia. As we know, airline companies involved in helping people move from one place to another. And, there are billions of people in this world. Without IT, airline companies will not process smoothly and it might lead to serious confusing among the customers and the company. Also, people in this society are having the same problems such as traffic jam, working pressure and time pressure. They are busy with their works and they focus more on efficiency and effectiveness. They do not want to spend extra time on irrelevant things such as queue up to buy something or waiting for long hours. Therefore, most airlines including AirAsia do offer online reservation for the flight as well as hotel rooms in order to save their customers time as well as enhance customer satisfaction. Apart from that, the technology is getting in advanced in this modern era. There are many companies who have adopted Information Technology (IT) in doing their business. And, this IT has helped in enhancing a better management of the operation of the companies. Also, people in this society are concern more on company who has adopted IT and how this IT will help in making their life better as well as decision making in some tasks. AirAsia therefore choose to adopt IT in its business as to follow up the current IT trend as well as fulfilling the demand of the people in this society. They also implemented different systems to enhance their overall operation which will lead to efficiency and effectiveness of AirAsia. IT Strategy AirAsia has some strategies initiatives which involve IT solutions in order to build its company share and reputation. In order to make its operation effective and efficient, AirAsia has implemented few IT systems in its marketing and sales activities. As you know, E-Commerce in nowadays has become a business tool and it is also a vital strategic management that allows a company to sell, advertise, purchase, supplies inventory tracking as well as sharing of information. Therefore, E-Commerce does become a major success to Airline Company that lead to effectively and efficiency in their business. AirAsia is one of the airline companies that implements E-Commerce and maximizes their information technology usage to manage their company effectively and efficiently including make low cost possibly in their business. In order to maximize their IT, AirAsia has implemented current IT systems, for examples, Yield Management System (YMS), Computer Reservation System (CRS), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). These systems have indirectly generated extra revenues and build customer loyalty for AirAsia. Yield Management System (YMS) which also known as Revenue Management System (RMS) is the process of understanding, anticipating as well as influencing consumer behavior to maximize revenues or profits from a fixed perishable resource. Moreover, there is an important component in this system which is the use of overbooking where sometimes there must be a chance that a customer may not appear during that day. As a good example, it might be possible for a customer to book a ticket for a flight but did not turn up for the departure. And, this may cause the airline to end up flying an empty seat which will then cause lost in revenue for the airline company. But, in order to solve this problem, most airlines routinely overbook their flight. And, if there is an unusually large proportion of the customers show up, the company will be forced to bump some customers to another flight. Second, AirAsia using Customer Reservation System (CRS) which is an integrated web based reservation and inventory system. This includes Internet, airport departure control, call center, as well as others. This system is a direct sales engine that rid off the travel agents effectively and the need to pay for the sales commissions to them. And, CRS is totally customer friendly as the customer can buy or reserve a ticket directly via online without come to the ticket counter. This has brought more customers to use the website often thus reduce the extra costs of customer such as transportation costs. CRS also include Open Skies and New Skies. First, the Open Skies system is a built-in web enabled reservation as well as inventory system. The solution is built expressly in order to satisfy the distinctive needs of airlines that either implements a low cost business or in the process of making their business to more efficient streamline operations. Also, this system can be used either individually or combined yet it is depending on the persons needs. Open Skies helps some low cost airlines in worldwide to become a high performance business that continue to grow widely. On the other hand, New Skies is a next generation of reservation and distribution system. And, it is designed for the worlds fastest growing airlines which include newly launched airlines as well as rapidly growing hybrid airlines such as AirAsia. This system is a comprehensive airline passenger sales and management solution that provides capabilities for integrated online booking, call center reservations, inter-airline and alliance code-share itineraries, departure control as well as travel agency global distribution connectivity. Also, New Skies is based on the Navitaires Open Skies reservation and distribution system that have been used by over 40 of the worlds successful airlines. It represents a giant leap forward in quick deployment, speed to market with the new features and enhancements. New Skies has completely integrated departure control and real time reporting to keep your operation runs smoothly. Also, it is easy to use, change as well as customize. Third, AirAsia implements Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. It is a packaged of business software that integrates organizational processes and functions into a unified system. It helps business management executives with a comprehensive overview of their complete business execution which may influence their business decisions indirectly. There are some examples of functions: Human Resource, Supply Chain Management, Finance and Logistics. These all are stand alone software and has their applications and database. But, with ERP System, all of this individual software can work under one umbrella. And, all the departments can share information easily and it helps to save time and cost. The workflow that has taken place between different departments becomes more automated. The customers also get better services as the person who is using the customer facing applications can access to every bit of information that regarding each relevant process. For an instance, a person who is w ork under sales team can access to the customers product which is still under manufacturing. In addition, ERP system helps to reduce the need to carry large inventories which will increase the operational and labor costs. And, this system is implemented in AirAisia thoroughly. Experience Resulting From The IT Implements Utilization of Information Technology (IT) have directly contributed to the promotional activities, enhance brand equity, and keep the cost as low as possible by enable the customer to direct purchase the ticket online or through sales offices. This has helped the customers to save airline agent fees. The systems that have been implemented by the AirAsia have a significant change to their company. First, AirAsia has used the Yield Management System (YMS) for taking the operating costs and in helping themselves to optimize the price as well as allocate the capacity for maximizing expected profits. For an instance, seats are revenues for AirAsia and other airline companies. Every seat is considered as a profit for them. Therefore, AirAsia has introduced a plan whereby seats are available at different prices in various points of time. Hence, reservation that has done in later time will be charged more compared to one who has reserved earlier for the same seat. As a result of this system, this has enabled AirAsia to understand the behavior of their respective customers and implement effective strategy to generate expected revenues with lowest cost. Second, AirAsia has implemented Computer Reservation System (CRS). AirAsia has used Open Skies to centralize customer data and this has helped AirAsia to track booking and the schedule of flight activities in real. Open Skies booking system which provided by Navitaire performed almost flawlessly on every single occasion and it managed to handle the most demanding requirements of AirAsias flight booking operations. On the other hand, on July 2010, AirAsia has successfully completed the implementation of its new reservation system which called New Skies. This booking system has replaced the previous system, Open Skies. Furthermore, this New Skies gives the customers a new experience as well as providing a greater convenience and generate more savings for the customers. New Skies booking system has make the procedure of booking more efficiently. This New Skies ensure the airlines to maximize the distribution channels and dynamics packaging that emphasize on direct Internet sales. For distribution, New Skies gives AirAsia the control that they need over how quickly they deploy sales fares, special promotion, discounts and electric vouchers to stay ahead of the competitors. This is wise useful for AirAsia in this modern era. It also eliminates the need to maintain multiple databases associated with paper and e-tickets which indirectly increase the operational costs. Same with Open Skies, this New Skies enable the customers to continue booking online and the AirAsia sales offices, counters as well as the call center. They also can normally self check in via the web, mobile and kiosks at the airport together with the self manage options online such as adding check in baggage weight, pick a seat and pre-book meals. However, there are some differences between the Open Skies and New Skies booking system. With the new reservation system, the customers can look for the new feature which is Low Fare Finder. It helps the customers to view the lowest fare available according to their selected destination and date for travel. Also, the customers now are able to book their seats for multi-cities in just one transaction only. For an instance, if the customer plans to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Perth to Singapore and return, the respective customer do not have to make two separate bookings which is only provided by the new reservation system only. In addition, this New Skies booking system is able to support characters such as Mandarin, Japanese and other languages whereby the Open Skies system was able to support alphanumeric characters only. Hence, AirAsia can target multilingual customers globally and stay ahead in the airline industry. Lastly, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is implemented by AirAsia as this enables AirAsia to successfully maintain process integrity, reduce the financial month-end closing processing time, and speed up the reporting as well as data retrieval process. Every department such as financial, marketing and sales are unified into a single IT system to allow the employees to make decisions by viewing enterprise wide information on all airline operations. And, this system helps AirAsia by focusing on capturing transactions in daily operations therefore it helps to save operational costs and this indirectly increase the efficiency and effectiveness in its operation management. Comments on the Outcome of This Adoption of IT

Kinos Emotions in Steinbeck’s Novel, The Pearl Essay -- Character Anal

A small twist of fate can destroy the life of an individual. Kino, a Mexican, pearl diver, is in desperate need of help when his baby, Coyotito, is stung by a scorpion. Kino feels his only hope is to find a pearl beautiful enough to sell. His dream comes true when he discovers a magnificent pearl one morning. At first the discovery of the pearl can be looked upon as not only a miracle but also a life saver. Throughout the novel it becomes apparent the pearl is no where close to a miracle. Kino’s life becomes a struggle with many decisions that have to be made. In Steinbeck’s novel, The Pearl, the power of the pearl relates to Kino’s emotions. Kino is hopeful in the beginning of the novel, and the power of the pearl is purely good. When he finds the â€Å"Pearl of the World† he begins to think his luck has turned for the better. Coyotito appears to be healed and Kino decides he will keep the money from the pearl for his family, but when they return to the doctor he advises Kino and his wife, Juana, to have the baby treated. The baby is treated and they plan to pay the doctor t...

Personal Transportation vs Public Transportation :: Pollution Environment Argumentative Papers

Personal Transportation vs Public Transportation On my plane trip to the Philippines I had expected Manila to be a beautiful island with nature trails, tropical flowers, white sand and palm trees overflowing with coconuts outlining the border of the beaches. I was taken by surprise when I stepped out of the airport to find enormous skyscrapers; cars backed up bumper to bumper for miles in every direction that I turned my head for as far as I could see and a distinguishable stench of unclean air. My skin felt violated just standing there on the edge of the sidewalk. It felt as if my skin was being penetrated by miniscule pollutant dust particles. The city dwellers rushed around with handkerchiefs pressed against their faces to prevent the harmful chemicals from reaching their lungs. The traffic was so awful that if your license plate ended with an odd number you could only drive on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. If your license plate ended with an even number you could only drive on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. It was mind-boggling. It was like any other large city I had been to, only, more congested and more polluted. Who would’ve thought? This isn’t a single sad tale about an island out in the Pacific Ocean. The truth is the way the population is growing and places are expanding traffic is also greatly increasing. For example, a recent report from the U.S. Department of Transportation in Hosansky’s article on Traffic Congestion estimated that, â€Å"in 1994 governments at the federal, state, and local levels spent $124.5 billion on the nations transportation system. That figure has certainly risen sharply since 1998, when Congress passed the 6-year $217.9 billion Transportation Equity Act†(par.22). In just four years America has spent $93.4 billion dollars to build and repair roads. Citizens in agreement with constructing more roads do not realize that in five years the new roads will be just as congested and land will be even more scarce for further construction. Another negative aspect of constructing new roads is that, once new roads are built, more shopping centers, surplus ho using, food chains, and other sprawling suburbs pop up. These all contribute to more cars, which results in more traffic congestion.

Angela Merkel

Tiffany Prill Challenges of Leadership Leadership Book Analysis Modern World Leaders- Angela Merkel The person chosen for this leadership report is Angela Merkel. I read â€Å"Modern World Leaders-Angela Merkel† written by Clifford W. Mills. Being born in Berlin, with my pride in being German, as well as being a female with my own leadership ambitions, I felt Angela Merkel was a perfect fit for me. Gaining knowledge on the leadership style from one of the most powerful and influential women in the world, while also learning the values and beliefs my country is grounded on, I find Angela Merkel to be extremely interesting leader to study.Angela Merkel (born Angela Dorothea Kasner), was born in Hamburg, Germany on July 17, 1954. Angela was raised in East Germany where she later received Associates degree in 1973. Shortly after, she enrolled to the Karl Marx University where she later met and married Ulrich Merkel. She graduates with a bachelor and continues onto her PhD in Scien ce at the Central institute for Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin. By 1986 she received her PhD which is also the same year she goes back to West Germany for the first time since she was baby.It was the many years in West Germany, full of communism and hardships, that taught Merkel how strong and powerful government could be. Merkel was determined to use power to serve the people not use it to control them. Rather than telling them what they wanted hear, she told them what to do to solve the political problem. A scholarly physicist with little to no interest in politics rose to the top of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) known as a conservative, male oriented, traditional political party. I believe the keys to her success include things such as her upbringing along with her passion and ambition.Raised by a minister in communist East Germany, Merkel had an upbringing like no other. A place where the economy was shattered- where resources and goods where lack ing. Merkel and her family were always being watched upon by the Statsi. The Statsi was a security intelligence network that consisted of 100,000 full time employees with 300,000 informants recruited to spy on the citizens who might be subversive. Within this environment Merkel learned to keep her real thoughts to herself and keep her private and political world separate in fear of the Statsi.Ambition is an understatement. The fall of the Berlin Wall was the biggest eye opener and life changing event in Merkels life; going from someone who took no particular interest in politics to fighting for freedom and rights, almost over night. The day after Merkel was sworn in as chancellor Merkel wasted no time and made trips around the world meeting up with leaders in hopes to form alliances. Her first stop was Paris where she met with President Jacques Chirac where her goal was to emphasize the importance of their relationship.Next she met with security general Jaap de Hoop of the NATO. The NATO was a alliance between 26 countries where the attack on one country leads to the attack on all countries. Merkel knew how important this alliance was to Germany. Merkel returned home to meet the President of Pohomba of Namibia only to leave soon after to the United States to meet President Bush. Merkel was admired her never ending, ambitious, networking. â€Å"She put her loyalty to truth ahead of loyalty to the party†- Merkel’s put honesty and truth on the top of her values.When German chancellor Helmut Kohl admitted his guilt to receiving illegal claim contributions, Merkel was not scared to condemn Kohl in a public newsletter. Her mentor, the man who started Merkel in politics- in her eyes was now the man who betrayed a trust and should no longer be leader. Her honesty is the way Merkel got people to follow her as a leader. Although some felt she had stabbed Kohl in the back, many Germans praised her honesty. She had proven to the people that truth matters and that she stands behind it.Another time that Merkel wasn’t scared to stand her ground and simply standing up for what’s ethically right was back in high school. In Germany teachers quiet strict and at one point she had a teacher that would punish the entire class if a presentation differed even slightly from what the teacher told them to do. Deep down inside Merkel knew that the students put in extreme effort into the presentations and that this matter was so serious that the students could all be expelled from school. After explaining the situation to her parents, Merkel wrote a petition which she also presented to some GDR officials.Merkels class was saved; the teacher was later disciplined. I characterize her leadership style as one that is based on ethics and morals while also being very direct. She is both task oriented as well as relationship oriented. Merkel focuses on the business task at hand while putting great emphasis relationships and networking†¦ â⠂¬Å"I don’t think it make sense to go round and round in circles arguing about this crisis. We have to manage it instead. But that’s something we can only do together with our neighbors, our partners, the big ones and the small ones.I think Germany is destined, partly as a result of its geographic position, to be a mediator and balancing factor. † From this statement I feel as though Merkel is very direct and to the point- there is no point in arguing, let’s do something about it. At the same time Merkel puts emphasis on leader-member relations. Previous chancellor Schroeder was known for his extravagant sleigh rides with Russian President Putin along with an unwillingness to push Putin on difficult issues. Merkel wasn’t taking sleigh rides; she was making a dissimilar statementBased on her position Merkel has legitimate power and usually uses rational persuasion. She has the ability to influence others using something of value giving her reward pow er. Merkels degree in science gives her expert power and over the years has gained connection power through never ending networking and reciprocity. â€Å"I am, I think, courageous at the decisive moment. But I need a good deal of start-up time, and I try to take as much as possible into consideration beforehand. † Merkel puts a great deal of time studying an issue and pays close attention to detail when making a decision.When looking at a political issue, she looks at all sides and tries to understand it logically. Merkel does not go by â€Å"hunches† but finds out what others think (especially exerts). She studies an issue very carefully and does not make â€Å"right off the back† decisions. While some might of looked at it as inexperienced, Merkels courage stood out at the 2006 G8- Summit. The G8 Summit includes leaders from France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States, that year taking place in Russia. One thing that wa s not â€Å"appropriate† during the G8 Summit was to criticize the host.Not only did Merkel question Russia on their electoral system claiming its shortcomings, she also vocalized that she did not want the natural gas from Russia to get disrupted again; she needed energy security for Europe to be assured and secured. Merkel had made headlines and made her mark. Merkel has not groomed a successor but is the successor of Gerhard Schroder. Schroeder was more of a Democrat while Merkel is a Republican. She is an anticommunist that wants there to be a bigger role for private business and less role of the government.Schroeder believed that the government had to be a regulator in businesses and that small changes to policy would bring Germanys level of competiveness up. Compared to her predecessor, Merkel felt government needed to get out of the way of business and that taxes should be simplified possibly with a flat rate. In order to decrease Germanys booming deficit, Schroeder cut social security payments an unemployment benefits. Merkel on the other hand found that increasing the VAT (value added tax) from 16%-18% was more successful.Another major difference between the two was their views on the war. While Schroeder was against the war, he allied himself with France and criticized the Bush administration. Merkel found the war to be dignified and correct- growing up in a country without freedom she knew exactly how precious it was. She explained Germany needed to stop bashing America and that her administration will have friendlier relations with America. A portrait of German princess born Sophie Augusta Fredrika, (later known as Russian empress Catherine the Great) hangs on the wall in Merkels office.Sophie married the 17-year-old grandson of Peter the Great and was crowned Catherine II. Catherine was the longest ruling and most renowned female leader of Russia. The Catherinian Era was sometimes referred to as the Golden Era as she extended Russian territo ry and reorganized law administration. Catherine led Russia into full participation in the cultural and political life of Europe. In September 2006 Merkel topped the â€Å"World’s Most Powerful Woman† list by Forbes Magazine. Analysts claim her strength was her â€Å"unassuming and tireless networking†.Leaders around the world such as Jacques Chirac, Tony Blair, and Vladimir Putin were all impressed by Merkel winning the admiration of people worldwide. Other awards received by Merkel include: * Vision for Europe award 2006 * Recognition of â€Å"Dama de Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italian† by Italian president 2006 * Honorary doctorate from Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2007 * Chalemagne Prize 2008 * Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 2008 * Honorary doctorate from University of Technology in Wrolaw (Poland) 2008 * â€Å" â€Å" from University of Cluj-Napoca (Romania) Jawaharlal Nehra Award (India) 20 09 * Forbes most powerful women 5 years in a row This assignment has enabled me to see leadership traits and values from the perspective of one of the most powerful and successful women in the World. A political record breaker, who has marked her spot in history by moving Germany out of the recession. I was aware that Angela Merkel was the Chancellor of Germany but I didn’t know what motivated her and the type of person she is and how she leads her country.Her motivation and drives comes from the democratic and controlled life she lived in East Germany giving her the determination of providing German citizens a less controlled, free, and happy life. She grounds her decisions on principal and logic and leads in a direct, assertive manner. Although Merkel dominates German politics I view her more as a leader than a politician. Leaders care about the people they serve while politicians usually care about themselves and their party. APA Style Citations Angela Merkel: The Most Pow erful Woman In The World – People – Stylist Magazine. n. d. ). Stylist. co. uk homepage – Stylist Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2013, from http://www. stylist. co. uk/people/angela-merkel#image-rotator-1 Mills, C. (2008). Angela Merkel. New York: Chelsea House Reddy, V. (n. d. ). German Legend Angela Merkel's Success story – Posdcorb. Posdcorb. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from http://www. vamsinathmba. com/2012/08/german-lezand-angela-merkels-success. html Smitha, F. E. (n. d. ). Catherine the Great, Russian Empress. MacroHistory : World History. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from http://www. fsmitha. com/h3/h31-gr6c. htm

Baring Bank Case Essay

The Fall of sanngs sank The story of Barings Bank shows how overconfidence, coupled with poor internal control, can even bring down an historic financial institution. Below we provide a few teaching points. Nick Leeson seemed to have all the characteristics of an overconfident trader. As described in the chapter, excessive trading, lack of diversification, and too much risk were obviously present. Self-attribution bias seemed to play a major role. One commentator notes that Leeson â€Å"got overconfident after initial trades were successful and] when he started to lose money, got way too aggressive trying to make it up. When Leeson was asked about his actions, he explained that â€Å"l was determined to win back the losses [†¦ ] I was well down, but increasingly sure that my doubling up and doubling up would pay off†¦ â€Å", thereby overestimating his abilities by thinking he could outperform the market even after severe losses. A case study into the affair concluded th at it was overconfidence that led Nick Leeson to bet his reputation. But, as Saul Hansell of The New York Times stated, â€Å"It isn’t Just rogue traders loose annons stretching internal rules on trading desks who have destroyed their investors’ wealth. Money managers who play by the rules can get caught up short, too, when they fall to overconfidence about their mastery of the markets. † He further wrote that, â€Å"It is no secret that traders, as a class, are a young, independent and cocky bunch. The sheer size of the money they are Juggling can lead toa master-of-the- universe attitude. The Fall of Barings sank Barings Bank was founded in 1762 as the â€Å"John and Francis Baring Company’ by Sir Francis Baring. This bank was the oldest merchant bank in London, financed the Napoleonic Wars, and was the Queen of England’s own bank. In 1996, one man, Nick Leeson, managed to bring down Barings Bank, one of the oldest and most conservative financial institutions in the world, through his illicit trading activity. In 1989, Leeson Joined Barings Bank. After being transferred to Jakarta, Indonesia to sort through a back-office mess involving EIOO million of share certificates, Leeson solidified his reputation within Barings when he successfully rectified the situation in 0 months. Lesson also knew how to account for derivatives, even if he did not fully understand the complexities of their pricing. Therefore, in 1992, when Barings opened a new office in Singapore to trade on the expanding Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SIMEX), Leeson became an obvious candidate to manage it. Senior management at Barings Bank assumed that Leeson would turn the Singapore office into a highly profitable endeavor and therefore gave him extensive responsibility. As eliminated the necessary checks and balances usually found within trading rganizations. Soon he was Barings Banks star Singapore trader, bringing in substantial profits from trading on the Singapore exchange. By 1993, Leeson had made more than Elo million, about 10% of Barings’s total profit for that year. In 1994, he delivered over half of the E52. 9 million in revenue for his division on his own, making many proclaim him as the â€Å"miracle worker. † In his autobiography Rogue Trader, Leeson said the culture at Barings was simple: â€Å"We were all driven to make profits, profits, and more profits I was the rising star. Aided by his lack of upervision, the 28-year-old Nick Lesson promptly started unauthorized speculation in futures on the Nikkei 225 stock index and Japanese government bonds. SIMEX regulators were aware of Leeson’s cross-trading activities, and his breach of their exchange regulations, but did not act decisively to stop him. Leeson’s large trading volumes were quickly becoming important for the exchange, and being a lightl y regulated market was central to SIMEX’s strategy to woo trade from neighboring Osaka. Using futures contracts, Leeson speculated that the Nikkei would rise.