Principles of Banking and Finance Essay Example for Free

Principles of Banking and Finance Essay What does Sub-Prime Crisis means? Sub Prime lending which is also known as near-prime, non-prime and second chance lending, means lending to people who might have trouble repaying the loan due to income ability or credit ratings which previously would not have been available to them. Credit ratings that might be not favorable to them with the standards set up initially by Financial Institutions slowly dwindle to less strict under-writing of loans. which could also due to an influx of foreign capital making lending easier to these group of people, the investment banks that sold the repackage mortgages to the consumers which is one of the way to fund for capital, and the Housing Urban Development of America policy to ensure that its citizens has access to mortgage loans easily. The cheaper interest rate packaged by the Financial Institutions which seems more affordable for the consumer for the first 1 to 5 years and the thereafter interest rate would have jumped significantly. The loans here generally referred to mortgage loans. The Crisis started or snowball into what it was in 2007 in my opinion was due to greed. Greed into thinking that the property boom would continue in perpetuity so that the borrowers could cash out more from their current property market valuation, with this cash out in terms of personal loan they could fund or finance their lifestyle be it buying a new property for investment purposes, to flip or for rental. For the luxury in life they choose to enjoy now, spending future money. As the economy slowed, jobs are being taken away from corporation in America to other countries which have a cheaper source of overhead expenses and manpower. People are being retrenched thus causing them to start defaulting on their loan repayments. A statistic done has shown that the American households do not have any savings but was laden with debt instead. The housing bubble burst, the market does not have that much capital as it used to have to continue to push property prices up anymore, thus causing the market to slow overall, foreclosures of their properties was happening. Consumers was also unable to obtain a refinancing which they had planned previously to lower their interest rate again when it went up, as financial institutions feel the pinched and controlled its lending. How did the Financial Institutions played a part in this? In the past banks have financed their mortgage lending activities through the deposits they receive from their customers. This has confined the amount of mortgage lending they could do. In recent years, banks have designed a new model where they repackage these mortgages to be sold to the bond markets. This has made it a lot easier to fund additional borrowing from the investors and interest rate was low. But it has also led to abuses as banks no longer have the incentive to check carefully the mortgages they issue to the lenders. The failure to check and curb lending in return for the possibility of profit was one of the causes. The first sign of the sub-prime crisis was as early as 2007 when HSBC Finance which is part of the banks north American subsidiary has to write off 880 million in sub-prime lending. The business has become unsustainable as borrowers started to default. The new model which we have come to know is known either as Mortgaged backed Assets or Collateral Debts Obl igations. The repackage mortgages are being sold to the bond markets, before they can be sold, credit rating agency will determine and give the model a rating. A credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness example its ability to pay back a loan, and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued. These MBS or CDOs as it has come to know are usually marketed to countries which has a surplus in its balance sheet as it was generally known that Asians believe in savings rather than spending future money thus the products were usually marketed in Asia, It is allege that the rating agencies experienced from conflicts of interest, as they were paid by investment banks and other firms that organize and sell these structured securities to investors. If there are not to give favorable ratings to these products they risk the underwriter of these securities to another rating agency. It would be hard to sell these products if they are not being given a rating to begin with. Once they are sold the banks have in a way diverted part of the risk to the consumers. Investors should not rely too heavily on these ratings agencies opinions but instead carry out their own homework in the safeness of debt level as well as others related securities. Probably the opinions of the agencies enable them to get a conclusion, however based on past decade of event, it can only be consider as off base when it comes to the risk of credit event. Investors should try to put themselves in the shoes of the product pushers, asking themselves very important points like, why do you need to sell these products? Do you own any of these products yourself? If it is as good as you mention have the private investors bought and participated a substantial amount of their savings in it? Perhaps there need to be some form of intermediaries whereby no conflict of interest will affect their opinion and report of these products. A case study in Singapore itself which has made headlines during this crisis was the minibond saga which was being sold in Singapore by a couple of Financial Institutions. The originator of this series of structured products was the now defunct Lehman Brothers. The Minibond was being illustrated to the local consumer as a bond which is not the case it is actually a Collateral Debts Obligations. The relationship managers in banks are eager to sell the product because of the high commission and the consumer who are eager to buy because the returns are much higher than the fixed deposit being offered by the banks. An estimated of 500 million Singapore dollars was purchased for the Minibonds by consumers. It stirred a series of conflicts with the Financial Institutions that sold these products, the consumers cried fouled into being mis-sold of it, some of the consumers managed to get back part of their investment and vowed not to touch these structured products ever again. We can take a look back into the 1990s where one of the policy set up and enforce by the Housing and Urban Development of America, was one of the cause of the sub prime crisis. With the support of the government, HUD has less mortgage restriction requirements on its borrowers. The mandate was that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which was regulated by HUD, was to generate up to 8 million more homeowners in America. It was known as the â€Å"National Homeownership Strategy†. No down payment was required, 100% financing for the property was the norm. This was partly possible due to the influx of cheap money in the market, wit h this cheap money consumers speculated with the market, they kept buying new homes thus the good years of where the appreciation of the property keep going up. Financial Institutions dare to lend due to the market confidence that it can only keep going up, borrowers confidence that the market too can only keep going up. A check with HUD official website, apparently the US government is still supporting home ownership program without first addressing a stable income issue. Only with a stable income can a person make regular commitment to his or her housing loan commitment. Kudos to the Singapore government for taking appropriate actions during the last few years when their economy was recovering, the measures taken to prevent over speculation of the property market in Singapore. Homebuyers with the extra cash were snapping up properties, either for owner’s occupation or for investment purposes. The government either learned from the Sub-prime crisis or foreseen that if it continues the way it is going, a market crash might be imminent or the crash will be too fast and hard, no soft landing for the consumers. As they knew that property market have its up and down. Steps was taken, it used to be 90/10. Whereby the buyer have to come up with 10% cash and the remaining 90% can be financed through a financial institutions regardless of the number of property they currently owned. It was changed to 80/20 rule, 20% of which is the owner’s own cash an 80% through financing. Surprisingly it did not deter the consumers, the market still kept soaring. The next rule implemented was the 80/20 rule for first time buyers, meaning buyers without any current mortgage loan, for buyers with an existing mortgage which was not yet paid up; they are only eligible for 60/40. 60% financing for their new property and an increased in the stamp duty to be paid for to the government if it was their 3rd property for Singaporean. The hardest hit was the foreigners who are seeking to invest their money in Singapore properties as they have to pay additional 10% stamp duty which is likely to deter most of them. P rices still kept going up, the latest ruling was much more complex than the previous few. If one is looking at 80% financing one can only borrow up to the age of 65 years old and tenure of not more than 30 years. Which was not the case previously, in previous scenario it was dependent on different Banks guideline in Singapore, they could lend up to the age of 70, 75 or 80. They stepped in and put a cap at 65 as they believe that is the retirement age. If you want to extend your loan tenure your financing amount will drop to either 60% or 40%. I believe the government did this as they knew that the US is going ahead with Quantitative Easing 3, they want to prevent too much hot money from landing in Singapore shore. To sum up, we learned from our mistakes and grow not to make the same mistake twice. A healthy economy is based on real economic goods with value. Hopefully US can still continue to create innovative products like Apple and keep their manufacturing production in US soil, get employment rate up. The citizens have to maintain their expectations in terms of salary wise and spend within their means. Tighten up their way of lending and controlling Banks to a certain extent, a culture that is profit driven but with ethnics. Can heed the investment guru jim roger’s advice to focus on farming as there will be a food shortage in time to come. Induce good saving habits in everyone to save up for a rainy day. http://www.ethicalquote.com/docs/SubprimeMortgageCrisis.pdf http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7073131.stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_policies_and_the_subprime_mortgage_crisis http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/09/AR2008060902626.html http://www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com/mortgages-with-no-money-down/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2816291/HSBC-hit-by-sub-prime-crisis.html

The Standardized Testing Nightmare Essay -- High-Stakes Standardized Te

As children grow up some of their frightful memories include a visit to the dentist or to the first day in elementary school. Perhaps their greatest nightmare is standardized testing. Since starting school as first graders students are taught to test in the United States. In many cases students are placed in remedial classes or even held back because of their low grades. Many do not realize that the students with low grades are mainly students who are not good test takers, and educators start to believe that these students are low achievers. When educators do this, it leads the students to have lower self-esteem and encourages them to drop out of school later on. Students are also forced to memorize information merely as facts without sparking their creativity or enhancing their knowledge. Prior to the educational reform movement of the 1970s and 1980s, standardized tests were primarily employed as measures of student achievement that could be reported to parents, and as a means of noting state and district trends. (Moon and Brighton) Educators paid little attention to these tests, which had little impact on curriculum. In the continuing quest for better schools and high achieving students, testing has become a central focus of policy and practice. Standardized test are tests that attempt to present unbiased material under the same conditions and with consistent scoring and interpretation so that students have equal opportunities to give correct answers and receive an accurate assessment. The idea behind standardized testing is that these similarities allow the highest degree of certainty in comparing results across schools, schools districts, or even the state. As the high-stakes testing becomes more popular, stan... ...ndustrial nations in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. He reported that tests measure exposure to facts and skills not whether o (Osburn, Ritter and Suitt)r not kids can think. (Osburn, Ritter and Suitt)â€Æ' Works Cited Bachelor, Denessa. "Are These Tests Failing?" April 2006. Hearts & Minds. 2013 . Longo, Christopher. "Fostering Creativity or Teaching to the Test?" The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Stategies, Issues and Ideas (2010): 54-57. Moon, Tonya R and Catherine M Brighton. The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. Storrs: Center, 1991. Osburn, Monica Z., et al. "Parents' Perceptions of Standardized Testing: Its Relationship and Effect on Student Achievement." 2004. University of Arkansas. 2013 .

Polymerase Chain Reaction Problem Solutions with Assignment Help

Polymerase chain reactions are the specific terms used in stating different compounds and sates of the carbon compound which are specially used in a particular branch of chemistry called the organic chemistry. Polymerase chain reactions are the specific reactions which take place between several carbon compounds under particular circumstances. These invariably tough reaction chains are a part of the study of organic chemistry and thus the chain reactions are considerably hard to remember or to be memorized.Many individual students can be found who really struggle a lot in remembering these chain reaction solutions and putting the reaction chains in practical world implementation like the exam. Even the assignment problems specified with the polymerase chain reaction topic is really tricky and tough to complete as the writing procurement of correct reaction statements are not at all easy.Finding a help which eventually provides the correct polymerase chain reaction and reaction statem ent involvements, also is going to give you strong headache as you will not find any profound help which can help you in completing the particular assignment. â€Å"ASSIGNMEMTHELP. NET† is really a stand-alone online website which can be utilized to collect all the correct information and the polymerase chain reaction nomenclature. Polymerase chain reaction is the path of change and improvement of the states of the plastic molecules.Plastic is basically a carbon compound high on the carbon density and possesses plasticity. Thousands of individual plastic molecules get bonded together in the procurement of producing polymer compound from the pure plastic granules. â€Å"ASSIGNMENTHELP. NET† is such an educational website which involves the profound solutions providing procurements to the individual students who seek guidelines to write and complete any polymerase chain reaction assignment problem assigned to them with a specified topic involvement.Online tutorial videos and tutorial classes also can be considered as helpful consignments in completing any organic chemistry assignment problem. The help from the expert individuals with the approval from the expert panel of world renowned professors can be immensely helpful in completing any polymerase chain reaction assignment problem involvement as you get all the required help online with just few clicks of your mouse.You can opt for different communication establishment options that are available for you, which will really help you in finding better solutions and detailed information to complete one difficult polymerase chain reaction assignment problem. Certain communication options are available to choose from as you can opt for the email conversation where you will have to send one email containing the different aspects and required fields about which you need the information.You can also ask the direct question by email as you will get your point-to-point required answer completely free from a ny plagiarism. Also, you can opt for the live chat option or phone conferencing to discuss about the matter of your requirement. You will be amazed to see that the very website will take responsibility of providing you with several study materials and guidelines to write a perfect assignment on the particular topic once you get signed up with a considerable amount of signing up or admission charge to the website

Case Study - 2128 Words

Case Scenario of Natural Disaster The Privacy and security of patient’s health information is a important challenge and responsibility for every health care organization and a concern for every U.S. citizen. To receive healthcare patients must reveal information that is very personal and often sensitive. Most the patient-physician relationship depends on very high levels of trust at the same time they also trust health care organization, to protect their confidential healthcare information with belief of security and privacy. It is an ethical and legal responsibility for every health care organization to protect patients’ health information and should make a management plan for security and privacy of this confidential health†¦show more content†¦Health records will be damaged or destroyed because of the disaster. This is not good for the patients and will ask for their health records to find treatment at other hospitals that were not affected negatively by the disaster. However, after the di saster the responsibility of hospitals is to inform the patients that their health records or the information were destroyed. It makes every patient fill out a new health history and insurance form to rebuild the patient chart. â€Å"Health organizations should choose to maintain a log of lost or destroyed records, which will allow for easy retrieval of general information regarding the past event should any legal or accreditation issues arise†(AHIMA, 2003). â€Å"Once a disaster strikes and the disaster response plan is executed, post-disaster management is crucial. Documentation is a key main step in any disaster plan. The facility must prepare a detailed record of the disaster event that includes at minimum a list of patient records affected, recovery efforts taken, and outcomes. Reconstruction of information must be documented, including the method used, and the entry must be authenticated according to the facility s policy†(AHIMA,2003).In the case of electronic health records, if the organization has a backup plan and its data is stored in a secure remote location patient’s health information is not lost. The electronic health record plan ensuresShow MoreRelatedCase Studies : A Case Study Approach Essay1157 Words   |  5 PagesA case study is a specific instance that is frequently designed to illustrate a more general principle (Nisbet and Watt, 1984). Hitchock and Hughes (1995) further suggest that the case study approach is particularly valuable when the researcher has little control over evens. Case studies strives to portray ‘what it like’ to be a particular situation, to catch up reality and ‘thick description’ (Geertz, 1973) of participants’ lives experiences of, thoughts about and feelings for a situation. TheyRead MoreCase Study887 Words   |  4 PagesCHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Reasons choose the case 1.2 The Problems The problems of this case are: 1. How would you characterize Lincoln Electric’s strategy? In this context, what is the nature of Lincoln’s business and upon what bases does this company compete? 2. What are the most important elements of Lincoln’s overall approach to organization and control that help explain why this company is so successful? How well do Lincoln’s organization and control mechanismsRead MoreBusiness Case Study : Business Case Studies997 Words   |  4 PagesWriting Business Case Studies How to Write Business Case Studies The objective of this part of the course is to use your case study to help you solve real company problems and to make the learning more relevant to your experience. The Business Case Study you are being asked to start today will provide information for yourself and the class to permit constructive feedback. You will have to use all of your research, writing and analytical skills to write your Company Case Study. You must give enoughRead MoreCase Study148348 Words   |  594 Pages978-0-273-73552-6 (web) All rights reserved. Permission is hereby given for the material in this publication to be reproduced for OHP transparencies and student handouts, without express permission of the Publishers, for educational purposes only. In all other cases, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the Publishers orRead MoreCase Studies13817 Words   |  56 PagesCASE STUDY #1 A Job Search Dilemma Eric, a second-semester senior, is looking for a job. Anxious about finding work in the worst economy in decades, he sends out scores of resumes for a wide variety of positions. The first call he gets is for a position that doesnt really interest him, but he figures he should be open to every opportunity. He schedules an interview, which he aces. In fact, the recruiter offers Eric the job on the spot. He would like Eric to start as soon as possible. Should EricRead MoreCase Study 8985 Words   |  4 PagesCase Study 8 Based on the January through June 2010 cash budget, what is the maximum monthly loss during the six-month planning period? What is the maximum cumulative borrowing balance? (For purposes of this question, disregard any interest payments on short-term bank loans or interest received from investing surplus funds.) Maximum monthly loss is in June: -$60,750. The maximum cumulative borrowing balance is $99,000 in February. What does the monthly cash budget reveal that indicatesRead MoreCase Study : The Angel 1089 Words   |  5 Pages Case Study #1 The Angel, 1997 Susan Meeks, an alias, woke to what she thought was the middle of the afternoon. A bright yellowish light was shining through the west window of her travel trailer. An other world being was in the room and was as tall as the ceiling of the trailer. She went to the bathroom where she washed her face with cold water and stayed in there long enough to smoke a cigarette. When she went back to the bedroom the being was still there. The being showed her futureRead MoreThe Case Study Of The Company1468 Words   |  6 PagesOverview of Case Study In the case study by Spector titled, Transferring Innovation Across National Boundaries, (Spector, 2012) company named Minnesota Biolabs (MB) provided laboratories with a quality test for contamination of injectable medications. This test required the use of live rabbits that led to the rabbit’s death after the test. The company was headquartered in Minneapolis, however they were organized with four, somewhat independent, national units in Europe and Japan, each run by aRead MoreLaw of Case Studies1514 Words   |  7 PagesZulfatah Arif SCM-019741 Work Psychology in Communication, Writing and Reporting COM 2153 Mr Haji Adenan Case Studies An Unmotivated Building Inspector Case Study By: Zulfatah Arif 1) Review the motivation theories discussed in this chapter. How would each one describe and explain the problems with Simon Lucas’s motivation? The theories that would be relevant to the problems with Simon Lucas’ motivation would be the McClelland’s Need Theory and Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory.Read MoreCase Study Essay1116 Words   |  5 PagesCase Study Objective The Case will focus on issues related to the cultural aspect of international business; sustainable business practices including CSR issues; foreign investment; and the benefits of regional integration for the countries within, and companies doing business in, that region.   The case study analysis will be completed on an individual basis. Instructions THE CASE: Kaizer Consulting Kaizer Consulting is an international management consulting firm that specializes in business strategy