The Importance of the Culture in Global Industry Essay

The Importance of the Culture in Global Industry - Essay Example Culture has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Lampel, Lant and Shamsie (2000) yield to this reality in their article on the difficulties which go up against directors in social ventures. Citing Marshall McLuhan’s statement that â€Å"†¦ we are quickly moving at present from a period when business was our way of life into a time when culture will be our business,† (p. 263), Lampel, Lant and Shamsie’s (2000) essential concern is the compelling and productive administration of the social businesses. Aches for (2003) echoes this equivalent concern and underscores the significance of craftsmanship and culture as business products. Garnham (2005), regardless of a clear concurrence with the recently referenced authors’ primary contentions, moves toward the issue of trade and culture from an alternate point of view. Instead of take a gander at it from an administrative perspective, he scrutinizes it from a strategy point of view. In this manner, he addr esses the effect of social approaches on the innovative expressions ventures in the UK. His methodology praises and, to a degree, finishes that of different writers and, taken together, each of the three articles furnish perusers with an away from into the significance of expressions as an industry, and the administration challenges it presents. Caverns (2003) continues from the reason that despite the fact that workmanship can be acknowledged for art’s purpose, its valuation and financial gratefulness requires the executives. A workmanship piece or a masterful creation has its specialists, whether or not or not advertising and the executives have gone into the condition. Its advancement, in any case, is dependant upon the board and showcasing.

What do you think Shakespeare is saying about the Theme of Love Essay Example

What do you think Shakespeare is stating about the Theme of Love? Paper From the earliest starting point of the play, to be specific the preamble, it is apparent that Romeo and Juliet will spin around two subjects: love and disaster. In Act 1 Scene 1 Romeo says, Heres a lot to do with despise, however more with affection. The chorale likewise acquaints us with the possibility of a couple of star crossed sweethearts ending their life. Shakespeare utilizes sensational incongruity to permit his crowd to focus on the occasions paving the way to the disaster, as opposed to the genuine catastrophe itself. For this situation, we are cautioned of the dreadful section of their passing stamped love. This sensational incongruity additionally permits the crowd to concentrate on the other primary subject of the play, love, and to differentiate altogether different types of adoration with the one fundamental energy, that of Juliet and Romeo. The preface is written as a piece, generally an affection sonnet. This serves to make a sentimental climate from the initial scene. Therefore it is unforeseen that the main reference to adore in the play is totally sexual. The initial two characters we meet are Sampson and Gregory, two Capulet hirelings. They are revolting and unrefined, making numerous sexual references and innuendoes. They don't consider love to be including feelings or wants, however as a simply physical item, sexual not passionate. Sampson recounts how he will assault the servants of the Montague family unit: Ladies being the more fragile vessels are ever pushed to the divider I will push Montague㠯⠿â ½s men from the divider, and push his house keepers to the divider. Both Sampson and Gregory have frivolous and restricted view of adoration. Neither of them seems to have ever experienced genuine romance. They talk in a rough and coarse way, boast about their own traits and consider ladies to be objects not individuals. They are shallow and harsh, mirroring the boorish individuals of society. We will compose a custom exposition test on What do you think Shakespeare is stating about the Theme of Love? explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now We will compose a custom article test on What do you think Shakespeare is stating about the Theme of Love? explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer We will compose a custom exposition test on What do you think Shakespeare is stating about the Theme of Love? explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer The following type of adoration we see is Romeos fixation for Rosaline. This is totally based around her excellence, as Romeo has no information on her character. She is wealthy in magnificence He specifies nothing, be that as it may, of her character, aside from her lack of engagement in marriage. Her dismissal has caused him much hopelessness, and along these lines he considers love to be unfeeling and horrible. Love is a smoke produced using the smoke of moans. This illustration thinks about affection to terrible sensations brought about by smoke contamination, for example, suffocation and loss of vision. Romeos language is intricate and persuasive. Anyway his language seems excessively rich, proposing creation. He shows what was anticipated from a pining darling by remaining in sycamore forests and closing himself away from light. This is too sensational to even consider appearing practical. Romeos abuse of expound analogies causes his adoration to appear to be counterfeit and bothered. Being cleansed, a fire shining in darlings eyes, Being vexed, an ocean fed with darlings tears. This presents two distinct sides of adoration, satisfaction and wretchedness as an outcome of dismissal. He likewise attempts to communicate these two clashing states with the utilization of paradoxical expression. Plume of lead, brilliant smoke, cold fire, wiped out wellbeing, As yet waking rest, that isn't what it is! The second type of fixation less centered around in Romeo and Juliet is Paris sentiments towards Juliet. At the point when he initially shows up in Act 1 Scene 2, he appears to be a mindful, delicate character, communicating his lament that the quarrel between the Montagues and the Capulets has endured for such a long time. To be sure, Montague alludes to him as Gentle Paris. At the point when he converses with Juliet in Act 4 Scene 1, he appears to be as yet mindful and inviting, saying initially Pour soul, thy face is highly manhandled with tears, however possesive over Juliet, guaranteeing that by crying she has vandalized his property, Thy face is mine, and thou hast defamed it. He is additionally exceptionally sure that she restores his sentiments, in spite of the fact that he has had no immediate warmth from Juliet herself and she is acting briskly towards him. He says,So will ye, I am certain, that you love me. Like Romeo, he acts in the methods of a grieving darling after Juliets demise, laying blossoms at her tomb and talking about his pain gracefully: Sweet bloom, with blossoms thy wedding bed I fling, O misfortune, thy overhang is residue and stones, Which with sweet water daily I will dew. Afterward, he asks for Romeos kindness to lay him with Juliets body in the tomb to kick the bucket. Another, differentiating type of adoration, which experiences numerous progressions all through the play, is love appeared by guardians for their kids. The Montagues, having an extremely little part in the play, regularly discuss their adoration for their child. Master Montague communicates his anxiety at Romeos odd conduct when he says: Would we be able to yet gain from whence his distresses develop We would as readily give fix as know. Toward the finish of the play, when the groups of Romeo, Juliet and Paris are discovered dead, Lord Montague reports that his better half has kicked the bucket since she lamented for Romeos banish. The Montagues show love and assurance for their child. The Capulets parental love for Juliet changes ordinarily. Toward the beginning of the play, Lord Capulet specifically shows a solid fatherly consideration towards her, thinking of her as sentiments about wedding Paris. He talks about her profoundly, Earth hath gulped every one of my expectations however she, She is the confident woman of my earth My will to her assent is nevertheless a section Be that as it may, in Act 3 Scene 4, Lord Capulet doesn't appear as kind as in the past. He tells Paris Sir Paris, I will make a frantic delicate Of my childs love. I figure she will be dominated In all regards by me; nay more, I question it not. Right off the bat he said that he would agree to the marriage if Juliet did, and in Act 3 Scene 4 he asserts she ought to have nothing to do with the issue, that she will obey him. By Act 3 Scene 5, he shows no thought of her musings whatever, and utilizes extraordinary abuse against her. We have a revile in having her.He likewise utilizes language to assault her looks. As Juliet has not really done anything definitely off-base, Lord Capulet has nothing to blame her for, so he affronts her picture with hostile, fierce allegations which don't identify with the reason for his displeasure, for example, You green-infection flesh, out you stuff, You fat face Hang thee youthful stuff, insubordinate bastard. His affections for Juliet change once more, after he thinks she is dead. His language contains a lot of reiteration. He has two short discourses in which he records numerous words identifying with death and loathe and rehashes the words murder and youngster, demonstrating his incredulity and trouble at such a youthful demise. Scorned, bothered, despised, martyred, slaughtered To kill, murder our gravity? O youngster! O youngster! My spirit and not my youngster. Dead workmanship thou, alack my youngster is dead. Damned, despondent, pitiful, derisive day. Woman Capulet is significantly colder towards Juliet. She doesn't appear to have a lot of part in Juliets life, aside from in Act 4 Scene 5 when she sees Juliet dead. She cries O me, O me, my kid, my lone life. Restore, gaze upward, or I will bite the dust with thee This stands out totally from her perspectives towards Juliet in the remainder of the play. After the contention among Juliet and her folks about union with Paris, Lady Capulet doesn't communicate a lot of outrage or dissatisfaction, yet excusal and disconcern, which I believe is significantly colder than Lord Capulets frightful affront. Talk not to me, for Ill not talk a word, Do as thou wither, for I have finished with thee. Woman Capulet and Juliet converse with one another officially, Juliet tending to her mom as Madam, while she tends to her dad as Good dad. Woman Capulet considers love marriage a social extra. She consequently thinks Paris is a perfect counterpart for her girl as he is rich, well known and has a high spot in the public arena. It is this sort of value that she esteems in her sweethearts. Like the attendant, she thinks it is exceptionally significant that marriage improves economic wellbeing and most likely doesn't really adore her better half. She wants Juliet to be cheerful, however accepts that having a rich spouse is the best way to do this. She is very shallow and doesn't see behind social lines, accepting that picture given to outcasts is progressively significant that comfort. The Nurse considers love to be a significance that characterizes ones future bliss and societal position, to some degree like Lady Capulets sees. In any case, as Mercutio, the Nurse alludes frequently to sex. She plays with the expression, ladies develop by men, taking it in two implications, that ladies develop by methods for societal position, a lady turns out to be increasingly fair once she is hitched, and ladies genuinely developing, in pregnancy. The medical caretakers character is one of the diverting parts of the play. Shakespeare utilizes this cleverness to lift the inauspicious environment. The medical attendants character, and particularly Mercutios character, utilizes roughness in their jokes. I am the day laborer, and drudge in your enjoyment/however you will bear the weight soon around evening time. This alludes to the fulfillment of Romeo and Juliets marriage. The unrefined pieces of the play would have engaged the lower class and less refined individuals from the elizabethan crowd. An essential character in Romeo and Juliet who gives a humourous yet rough demeanor to cherish is Mercutio. His amusingness is generally rough and annoying. He makes jokes to the detriment of Romeo, the medical attendant, and Tybalt, which demonstrates deadly. He considers love to be a reason for satisfactory sexual action. In a considerable lot of his scenes he makes visit sexual references, for instance in Act 2 Scene 1. Mercutio is shouting to a fanciful Romeo (thinking Romeo is at home), utilizing language that would enrage him. He claims to invoke Romeo as though he were a soul, by talking in a sexual man

Tonti, Henri de

Tonti, Henri de Tonti or Tonty, Henri de both: äNre ´ d? tôNte ´ [key], c.1650â€"1704, French explorer in North America, b. Italy. Serving in the French army, he lost a hand in battle; his skillful use of the appliance with which the hand was replaced was later to lead Native Americans to believe him possessed of special powers. In 1678, Tonti accompanied the explorer La Salle to Canada as his lieutenant and was dispatched to Niagara where, among hostile Native Americans, he constructed the Griffon, the first sailboat to ply the Great Lakes W of Ontario. Tonti preceded La Salle westward to Detroit and penetrated into the country of the Illinois, whom he won over to the French interest. In 1680, left by La Salle at Starved Rock to construct a fort, he was faced by desertion of his men and the hostility of the Native Americans and was forced to winter in Wisconsin. Meeting La Salle at Mackinac the following year, he traveled with him down the Mississippi to its mouth; they proclaimed the entir e Mississippi watershed the domain of France. Tonti returned alone to the Illinois River, where he was rejoined by La Salle, and together they completed (1682â€"83) Fort St. Louis at Starved Rock. When La Salle returned to France, Tonti was left in charge of the fort. La Salle did not return, for he failed in his attempt to find the mouth of the Mississippi by sea. Having no word, Tonti in 1686 descended the river in a hopeless search for La Salle. The following year he took part with a band of Illinois in the raid by the marquis de Denonville against the Iroquois. Tonti remained at Fort St. Louis, developing the new empire, until 1700, when he joined Iberville's colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. Pierre Margry included Tonti's account in Mémoires et documents pour servir à l'histoire des origines francaises des pays d'outre-mer (6 vol., 1879â€"1888; tr. Relation of Henri de Tonty, 1898). See J. C. Parish, The Man with the Iron Hand (1913); C. B. Reed, Masters of t he Wilderness (1914); E. R. Murphy, Henry de Tonty, Fur Trader of the Mississippi (1941). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies

Security valuation of APN news and media ltd - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3117 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Media Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? This report discusses the security valuation of a media and publishing company called APN News and Media ltd. The research follows the three step valuation process and top down approach which starts by analysis of the economy and moves further for analyzing the industry and filters down to the company analysis and valuation of the stock. The First part of the report presents an in depth analysis of financial ratios for APN News and Media ltd and its two competitors Fairfax Media ltd and West Australian Newspapers Holding ltd. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Security valuation of APN news and media ltd" essay for you Create order The financial analysis includes internal liquidity ratios, operating performance ratios, and risk and growth analysis. The Second part of the report discusses the calculation of weighted average cost of Capital and assumptions made for risk premium and risk free rate. It also discusses the weight and cost of debt for APN and expected rate of return by investors of APN and the cost of capital. The Third part of the report discusses the first two steps in the valuation process; Economic and Industry analysis and economic influences on the company. The analysis is based on influence of economic indicators on the stock. The final part of the report discusses the valuation of APN by employing various methods like Dividend Discount model, Free cash flow to Equity and Free cash flow of the firm. : Part i Internal Liquidity Analysis Figure 1: Current Ratio The Figure 1 above shows the current ratios for the three firms APN, Fairfax and West Australian Newspapers. Current Ratio is best known liquidity measure which examines the relationship between current assets and liabilities. Current ratio of APN has almost followed a sinusoidal format maintaining an average of 1.5 and has lost the track during global recession in 2008 reaching its lowest of 0.91 and has also recovered by gaining the average of 1.5 in 2009. Current Ratio for Fairfax has also followed sinusoidal format with an average of 0.75 which grew significantly from 2006 but later dipped down due to recession and though it has still maintained the average after recession but it has not seen any movement further up from past three years. The ratios for West Australian newspapers has higher average compared to other two and also shows clear signs of recovery after the recession. Figure 2: Quick Ratio Quick ratio analyzes the liquidity of the com pany to better accuracy and is more reliable as it only uses Cash and recievables for calculation of ratios and neglects inventories and other current asset. The quick ratio for all three companies has followed exactly the same path as current ratio but with lower averages. Figure 3: Cash Ratio Cash ratio is the most conservative liquidity ratio which analyzes the relationshio between cash and marketable securities to Current liabilities. APN has been quiet successful in maintaing an average of just below 30% in last five years and had dipped below 20% mark during recession and is also showing positive signal after recession. The cash ratio for FXJ is quite hapazard as it is not following a pattern which makes it really uncertain while WAN follows a smooth curve with very good average. Figure 4: Average Receivables collection period Receivables turnover is the meaure of firms accounts receivable. The faster these accounts are paid, the sooner the firm gets funds to pay o ff its current liabilities. It is very useful to convert this ratio into collection period which gives the ratio in terms of days and is very easy for analysis. The graph shows that receivable turnover period for APN in 2000 was 120 days which is very high and is consistently reducing from then which is a good indicaion and has reached a steady state of about 65 days from 2004 onwards.While the collection period for FXJ and WAN has stayed steady and consistent and also lower compared to APN. This is a good indication for APN that it can reduce the collection period further down. Figure 5: Average inventory processing period Inventory turnover examines the liquidity of inventory by calculating the proceesing time required for goods and inventory processing period indicates the ratio in terms of days which clearly gives processing time. Processing period for APN shows a very good indication as the time taken for processing has reduced from 18 days in 2000 to 8 days in 2009. Whil e processing period for FXJ increased from 2000 to 2002 and later moved down to 9 days in 2009. While processing period for WAN had decreasing trend initially but later increased again. Figure 6 : Payables payment period Payables turnover is the measure of firms ability to pay the bills in time and indicates the time taken by the firm to pay for the raw goods. The graph shows no trouble for APN and indicates that APN takes approximately 0 to 5 days more to pay its bills after receiving it. While FXJ and WAN have maintained a lower payment period indicatin that bills are paid quciker than APN as their collection period is lower. Operating Performance Analysis: Figure 7: Operating profit Margin The variability of operating profit margin over time is a prime indicator of the business risk of the firm. Operating profit margin is gross profit minus the general and administrative expenses. Profit Margin for APN was in between 20 % to 25 % from 2000 to 2008 but has dipped down to 18% in 2009 which is not a good sign and this has to be corrected by reducing the expenses or by increasing the sales. The profit margin for FXJ has stayed below or same as APN which shows that APN has a decent margin but WAN has very high profit margin which was above 35% from 2004. It is interesting to observe that all the companies have reduced its profit margin after 2008 which is due to recession. Figure 8: Total asset turnover The figure 8 above shows the total asset turnover for three companies. This ratio indicates the effectiveness of the firms use of its total asset base by comparing it with sales. The asset turnover has steadily increased from 30 % in 2000 to 45 % in 2009 which shows that APN is utilizing its assets to the maximum extent but there is a declining trend from past three years which is the factor that has to be taken care. It is a good sign to see that asset turnover for APN is moderate in industry which can be moved further above to the level like WAN which has above 80% turnover. Figure 9: Interest Expense Rate Interest expense rate shown in the figure 9 above shows the amount reported by company as an expense for borrowed money. Again APN is placed moderately in between FXJ and WAN and the interest expense increased significantly in 2000 and stayed moderate thereafter. It is observable from graph that WAN with higher interest expense has higher risk but it is also utilizing the capital in profitable way which is evident from graphs of operating profit margin and Asset turnover. Again there is a dip after 2008 due to financial crisis. Figure 10: Financial leverage multiplier The financial leverage c alculated as Total Assets / Total Stockholders Equity examines how a company uses debt to finance its assets and it is also known as the financial leverage ratio. The leverage ratio for APN has been in between 1.5 and 2.3 in the period 2000 to 2010 which shows debts of little above 50% for APN while it is below 50% for FXJ but WAN is the risk lover with total assets of about 7 times of equity during 2005 to 2007. Figure 11: Tax Retention rate The above figure 11 shows the tax retention rate for three companies which is the proportion of the total net earnings before tax retention rate. The graph shows a very high retention rate for APN which ranges from 70% to 85% in the period 2000 to 2010 higher than its competitors whose retention ratio ranges from 65% to 75%. A higher retention rate means higher earnings available for dividends which is a positive aspect for investors. Figure 12: ROE The figure 12 above shows the Return on Equity for three companies which is an impor tant indicator of performance as it indicates the return that management has earned on the capital provided by Stockholders. APNs ROE ranges between 8 and 10.5% in the period 2000 to 10 which is just moderate return but still earns higher return than FXJ whose ROE declined from 11.8 to 4.8% in the same period. While WAN with higher debt and risk earned a return ranging from 40 to 100% in the same period with 140% as the peak ROE during 2006. Figure 13: Equity turnover The figure 13 above shows the equity turnover for three companies which examines the turnover of the capital component of the firm. Equity turnover for APN ranges from 0.5 to a 1.1 in the period 2000 to 10 which is a significant increase and also it means that it is generating sales worth its capital indicates a fair use of equity which has sunk in the case of FXJ from above 1.1 to 0.5 in the same period. While again WAN has taken the lead to generate sales worth twice the equity in the initial five years and abo ut 4.5 times in next four years. Figure 14: ROIC The figure 14 above shows the ROIC for three companies which relates the firms earnings to all invested capital involved in the firm which includes interest bearing debt. ROIC for APN ranges from 11.4 to 8.6% which shows a decline in the return in period 00 to 10 and FXJ has a similar decline from 13 to 6% in the same period. While WAN has achieved a good growth from 25 to 30 % in the same period. APNs ROE shows an increase while ROIC has declined in the same period which shows that debt is not utilised properly by APN to generate higher returns. BUSINESS RISK Business risk is the uncertainty of operating income caused by the firms industry. This uncertainty is due to Variability of sales over time caused by volatility of earnings. Firms capability to produce its products and the balance between variable and fixed costs The business risk, sales volatility and operating leverage for three companies are as shown below. Refer Appendix C for calculations. APN FXJ WAN Business Risk (operating earnings) 0.3113 0.4262 0.2638 Sales volatility 0.2632 0.3166 0.1564 Operating leverage 1.4953 3.4548 1.9569 The above table gives a high risk for FXJ with all the three factors of volatility higher than other two companies but APN has a moderate risk which is in between FXJ and WAN. WAN has the lowest risk with least volatility in its earnings and sales. The more volatile the operating earnings as compared to the volatility of sales, the greater the firms operating leverage. So operating leverage is least in case of APN when compared to other two competitors which place it in a fairly good position and moderate Business risk. FINANCIAL RISK Financial risk is additional uncertainty of returns to equity due to firms use of financial obligation securities. This risk adds up to the business risk and acceptable level of financial risk depends upon business risk of the firm. In turn if a firm has low business risk, investors are ready to take higher financial risk. In this analysis, the financial risk was analysed using few balance sheet ratio that indicate the proportion of capital derived from debt and few ratios that considers cash flows available to pay fixed financial charges. Please refer to Appendix C for calculations. The balance sheet ratios used are debt to equity ratio and long term debt to capital ratio; Debt to equity ratio for APN has increased from 45 to 75% in the period of ten years while it has reduced from 65 to 38% for FXJ and it has increased from 150 to 200% for WAN. APN has higher financial risk as 75% of total capital is debt and WAN has very high financial risk with debt about 1.5 times the eq uity but still has higher returns. The other ratio which can explain the financial risk is interest coverage ratio which is firm ability to earn at least the interest payable. The interest coverage ratio has decreased from 6 to 4 times for APN, 6 to 3 times for FXJ, 11 to times for WAN. The interest coverage ratio is currently 4 for APN which means the operating profit is 4 times the interest expense which is moderate and APN is in a position to pay back the interest and WAN is able to earn 11 times the interest which will balance the higher debt of the firm. The next important ratio which examines the financial risk is Cash flow coverage ratio which determines the cash flow when compared to interest expense. Cash flow coverage ratio provides similar results as interest coverage ratio and the risks for the firm remains the same as the above analysis with higher risk for WAN, moderate risk for APN and lower risk for FXJ. GROWTH ANALYSIS Figure 15: Growth analysis The figure 15 above shows the growth of the three companies which was calculated using retention ratio and ROE. The growth of a business depends on amount of resources retained and reinvested and rate of return earned on reinvested funds. Please refer to Appendix D for calculations. So g = Retention ratio x ROE. The growth rate of APN starts with 2 % in 2000 and increases to 4% in 2005 and decreases back to 2% in 2007 and has a growth of 3 % for 2008 and 2009. The growth rate for FXJ and WAN are scattered but the trend line moves toward upward direction showing the growth in the media industry. ALTMANS Z SCORE Altman Z score used to examine the characteristics of a firm for bankruptcy. Five variables are used for prediction of corporate bankruptcy. They are: †¢ X1 working capital/total assets †¢ X2 retained earnings/total assets †¢ X3 earnings before interest and taxes/total assets †¢ X4 market value of preferred and common equity/book value of total liabilities †¢ X5 Sales/total assets Figure 16: Z score The figure above shows a Z score analysis and in this model, a Z score of above 2.90 indicates non failure, and a Z score below 1.23 indicated bankruptcy. According to Z score analysis APN and FXJ are very close to bankruptcy and WAN is very well placed. Please refer to Appendix E for calculations. : Part iI Calculation of weighted average cost of capital: Krf 4.9 Kmrp 5.5 ? 0.9505 Ks 10.1278 Wd 0.6595 Kd 6.8486 tax rate 0.1473 Wc 0.3405 WACC 7.2998 The 90 day Treasury bill y ields in Australia was considered as the risk free rate of 4.9% (RBA, 2010) and risk premium was considered as 5.5 % which is the mean risk premium used in 2010 by analysts and companies in Australia (Fernandez and Campo, 2010). The beta for the firm was calculated by using regression analysis of return index of market and return index of the firm which was obtained as 0.9505. Please refer to calculation in Appendix F. So after calculation the expected rate of return is 10.1% and WACC is 7.3%. : Part iii Effect of Economic indicators on firms share price Figure 17: GDP, CPI on Share price The figure 17 above shows the effect of GDP and CPI on share price of the firm APN. On careful analysis it can be observed that there is no effect of GDP on share prices whereas CPI is inversely proportional to Share price which means for every positive change or increase in CPI leads to decline in the share prices and if CPI decreases, then there will be an increase in share price. So CPI has an adverse effect on share prices. CPI is a measure of average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households and also APN being in industry of Consumer discretionary; the effect can be explained by the increase in prices of goods and services in the industry affecting the profitability of goods of APN and so the decrease in share prices. Figure 18: Interest rate on Share prices. The above figure 18 shows the effect of interest rate on share prices and indicates that Interest rates does not affect the share prices of the firm APN. Industry analysis: APN which is a media and publishing company belongs to consumer discretionary industry. This industry relies on consumers to spend that part of their paycheck that is disposable or discretionary on things they do not absolutely need to survive. In many economies, this is the largest segment of the economy because it includes automobiles (the largest), all retail store, and fast food and media companies. It has a market capitalisation of $168b which is about 13% of the whole stock market. In the present situation Australian retail and consumer companies are lagging behind their international peers. This position is untenable in the medium term, so effort has to taken to match the international standards. The economy is expected to drive the competition and so it is up to firms strategies whether retail and consumer companies will drive the agenda, or simply respond to a market shift generated by government regulation and consumer demand. Internationally, many retailers have already seen a rapid change in consumer sentiment regarding the environment and felt a resulting impact on their brands. : PART iv Three valuation methods were employed to value the firms stock namely dividend discount model, Free cash flow to equity, Free cash flow to the firm. Please refer to Appendix H for calculations. The following assumptions were made based on the economic and industry analysis together with financial ratio analysis. APNs growth rate was consistently increasing until it met with the global economic recession and now it has recovered from the recession. As per ANZ outlook 2009, Companies should be completely out of recession by 2011 and so it was assumed that APN would start growing again until it meets the constant growth period after three years. First valuation method employed for analysis is dividend discount model and this model can be used for valuation of APN as it issues dividends to its share holders regularly and the value of the stock obtained b y using this method is as shown below. The second valuation technique employed by analysis is free cash flow to equity. This technique resembles a present value of earnings concept except that it considers the capital expenditure required to maintain and grow the firm and change in working capital required for a growing firm. It determines the free cash flow that is available to the stock holders after payments to all other capital suppliers and after providing for the continued growth of the firm. The value of the stock estimated by this technique was The third technique employed for valuation was free cash flow to the firm which determines the value of total firm and subtract the value of the firms debt obligations to arrive at a value for the firms equity. In this technique we discount the firms OFCF at the firms weighted average cost of capital rather than cost of equity. The value of the stock estimated by this technique was The impact of key economic indicators and in dustry on the firms valuation is discussed in detail in Part III. COnCLusion: The value of the firms stock obtained by different valuation techniques are as given below Price Dividend Discount Model $1.36 FCFE $3.6 FCFF $1.55 The value of the stock obtained by valuation methods are almost the current value of the stock.

Cost of Production Versus Cost to Society

A Game of Thrones Chapter Two Free Essays

string(28) " words could not reach him\." Catelyn Catelyn had never liked this godswood. She had been born a Tully, at Riverrun far to the south, on the Red Fork of the Trident. The godswood there was a garden, bright and airy, where tall redwoods spread dappled shadows across tinkling streams, birds sang from hidden nests, and the air was spicy with the scent of flowers. We will write a custom essay sample on A Game of Thrones Chapter Two or any similar topic only for you Order Now The gods of Winterfell kept a different sort of wood. It was a dark, primal place, three acres of old forest untouched for ten thousand years as the gloomy castle rose around it. It smelled of moist earth and decay. No redwoods grew here. This was a wood of stubborn sentinel trees armored in grey-green needles, of mighty oaks, of ironwoods as old as the realm itself. Here thick black trunks crowded close together while twisted branches wove a dense canopy overhead and misshappen roots wrestled beneath the soil. This was a place of deep silence and brooding shadows, and the gods who lived here had no names. But she knew she would find her husband here tonight. Whenever he took a man’s life, afterward he would seek the quiet of the godswood. Catelyn had been anointed with the seven oils and named in the rainbow of light that filled the sept of Riverrun. She was of the Faith, like her father and grandfather and his father before him. Her gods had names, and their faces were as familiar as the faces of her parents. Worship was a septon with a censer, the smell of incense, a seven-sided crystal alive with light, voices raised in song. The Tullys kept a godswood, as all the great houses did, but it was only a place to walk or read or lie in the sun. Worship was for the sept. For her sake, Ned had built a small sept where she might sing to the seven faces of god, but the blood of the First Men still flowed in the veins of the Starks, and his own gods were the old ones, the nameless, faceless gods of the greenwood they shared with the vanished children of the forest. At the center of the grove an ancient weirwood brooded over a small pool where the waters were black and cold. â€Å"The heart tree,† Ned called it. The weirwood’s bark was white as bone, its leaves dark red, like a thousand bloodstained hands. A face had been carved in the trunk of the great tree, its features long and melancholy, the deep-cut eyes red with dried sap and strangely watchful. They were old, those eyes; older than Winterfell itself. They had seen Brandon the Builder set the first stone, if the tales were true; they had watched the castle’s granite walls rise around them. It was said that the children of the forest had carved the faces in the trees during the dawn centuries before the coming of the First Men across the narrow sea. In the south the last weirwoods had been cut down or burned out a thousand years ago, except on the Isle of Faces where the green men kept their silent watch. Up here it was different. Here every castle had its godswood, and every godswood had its heart tree, and every heart tree its face. Catelyn found her husband beneath the weirwood, seated on a moss-covered stone. The greatsword Ice was across his lap, and he was cleaning the blade in those waters black as night. A thousand years of humus lay thick upon the godswood floor, swallowing the sound of her feet, but the red eyes of the weirwood seemed to follow her as she came. â€Å"Ned,† she called softly. He lifted his head to look at her. â€Å"Catelyn,† he said. His voice was distant and formal. â€Å"Where are the children?† He would always ask her that. â€Å"In the kitchen, arguing about names for the wolf pups.† She spread her cloak on the forest floor and sat beside the pool, her back to the weirwood. She could feel the eyes watching her, but she did her best to ignore them. â€Å"Arya is already in love, and Sansa is charmed and gracious, but Rickon is not quite sure.† â€Å"Is he afraid?† Ned asked. â€Å"A little,† she admitted. â€Å"He is only three.† Ned frowned. â€Å"He must learn to face his fears. He will not be three forever. And winter is coming.† â€Å"Yes,† Catelyn agreed. The words gave her a chill, as they always did. The Stark words. Every noble house had its words. Family mottoes, touchstones, prayers of sorts, they boasted of honor and glory, promised loyalty and truth, swore faith and courage. All but the Starks. Winter is coming, said the Stark words. Not for the first time, she reflected on what a strange people these northerners were. â€Å"The man died well, I’ll give him that,† Ned said. He had a swatch of oiled leather in one hand. He ran it lightly up the greatsword as he spoke, polishing the metal to a dark glow. â€Å"I was glad for Bran’s sake. You would have been proud of Bran.† â€Å"I am always proud of Bran,† Catelyn replied, watching the sword as he stroked it. She could see the rippling deep within the steel, where the metal had been folded back on itself a hundred times in the forging. Catelyn had no love for swords, but she could not deny that Ice had its own beauty. It had been forged in Valyria, before the Doom had come to the old Freehold, when the ironsmiths had worked their metal with spells as well as hammers. Four hundred years old it was, and as sharp as the day it was forged. The name it bore was older still, a legacy from the age of heroes, when the Starks were Kings in the North. â€Å"He was the fourth this year,† Ned said grimly. â€Å"The poor man was half-mad. Something had put a fear in him so deep that my words could not reach him. You read "A Game of Thrones Chapter Two" in category "Essay examples"† He sighed. â€Å"Ben writes that the strength of the Night’s Watch is down below a thousand. It’s not only desertions. They are losing men on rangings as well.† â€Å"Is it the wildlings?† she asked. â€Å"Who else?† Ned lifted Ice, looked down the cool steel length of it. â€Å"And it will only grow worse. The day may come when I will have no choice but to call the banners and ride north to deal with this King-beyond-the-Wall for good and all.† â€Å"Beyond the Wall?† The thought made Catelyn shudder. Ned saw the dread on her face. â€Å"Mance Rayder is nothing for us to fear.† â€Å"There are darker things beyond the Wall.† She glanced behind her at the heart tree, the pale bark and red eyes, watching, listening, thinking its long slow thoughts. His smile was gentle. â€Å"You listen to too many of Old Nan’s stories. The Others are as dead as the children of the forest, gone eight thousand years. Maester Luwin will tell you they never lived at all. No living man has ever seen one.† â€Å"Until this morning, no living man had ever seen a direwolf either,† Catelyn reminded him. â€Å"I ought to know better than to argue with a Tully,† he said with a rueful smile. He slid Ice back into its sheath. â€Å"You did not come here to tell me crib tales. I know how little you like this place. What is it, my lady?† Catelyn took her husband’s hand. â€Å"There was grievous news today, my lord. I did not wish to trouble you until you had cleansed yourself.† There was no way to soften the blow, so she told him straight. â€Å"I am so sorry, my love. Jon Arryn is dead.† His eyes found hers, and she could see how hard it took him, as she had known it would. In his youth, Ned had fostered at the Eyrie, and the childless Lord Arryn had become a second father to him and his fellow ward, Robert Baratheon. When the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen had demanded their heads, the Lord of the Eyrie had raised his moon-and-falcon banners in revolt rather than give up those he had pledged to protect. And one day fifteen years ago, this second father had become a brother as well, as he and Ned stood together in the sept at Riverrun to wed two sisters, the daughters of Lord Hoster Tully. â€Å"Jon . . . † he said. â€Å"Is this news certain?† â€Å"It was the king’s seal, and the letter is in Robert’s own hand. I saved it for you. He said Lord Arryn was taken quickly. Even Maester Pycelle was helpless, but he brought the milk of the poppy, so Jon did not linger long in pain.† â€Å"That is some small mercy, I suppose,† he said. She could see the grief on his face, but even then he thought first of her. â€Å"Your sister,† he said. â€Å"And Jon’s boy. What word of them?† â€Å"The message said only that they were well, and had returned to the Eyrie,† Catelyn said. â€Å"I wish they had gone to Riverrun instead. The Eyrie is high and lonely, and it was ever her husband’s place, not hers. Lord Jon’s memory will haunt each stone. I know my sister. She needs the comfort of family and friends around her.† â€Å"Your uncle waits in the Vale, does he not? Jon named him Knight of the Gate, I’d heard.† Catelyn nodded. â€Å"Brynden will do what he can for her, and for the boy. That is some comfort, but still . . . â€Å" â€Å"Go to her,† Ned urged. â€Å"Take the children. Fill her halls with noise and shouts and laughter. That boy of hers needs other children about him, and Lysa should not be alone in her grief.† â€Å"Would that I could,† Catelyn said. â€Å"The letter had other tidings. The king is riding to Winterfell to seek you out.† It took Ned a moment to comprehend her words, but when the understanding came, the darkness left his eyes. â€Å"Robert is coming here?† When she nodded, a smile broke across his face. Catelyn wished she could share his joy. But she had heard the talk in the yards; a direwolf dead in the snow, a broken antler in its throat. Dread coiled within her like a snake, but she forced herself to smile at this man she loved, this man who put no faith in signs. â€Å"I knew that would please you,† she said. â€Å"We should send word to your brother on the Wall.† â€Å"Yes, of course,† he agreed. â€Å"Ben will want to be here. I shall tell Maester Luwin to send his swiftest bird.† Ned rose and pulled her to her feet. â€Å"Damnation, how many years has it been? And he gives us no more notice than this? How many in his party, did the message say?† â€Å"I should think a hundred knights, at the least, with all their retainers, and half again as many freeriders. Cersei and the children travel with them.† â€Å"Robert will keep an easy pace for their sakes,† he said. â€Å"It is just as well. That will give us more time to prepare.† â€Å"The queen’s brothers are also in the party,† she told him. Ned grimaced at that. There was small love between him and the queen’s family, Catelyn knew. The Lannisters of Casterly Rock had come late to Robert’s cause, when victory was all but certain, and he had never forgiven them. â€Å"Well, if the price for Robert’s company is an infestation of Lannisters, so be it. It sounds as though Robert is bringing half his court.† â€Å"Where the king goes, the realm follows,† she said. â€Å"It will be good to see the children. The youngest was still sucking at the Lannister woman’s teat the last time I saw him. He must be, what, five by now?† â€Å"Prince Tommen is seven,† she told him. â€Å"The same age as Bran. Please, Ned, guard your tongue. The Lannister woman is our queen, and her pride is said to grow with every passing year.† Ned squeezed her hand. â€Å"There must be a feast, of course, with singers, and Robert will want to hunt. I shall send Jory south with an honor guard to meet them on the kingsroad and escort them back. Gods, how are we going to feed them all? On his way already, you said? Damn the man. Damn his royal hide.† How to cite A Game of Thrones Chapter Two, Essay examples

Tecumseh, Nat Turner and Frederick Douglas free essay sample

This paper looks at three non-white individuals of the early 1800s Tecumseh, Nat Turner, and Frederick Douglas and the impact they had on history by resisting the white establishment. On the other hand the Indian tribes viewed the American cause as incomprehensible and outrageous. Even as a young boy, Tecumseh was exposed to the fighting and loss of family members due to the American expansion. In the 1780s, he was already forming the belief that guided his life: the Indians only real and permanent security would come from resisting the white invasion and forcing a recognition of Indian territorial rights (Nash 157). Therefore he had no other choice but to fight for his land. From the Indian point of view, land was a gift from above and not to be bought or sold by anyone. Treaties made with Congress were invalid due to the fact that one tribe had signed away another tribes land. We will write a custom essay sample on Tecumseh, Nat Turner and Frederick Douglas or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As for siding with the British in the war, the Indians were not guilty of any crime.