International Trading and Financial Systems Essay

International Trading and Financial Systems - Essay Example presence in the UK. In 1998, it became the first British retailer to reach a pre-tax profit of over one billion pounds. After peaking in 1997-98, a slump in profits began to take place around 1999 which started while Sir Richard Greenbury was the Chairman. Profit margins were pushed to untenable levels and customer loyalty was seriously eroded. In an increasingly competitive and more globally outsourced retail business, the aging and bureaucratic Marks and Spencer which had based its image on being a traditional British retailer, was no longer able to compete with its business rivals. There was a belated switch to overseas suppliers as rival retailers increasingly imported their goods from low cost countries. This undermined a core part of its appeal to the British public. Its refusal to accept credit cards in its stores apart from the company's own charge card played a part in falling profits. It failed to analyze the market needs of the younger customer and cater to a more diverse section of the public. As a result of these shortsighted policies, its profits fell from 1 billion pounds to 145 million pounds by 31st March 2001. The share price fell by more than two-thirds. In 2004, the Arcadia Group tried to take over Marks and Spencer (Wikipedia 2008). A major corporate restructuring plan was announced on 29th March, 2001. This included a total focus on UK retail, expansion of home, food and beauty products, recovery plan for clothing, modernization of stores, improving pricing for value and longer store hours. Financial measures were implemented to bring about sustained growth and enhanced profitability in the company's future. These included renting store space instead of owning the property in the sale and... This paper analyzes the general economic factors that affect the market from which finance will be drawn also need to be considered. There has been an increased trend among economists to favour a finance system based model of macroeconomics.A strong financial system leads to overall growth of the economy, via domestic markets as well as international. Governments should have an effective monetary policy regarding exchange rates which affect international trade, as well as judicious policies regarding interest rates, taxation and the budget which will affect the investment and credit activities of banks and corporates. These will in turn affect the primary and secondary financial markets from which finance is being drawn. The government needs to monitor the economy, not through excessive deregulation or liberalization, but by exercising caution and some restraint, if needed. International capital flows via multinationals and foreign direct investment will benefit the international market. Short term loans and capital flows should not be used as a trade-off for long term financing which will bring about a stronger economy in the long run. It concluded that The UK Government can also educate the individual consumer about personal and public finance issues, thereby producing more financially capable individuals who can then play a more informed role in the financial future of the UK.

The Anti-War Message of In the Lake of the Woods and How I Learned to Essay

The Anti-War Message of In the Lake of the Woods and How I Learned to Sweepp - Essay Example This is because of the manner or style that the both Alvarez and O’Brien applied in expressing their ideas. In terms of style, both authors definitely differ and this can be attributed also to the fact that the historical context of the novel and poem are not the same. In terms of substance, they also have some differences which is again brought about the different social, emotional, and historical context of the characters created. Apparently, the differences stem from the fact that the authors’ involvement in the war that they were protesting against also differed. Nevertheless, each expressed profoundly through their respective literary works their opposition to the war due to bases that they have tackled through the characters they created. In the Lake of the Woods is a story of how one individual had to fight his own personal battles long after the Vietnam War ended. As the writer, O’Brien may well be considered as an authority on the subject because he too was once an infantryman in the said war. He did not only see the bloodshed or understood why these happened; he was very much involved in it. He was not a third party observer; he played an active role. O’Brien, therefore, felt what the rest of the American servicemen experienced while they were fighting a war they believed should not be fought. As his book apparently proves, he was one of the many soldiers who fought a war that he opposes. His opposition to the war though is presented through the perspective of the soldier and not from the vantage point of the anti-war and non-soldier activist that was more popular during the times when the Vietnam War was at its peak. Because of this, O’Brien credibly presents the arguments against the war using psychological and emotional bases. He may have cited the J.W. Appel and G.W. Beebe when he wrote that â€Å"psychiatric casualties are as inevitable as gunshot and shrapnel wounds in warfare.† (O’Brien 27) Howev er, he did so not because he believes that such conclusion is intellectually accurate but because he saw his comrades suffer psychological problems resulting from the war and he himself may have felt the same too. John Wade, the main character in the story, is basically personification of O’Brien’s argument against the war. It must be emphasized though that such argument could be best defended and promoted only when the psychological issues arise, which obviously occurs after the individual goes home from the battlefront; a condition which is often regarded as post-traumatic stress disorder. The conditions surrounding Julia Alvarez are much different to those of O’Brien and her poem How I Learned to Sweep is greatly influenced by these. Alvarez saw the war from the perspective of a non-participant. She found it disgusting not because it directly affects her personally. She did not suffer psychological and emotional issues arising from it but she did see the viol ence and bloodshed that people had to go through for being in the war. While O’Brien felt the horrors that his fellow soldiers went through, Alvarez expressed pity for both the fighters and civilians caught in the war. In the Lake of the Woods is the result of O’Brien’s empathy while Alvarez displayed sympathy in her poem. In the poem, she wrote the lines â€Å"I swept all the harder when/ I watched a dozen of them die.† (Alvarez) Obviously, the poet depicted how she reacted upon the sight of so much death.