United States Dollar and Arbitrage Opportunity

5 Questions 2. What is the difference between the retail or client market and the wholesale or interbank market for foreign exchange? 3. Who are the market participants in the foreign exchange market? 5. What is meant by a currency trading at a discount or at a premium in the forward market? 6. Why does most interbank currency trading worldwide involve the U. S. dollar? 7. Banks find it necessary to accommodate their clients’ needs to buy or sell FX forward, in many instances for hedging purposes.How can the bank eliminate the currency exposure it has created for itself by accommodating a client’s forward transaction? 8. A CD/$ bank trader is currently quoting a small figure bid-ask of 35-40, when the rest of the market is trading at CD1. 3436-CD1. 3441. What is implied about the trader’s beliefs by his prices? 9. What is triangular arbitrage? What is a condition that will give rise to a triangular arbitrage opportunity? Problems 1. Using the American term quote s from Exhibit 5. , calculate a cross-rate matrix for the euro, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, and the British pound so that the resulting triangular matrix is similar to the portion above the diagonal in Exhibit 5. 6. 4. Restate the following one-, three-, and six-month outright forward European term bid-ask quotes in forward points. Spot1. 3431-1. 3436 One-Month1. 3432-1. 3442 Three-Month1. 3448-1. 3463 Six-Month1. 3488-1. 3508 8. A bank is quoting the following exchange rates against the dollar for the Swiss franc and the Australian dollar: SFr/$ = 1. 5960-70 A$/$ = 1. 7225-35An Australian firm asks the bank for an A$/SFr quote. What cross-rate would the bank quote? 9. Given the following information, what are the NZD/SGD currency against currency bid-ask quotations? American TermsEuropean Terms Bank QuotationsBidAskBidAsk New Zealand dollar . 7265 . 72721. 37511. 3765 Singapore dollar . 6135 . 61401. 62871. 6300 10. Doug Bernard specializes in cross-rate arbitrage. He notices the fo llowing quotes: Swiss franc/dollar = SFr1. 5971? $ Australian dollar/U. S. dollar = A$1. 8215/$ Australian dollar/Swiss franc = A$1. 1440/SFrIgnoring transaction costs, does Doug Bernard have an arbitrage opportunity based on these quotes? If there is an arbitrage opportunity, what steps would he take to make an arbitrage profit, and how would he profit if he has $1,000,000 available for this purpose. 11. Assume you are a trader with Deutsche Bank. From the quote screen on your computer terminal, you notice that Dresdner Bank is quoting â‚ ¬0. 7627/$1. 00 and Credit Suisse is offering SF1. 1806/$1. 00. You learn that UBS is making a direct market between the Swiss franc and the euro, with a current â‚ ¬/SF quote of . 6395.Show how you can make a triangular arbitrage profit by trading at these prices. (Ignore bid-ask spreads for this problem. ) Assume you have $5,000,000 with which to conduct the arbitrage. What happens if you initially sell dollars for Swiss francs? What â‚ ¬/SF price will eliminate triangular arbitrage? Operations Management Assignment 1 Due Date:1 April 2013 Q1. David Upton is president of Upton Manufacturing, a producer of Go-Kart tires. Upton makes 1000 tires per day with the following resources: Labor: 400 hours per day @ 12. 5 per hour Raw material: 20000 pounds per day @ $1 per poundEnergy: $5000 per day Capital cost: $10000 per day (a) What is the labor productivity per labor-hour for these tires at Upton Manufacturing? (b) What is the multifactor productivity for these tires at Upton Manufacturing? (c) What is the multifactor productivity if Upton can reduce the energy bill by $1000 per day without cutting production or changing any other inputs? Q2. The monthly sales for Telco Batteries, Inc. were as follows: Month Sales Jan 20 Feb 21 Mar 15 Apr 14 May 13 June 16 July 17 Aug 18 Sep 20 Oct 20 Nov 21 Dec 23 Forecast January Sales using each of the following: ) A 3 – month moving average b) A 6 – month weighted a verage using 0. 1, 0. 1, 0. 1, 0. 2, 0. 2 and 0. 3 with the heaviest weights applied to the most recent months. c) Exponential smoothing using an ? = 0. 3 and a September forecast of 18 d) A trend projection With the data given, which method would allow you to forecast next March sales? Q3. Income at the law firm Smith and Wesson for he period February to July was as follows: Month Feb Mar Apr May June July Income 70. 0 68. 5 64. 8 71. 7 71. 3 72. 8 (a) Use trend-adjusted exponential smoothing to forecast the law firm’s Aug income.Assume that the initial forecast for February is $65000, and the initial trend adjustment is 0. The smoothing constant selected are ? =0. 1, and ? = 0. 2. (b) Resolve the problem with ? =0. 1, and ? = 0. 8. (c) Compute the MAD and MAPE. Which forecasting, part (a) and part (b) performs better? Why? Q4. Attendance at Los Angeles’s newest Disneylike attraction, Vacation World, has been as follows: Quarter/year 2007 2008 2009 Winter 73 65 89 Spr ing 104 82 146 Summer 168 124 205 Fall 74 52 98 Compute seasonal indices using all of the data. United States Dollar and Arbitrage Opportunity 5 Questions 2. What is the difference between the retail or client market and the wholesale or interbank market for foreign exchange? 3. Who are the market participants in the foreign exchange market? 5. What is meant by a currency trading at a discount or at a premium in the forward market? 6. Why does most interbank currency trading worldwide involve the U. S. dollar? 7. Banks find it necessary to accommodate their clients’ needs to buy or sell FX forward, in many instances for hedging purposes.How can the bank eliminate the currency exposure it has created for itself by accommodating a client’s forward transaction? 8. A CD/$ bank trader is currently quoting a small figure bid-ask of 35-40, when the rest of the market is trading at CD1. 3436-CD1. 3441. What is implied about the trader’s beliefs by his prices? 9. What is triangular arbitrage? What is a condition that will give rise to a triangular arbitrage opportunity? Problems 1. Using the American term quote s from Exhibit 5. , calculate a cross-rate matrix for the euro, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, and the British pound so that the resulting triangular matrix is similar to the portion above the diagonal in Exhibit 5. 6. 4. Restate the following one-, three-, and six-month outright forward European term bid-ask quotes in forward points. Spot1. 3431-1. 3436 One-Month1. 3432-1. 3442 Three-Month1. 3448-1. 3463 Six-Month1. 3488-1. 3508 8. A bank is quoting the following exchange rates against the dollar for the Swiss franc and the Australian dollar: SFr/$ = 1. 5960-70 A$/$ = 1. 7225-35An Australian firm asks the bank for an A$/SFr quote. What cross-rate would the bank quote? 9. Given the following information, what are the NZD/SGD currency against currency bid-ask quotations? American TermsEuropean Terms Bank QuotationsBidAskBidAsk New Zealand dollar . 7265 . 72721. 37511. 3765 Singapore dollar . 6135 . 61401. 62871. 6300 10. Doug Bernard specializes in cross-rate arbitrage. He notices the fo llowing quotes: Swiss franc/dollar = SFr1. 5971? $ Australian dollar/U. S. dollar = A$1. 8215/$ Australian dollar/Swiss franc = A$1. 1440/SFrIgnoring transaction costs, does Doug Bernard have an arbitrage opportunity based on these quotes? If there is an arbitrage opportunity, what steps would he take to make an arbitrage profit, and how would he profit if he has $1,000,000 available for this purpose. 11. Assume you are a trader with Deutsche Bank. From the quote screen on your computer terminal, you notice that Dresdner Bank is quoting â‚ ¬0. 7627/$1. 00 and Credit Suisse is offering SF1. 1806/$1. 00. You learn that UBS is making a direct market between the Swiss franc and the euro, with a current â‚ ¬/SF quote of . 6395.Show how you can make a triangular arbitrage profit by trading at these prices. (Ignore bid-ask spreads for this problem. ) Assume you have $5,000,000 with which to conduct the arbitrage. What happens if you initially sell dollars for Swiss francs? What â‚ ¬/SF price will eliminate triangular arbitrage? Operations Management Assignment 1 Due Date:1 April 2013 Q1. David Upton is president of Upton Manufacturing, a producer of Go-Kart tires. Upton makes 1000 tires per day with the following resources: Labor: 400 hours per day @ 12. 5 per hour Raw material: 20000 pounds per day @ $1 per poundEnergy: $5000 per day Capital cost: $10000 per day (a) What is the labor productivity per labor-hour for these tires at Upton Manufacturing? (b) What is the multifactor productivity for these tires at Upton Manufacturing? (c) What is the multifactor productivity if Upton can reduce the energy bill by $1000 per day without cutting production or changing any other inputs? Q2. The monthly sales for Telco Batteries, Inc. were as follows: Month Sales Jan 20 Feb 21 Mar 15 Apr 14 May 13 June 16 July 17 Aug 18 Sep 20 Oct 20 Nov 21 Dec 23 Forecast January Sales using each of the following: ) A 3 – month moving average b) A 6 – month weighted a verage using 0. 1, 0. 1, 0. 1, 0. 2, 0. 2 and 0. 3 with the heaviest weights applied to the most recent months. c) Exponential smoothing using an ? = 0. 3 and a September forecast of 18 d) A trend projection With the data given, which method would allow you to forecast next March sales? Q3. Income at the law firm Smith and Wesson for he period February to July was as follows: Month Feb Mar Apr May June July Income 70. 0 68. 5 64. 8 71. 7 71. 3 72. 8 (a) Use trend-adjusted exponential smoothing to forecast the law firm’s Aug income.Assume that the initial forecast for February is $65000, and the initial trend adjustment is 0. The smoothing constant selected are ? =0. 1, and ? = 0. 2. (b) Resolve the problem with ? =0. 1, and ? = 0. 8. (c) Compute the MAD and MAPE. Which forecasting, part (a) and part (b) performs better? Why? Q4. Attendance at Los Angeles’s newest Disneylike attraction, Vacation World, has been as follows: Quarter/year 2007 2008 2009 Winter 73 65 89 Spr ing 104 82 146 Summer 168 124 205 Fall 74 52 98 Compute seasonal indices using all of the data.

A Dirty Job Chapter 20

20 ATTACK OF THE CROCODILE GUY It was a brutally hot night in the City, and everyone had their windows open. From the roof across the alley, the spy could see the little girl happily splashing away in a tub full of suds, the two giant hounds sitting just outside the tub licking shampoo from her hand and belching bubbles as she screeched with glee. â€Å"Sophie, don't feed the puppies soap, okay?† The shopkeeper's voice from another room. â€Å"Okay, Dad. I won't. I'm not a kid, you know,† she said, pouring more strawberry-kiwi shampoo into her palm and holding it out for one of the dogs to lick. A cloud of fragrant bubbles burped out of the beast, through the bars of the window, and out into the still air over the alley. The hounds were the problem, but if the spy had his timing right, he'd be able to take care of them and get to the child without interference. In the past he'd been an assassin, a bodyguard, a kickboxer, and most recently a certified fiberglass-insulation installer – skills that could serve him well in his current mission. He had the face of a crocodile – sixty-eight spiked teeth and eyes that gleamed like black glass beads. His hands were the claws of a raptor, the wicked black nails encrusted with dried blood. He wore a black silk tuxedo, but no shoes – his feet were webbed like those of a waterbird, with claws for digging prey from the mud. He rolled the large Persian rug to the edge of the roof and waited; then, just as he had planned, he heard, â€Å"Sweetie, I'm going to take the trash out, I'll be right back.† â€Å"Okay, Dad.† Funny how the illusion of security can make us careless, the spy thought. No one would leave a young child alone in the bath unattended, but the company of two canine bodyguards wouldn't make her unattended, would it? He waited, and the shopkeeper emerged from the steel door downstairs carrying two trash bags. He seemed momentarily thrown off by the fact that the Dumpster, which was normally right outside the door, had been moved down the alley twenty feet or so, but shrugged, kicked the door wide, and while it hissed slowly shut on its pneumatic cylinder, he dashed for the Dumpster. That's when the spy sent the rug off the roof. The rug unrolled as it fell the four stories. Unfurled, it hit the shopkeeper with a substantial thud and drove him to the ground. In the bathroom, the huge dogs perked up. One let out a woof of caution. The spy already had the first bolt in his crossbow. Now he let it fly – nylon line hissed out and the bolt hit the rug with a thump, penetrating the rug and probably the shopkeeper's calf, effectively pinning him under the rug, perhaps even to the ground. The shopkeeper screamed. The great hounds dashed out of the bathroom. The spy loaded another bolt, attached it to the free end of the nylon line attached to the first bolt, then fired it through another section of the rug below. The shopkeeper continued to shout, but with the heavy rug pinned over him, he couldn't move. As the spy loaded his third bolt the hounds burst through the doorway into the alley. The third bolt wasn't attached to a line, but had a wicked titanium-spiked tip. The spy aimed at the pneumatic cylinder on the door, hit it, and the door slammed shut, locking the hounds in the alley. He'd practiced this a dozen times in his mind, and it was all going exactly as planned. The front doors to the shop and the apartment building had been Super Glued shut before he'd come up on the roof – no easy job getting that done without being seen. His fourth shot put a bolt in the window frame over the hall window. The bars on the bathroom were too narrow, but he knew that the shopkeeper would have left the door to the apartment open. He attached a carabiner to the nylon line and slid silently down the line to the window ledge. He unclipped, then squeezed through the bars and dropped to the floor in the hallway. He kept close to the hall walls, taking careful, exaggerated steps to keep his toenails from catching on the carpet. He could smell onions cooking in a nearby apartment and hear the child's voice coming from the door down the hall, which he could see was open, if only a crack. â€Å"Dad, I'm ready to get out! Dad, I'm ready to get out!† He paused at the doorway, peeked into the apartment. He knew the child would scream when she saw him – his jagged teeth, the claws, his cold black eyes. He would see to it that her screams were short-lived, but nobody could remain calm in the face of his fearsomeness. Of course, the fearsome effect was somewhat reduced by the fact that he was only fourteen inches tall. He pushed the door open, but as he stepped into the apartment something grabbed him from behind, yanking him off his feet, and in spite of his training and stealth skills, he screamed like a flaming wood duck. Someone had Super Glued the key slot in the back door and Charlie had snapped his key off trying to get it open. There was some kind of arrow stuck on a string through the back of his leg and it hurt like hell – blood was filling up his shoe. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew it wasn't good that the hellhounds were bouncing around him whimpering. He pounded the door with both fists. â€Å"Open the goddamn door, Ray!† Ray opened the door. â€Å"What?† The hellhounds knocked them both down going through the door. Charlie jumped to his feet and limped after them, up the steps. Ray followed. â€Å"Charlie, you're bleeding.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"Wait, you're dragging some kind of line. Let me cut it.† â€Å"Ray, I've got to go – â€Å" Before Charlie could finish his sentence, Ray had pulled a knife from his back pocket, flicked it open, and cut the nylon line. â€Å"Used to carry this on the job to cut seat belts and stuff.† Charlie nodded and headed up the steps. Sophie was standing in the kitchen, wrapped in a mint-green bath towel, shampoo horns still protruding from her head – she looked like a small, soapy version of the Statue of Liberty. â€Å"Dad, where were you? I wanted to get out.† â€Å"Are you okay, honey?† He knelt in front of her and smoothed down her towel. â€Å"I needed help on the rinse. That's your responsibility, Dad.† â€Å"I know, honey. I'm a horrible father.† â€Å"Okay – † Sophie said. â€Å"Hi, Ray.† Ray was topping the steps, holding a bloody arrow on the end of a string. â€Å"Charlie, this went through your leg.† Charlie turned and looked at his calf for the first time, then sat on the floor, sure that he was going to pass out. â€Å"Can I have it?† Sophie said, picking up the arrow. Ray grabbed a dish towel from the counter and pressed it on Charlie's wound. â€Å"Hold this on it. I'll call 911.† â€Å"No, I'm okay,† Charlie said, pretty sure now he was going to throw up. â€Å"What happened out there?† Ray said. â€Å"I don't know, I was – â€Å" Someone in the building started screaming like they were being deep-fried. Ray's eyes went wide. â€Å"Help me up,† Charlie said. They ran through the apartment and out into the hall – the screaming was coming from the stairwell. â€Å"Can you make it?† Ray said. â€Å"Go. Go. I'm with you.† Charlie steadied himself against Ray's shoulder and hopped up the stairs behind him. The harsh screaming coming from Mrs. Ling's apartment had dwindled to pleas for help in English, peppered with swearing in Mandarin. â€Å"No! Shiksas! Help! Back! Help!† Charlie and Ray found the diminutive Chinese matron backed against her stove by Alvin and Mohammed, swinging a cleaver at them to keep them at bay while they barked salvos of strawberry-kiwi-flavored bubbles at her. â€Å"Help! Shiksas try to take supper,† said Mrs. Ling. Charlie saw the stockpot steaming on the stove, a pair of duck feet sticking out of it. â€Å"Mrs. Ling, is that duck wearing trousers?† She looked quickly, then turned and took a swipe at the hellhounds with the cleaver. â€Å"Could be,† she said. â€Å"Down, Alvin. Down, Mohammed,† Charlie commanded, which the hellhounds ignored completely. He turned to Ray. â€Å"Ray, would you go get Sophie?† The ex-cop, who felt himself the master of all situations chaotic, said, â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"They won't back off unless she tells them to. Go get her, okay.† Charlie turned to Mrs. Ling. â€Å"Sophie will call them off, Mrs. Ling. I'm sorry.† Mrs. Ling had been considering her dinner. She tried to shove the duck feet under the broth with her cleaver, but to little effect. â€Å"Is ancient Chinese recipe. We don't tell White Devils about it so you don't ruin it. You hear of paper-wrap chicken? This duck in pants.† The hellhounds growled. â€Å"Well, I'm sure it's delicious,† Charlie said, leaning against her fridge so he didn't fall over. â€Å"You bleeding, Mr. Asher.† â€Å"Yes, I am,† Charlie said. Ray arrived, carrying the towel-wrapped Sophie. He set her down. â€Å"Hi, Mrs. Ling,† Sophie said, then she stepped out of her towel, went to the hellhounds, and grabbed them by their collars. â€Å"You guys didn't rinse,† she said. Then, buck naked, her hair still in shampoo spikes, Sophie led the hellhounds out of Mrs. Ling's apartment. â€Å"Uh, someone shot you, boss,† Ray said. â€Å"Yes, they did,† said Charlie. â€Å"You should get medical attention.† â€Å"Yes, I should,† Charlie said. His eyes rolled back in his head and he slid down the front of Mrs. Ling's refrigerator. Charlie spent the entire night in the emergency room of St. Francis Memorial waiting for treatment. Ray Macy stayed with him the whole time. While Charlie enjoyed the screaming and whimpering from the other patients waiting for treatment, the retching and pervasive barf smell began to wear on him after a while. When he started to turn green, Ray tried to use his ex-cop status to gain favor with the head ER nurse, whom he had known in that old life. â€Å"He's hurt bad. Can't you sneak him in somewhere? He's a good guy, Betsy.† Nurse Betsy grinned (which was the expression she used in lieu of telling people to fuck off) and scanned the waiting room to make sure that no one seemed particularly attentive. â€Å"Can you get him to the window?† â€Å"Sure,† Ray said. He helped Charlie out of his chair and got him to the little bulletproof window. â€Å"This is Charlie Asher,† Ray said. â€Å"My friend.† Charlie looked at Ray. â€Å"I mean my boss,† Ray added quickly. â€Å"Mr. Asher, are you going to die on me?† â€Å"Hope not,† Charlie said. â€Å"But you might want to ask someone with more medical experience than me.† Nurse Betsy grinned. â€Å"He's been shot,† Ray said, ever the advocate. â€Å"I didn't see who shot me,† Charlie said. â€Å"It's a mystery.† Nurse Betsy leaned into the window. â€Å"You know we have to report all gunshot wounds to the authorities. Are you sure you don't want to take a veterinarian hostage and have him sew you up?† â€Å"I don't think my insurance will cover that,† Charlie said. â€Å"Besides, it wasn't a gunshot,† Ray added. â€Å"It was an arrow.† Nurse Betsy nodded. â€Å"Let me see?† Charlie started to roll up his pant leg and lift his leg up on the little counter. Nurse Betsy reached through the little window and knocked his foot off the shelf. â€Å"For Christ's sakes, don't let the others see I'm looking.† â€Å"Ouch, sorry.† â€Å"Is it still bleeding?† â€Å"No, I don't think so.† â€Å"Hurt?† â€Å"Like a bitch.† â€Å"Big bitch or little bitch?† â€Å"Extra large,† Charlie said. â€Å"You allergic to any painkillers?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Antibiotics?† â€Å"Nope.† Nurse Betsy reached into her uniform pocket and pulled out a handful of pills, picked out two round ones and one long one, and slid them through the little window. â€Å"By the power invested in me by Saint Francis of Assisi, I now pronounce you painless. The round ones are Percocet, the oval one is Cipro. I'll put it on your chart.† She looked at Ray. â€Å"Fill out his papers for him, he's going to be too fucked up to do it in a few minutes.† â€Å"Thanks, Betsy.† â€Å"You get any Prada or Gucci bags in that store where you work – they're mine.† â€Å"No problem,† Ray said. â€Å"Charlie owns the store.† â€Å"Really?† Charlie nodded. â€Å"Free,† Betsy added. She slid another round pill across the counter. â€Å"For you, Ray.† â€Å"I'm not hurt.† â€Å"It's a long wait. Anything could happen.† She grinned in lieu of telling him to fuck off. An hour later the paperwork was done and Charlie was heaped in a fiberglass chair in a posture that seemed possible only if his bones had turned to marshmallow. â€Å"They killed Rachel here,† Charlie said. â€Å"Yeah, I know,† Ray said. â€Å"I'm sorry.† â€Å"I still miss her.† â€Å"Yeah, I know,† Ray said. â€Å"How's your leg?† â€Å"But they gave me Sophie,† Charlie said, ignoring the question. â€Å"So, you know, that was good.† â€Å"Yeah, I know,† Ray said. â€Å"How are you feeling now?† â€Å"I'm a little concerned that growing up without a mother, Sophie won't be sensitive enough.† â€Å"You're doing a great job with her. I meant how are you feeling physically?† â€Å"Like that thing where she kills people, just by looking at them. That can't be good for a little girl. My fault, all my fault.† â€Å"Charlie, does your leg hurt?† Ray had opted not to take the painkiller Nurse Betsy had given him, and now he was regretting it. â€Å"And the thing with the hellhounds – what kid has to deal with that? That can't be healthy.† â€Å"Charlie, how do you feel?† â€Å"I'm a little sleepy,† Charlie said. â€Å"Well, you lost a lot of blood.† â€Å"I'm relaxed, though. You know, blood loss relaxes you. You suppose that's why they did leeches in the Middle Ages? They could use them instead of tranquilizers. ‘Yes, Bob, I'll be right in to the meeting, but let me stick a leech on, I'm feeling a little anxious.' Like that.† â€Å"Great idea, Charlie. You want some water?† â€Å"You're a good guy, Ray. Did I ever tell you that? Even if you are serial-killing desperate Filipinas on your vacation.† â€Å"What?† Nurse Betsy came to the window. â€Å"Asher!† she called. Ray looked pleadingly at her through the window – a few seconds later she was coming through the door with a wheelchair. â€Å"How's Painless doing?† she said. â€Å"Oh my God, he's incredibly irritating,† Ray said. â€Å"You didn't take your medicine, did you?† â€Å"I don't like drugs.† â€Å"Who's the nurse here, Ray? It's the circle of meds, not just the patient, but everyone around him. Haven't you seen The Lion King?† â€Å"That's not in The Lion King. That's the circle of life.† â€Å"Really? I've been singing that song wrong the whole time? Wow, I guess I don't like that movie after all. Help me get Painless into the chair. We'll have him home by breakfast.† â€Å"We got here at dinnertime,† Ray said. â€Å"See how you are when you're off your meds?† Charlie had a foam walking cast and crutches when he got home from the hospital. The painkillers had worn off to a level where he was no longer painless. His head was throbbing like tiny twin aliens were going to burst out of his temples. Mrs. Korjev came out of his apartment and cornered him in the hallway. â€Å"Charlie Asher, I am having bone to pick with you. Last night am I seeing my little Sophie run by my apartment naked and soapy like bear, pulling giant black dogs around singing ‘not in butt'? In old country we have word for that, Charlie Asher. Word is nasty. I still have number for child service from days when my boys were boys.† â€Å"Soapy like bear?† â€Å"Don't change subject. Is nasty.† â€Å"Yes, it is. I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I was shot and wasn't thinking straight.† â€Å"You are shot?† â€Å"In the leg. It's only a flesh wound.† Charlie had waited his entire life to say those words and he felt very macho at that moment. â€Å"I don't know who shot me. It's a mystery. They dropped a rug on me, too.† The rug diminished the machismo somewhat. He vowed not to mention it henceforth. â€Å"You come in. Have breakfast. Sophie will not eat toast Vladlena make. She say is raw and have toast germs.† â€Å"That's my girl,† Charlie said. Charlie was no sooner in the door and on his way to rescue his daughter from toast-borne pathogens, when Mohammed grabbed the tip of one of his crutches in his mouth and dragged a hopping Charlie into the bedroom. â€Å"Hi, Daddy,† Sophie said as her father went hopping by. â€Å"No skipping in the house,† she added. Mohammed head-butted the hapless Beta Male to his date book. There were two names there under today's date, which wasn't that unusual. What was unusual was that they were the names that had appeared before: Esther Johnson and Irena Posokovanovich – the two soul vessels he'd missed. He sat down on the bed and tried to rub the pain aliens back into his temples. How to even start? Would these names keep coming back until he got the soul vessels? That hadn't happened with the fuck puppet. What was different here? Things were obviously getting worse – now they were shooting at him. Charlie picked up the phone and dialed Ray Macy's number. It took Ray four days to come back to Charlie with the report. He had the information in three, but he'd wanted to be absolutely sure that all the painkillers had worn off and Charlie wasn't going to be crazy anymore – going on all night about being the big death, â€Å"with a capital D.† Ray also felt a little guilty because he'd been holding out on Charlie about breaking some rules in the store. They met in the back room on a Wednesday morning, before the store opened. Charlie had made coffee and taken a seat at the desk so he could prop his foot up. Ray sat on some boxes of books. â€Å"Okay, shoot,† Charlie said. â€Å"Well, first, I found three more crossbow bolts. Two had barbed-steel tips like the one that went through your leg, and one had a titanium spike. That one was stuck in the pneumatic closer on the back door.† â€Å"Don't care, Ray. What about the two women?† â€Å"Charlie, someone shot you with a deadly weapon. You don't care?† â€Å"Correct. Don't care. It's a mystery. Know what I like about mysteries? They're mysterious.† Ray was wearing a Giants cap and he flipped it around backwards for emphasis. If he'd been wearing glasses he would have whipped those off, but he wasn't, so he squinted like he had. â€Å"I'm sorry, Charlie, but someone wanted you and the dogs out of the house at the same time. They threw that rug on you from the rooftop across the alley, then, when you were pinned down and the dogs were outside, they shot the closer on the door so it would slam shut. They sabotaged the back door's lock and glued the front doors shut, probably before they even started with the rug, then they slid down a line to the hall window, slipped between the bars, and – well, then it's unclear.† Charlie sighed. â€Å"You're not going to tell me about the two women until you finish this, are you?† â€Å"It was highly organized. This wasn't a random assault.† â€Å"The hall window upstairs has bars on it, Ray. No one can get in. No one got in.† â€Å"Well, that's where it gets a little crazy. You see, I don't think it was a human intruder.† â€Å"You don't?† Charlie actually seemed to be paying attention now. â€Å"In order to get through those bars, an intruder would have to be under two feet tall, and less than, say, thirty pounds. I'm thinking a monkey.† Charlie put down his coffee so hard that a java geyser jumped out of the cup onto some papers on the desk. â€Å"You think that I was shot by a highly organized monkey?† â€Å"Don't be that way – â€Å" â€Å"Who then slid down a wire, broke into the building, and did what? Made off with fruit?† â€Å"You should have heard some of the stupid shit you were saying the other night at the hospital, and did I make fun of you?† â€Å"I was on drugs, Ray.† â€Å"Well, there's no other explanation.† To Ray's Beta Male imagination, the monkey explanation seemed completely reasonable – except for lack of motive. But you know monkeys, they'll fling poo at you just for the hell of it, so who's to say – â€Å"The explanation is that it's a mystery,† Charlie said. â€Å"I appreciate your trying to bring this†¦this furry bastard to justice, Ray, but I need to know about the two women.† Ray nodded, defeated. He should have just shut up until he'd figured out why someone would want to get a monkey into Charlie's apartment. â€Å"People can train monkeys, you know. Do you have any valuable jewelry in your apartment?† â€Å"You know,† Charlie said, scratching his chin and looking at the ceiling as if remembering. â€Å"There was a small car parked across from the shop all day on Vallejo. And when I looked the next day, there was a pile of banana peels, like someone had been staking the place out. Someone who ate bananas.† â€Å"What kind of car was it?† Ray said, his notepad ready. â€Å"I'm not sure, but it was red, and definitely monkey size.† Ray looked up from his notes. â€Å"Really?† Charlie paused, as if thinking carefully about his answer. â€Å"Yes,† he said, very sincerely. â€Å"Monkey size.† Ray flipped his notebook back to the pages in the front. â€Å"There is no need to be that way, Charlie. I'm just trying to help.† â€Å"It might have been bigger,† Charlie said, remembering. â€Å"Like a monkey SUV – like what you might drive if you were transporting – I don't know – a barrel of monkeys.† Ray cringed, then read from the pages. â€Å"I went to the Johnson woman's house. No one is living there, but the house isn't on the market. I didn't see the niece you talked about. Funny thing is, the neighbors knew she'd been sick, but no one had heard that she'd died. In fact, one guy said he thought he saw her getting into a U-Haul truck with a couple of movers last week.† â€Å"Last week? Her niece said that she died two weeks ago.† â€Å"No niece.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Esther Johnson doesn't have a niece. She was an only child. Didn't have brothers or sisters, and no nieces on her late husband's side of the family.† â€Å"So she's alive?† â€Å"Apparently.† Ray handed Charlie a photograph. â€Å"That's her latest driver's-license photo. This changes things. Now we're looking for a missing person, someone who will leave a trail. But the other one – Irena – is even better.† He handed Charlie another picture. â€Å"She's not dead either?† â€Å"Oh, there was a death notice in the paper three weeks ago, but here's the giveaway – all of her bills are still being paid, by personal check. Checks she signed.† Ray sat back on his stool, smiling, feeling the sweetness of righteous indignation over the monkey theory, and a little guilt alleviation for not telling Charlie about the special transactions. â€Å"Well?† Charlie finally asked. â€Å"She's at her sister's house in the Sunset. Here's the address.† Ray tore a page out of his notebook and handed it to Charlie.

MGT 470 Take home exam Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MGT 470 Take home exam - Coursework Example These are presented in the following sections of the book (blue shaded headings): As a whole, these entrepreneurial qualities (skills, intentions, and behaviors) include opportunity recognition, acquiring social networks, effectuation and bricolage, self-efficacy, optimism, regulatory focus, alertness and more. Each one holds potential for being more innovative, creative and enterprising in your profession (and your life). Note that in the following two questions, the more variety of qualities you have in your answers, the better i.e. four different qualities are better than two, each done twice). A. Which of these (three at most)Â  are ‘most important’ for being an entrepreneur? For each one, explain in one or two sentences (max) why they are particularly influential in the process and to the outcomes. [12 points] Acquiring social networks- this allows the entrepreneur to attract new business customers across a variety of verticals thus increasing customer base. It helps in reaching targeted audiences quickly thus generating more sales/leads and profits. B. Choose one or two of these entrepreneurial qualities that are most interesting or meaningful to you. What intrigues you about it – why are you drawn to these qualities? Briefly suggest one way you could cultivate this skill or behavior in your work. (1 page double spaced max) [20 points] This entrepreneurial quality enables an individual in going out in the world to invoke change through their actions. Self-motivated individuals are good risk takers and are often not afraid of failure; they have strong inner drive to make progress. Self-motivation helps in working tirelessly in solving problems that confront them. Entrepreneurs are more able to adapt pretty well to the changing situations without unraveling. The quality enables an entrepreneur to help their teams change with

Distance Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Distance Learning - Essay Example I have also made use of the popular website YouTube to watch video clips from all across the globe. I have used my email address to send and receive emails to my friends, family members and business networking associates. The advantages of pursuing a distance learning environment include the fact that a person can learn so many new things without actually being present on the location where the subject is being taught. This is indeed virtual learning which has helped students and professionals alike in the time and age of today. However the distance learning environment has a disadvantage in the ideology that it is not really education in the sheer sense of the word. If the student is not present virtually on the location, it would be very difficult for him to decipher the exact meaning of what is being taught to him. Thus he can miss out on a number of areas as well as the technical issues happening over the distance learning environment, in the form of internet and connectivity regimes can pose as serious troubling matters (Zhang 2005). I do not have an experience with distance education as such; however I perceive it to be a good learning regime, which can induce students into acquiring the education that they have been unable to get their hands on (Bradley 2003). They can explore different areas and tangents which have remained unexplored to date and thus seek better returns for their own selves in the future. Also distance education can cut down on their cost issues and budgets which they would have had to undertake once they were a part of the education processes happening within the universities and institutions at far flung areas or even different countries. The challenges or barriers that can arise in the wake of distance learning education remain the adoption and choosing of courses which are aptly modified with the needs and requirements of the students. This would mean that

Gays marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gays marriage - Essay Example Some countries such as New Zealand and Uruguay have enacted and passed laws legalizing gay marriages and which await implementation in August this year. Laws legalizing gay marriages have faced many hurdles in the passage and implementation in many countries. This is because recognition of gay marriages is a social, religious, political, human rights as well as civil issue in several countries and societies in the world (Scherer 45). Several debates continue to emerge everyday concerning legalizing gay marriages. Such marriages are performed in a religious or secular civil ceremony. Some religious faith groups permit gay marriages and these include the American Episcopalians, United Church of Africa, Quakers, Buddhism in Austria, and Conservative Jews among others (Scherer 45). According to various researches conducted in many countries, majority of people with higher levels of education support gay marriages (Chenier 19). Such support is greater among the youths than the aged. Most pollsters in western countries indicate that a majority of people continue to support gay marriages regardless of race, religions, political affiliations, ethnicities, as well as socioeconomic statuses among others. In US, residents of states such as Maryland, Maine, and Washington voted in favor of legalizing gay marriages. ... For instance, the proponents argue that prohibiting gay marriages infringes on the right of man to socialize with any person he or she wishes and seems appropriate (Saad 1). Moreover, they claim that prohibition of gay marriages is discriminatory since it categorizes people. Consequently, banning of same sex marriages infringes on the right to equal treatment of all persons regardless of sex, gender , religion, social status, race just to mention a few. According to court papers filed by American scientific associations, mockery of gay marriages contributes to discrimination of the people involved in the practice (Larocque 23). In addition, since nobody prefers or likes to be discriminated against, banning of such marriages exposes such people to various forms of discrimination. According to scientific information, marriage enhances the well-being of parents thereby, ensuring children benefit from marriage (Larocque 23). Therefore, legalizing gay marriages will improve the well-being of the couples thus, ensuring that children reared by the couple benefit to the maximum. Moreover, scientific research argues that children reared by parents engaged in gay marriages are as healthy and fit as those raised by heterosexual parents. However, the opponents of gay marriages claim that legalizing such marriages goes against the social norms, which have been respected for long time. These people argue that gay marriages arise from couples that are heterosexism or homophobic. Since such people fear or do not like associating with the opposite sex, they get comfort and consolation from people of the same sex (Mann 156). Therefore, these people are not free with the opposite sex, thus have a problem in the society. Moreover, the opponents of same sex marriage

Abortion From Perspectives of Functionalist Research Paper

Abortion From Perspectives of Functionalist - Research Paper Example The paper has identified that from perspectives of   Functionalist we must engage abortion from a macro perspective in terms of how it affects the whole of society and its relationship between societal parts. Abortion, in general, is legal, but when viewing it from the macro perspective, it becomes alarming. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the abortion rate for non-Hispanic Blacks in New York is 59.8%. Clearly, this statement makes the aforementioned billboard claim correct. From a functionalist perspective, little else is seen. This vision of the functionalist has sparked a growing concern that has not only swept the nation but has found its way into legislation to the thwart the taxpayer funding of abortions nationwide. The functionalist has a natural call for accountability. The perception is that abortions outside of cases of rape, incest and of concerns for health are an act of personal irresponsibility fueled by the passive acceptance of low moral standards. Acc ountability is imposed through removing the means financial absolution when it comes to acquiring abortions. It is felt that social systems work to maintain a social equilibrium. With more than half of the Black babies in New York being aborted, that equilibrium is lost with the given community. The lost equilibrium is viewed as the loss of social norms that must be returned to the previous state through social control mechanisms; in this case, legislation. The functionalist also views the individual from a perspective that enables how the individual is influenced by larger, more reaching social forces. The pro-life campaign that resulted in this billboard is a prime example of how the functionalist utilizes a social tool to influence the individual. While it is not a matter of whether the functionalist in this case is right or wrong, it demonstrates an example of the functionalist at work on a macro scale. However, the functionalist is not the only perspective in viewing abortions in New York’s Black communities. Conflict From the conflict perspective, the billboard was a result of the fact that the New York inner-city Black community has insufficient resources in which to cope with the reproductive health of women. The result is an abortion rate that now â€Å"outpaces life.† When compared to other ethnic groups, Blacks undergo disproportionately more abortions. Because the Black community lacks the resources of the richer communities, the abortion rates are higher. Abortions are thus performed for economic reasons as the Black community falls further behind the economic elite of America. The unemployment rate for Blacks aged 16 to 19 is 41.6%. From a conflict perspective, it goes to reason abortion rates will be higher in those who lack the means of financial provision.

3 P's and a D Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

3 P's and a D - Essay Example Always low price is a fundamental strategy of my company. Then, there are special sales promotions and the workers in every department, especially marketing, are especially trained to keep customers coming back on basis of these amazing sales promotions. My company has always attempted to gain a competitive edge by setting up stores where a large percentage of customers can have an easy access to them. Placement has been always prioritized to benefit and facilitate customers. However, I perceive weakness in the marketing strategy of my company along the dimension of price. Goods of all sorts are presented to public at very reasonable prices. But, this strategy is not fair and equitable to all parties. This is because to sell products at markedly lower prices, employees and suppliers are squeezed and their living standard is compromised. They get lower median wages because of the company’s aim to provide products at cheap

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Essay - 2

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Essay Example Here it has to be mentioned that the organization chosen happens to be Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is a publicly traded company since 1971 and the largest retailer in the country of U.S. Effect of Globalization and Technology Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Fulton in the year 1950 and in the year 1971 the company was listed as a publicly traded company. By 1990 the company had exhibited phenomenal success in the domestic market as it became the largest retailer in the nation. Wal-Mart went global for the first time in the year 1994 when the company decided to enter Canada and since then there has been no turning back. Today Wal-Mart has total of nine thousand and seven hundred units. Out of this more than five thousand units are international units. Globalization presented Wal-Mart the challenge of entering into new countries like China and Brazil having diverse cross cultural differences. But it also presented the opportunity to generate a lot more revenue and reach economies of scale. From the performance of the company it can be easily seen that the company has nullified the risks and utilized the opportunities to the fullest extent. The statistics speak for themselves. Today Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. Globalization has helped the company to enter emerging markets like China, Brazil, etc. and take control of the untapped market. In short globalization has been one of the key reasons for the phenomenal success of the company (Wenderoth, 2009). Position Retailer Name 1 Wal-Mart 2 Carrefour 3 Tesco 4 Metro 5 Kroger Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and STORES Media Another major change in the modus operand of the company has been the embracement of technology. It is quite needless to say that with the rise in the usage of energy round the globe, the world is likely to go through the phase of power shortage. Therefore, a lot of companies are looking to use renewable energy resources. This is also potential branding activity. Wal-Mart has been a pio neer in the usage of the modern day technology to take advantage of the use of renewable energy resources. Wal-Mart uses HVACS to reflect sunlight that reduces heat to cool the buildings. Another major change has been use of the internet. Due to rise of the use of internet, it has also become a potential marketing and sales channel. Wal-Mart has been able to develop strong digital presence both in terms of the website and social media platform. The company also provides opportunity for the customers to buy products online. Industrial organization and Resource Based model for Wal-Mart Industrial organization Model The industrial organization adds to the competitive model real life frictions such as the limited information, transaction cost and barrier to entry. Wal-Mart has been able to achieve economies of scale through the everyday low price model which has in turn acted as the potential barriers to entry. Also the globalization has helped the company a lot in becoming a market lea der. The Wal-Mart stores are also geared towards the low income customer groups (Henry, 2008). Resource Based model The resource based model of the company can be analyzed through the resource capability analysis using the VRINE model. The company has decided to focus on some capabilities such as international acquisitions, store design, supply chain and the introduction of analytics to create value for the customers. The

Media Comparison Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Comparison Paper - Essay Example The E-business in its simplest form can be described as doing business in electronic form. Online presence is one predominant form of e-business. Today we are living in a society where the marketing techniques hold a great deal of importance. These techniques include marketing communication together with packaging of the product or service. Mass media plays a crucial role in propagating the message from the company to the existing as well as prospective customer. 'Mass media' a perfect combination of 'Mass' i.e. the public and 'media' i.e. the means of communication, is a deceptively simple yet broad term which encompasses Institutions as well as individuals. Electronic media, print media, internet, informal channels etc are all different forms of mass media. Now a days print media stands distinctly apart from other forms of media. While internet is able to provide us instant access to any information that we desire, print media has the potential of holding our attention provided the company is able to come out with a catchy advertisement. This forms the basis for further exploration. Dell seems to have mastered the art of co ming out with catchy ideas while propagating the message through print media. ... ell makes it a point that the advertisement appears distinctively graceful and full of information, sufficient enough for the prospective customer to do some initial research. In addition the company indicates its website address as well, with the information that the products can be customer built depending upon the requirements of the customers. This helps the company in making it a comprehensive marketing communication campaign. Dell.com: Where every day brings a New Deal The homepage of Dell is quite attractive as compared with the latest laptops inviting the visitor to at least have a look on the features. In the products category on the net, the company displays its entire range of products with options for the customer to go through all these products and zero-in on the desired one. Subsequently, the customer is taken on the desired product page, which displays; i. The price of the product ii. The tabs 'Build yours' and 'Build Yours with 64 bit power' for customization of the product1 Once the customer starts making his/her own product e.g. laptop computer with distinctive requirements, the costs of the product gets updated automatically. This feature is generally not found with other companies Once the prospective customer finalizes his/her requirements, the website asks the customer to fill out some of the personal details so that the company executive could get in touch with the person/s. This process hardly takes couple of minutes. Now, it is the turn of the company and its executives to get in touch with the online visitor and offer him/her the products at best possible prices. This is perfectly in line with the theories of communication which say that the visit must be followed up with matching offers to the customer. If the customer feels inclined