Financial assesment - Aviva PLC Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Financial assesment - Aviva PLC - Research Paper Example Firms calculate their cost of equity using several methods, the most popular method being Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). This method assumes that shareholders expect a rate of return equivalent to the risk free rate plus a risk premium, and is expressed as - The current UK T-bill average yield was taken as the risk free rate. The recent T-bill average yield varied from 0.6725% (on Apr 3) to 0.6220% (on Mar 27) as per Financial Times (2009). The extract of the data is given in the Appendix as Exhibit 6-3. The average of these two figures (0.65%) was considered as the risk free rate. FTSE-100 was considered as the indicator of market return. The data range considered was between Jan 1, 2003 to Jan 1, 2009. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of FTSE-100 during this period was 2.55%. The relevant FTSE-100 data during this period is given in Table 6-1 of Appendix (Yahoo Finance 2, 2009). It is assumed that this is the rate of return that the market will expect in future. The historical dividend growth rate of Aviva works out to 6.20%. The divided payout details are given in Table 6-2 of Appendix (Aviva, 2009). It is expected that this growth rate will continue in future. A total dividend of 33 pence per share was paid for the year 2008. This amount is expected to be 35.05 pence per share during the year of 2009 using the current dividend growth rate. The share price of Aviva as on January 1, 2009 was 361.84 pence. There is subsThe cost of equity as per this method works out to (0.33 x 1.0620/ 361.84) + 6.20%, i.e., 15.89%. There is substantial difference between the cost of equity calculated using the two methods. Both methods use several assumptions and approximations. Therefore, it was decided to take the arithmetic mean of both these figures for the purpose of calculating the WACC. The arithmetic mean works out to 10.42%. Preference Shares/ Direct Capital Instrument: The Aviva has issued several types of hybrid instruments at different rates of

Argument by Authority Essay Example for Free

Argument by Authority Essay The first part which presents an argument by authority is the opening – â€Å"According to repeated nationwide surveys, more Doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette! † Though it does not directly relate the authority of the doctors in cigarette smoking, it is suggesting that even doctors, who are supposed to be health conscious, are smoking, thus creating an illusion that cigarette smoking is not bad for the health. The second part is the expression â€Å"The doctor’s choice is America’s choice! † The first point may be less reliable than the second because it is just a survey and does not require much expertise as doctors. The second is more reliable although it suffers from the fallacy of argument by authority. The first statement is an appeal to anonymous authority type of argument (claiming that an argument is valid based on an opinion of an anonymous and not necessarily an expert) while the second suggests that it is a general argument from authority fallacy (claiming that the argument is valid because the opinion presented is from an expert). By stating that the doctor’s choice is America’s choice, the speaker is claiming that whatever the doctors smoke is what America smokes. It may also be categorized as hasty generalization, but what it actually does is persuade Americans to smoke Camel because doctors, as it were, are smoking Camels. References Alouette. (2007, July 26). Amusing old fashioned advertisements, cigarette ads [image]. Unsought Input. Retrieved March 3, 2009 from http://www. unsoughtinput. com/index. php/2007/06/26/amusing-old-fashioned-advertisements-cigarette-ads/ Lindsay, D. (Ed. ). (2009, January 5). A List of Fallacious Arguments. Retrieved March 3, 2009 from http://www. don-lindsay-archive. org/skeptic/arguments. html#expert

The Causes Of World War 2 History Essay

The Causes Of World War 2 History Essay World War 2 was a global military conflict that lasted for nearly 6 years and resulted in heavy losses for all that were involved all over the world. In this paper I will express my opinion on what I feel were two crucial attributes of the Second World War; why it was fought and how it affected the entire world. World War II (1939-1945) World War II thus far, has been the deadliest and bloodiest war to date. More than 38 million people died by the end of the war, many of them innocent civilians. It was also the most destructive war in our current history. The fighting raged on in many parts of the world, with the brunt of it being in Europe and Japan. More than 50 nations took part in this war, which changed the world forever. For Americans, World War II had a clear-cut purpose; they were fighting to defeat tyranny. Most of Europe had been conquered by Nazi Germany, which was under the evil control of Adolf Hitler. The war in Europe began with Germanys unprecedented invasion of Poland in 1939. It seemed that wherever the Nazi army went, they came down with a vengeance on the Jews of that area. They also went after anyone that didnt fit in to their idea of the Master Race, Aryans. In Asia and the Pacific, the Japanese armies invaded countries and islands. On December 7, 1941, The Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Within hours the U.S. Congress declared war against Japan, plunging the U.S. headfirst into World War II. What Were the Causes of World War 2? Many historians today believe that some of the causes of World War II can be traced to World War I (1914-1918). Americans had fought in that earlier war to Make the world safe for Democracy. Those were the words and goals of President Woodrow Wilson (President from 1913 to 1921). However, the peace treaties that ended World War I seemed only to create in many people and governments, bitterness and anger that eventually boiled over and helped instill the inevitable beginnings of World War II. Germany and its allies had been defeated in World War I. Germany was ordered to hand over one sixth of its territory and forced to pay huge reparations (payments by a defeated country for the destruction it caused in a war). After World War I, Germany suffered from high unemployment and uncontrollable inflation which made the German money become almost worthless. A League of Nations was set up after World War I to help try to keep the peace, however, the United States did not join, and other countries were too busy with their own problems to concern themselves with Germany and other trouble spots. As the 1930s came about, the world was hit by an economic depression. Workers all over the world lost their jobs, world trade fell off, and times were extremely hard all around. The citizens of the world were looking for leaders that could bring them the change they so desperately wanted and needed. There were numerous causes to the War itself; however, the most important cause in my opinion was World War 1 in and of itself. After the First World War, the actively involved nations were divided into two groups; the Allied Powers, formed by France, British Empire, Russian Empire, United States of America etc. and the Central Powers, which consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and others of the like that were not on the winning end of the war. The Treaty of Versailles; a peace treaty which followed the end of World War 1, held Germany responsible for the war and put many harsh penalties on Germany, including military restrictions and disarmament of their country. They were also to pay a rather large fine and make substantial territorial concessions to the Allied Powers. After the end of World War I, Germany saw the rise of Adolf Hitler and his concept of Nazism (National Socialism, later converted to the National Socialist German Workers Party, NSDAP) both of which became quite popular in 1930s. Nazism was a form of Socialism, and totally different from Marxism, which was typically characterized by racism and expansionism. National Socialism calls for obedience to a strong leader, so Adolf Hitler portrayed himself as that strong leader. While Germany witnessed the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, Italy witnessed the rise of Benito Mussolini and Fascism. Fascism is formed by violence, racism and totalitarianism. Both of these concepts are quite similar to each other and this portrayed Hitler and Mussolini as the leaders of the war against the Allied Powers. In the 1930s, the United States found itself largely concerned with the domestic economic troubles of the Great Depression, even as international crises loomed in Europe and Asia. Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy, had begun waging a war in Ethiopia using chemical weapons, such as mustard gas, and slaughtering thousands of innocent people. A violent and brutal civil war raged in Spain, staging General Francisco Francos fascists against a variegated alliance of Communists and Democrats. Josef Stalin had risen to absolute power in Russia after imprisoning and executing several of his political enemies. Downtrodden Germans had rallied around Adolf Hitler, their new hero and leader, who called for Aryan deliverance after Germanys humiliation in World War I and launched an aggressive campaign to unify the German race throughout Europe. Meanwhile, in the East, Japan had invaded Manchuria and was threatening to conquer China because they were, at the time, virtually unchecked by Weste rn powers, who were preoccupied with problems closer to home. Through the troubled years of the late 1930s, Americans did everything they possibly could to avoid being drawn into these growing conflicts abroad. In the end, staying out of World War II proved impossible; by the middle of 1941, President Roosevelt had committed American ships to an undeclared naval war with Germany in the North Atlantic, and on 7 December 1941 any question of Americas further neutrality in the conflict ended with the mortifying surprise attack by the Japanese against the American naval station at Pearl Harbor. What Were some the Effects of World War 2? Even though the effects of World War I were bad, the effects of World War II were even worse in comparison. The number of people who were left homeless paled in correlation to the number of lives lost on both sides of the war. However, World War 2 also marked the end of dictatorship in Europe, and launched the United States and Soviet Union as the super powers of the world. It also resulted in the formation of the United Nations, an organization formed to promote peace and security throughout the world. The Paris Peace Treaty signed on February 10th, 1947, allowed nations like Italy, Bulgaria and Finland to resume as sovereign states in international affairs, thus allowing them to become members of the United Nations. This Treaty also included provisions for the repayment for the cost of the war, and for the aid in repairing the devastation to many nations, cities and towns, as well as post war territorial adjustments. Several European and Asian countries had to bear the brunt of the Second World War, when the territorial borders of European countries were redrawn. The biggest beneficiary, in terms of territorial expansion, was the Soviet Union which annexed parts of Finland, Poland, Japan, Germany and some independent states to its territories. The worst affected nation over all, was Germany, which was divided into four parts controlled individually by; France, The United States of America, Soviet Union and Great Britain. While the first plans put forth by the United States for Germany were very harsh, they were refined after it was realized that the revival of Europe was not possible without the revival of the German industrial base. Everything was not all right though, as it was World War 2 which laid the foundation for Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, which lasted for a period of 44 years (1947-1991). As far as the economic effects of World War 2 are concerned, it did have some positives but they were by no means a match for the chaos this war created. The numerous jobs created during the war brought an end to the crisis of unemployment during the Great Depression. While those industries which manufactured various products required during the war flourished, other industries suffered a major setback. The European economy was almost brought to a standstill during the Second World War. It took quite a few years for the world to revive after the war came to an end in 1945. After all was said and done, in the end as many as 24,000,000 soldiers and 49,000,000 civilians lost their lives on both the sides. An Ever Changing World. Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe. The war in the Pacific did not end until after the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan the only time such bombs were ever used in war. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had led the U.S. in wartime, did not live to see peace, however, in a speech written but never delivered, he spoke of the need to preserve peace: Today we are faced with the preeminent [above all other] fact that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together and work together in the same world, at peace.

Poverty and Disease :: essays research papers

Nearly 50,000 people, including 30,000 children, die each day due to poverty-related problems and preventable disease in underdeveloped Countries. That doesn’t include the other millions of people who are infected with AIDS and other incurable diseases. Especially those living in Sub-Saharan Africa (70%), or â€Å"the Third-World,† and while we fight to finish our homework, children in Africa fight to survive without food, or clean water. During the next few paragraphs I will give proof that poverty and disease are the two greatest challenges facing under developed countries. Niger and Sierra Leone, the two poorest countries in the world only have a GDP of around 500 dollars per capita. Which, compared to Canada’s 27,000 dollars per capita, is considerably low. In the 48 poorest countries, an average of 2$ a day is made by each working person. Imagine living off 2$ a day in Canada, you couldn’t even buy a Big Mac and a drink for 2$. This is making starvation a very serious problem in 3rd-world countries, not to mention their low immune systems, used for preventing disease, not working right from the lack of nutrition. After the smallpox pandemic, science has done a lot to cure and control most other outbreaks of diseases. But with the shortage of healthcare and medication in the developing regions, what is there to stop many diseases from spreading. In Kenya, there is only 1 doctor for over 5000 people. How does 1 doctor make sure 5000 people are not in trouble with a live-threatening disease? The AIDS virus is the most common disease, and with no cure, an infected person will die. It is estimated that 90 to 95 percent of AIDS infections occur in developing countries where the world’s worst living conditions exist. After being brought up to date with the current situation in the under developed part of the world there should be good reason to believe that the two main problems are disease and poverty. Poverty and Disease :: essays research papers Nearly 50,000 people, including 30,000 children, die each day due to poverty-related problems and preventable disease in underdeveloped Countries. That doesn’t include the other millions of people who are infected with AIDS and other incurable diseases. Especially those living in Sub-Saharan Africa (70%), or â€Å"the Third-World,† and while we fight to finish our homework, children in Africa fight to survive without food, or clean water. During the next few paragraphs I will give proof that poverty and disease are the two greatest challenges facing under developed countries. Niger and Sierra Leone, the two poorest countries in the world only have a GDP of around 500 dollars per capita. Which, compared to Canada’s 27,000 dollars per capita, is considerably low. In the 48 poorest countries, an average of 2$ a day is made by each working person. Imagine living off 2$ a day in Canada, you couldn’t even buy a Big Mac and a drink for 2$. This is making starvation a very serious problem in 3rd-world countries, not to mention their low immune systems, used for preventing disease, not working right from the lack of nutrition. After the smallpox pandemic, science has done a lot to cure and control most other outbreaks of diseases. But with the shortage of healthcare and medication in the developing regions, what is there to stop many diseases from spreading. In Kenya, there is only 1 doctor for over 5000 people. How does 1 doctor make sure 5000 people are not in trouble with a live-threatening disease? The AIDS virus is the most common disease, and with no cure, an infected person will die. It is estimated that 90 to 95 percent of AIDS infections occur in developing countries where the world’s worst living conditions exist. After being brought up to date with the current situation in the under developed part of the world there should be good reason to believe that the two main problems are disease and poverty.

Thirteen Days vs. the real Cuban Missile Crisis

The year is 1962 and American surveillance planes discover that the USSR is in the rocess of placing nuclear ballistic missiles in Cuba. The missiles have a said they are capable of reaching the majority of the United States Air Force bomber bases effectively crippling their ability to retaliate. It Is a race to find a means of removing the missiles before they become operational. Thus the problem for the President is to decide whether to use force or diplomatic means to keep the missiles un-operational.Initial diplomatic attempts to come to a peaceful conclusion fail and the Secretary of Defence proposes a naval blockade which they call a â€Å"quarantine† nd if the Soviets ignore the blockade, the Navy will forcibly remove the ships from going to Cuba. This would quickly escalate the situation which Is clearly what the Secretary of Defence wanted but the President with help of his Special Assistant; Kenneth O'Donnell, realized that an invasion of Cuba by Americans would lead to the Soviets invading Berlin effectively causing a World War Ill.In the end through unique communication methods between the US and the Soviets the Soviets agree to remove the mlsslles from Cuba providing the us promises never to Invade Cuba as well as remove missiles from Turkey. One of the most criticized aspects of the movie Is that Kenneth O'Donnell; who was Special Assistant to the President had a very influential and substantial role in the movie. Quite often he is found dissuading President Kennedy from the so called solutions from the Secretary of Defence and his entourage.He is always reminding Kennedy of the repercussions of the actions that Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara proposes. At one point Kenneth said in reference to surveillance flights and the rules of engagement; that if a plan were shot at, the site would be bombed, â€Å"This is a setup. The chiefs want to go in. They need to redeem themselves for the Bay of Pigs. † This seemed quite reasonable a s the Bay of Pigs was an unsuccessful attempt at military invasion of Cuba and those in charge needed redemption.Unfortunately; although Kenneth O'Donnell appeared a great protagonist, he did not have that kind of role In the crlsls In reality. Following the release of the movie the actual former Secretary of Defence; Robert McNamara, said â€Å"For God's sakes, Kenny O'Donnell didn't have any role whatsoever In the missile crisis; he was a political appointment secretary to the President; that's absurd. It may seem as though McNamara could have Just been bitter about the way he was portrayed in the movie but the conclusion he came to was generally what all those involved in the crisis thought about O'Donnell's role. Although McNamara pointed out that the role 1 OF2 O'Donnell played was slmllar to lea Sorenson saying â€Å"It was not Kenny O'Donnell who pulled us all together†it was Ted Sorensen. Ted Sorensen was President Kennedy's Special Counsel ; Adviser and it makes muc h more sense for him to have taken on the role O'Donnell portrayed as President Kennedy once called him his â€Å"intellectual blood bank. † leading one to believe that the President must have had reat faith in Sorenson. President Kennedy asked Sorenson to take part in foreign policy as well as being a member of Excomm (The Executive Committee of the National Security Council) during the Crisis.All of this would lead one to believe Sorenson must have played the role of O'Donnell in reality. So why didn't the producer Just stick with that in the film? It was because the appearance of Kenneth O'Donnell is much more appealing to the average American. He is the perfect protagonist, Just an average middle class American trying to do the right thing. That is why he was given this role and it is understandable why this trade off would be ade for entertainment purposes as Thirteen Days is a movie and not a documentary.

Capital Punishment Is Always Wrong, Do You Agree?

Capital Punishment is always wrong, do you agree? A Christian would agree as they believe all life is sacred and only god can choose when your life ends, he will punish you in hell for your sins and it is not the place of the government to decide whether you are killed or not. This is because in the bible it says â€Å"Do not kill† which is one of the Ten Commandments which are not to be disobeyed, they also believe in forgiveness and love which are the fundamentals of their religion therefore criminals should be forgiven and given a chance to change.A Buddhist would agree because they believe in the sanctity of life. This is because they believe in karma – that you will accumulate bad karma for the bad things you do in your life and will pay for them in your next life and so therefore we should leave people to be punished in their next life and not kill them because all life is sacred and if we kill them we will accumulate bad karma.A Muslim would disagree because they believe that punishment is needed to protect the welfare of society and serve justice to the victims family, they believe that if you take a life then you should die because you have taken away something sacred and sinned, this is because in the Qur’an it says â€Å"take not life, which God hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law† which permits the death penalty if it is to bring about justice.Another Christian would disagree because they believe that god has appointed the king/queen who has then appointed the government to serve justice on his behalf, this means that they can punish people in the means they feel appropriate and in the bible there are examples where people were killed for their sins so therefore it must be alright to kill people in today’s society.This is because in the bible it says â€Å"show no pity, life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot† which shows that we should have no mercy and shoul d give the same punishment as the crime done for example if someone kills then they should be killed. I disagree as I believe sometimes it could be right because some criminals never reform and in killing them we would be preventing them from killing again and possibly deterring other criminals as they would be afraid of the punishment they would receive.