International Trade and Finance Speech Essay Example for Free

International Trade and Finance Speech Essay This speech delivered by the Speaker of the House to a group of reporters surrounding the topics of international trade, foreign exchange rates, import surplus and how they each impact different constituencies. It will also explain why the government would not be able to restrict importation of goods from China, or if wanted to impose tariffs. The Economy and international Trade The United States was once the highest exporter in all the world. Today, the United States has a negative balance of trade, because of the fact that we now import more goods than we export goods. An example of an import would be oil. The oil that we have imported impacts our businesses and our consumers by making gasoline and other oil derivatives more expensive. This makes prices increase because consumers will have to pay for goods from the fact that the cost of driving will go up. This is a major reason why the government is trying to encourage the development of alternate forms of energy such as coal or natural gas. The goods that the United States imports are not always negative. American consumers have benefited greatly from the imports such as electronics or apparel that is made mostly in Asia. The cost of production for these goods are lower in China and most other Asian countries, making it much cheaper for Americans to buy these types of goods that are being manufactured overseas. The reality of international trade is that production will naturally shift to places where goods can be manufactured more efficiently and at a lower price. What the United States has to focus on is developing new technologies and products of higher quality. With a focus based on innovation and quality instead of labor costs. International trade has an impact on the country’s GDP, the financial markets, and importantly university students. The GDP of the United States becomes stronger when we export goods more than we import goods. If negative trade balances become consistent it can lead to deficits, which will in turn cause the government to borrow more. If the government borrows more this will have an impact on the financial markets which could in time make it more costly for the United States to cover all its deficits. We need to promote our exports in order to help the GDP and make our country more impressive to investors. A healthier economy will create enough employment for those needed, especially university graduates that will be trained for the field. The quotas and tariffs regarding the government’s choices has a direct impact on our trade and the relations that we have with other countries. Reducing tariffs and participating in free trade agreements helps our export businesses. This is a reason why our government has in the past worked for establishing trade agreements with countries as South Korea, Panama, and Colombia. When a free trade agreement takes place the trading partners will erase their quotas or tariffs against products from America, this makes it easier for us to send our products to those countries. Trade is a two way engagement, where both are finding a way to benefit, with consumers benefiting as well and our exports getting higher. Foreign exchange rates are the rates of one type of currency converted to another. Such as the rate for exchange between American dollars and Japan’s Yen which is 76 Yen per dollar. Some currencies are fixed with others. The rates of floating currency is determined by the supply and demand. An example is if the European demand for the dollar increases, the supply and demand relationship between them will cause the price to increase of the dollar in relation to the euro. There are many factors that affect exchange rates that include interest rates, unemployment, political instability, inflation, and GDP. When our GDP becomes higher and our exports become level with our imports, the stronger our currency will be and we will have a better overall financial health. There are some people that believe in protectionist policies that include restricting goods that are coming in from China and several other countries, including imposing tariffs that would increase costs for purchasing of goods in the United States. This kind of policy would be populist and fueled with the good intentions of trying to protect our American jobs, its actual consequences would be an elevating trade war with an opposite effect. History proves that when governments have attempted to restrict trade and enforced protectionist measures, other countries will attempt to retaliate and adopt similar policies. An example is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which broke records by increasing tariffs on 25,000 goods which had an end effect of reducing imports and exports by 50% as trade partners began with similar style tariffs. This will translate into more unemployment as companies that will export their goods will see a drastic demand drop. Restricting imports from China woul d bring drastic measures from the Chinese government, and our companies would struggle as they would be unable to export goods to that part of the world. References Colander, D. C. (2010). Macroeconomics (8th Ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin International Trade, ISSN 0020-7810, 2011, Volume 45, Issue 1, p. 79 The Journal of Economics, ISSN 0895-3309, 2007, Volume 21, Issue 3, p. 105 Foreign Policy, ISSN 0015-7228, 11/2003, Issue 139, p. 20 The American Foreign Trade, ISSN 0002-8282, 12/1928, Volume 18, Issue 4, pp. 706 713

Black Boy :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Richard Wright’s non-fiction novel Black Boy the main character, Richard, faces many problems that he must deal with. In this book the author writes about his life and hardships. The book starts off with Richard at the young age of four. Black Boy represents the deprivation Wright faces growing up. It shows poverty, hunger, lack of emotional support, miserable living conditions and Richard’s response to these difficulties.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education and acquiring knowledge was a problem that Richard faced in the course of his life and which he emphasized heavily in this book. He was a very curios boy that wanted to learn. He would look at the books of the kids in the neighborhood and ask them what the black print was. He would also question his mother until finally she sat down with him and they read together and he would ask about words. He was enrolled into school but since they were constantly moving he never went one year without his schooling have been broken. At one point his teacher read to him from her novels and his grandmother scorned her and said that was the devils work. This didn’t stop him. He would read novels and not even know enough words for what he was reading to make sense. His quest for literacy was one that he had to deal with alone. He didn’t have much support from his family but he would not give up on furthering his education. The black white issue didn’t affect Richard until later in his life when he started to acknowledge there was such an issue. He wanted to be accepted into society and wanted to change the ways people treated the blacks of the south. He wanted to be equal with the whites and felt that knowledge would bring him closer to them and understand them and how they think.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Richard’s hatred towards his father posed a problem in his earlier life. He felt that his father was a stranger to him since he worked at night and slept during the daytime. He noticed his father’s personality when they were living in a two-room apartment. Richard and his brother had to remain quiet while his father was sleeping. Richard had a tendency to rebel against parental authority. One day him and his brother were playing with a kitten that lingered around the house and their father woke up and told them to either kill the cat or make it leave from the area.

Liverpool one shopping development Essay

Liverpool’s CBD needed regeneration for a variety of reasons. During WW2, it was bombed heavily, due to it being a major port for resources from the USA. During the 1960s, it was rebuilt too quickly and then fell into disrepair before 2000, when the design and infrastructure was outdated. Many parts of the city, especially the CBD suffered from urban decline, with its population dropping by 50% and 45% of its industry also leaving. In addition, Liverpool faced competition for shopping by nearby Manchester and Chester, as well as out-of-town shopping centres like the Trafford Centre. Therefore, Liverpool’s CBD needed regeneration to be more attractive to consumers, and regain its spot in the top 5 shopping destinations in the UK. Liverpool One, the project to rejuvenate Liverpool’s CBD was completed in 2008. It was opened in phases on 29 May and 1 October 2008, with the final residential lots opening in early 2009. In the same year, Liverpool was named as the European Capital of Culture. Its total cost is approximately ? 1billion, with 42 acres of Liverpool city centre being redeveloped. It includes 3000 parking spaces, 169 stores or services, as well as a 5 acre park, and 500 new apartments. It also contains a 14-screen cinema and a 36-hole adventure golf centre. Shops present include Debenhams, John Lewis, Ted Baker, Waterstones, Starbucks, Topshop and Caffe Nero. These are all mainly comparison, high-order goods which are chain stores. The area is indoor, yet also mainly open-air. It is of a modern design, and is two storeys tall. There are many cafes and food areas, with many benches. There are also electronic maps and information panels across the centre. The pedestrian areas are wide and escalators are available to proceed to the higher floors. There have also been other improvements in the CBD, such as the rejuvenation of the Docks and the introduction of the Merseytram tram line in the CBD. As well as this, many roads and smaller streets in Liverpool have been rejuvenated and rebuilt as part of the redevelopments. Areas such as Princes Dock and the Kings Waterfront have seen heavy redevelopments. These have been to attract more tourists and shoppers to the CBD. The project has overall been successful as of yet, with 83% of consumers thinking that the city centre has improved. 91% of people said they were likely to return to Liverpool, and enjoyed the experience. And now, 40% of the shops in Liverpool One are new to the city, showing the popularity of the area. The previously redeveloped Albert Dock has been receiving an extra 100000 visitors per week, with Liverpool One itself receiving over 120000 visitors in the first day, and 13 million in the first year. It is safe the say the rejuvenation of Liverpool’s CBD has been a success, and that Liverpool One has played a big part in reversing the effect of urban decline.

Disaster Rehabilitation Complex Essay

Bamboo Hybrid Building Construction Material Foldable emergency houses through Bamboo Hybrid Building Construction Material. A revolutionary way of construction where the bamboos are being combined with structural Bolt Ball steel to act as struts (replacing the steel/aluminium material) and form as a structural joints to achieve stability and flexibility. Together with Contex-T: textile architecture, a fiber reinforced structural element that will act as the roofs and walls which provide good insulation, maximum flexibility in design and maximum mobility with a short construction period; and Liter of Light: soda bottle solar light, an innovative invention that will turn a soda bottle into a 50-60 watts light bulb during the day, which will be attached customarily to the bamboo struts in different areas of the foldable houses. -source; Building with Bamboo by Gernot Minke; WHAT IS THE PROJECT ABOUT? DESCRIBE. (STATEMENT OF USE/FUNCTION AND PURPOSE OF THE BUILDING BASED ON NBC) Philippine Red Cross Disaster Rehabilitation Complex: An Evacuation and Rehabilitation Facility under, Group D – Institutional (Government and Health Services) Division-1 No. 4 Principal use of The 2004 Revised IRR of P.D no. 1096 (as published by the DPWH), dedicated for the disaster and calamity victims, and also will become the new headquarters of   Red Cross; a development that will change the image of unsystematic and unorganized evacuation center in the Philippines that aims to educate people in their condition during calamities while providing them a complete set of recreational, medical, educational, conventional and administration facilities dedicated for their fully rehabilitation directly from Philippine Red Cross, while eliminating the issue of politics and providing an immediate response during and after the calamity. A formal evacuation center in the Philippines that can cater a huge amount of evacuees while providing them comfort, care and medical attention and a comfortable emergency houses through Bamboo foldable houses, where a locally found bamboo’s are being modified and turn it into a unique hybrid construction material where it is incorporated with structural bolt steel and organic fiber reinforced textile material that can provide a recyclable, flexible, and a faster installation while reducing the cost and maintaining the stability and the proper standards for an emergency houses. LOCATION (OPTIONAL) Tent City of Tacloban Marcos Highway cor. Amang Rodriguez Ave., Barangay Dela Paz, Pasig City. TARGET USERS: PRIMARY:Evacuees and victims of disaster and calamities SECONDARY:Volunteers Doctors Medical Staff’s TERTIARY: People in needs of medical assistant Security personnel Donors Visitors NO. OF USERS: (approximate no.) 100,000 Families OWNER(S) OR CLIENT(S): Philippine Red Cross PROJECT OBJECTIVE(S) OF THE OWNER (WHY IS THERE A NEED FOR THE PROJECT?) 1. To erase the image of the Philippine’s chaotic evacuation center 2. To provide new Headquarters of Philippine Red cross that will become a center of their public service and donations 3. To educate and raise the awareness of the people to the Emergencies, Calamities, and Disasters 4. To help people recover from their condition, in a faster service with a complete facility dedicated for them. 5. To reduce the health casualties occurring in the un-organized evacuation center. BUDGET/FINANCING SCHEME: The amount of financial funds will be according to the donations collected by the Philippine National Red Cross from the different organizations of the Government especially From Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) and from private sectors and individual charitable donations. Structural3,000 per square meter Electrical and telecoms1,000 per square meter Sanitary 2,500 per square meter Sprinkler1,000 per square meter Mechanical1,500 per square meter Architectural 5,000 per square meter Emergency houses550,000 (estimated cost of bunk houses of government) Note: the cost of land acquisition for the site is not yet included in the above mentioned costing.

Practice in Identifying Adjectives

Practice in Identifying Adjectives This exercise will give you practice in recognizing adjectivesthe part of speech that modifies (or qualifies the meaning of) nouns. To learn more about adjectives in English, see: Adding Adjectives and Adverbs to the Basic Sentence UnitPractice in Turning Adjectives Into AdverbsSentence Building with Adjectives and AdverbsSentence Combining With Adjectives and Adverbs Instructions The sentences in this exercise have been adapted from those in two paragraphs of E.L. Doctorows novel Worlds Fair (1985). (To read Doctorows original sentences, go to Ritual in Doctorows Worlds Fair.) See if you can identify all the adjectives in these 12 sentences. When youre done, compare your responses with the answers on page two. Grandmas room I regarded as a dark den of primitive rites and practices.She had two wobbly old candlesticks.Grandma lit the white candles and waved her hands over the flames.Grandma kept her room clean and tidy.She had a very impressive hope chest covered with a shawl and on her dresser a hairbrush and comb.There was a plain rocking chair under a lamp so she could read her prayer book.And on an end table beside the chair was a flat box packed with a medicinal leaf that was shredded like tobacco.This was the centerpiece of her most consistent and mysterious ritual.She removed the lid from this blue box and turned it on its back and used it to burn a pinch of the leaf.It made tiny pops and hisses as it burned.She turned her chair toward it and sat inhaling the thin wisps of smoke.The smell was pungent, as if from the underworld. Here are the answers to the  Exercise in Identifying Adjectives. Adjectives are in bold print. Grandmas room I regarded as a  dark  den of  primitive  rites and practices.She had  two wobbly old  candlesticks.Grandma lit the  white  candles and waved her hands over the flames.Grandma kept her room  clean  and  tidy.She had a very  impressive  hope chest covered with a  shawl  and on her dresser a hairbrush and comb.There was a  plain  rocking chair under a lamp so she could read her prayer book.And on an end table beside the chair was a  flat  box packed with a  medicinal  leaf that was shredded like tobacco.This was the centerpiece of her most  consistent  and  mysterious  ritual.She removed the lid from this  blue  box and turned it on its back and used it to burn a pinch of the leaf.It made  tiny  pops and hisses as it burned.She turned her chair toward it and sat inhaling the  thin  wisps of smoke.The smell was  pungent, as if from the underworld. See also:  Exercise in Identifying Adverbs

The 5 Best Suspense Thrillers on Stage

The 5 Best Suspense Thrillers on Stage Unlike mysteries in which the audience searches for clues to figure out â€Å"whodunit,† thrillers let viewers know who the bad guys are in advance. Then, the audience spends the rest of the play on the edge of their proverbial seats wondering who will win: the evil doer or the innocent victim? Here are five of the best stage thrillers in theatrical history. Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott In this slick, slightly dated cat-and-mouse thriller, three con-men manipulate a blind woman. They want the secret contents hidden inside a mysterious doll, and they are willing to go to any lengths to retrieve it - even murder. Fortunately, the blind protagonist, Suzy Hendrix, is resourceful enough to use her other heightened senses to combat the criminals. In the climactic final act, Suzy gains the advantage when she shuts off all the lights in her apartment. Then, the bad guys are in her territory. Deathtrap by Ira Levin A reviewer from Cue Magazine calls Levin’s comic suspense play, â€Å"two-thirds a thriller and one-third a devilishly clever comedy.† And the play is indeed devilish! The premise: a formerly successful author is so desperate for another hit, he seems willing to murder a younger more talented writer in order to steal his brilliant manuscript. But that’s only the beginning. Plot twists and treachery abound throughout Deathtrap. Try to see this one live at your local community theater. However, if you can’t wait for it to be revived, the Michael Caine film is a fun ride as well. Dial M for Murder by Frederick Knott Another â€Å"Knotty† thriller, this play became an instant theatrical hit as well as an Alfred Hitchcock classic. Believing that he has planned the perfect crime, a cold-hearted husband hires a thug to murder his wife. The audience members hold their breath as they watch to see what happens next. Will the husband get away with the heinous deed? Will the wife survive? (Don’t hold your breath for too long – the play runs about two hours.) Perfect Crime by Warren Manzi This show is currently the longest running play in New York City history. This off-Broadway thriller has been running since 1987. Believe it or not, lead actress Catherine Russell has starred in Perfect Crime since its premiere. That means she performed in over 8,000 shows – missing a mere four performances during the last twenty years. (Can a person stay sane after all those performances?) The press release says: â€Å"The main character is a Harvard-educated psychiatrist accused of bumping off her wealthy British husband. The play is set in an affluent Connecticut town where this suspected murderess conducts her practice out of her secluded mansion. The handsome detective assigned to the case must overcome his own love-interest in the wife as he seeks to discover who murdered the husband, if indeed he was murdered at all.† Sounds like a good combination of suspense and romance. The Bad Seed by Maxwell Anderson Based upon the novel by William March, The Bad Seed asks a disturbing question. Are some people born evil? Eight-year old Rhoda Penmark seems to be. This play might be seriously disturbing for some people. Rhoda behaves sweetly and innocently around adults, but can be murderously devious during one-on-one encounters. There are few plays in which such a young child is portrayed as such a manipulative sociopath. The psychopathic Rhoda makes the creepy ghost girl from The Ring look like a Strawberry Shortcake.

Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation Assessment Essay

Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation Assessment - Essay Example The business idea is to develop a business that connects buyers and sellers of any product, from clothing, kitchenware, electronic, cars, household items, and any other items that have market value. The idea aims to capitalise of individuals who have used items and hopes to make quick cash out of the sale. Unlike existing ideas that champions the capability of the seller has to meet the potential buyer, this idea will ensure both option of the two meeting or the seller decides to use the organisation’s sale representative to do the transaction on their behalf. The use of technology has made it possible to make online transactions. People can make secure purchase of items by just keying the details of their credit cards and select the mode of delivery and the destination to receive what they have purchased. The model will utilise these technological provisions to connect buyers and sellers of different items from different geographical locations. Other than making use of technology for efficient implementation of the model, the main source of this motivation is the strong marketing strategy, which will enable the idea get the wide coverage (Cromie, 2000). Besides, the realisation that most homes have used items that other people may find useful at a reduced pricing is the motivation guiding these ideas. In every household, there are items ranging from clothing to other assets that the owner can generate some quick cash by selling them using a platform that will not cost them lots of money. These ideas are realistic because the less fortunate community values second hand goods. For instance, charity organisations and other humanitarian organisations may wish to purchase less expensive goods but find it difficult to outsource for such items. The example given above is not the main source of the customers, but just a perspective to illustrate how realistic nature of the model. The main customer targeted by this