Business Environment and the Analysis of the Financial Health of Bank Essay - 1

Business Environment and the Analysis of the Financial Health of Bank of America Corporation - Essay Example The study discusses the impact of globalization on the business strategies of Bank of America Corporation (BAC). The Bank of America Corporation is a Delaware Corporation in addition to being a ‘bank holding company’ as well as a financial holding company. It is headquartered in Charlotte in North California. BAC provides a varying array of banking as well as nonbanking financial products and services all over the United States in addition to certain overseas markets, through their banking and nonbanking subsidiaries. BAC functions in six business divisions, namely, Deposits, Global Commercial Banking, Global Card Services, Global Banking & Markets, Home Loans & Insurance, and Global Wealth & Investment Management. As of December 2010, BAC operates in all the states of the United States of America and 40 other countries across the world. BAC caters around 80% of the population of the United States through their retail banking segment. The business environment and the mar kets in which the BAC carries out its business are dynamically influenced by the developments in the economies of the US and other countries. In the year 2010, the worldwide economy continued to recuperate, though the growth was not even across the various regions. The US, the UK, and Europe showed modest growth, while the countries like China, Brazil, and India demonstrated rapid expansion. The US economy started to improve at the beginning of 2010 as a result of reasonable development in consumption level as well as inventory rebuilding in the nation. However, the growth slowed down in the mid of 2010 as a result of the escalation of the financial calamity in Europe. Nevertheless, notwithstanding the modest economic augmentation in 2010, BAC generated free cash flows worth $1.5 trillion from their nonfinancial businesses as a result of their vigilant financial practices in the business. Furthermore, the credit quality of bank loans improved considerably in the year 2010 and the co ntinuous economic revival enhanced the atmosphere for bank lending. Since the latter part of 2010, bank commercial as well as industrial loans amplified, illustrating augmented loan demand as a result of stronger production and capital spending in addition to inventory building.

Mortgages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mortgages - Essay Example According to Boleat and Coles, the common trend is that after getting a gainful employment and after completing studies, most people will always opt to buy a home which is consider a wise investment since the homeowners would soon avoid paying rent, which takes up a big chunk of a person’s total earning (18-19). It is because of this reason that mortgage products have become very popular across the world and they have enabled many people become homeowners. However, mortgage facilities present certain problems to the borrowers, which will be discussed in this present essay and even how they affect the economy of the United States. Secondly, the essay will discuss recent act of legislations or proposal by the United States’ federal government that pertains to the problems that would be highlighted. Current problems faced by mortgagors and even the mortgage industry The nature of mortgage facility is that the borrower pays a monthly premium plus interest which is flexible meaning that the rate of the interest may increase or decrease depending on the market condition. Baily stated that borrowers’ problems usually arise when the rate of interest in the mortgage market increases while their income, which they use to repay the mortgage, remains steady (68-71). This therefore, creates a scenario whereby the borrower is unable to satisfactory pay the monthly premiums and interest, which then forces the bank to enact the foreclosure agreement that would leave the borrower homeless. Such a problem derails the entire economic growth of the United States, which is still on a recovery phase, and unemployment is still an issue since according to Baily lower purchasing power by the consumers who are servicing high interest rate means low demand for goods and products (33-35). Boleat and Coles also lamented that presently borrowers have been locked with high interest rates despite the fact that the rates have significantly decreased with the improved perfo rmance of the economy after the 2008 to 2010 financial crisis. Banks are only willing to allow a customer to switch to a cheaper rate if they are additionally using other products offered by the bank. This practice violates the directive issued by the Financial Service Authority that required lenders to treat the ‘captive’ customers fairly (89-93). In regards to the banking industry, the main problem that they face is the increased regulation that was imposed on the industry especially with the new laws such as the Dodd-Frank law that requires banks to tighten their lending requirements (Boleat and Coles, 109-112). For example, while evaluating the suitability of a prospective borrower banks currently do not consider earnings that are variable such as bonuses and commissions of which in some profession they make up the biggest percentage of the total earnings of an individual. This has resulted into banks loosing potential business and at the same time denying potential borrowers the chance to have a mortgage product. Equally, the national economy also suffers because there is decrease in the demand for houses since not many people can get a mortgage product, and this generally fails to promote economic growth. New mortgage rules Christie wrote that early this year the United States’ federal government issued rules for the mortgage industry and they were simply aimed at protecting homeowners who were facing foreclosure. Among the new rules that were introduced are restrictions that prevent mortgage lenders from repossessing homes whose owners are currently seeking modification of their loans. Moreover, according to the new rules lenders cannot enact the foreclosure agreement until the borrower fails to make payments for more than 120 days. Secondly, the

A Look at Shanghai, Chinas Education System Essay

A Look at Shanghai, Chinas Education System - Essay Example From the discussion it is clear that  Chinese education highly depended on examinations at different levels. There were no formal institutions because only the socio-economically privileged and financially capable can afford such. Because of this system’s openness regardless of family background, the Civil Examination â€Å"drove almost all families...to have high hopes for their children’s future†.  As the paper stresses China’s education system had endured its hard times and struggled for its revival. The Cultural Revolution is traced as the root where China’s educational system was ruined in the country’s effort for so-called egalitarianism, which unfortunately backfired. When the revolution ended, the late 1970s and the 1980s were years of recovery in both economic and educational aspects. Schools started to open in various places, achieving universal primary education. Some cities like Shanghai opened vocational schools, and eventual ly China established a degree system for higher education. From the 1990s up to today, primary schools in China have high enrolment rates, as well as junior secondary schools. One of the noteworthy maneuvers in the system is China’s decentralization of education by providing different textbooks in the regions, but having the same universal primary education. In the 21st century, the system concentrates on higher education by mandating the increase of enrolling population. Confucianism in Chinese Education Confucius, regarded as a great Chinese thinker, was not concerned with man’s relationship to God or the universe, but rather emphasized on the importance of establishing the â€Å"conditions for an ethical society than to seek to answer answerable questions† (Ornstein & Levine, 2008, p.60). He created an educational system that had high regard for ethics and proper behavior, and respect for hierarchical relationships. He associates character education

Social Networks in Work Places Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social Networks in Work Places - Essay Example On the other hand, there are no given limitations that employees can deal with the websites that are work related without involving themselves with the recreational or personal sites that influence their level of output. The involvement of employees and employers in the online networks facilitates the publicity to malware, lack of privacy and other related factors and hence the concentration of the employees on their daily routines are affected and influenced negatively. This results to decreased production and profit levels.2 Since the discovery and introduction of technological advanced, electronics that are used to ease the communication gap between different individuals from different locations there has been complaints from many employers of the effects of these social networks on the productivity of the employees. There has been debates on the effects of these social networks on the general economical development and growth of different companies. The online social networks hav e been regarded as the most influential since their access is commonly by use of mobile phones or computers. The employees in most companies have access to these electronic gadgets and to the internet in their work places.3 This illustrates that the employees can engage themselves with the social networks online during working hours. This usually causes negative effects on the level of their productivity and the levels of realized profits from the employers. This aspect has caused most of the employers to install other gadgets to regulate and control the use of the internet in their companies. Some of the employees as a barrier or abuse can regard this to privacy and social life involvement. On the other hand, the employers see it as a way of controlling and sealing the degree of idleness and loopholes that influence productivity. The rights of both parties, employees and employers, seem to be violated but there should be an understanding between rights, privileges, work responsibil ities and abuse of work contracts. The realization and introduction of aspects that involves the concepts of the employers’ expectations from the employees with respect to their social life should be addressed in advanced and in most cases included in the employment contracts. Consequently, a closer look on the effects of employees involvement to social networks, mostly online should be critically analyzed since they are at times beneficial to the company or organization if used properly.4 The fact that the employees at times visit the websites that are not work related does not mean that they do this every time they access the internet. The social networks that are usually accessed online can assist in the beneficial part of the organization or company. From a deeper perspective, social networks can be termed as areas where people obtained all sorts of data and information.5 The interconnection of the system allows the users to assist one another, take steps to achieve goals and objectives and transmit the different information from one section to another. Social networks cannot be abolished in the work places due to their importance and improvement degree on the business world. On the other han

Cultural Preferences and End-of-Life Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Preferences and End-of-Life Care - Essay Example This paper studies Kagawa-Singer and Blackhall’s (2001) article and directs its attention to the Chinese-American ethnic group, outlining some of the critical issues that affect the medical process based on the patient, family and the physician while monitoring the cultural beliefs, practices and values of the patient so as to ensure maximum satisfaction at the end of life. The paper also looks into the various challenges faced by professionals in palliative care with respect to cultural beliefs and the implications of these challenges to the professionals. On January 12, 2001, a perspective editor interviewed a 38-year old Chinese woman, Ms Z, who took care of her ailing mother and father with help from her elder sister (Kagawa-Singer and Blackhall, 2001). In December 1994, her mother was diagnosed with stage IIIB adenocarcinoma of the lung and underwent chemotherapies. She received constant treatment but succumbed to her end of life in January, 1996. To add to the ill-fated departure of her mother, Ms Z’s dad was diagnosed with Parkinson during the early 90s, and died in 1997 after numerous medications had been administered (Kagawa-Singer and Blackhall, 2001). According to Ms Z, the topic of her mother’s condition was never raised by any family member. In addition, her father never discussed his condition even after they had full information from the doctor (Kagawa-Singer and Blackhall, 2001). From the interview, a number of issues were of notable concern in the Chinese culture and they are addressed below: a) Informed consent – across many cultures, people do not appreciate telling the truth about diagnosis of certain diseases such as cancer, although it is part of U.S. health care. According to Ms Z, her mother’s diagnosis was given in a statistical book for her to read, and they never discussed that topic again. This is

Sebastiao salgado genesi exbition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sebastiao salgado genesi exbition - Essay Example To begin with, I would like to note that I was impressed by the black and white photographs that were presented in the exhibition. Just like other critics, I am strongly convinced that monochrome pictures allow our imagination attribute colours which makes them even more picturesque. Looking at those photographs, I imagined how interesting it was to actually be in those places and experience of the beauties of our planet first hand. To put it short, I was deeply moved by the message that was conveyed by the photographs: we should protect our Earth since it holds so many treasures. I would also like to dwell on recognition of the talent of the person in question. Some people might suggest that photography should not be regarded as a genuine art. Contrary to them, it is my strong belief that this is one of the most prominent modern arts that is able to capture one particular aspect of the world and present it in a rather moving way. It would not be a mistake to suggest that the photographs by Salgado altered in some way the objective description of the world. However, it is this lack of objectivity that urges people to take a look at the global issues from a new perspective. Genesis is logical continuation of work of this arts: prior to it he made similar projects about workers and migrants ("Sebastià £o Salgado. GENESIS"). In other words, one might suggest that Salgado is particularly interested in presenting the broad picture of the issue to the public. In addition to that, the artist wants to grasp the natural state of things in order to how had fragile they might be ("Sebastià £o Salgado: Genesis"). Every picture in the exhibition suggests that it is quite easy to lose the world as we know it. As one can easily understand, Sebastià £o Salgado is one of those individuals how was blessed by a broader outlook and a particular talent which makes him a great

Explain the different roles played by (i) the central bank, (ii) Essay

Explain the different roles played by (i) the central bank, (ii) depository institutions, and (iii) depositors in the determina - Essay Example For example, there is a strong proof that when money increases rapidly in an economy, there develops a direct relation between money-supply and long-term price inflation. On the other hand, a decrease in the level of money supply in a country leads to a decrease in economic activity, tightened spending levels and a fall in consumer demand. The quantity theory of money states that money supply has a relationship that is directly proportional in nature to the price level (Friedman, 1956). Different institutions have different but correlated roles to play in the determination of money supply in a country and the global economy. Examples of such institutions are the central bank and depository institutions. Depositors also have a part to play in this. Roles of the central bank Every country has a central bank that monitors and determines money supply in the country’s economy. In the US, the money supply is determined by the US Federal Reserve, the central banking system of the US. Its role is to foster economic growth in the US by regulating the actions of private banks and stabilizing the money supply. The Federal Reserve, also known as Fed, uses the expansive monetary policy as a guide in expanding the US money supply (Shin, 2009). Using the expansive monetary policy, the Federal Reserve channels more reserves to the banking system so as to allow private banks more liquidity and to make sure that they have the required ability to issue loans. In the UK, determination of money supply is the function of the Bank of England while that of the counties under the EU is the European Central Bank (ECB) (Burda and Wyplosz, 1997). In order to stabilize an economy in a country, the central bank has the power to determine the level of money stock through the operation of different monetary policies. These policies include reserve requirements, open market operations and discount rates. The most dominant among the three monetary policies is the open market operations p olicy. According to Howells and Bain (2009), an open market operation is a situation in which the central bank purchases or trades government securities for cash in an effort to contract or expand the total money supply. Money supply in the country will increase if the central bank purchases government securities but it will contract if the central bank sells government securities. The responsibility of the central bank in relation to fractional reserve banking is to hold a particular fraction of all deposits. This can be in account with the central bank or in cash. In order to alter money supply, the central bank alters the percentage of total deposits that needs to be held by commercial banks. In this way, the central bank can increase the monetary base in a country by reducing the reserve requirements or reduce the monetary base by increasing the reserve requirements (Mishkin, 1998). The central banks also determine money supply in a country by controlling discount rates. This is possible because the central bank in every country supplies commercial banks with the money they require to meet consumer demand. Therefore, the central bank can meet and control consumer demand for money by controlling the national interest rates. For example, the consumer demand for money will increase greatly if the interest rates decrease while a decrease in consumer demand for money will arise if the interest rates increase. Roles of depository institutions By definition, depository