Exchange Rate Risk and Impact on Foreign Trade

Exchange Rate Risk and Impact on Foreign Trade This paper uses real world application of exchange rate fluctuations, its causes and impact on the economy, risks associated with it and their management, in terms of Chinese economy to show the importance on these financial concepts and their requirement of understanding one to understand the other, all in wake of gaining he knowledge that will help in making transactions decisions that affect the economy on a global scale. Going for a bigger leap by learning to take smaller steps. Introduction The incontrovertible evidence of understanding the importance of the exchange rate fluctuation mechanism and the types and magnitude of risk, attached to the international trading affecting those who are involved in transaction across border globally deems necessary the acquisition of knowledge by those who are involved in day to day market transactions. The global economy is reliant upon the study of economic and other socio-political variable affecting the exchange rate in the international market influence the terms of trade of the trading countries and consequently inducing changes in the budget restructuring and trading quantities that are contributed to the international market by individual countries. Thus the realization of the need for this paper came upon as a research topic. This report takes into account several articles and write ups related to foreign exchange rates, their risks, exposure, and tries to plug them in with the conventional concepts of these financial instruments in order to enhance the understanding and the knowledge of exchange rate mechanism, its determinants and how it impacts any countrys economy specifically that of china. The literature support backs up the implication of the concepts applied here for the better grasp if the points that are attempting to be made noticeable. The main theme of the paper revolves around the arena of foreign exchange rates; How they impact the economy, what causes them to fluctuate, the impact of these fluctuations; How they affect the country with a changing value of currency in relative terms, a mention of the recent effects that the economies of the countries have gone into having had been affected in terms of it economy and foreign trade sector, the risk exposure associated with the fluctuating exchange rates and how does hedging help in reducing that risk. Even though the main theme would give an impression of a broad topic discussion, however we will remain confined to narrowed discussion limited within our topics only touching the subject in light of its practical application extracted from evidence presented in news articles and periodicals. This stance has been adopted, induced by the goal achieving grasp on the concepts and not on mere conventional definitions to these applicable financial-economic concepts. The paper also sees through and explains the methods of conduction of research in terms of our sources of data and our approach. Graphs and charts relevant to the topic have been provided to further clear the ideas built upon the physical evidence by analysis of these statistical data sets. Eventually reaching to base where we design a cohesive note on the findings of all the efforts put into this research and thus helping us to reach to a conclusion based upon all the facts and evidence provided in the literature review and by the statistical data charts and graphs. Literature Review This section imparts knowledge using empirical evidence that is published in newspaper journals and articles and is related to our topic of interest, to augment the understanding of the financial concepts and phenomena that take place in the economy. Following are some critical reviews of articles pertaining to topic: Exchange rate risk, determinants and its impact on foreign trade. Exchange Rate Fluctuations and its Causes. The issue of the undervalued currency of China (Renminbi).and not just undervalued the word substantial puts the emphasize on the meaning shedding curious gazes as to what might be the reason behind this, has been presented by the corporate author (Business Asia, 2007).However, the year 2007 and the year following that were expected to bring appreciation according to the author. The low valued currency helped in the exports volume increment but at the same time incurred costs in other sectors. The so expected appreciation would bring prosperity to the economy, indicating an economic growth or a path led to success. On the other hand, the appreciated currency would, by all means, even if little, impact the exporting sector negatively making the goods sold to foreign countries less cheaper and making the existence of Chinese goods in the competitive market all the more tougher (Business Asia, 2007). El-Erian, ONeill, Bergsten, Mohamed (2007), further takes the discussion forward with appreciating Chinese currency and at the same time the threat of protectionist trade measures and the falling dollar. He sheds light upon the problem of falling dollar and how it would be a problem being a constraint upon the Federal Reserve Bank to take measure against the economic down turns led by the crisis in the real estate. On the other hand, the Chinese Yuan has been allowed to appreciate modestly in the past two year from the time the article was written keeping an eye for the threat of protectionist measures (Business Asia, 2007). Already the appreciation had caused much apprehension for the Chinese; dollar falling further would be putting too much on their plate. The Depreciation of Dollar would imply further appreciation in Chinese currency which would threat the exports sector much. Nevertheless the depreciation of dollar by and large is a development for the world economy despite some negative consequences it may have on trade. And the circumstances are much more predictive for the weak dollar than the reality assumes, and it sure is likely to remain that way (El-Erian, ONeill, Bergsten, Mohamed, 2007). The important issues discussed by the corporate author diverts our attention towards the sterilization efforts, issuance of liabilities and Sino-US relation that are the main factors affecting the pace of the appreciation expected (Business Asia, 2007). The so long undervalued Chinese currencys expectation to rise was induced by the central banks intention of sterilization for the manipulation of exchange rate, however all depended upon the success of this effort. The central bank can control the exchange rate by buying or selling the currency and hence stimulation and increase or a decrease respectively in the relative supply of the currency in circulation. Furthermore in sterilizing it insulates itself from the foreign exchange operations in order to prevent potentially adverse impacts of capital inflow or outflow. Thus in order to appreciate the Chinese Renminbi against US dollar the central bank of china would buy the domestic currency and create a shortage of supply, therefore i ncreasing its value and it would sell the American dollar for the reverse effect. Hence, the Chinese currency would appreciate. (Business Asia, 2007) El-Erian (El-Erian, ONeill, Bergsten, Mohamed, 2007), taking a step further, reasoned the apprehensive condition of the Chinese, to see the falling dollar after all their efforts to keep the appreciation of their own currency modest. The threat of declining exports leading to broadening of trade balance was imminent. And to top it off the depreciating dollar only sought to be a cause for an augmentation of risk in the painstakingly controlled economy (El-Erian, ONeill, Bergsten, Mohamed, 2007). The article but also points out that despite the negative consequences of the weakening dollar on trade given the predictable circumstances of a likely depreciation, it also implies a development of world economy against US. Because depreciation of dollar would in effect mean appreciation of the currencies that it must be held against which includes all the other countries of the world. Thus from the perspective of other countries an appreciation would be taking place implying a growth affec t in their respective economies and indicating a surge of development in those countries (El-Erian, ONeill, Bergsten, Mohamed, 2007). The Negative and the Positive Impacts Corporate author contributed in the same line of argument, though his inclination was towards the impacts then cause. His argument is in resonance to the arguments of El-Erian critically analyzed above. The author specifically talks about the strong appreciation of most Asian currencies against USD while there being still others, which were weaker than they were before the global financial crisis (Business Asia, 2009). The appreciation of other currencies has put the undervalued currency under pressure to appreciate further. China in this respect has continued to keep its currency undervalued. A rapid appreciation would imply a slower accumulation of foreign reserves. This brings two aspects under concern. First is the rising threat of protectionism from European countries and the US and the other is the giving full control of monetary policy back to Government (Business Asia, 2009). The corporate author of Business Asia (Business Asia, 2009) also forces us to contemplate upon the issue, which is the rapid appreciation of currencies in Asia, especially in China, who has been keeping a modest appreciation rate in light of the threat of protectionism from EU and US. The weaker currency if allowed to appreciate rapidly would instigate protectionism from EU and US on now not so cheap goods owing to the devaluation of USD itself as well as the appreciation Asian currencies. However this would also imply developmental growth in other countries (referring to China) relative to the US (Business Asia, 2007). Furthermore another incentive for letting the currency appreciate for China and other Asian countries would be that letting the exchange rate fluctuate on its own terms, the Government will finally be free to use the monetary instruments to manipulate and reshape their monetary policy which otherwise had been committed to keeping the exchange rate fluctuations in chec k (Business Asia, 2009). From the discussions regarding the exchange rate by different authors so far, it has been an enlightening experience to contemplate upon the issues faced in the real world by the real economies regarding the Foreign exchange rate fluctuations, how they are affected differently by the conditions of the economy in different countries, and the what reactions it induce in the effected economies. The Exchange rate fluctuation is now better understood in terms of two countries respected currency values. We can see a number of different impacting factors changing the rate which include the loosening of monetary policy in to let the Chinese currency appreciate against all currencies and on the other hand the devaluation of dollar appreciated the Chinese currency even further. Resultantly changing the relative development indicators of the countries effected (Business Asia, 2007). Furthermore, the effects on the foreign exchange rate we also saw the application of the effects that the fluctuations of FOREX have on the economies, which is an exposure to the risk of losing trade as mentioned in our literature review (Business Asia, 2009). The rapidly increasing currency value also come forth rapidly rising prices of exports goods which would induce a fall in demand or worse, protectionist policies, in the importing countries for the exported goods of the country experiencing currency appreciation (Business Asia, 2007). Besides the risk of protectionism and other changing exchange rates negative impacts the positive impacts include in the likely situation of appreciation as mentioned above, loosening of control on exchange rates frees the monetary policy to concentrate on the other sectors of the economy. Also the appreciating value of the currency creates major attraction for short-term and high-return investment seekers (Huang, 2010). This can be explained bett er by Ying Huangs argument on the main reason of speculative fund inflow to China. Huang (2010) attempts to decipher the main reason for the inflow of funds into Chinese economy. The massive overseas funds inflow, according to the author, is primarily due to the appreciation in the Chinese Currency which makes it attractive to investors. These funds aim to earn a higher comparative return on short term basis due to high interest rates offered in China as Opposed to that of the United States. And, although, the housing and the stock market appear to be the main attraction of investments since funds may appear to target investment in these markets, however, the attractive appreciating Chinese currency is the major reason of the speculative inflow of funds and not these markets (Huang, 2010). An appreciating value of Chinese currency shows promising future to the investors who seek high returns in a very short period. The reason being that, in spite of the high interest rates offered to the investors the appreciating value of currency increases the return by an even larger total than just with the high returns. The high returns and increasing value by the virtue of increasing Foreign exchange rate is major attraction for investors. The article pointed out the fact that even though the housing and stock market appear to be the investment targets reeling in the major influx of funds from overseas, however the main star of the speculative flow is the attractive currency of Chinese owing to its appreciating nature. The housing and stock market do not cause this major influx, however they do become the target investments eventually directly or indirectly (Huang, 2010). This pretty much elaborates our discussion on foreign exchange rate; however, we still need further evidence upon the risk exposures that have been mentioned as an effect to these fluctuations in terms of their impact on economy or investors and why or why not investors decide to take precautionary measures in taking shelters from this kind of risk exposure Risk Exposure- Avoid it or Avoid Avoiding it? A decent explanation can be induced by analyzing the perspective of Georgina Lee (Lee, 2009). Lee talks about the increased scrutiny that Chinese state owned businesses have to face now. The derivatives market used to hedge the investments against interest, currency and commodity risk are put under surveillance in order to put constraints on this phenomena and discourage these market transactions that would eventually lead to too much hedging that all the risk averse investors would start using these financial instrument to secure their investments. The State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission was spurred into action after several State-owned Enterprises, their subsidiaries and affiliates suffered high losses due to failed foreign exchange, fuel and interest rate hedging contracts (Lee, 2009). Although, according to Georgina Lee, the use of derivate securities as financial instruments to hedge the investments against certain kind of risks may be a very attractive phenomenon of wisely securing your assets against risk, but it brings forth the new kind of risk associated with it, that is the probability of losing profits in case unexpected adverse circumstances would come into play (Lee, 2009). The article discusses the new limitations and regulations put to scrutinize the state-owned businesses and restrain them from using derivative securities. After observing several high profile losses incurred to state-owned enterprises, the SASAC came into action to prevent further losses due to failed foreign exchange, interest and fuel hedging contracts (Lee, 2009). Lees discussion merely elaborates why Chinese Supervision Commission had to keep in check the derivative markets in order to prevent another experience like past of failed securities. However, it is more of a choice in other countries than of a legislative measure, which is made after analyzing the costs incurred in using the financial hedging instruments (Larry Kirschner, 2009). Larry Kirschner elaborates upon the Foreign Exchange Rate risk exposure and how and why different companies manipulate the financial derivatives as instrument to manage their risk. Also they write that a few companies would rather not address the foreign exchange risk exposure at all. According to the authors, it requires a great deal of understanding, assessment and prioritization of the exposures before they can apply these any hedging instrument to gain from such investments (Larry Kirschner, 2009).They observe that where many companies have become complacent with their foreign exchange risk management practices, there exist other companies that would rather condone addressing to such exposures. There are many things to consider and much effort required before utilizing any instrument to manage against such risk exposures (Larry Kirschner, 2009). The implication by the authors enlightens us about the importance of better understanding of the foreign exchange rate fluctuations and risk exposure before they can be manipulated into profit extraction or general hedging against an expected risk of adverse circumstances. The reason for some companies being comfortable with their hedging or risk management practices stands that they understand the further risks attached to it and after having properly assessed, analyzed and derived from the given risks and they have weighed their expectations of gains with current condoning alternative and have reached to a conclusion to generate expectations of comparatively more gains through hedging (Larry Kirschner, 2009). These preliminary requirements are basic necessity and incur some cost as well which discourages other companies from using financial instrument to their own advantage. Thus it can be derived that although risk exposure management may be beneficial for companies to hedge again st exchange rate risk, however, it requires careful analysis of international exposures with due consideration given to internal control by the companies (Larry Kirschner, 2009). The analysis above provides quite an insight on the choices faced by the investors and the reason why they chose to or chose not to use financial derivatives to hedge against the foreign risk. At the end it all depends of your weighted analysis of cost and benefits and risk involved that contribute in the final decision making process (Larry Kirschner, 2009). Despite all these discussions we know from intuition that we as humans would prefer lesser risk. Putting this natural instinct upon financial intuition it should be an understood fact that investors would go for a stable investment of low risk provided he choice is a decision made after thorough analytical efforts. However in light of all the above analysis and our major intuition we should see that due to the depreciating dollar value, many countries investors should have switched to a more stable currency as a reserve currency but we observe that dollar still remains to be the reserve currency all over uncontested with the exc eption of the challenging statement delivered by Governor of Peoples bank of China (Montecillo, 2009). Montecillo (2009) reflects the view of the Governor of Peoples Bank of China, Zhou Xiao Chan, that current global financial system faces vulnerability and systematic risks. He also emphasized that reform must create an international reserve currency with stable value, rule based issuance and manageable supply. The article further illustrates on the point made that they are serving as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“unit of accountà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“medium of exchangeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Moreover its à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“store of valueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? is also considered from the perspective of both the government and the private sectors. Following the perspective Governor of peoples Bank of China actually challenged the statement of BSP(the Bangko Sentralng Pilipinas ) that despite declining value of dollar (from 72.7% in end- June2001 to 62.8% as of end- June 2009: the article quotes) dollar will remain the world most widely used currency-Uncontested reserve currency- as no alternative existed as then (Montecillo, 2009). Another type of risk associated with the foreign exchange rate fluctuation has been thoroughly highlighted in this article enlightened by the challenging statement of Governor of Peoples Bank of China. With the declining value of dollar with respect to other currencies, in effect appreciating them against the USD, the risk associated with them puts the investors in reserve currency at exposure (Montecillo, 2009). The stable foreign reserve currency is the requirement for foreign transactions and for investment purposes. However, a fluctuating reserve currency would create imbalance of gains and losses and putting the market players at a high risk of losing money who have invested in a currency with declining value, for example, and need to pay in other currency that would have appreciated against the reserve currency in effect. Thus the declining value of Dollar though may not have challenged its world-wide demand as a reserve currency, but China has contested that perspective in ter m of demanding a relatively stable alternative and seek shelter from the exposure this foreign exchange rate fluctuation risk (Montecillo, 2009). Data Analysis Figure 1: Foreign Direct Investment in China Untitled.png (The World Bank, 2010) The figure shows foreign direct investment in China which is increasing over the period at an increasing rate (The World Bank, 2010). The reason can be explained as an induction due to attraction of high interest rates and constantly increasing value of Chinese currency (Huang, 2010). The appreciating Chinese currency is a major attraction for short term foreign investors seeking high returns on their investments. Thus, the increase in the foreign direct investment can be justified by the increase in the Chinese currency against other currencies and also the deprecation of dollar against Asian currencies (Business Asia, 2009). Figure 2: Growth in Money Supply (percentage change) Untitled2.png (The World Bank, 2010) The increase in the money supply can be seen as an effort to prevent the adverse consequences expected to be brought up by the simultaneous increase in the value of Chinese Currency against US dollar and the Depreciation of US dollar against Asian currencies (Business Asia, 2009). it is only by selling out domestic currency and buying the foreign currency, that the central bank of china would be able to keep the demand for Chinese currency low and hence low value and keep the foreign reserves high to keep the foreign currency to depreciate against their own currency to avoid the risk of protectionism (Business Asia, 2007). The Foreign reserves record can be observed in figure 2. Figure 3: Chinas Foreign Reserves (includes Gold, Current US$) Untitled3.png (The World bank, 2010) The figure above shows the increase in the foreign reserve currency ( US dollars) which further supports our claim of China having had used protective measure to keep the appreciation of its currency modest by buying in foreign reserves and selling our domestic currency (The World Bank, 2010). Clearly these efforts have been put into play after 2004 since the foreign direct investment had a peaking high rate of increment till that year as can be observed in the Figure 1 (The World Bank, 2010). And since the value of currency has been attempted to put under control, the threat of protectionist policies against Chinese exports receded as he prices of exports against started to fall as can be observed in the figure 3 (The World bank, 2010). Figure 4: USD-CNY Untitled.png (Yahoo, 2010) We see the appreciating Chinese currency against USD but till 2005 mid a very stable exchange rate points towards the mentioned efforts on behalf of Chinese government by manipulating the money supply to keep the Foreign exchange rate from appreciating (The World Bank, 2010). However, during the period of constant exchange rate or say merely constant keeping a moderate change allowed, the currency did come under pressure (Business Asia, 2009) for its own increasing value to be taken care of while also managing the impact of depreciation of dollar on the Chinese currency and eventually its exports (Business Asia, 2007). After 2006 the monetary policy seems to have been allowed to let lose the exchange rate to be able to concentrate on the other sectors as well (Business Asia, 2007). Methodology The way to go about the research conducted for this term paper is known as the methodology. The method pursued in gathering the required material and data for the paper comprises mostly follows a general type in terms of the form and efforts put in to acquire it. There are majorly three type data sources used for research reports or gathering relevant data on the topic of interest (Lombard, 2010).But our concern is with the Secondary Research or Data Collection method. This includes data and observational facts as already recorded by previous researchers. The provided datasets have already been analyzed and shaped before by previous writers and authors with copyrights protecting their work. The material from the secondary source is further manipulated and used to assist in making points of information with proper referencing and credits paid to the original workers. As readily available data sets they are a persons prior choice to any other method. Some negative aspects, however, are associated with the Secondary data sets as well. Despite the time saving and cost saving features of Secondary data sets, there is no guarantee of them meeting the exact requirements of the researcher seeking evidence to support his theories or claims. Furthermore the validity and reliability of the researched data sets may be in question and source can project dubious impressions unless the researches are conducted by reliable sources as government agencies (Lombard, 2010) Purpose of Research The purpose of research is to help make the understanding of concepts of foreign exchange rate fluctuations. and its causes and effects and the hedging and investment against these fluctuations easy in light of evidence from Chinese currency revaluation against US Dollars, the investment it induced, and the negative and the positive aspects of the Chinese currency revaluation. Research Approach and Strategy Given the purpose of the research and the types of the research explained it comes down to putting it down to defining our Strategy and deciding which approach to adopt (Lombard, 2010). Bearing in mind the scale and the scope of our topic and the limited resources, the best and most efficient approach for us to have, which we adopted, is to gather data from secondary research source upon the evidence of Chinese economy to explain the different aspects of the foreign exchange rate role in the economy. All our research material refers to a secondary data source, which consists of point of views of different authors publishing their research or findings in articles appearing in periodicals. Our strategy remains to manipulate this secondary source material and mold them to help up support our own claims and concepts without changing the main framework and the meaning of ideas associated with the empirical evidence. This approach not only proved the strategy to be cost effective but also very efficient in term of time saving and with proper citation the sources can tracked back to authenticate their reliability and validity. Data Collection and Analysis Provided with the theoretical concepts from different authors point of views (referring to the Literature review), relevant data including charts/data sets recording foreign exchange rate fluctuations in Chinese currency against US Dollar and its induction of investment and other impacts are provided in the section covering statistical data for better analysis of our concepts in view of empirical evidence. Findings The course of writing this term paper has helped us find and clear quite a few things which need to be summarized in this section. The findings of this research includes the following important concepts Foreign Exchange Rate Fluctuations and Causes Chinas Foreign exchange rate had been increasing moderately owing to their controlled efforts. The efforts of controlling the exchange rate from fluctuating was in line due to risk of protectionist policies against Chinese exports from EU and US countries because of rapidly increasing value of currency relative to other currencies (Business Asia, 2007). Also there was pressure due to depreciating value of dollar against the Asian currencies which made matters worse and the need for control bigger. The foreign exchange rate was stabilized by diverting monetary policy into manipulating the money supply accordingly to set the foreign exchange rate at fixed level (El-Erian, ONeill, Bergsten, Mohamed, 2007). Besides the threat of protectionism there was also a positive impact of being included under the impression of having hit a developmental hike. Foreign Exchange Rate Risk and its Management The exchange rate fluctuations bring about its own pros and cons. In the case of china, the appreciating value of Chinese currency brought about major investment incentives and a major attraction for short term high return seeking investors (Huang, 2010). And with investment opportunities come forth the risk associated with these investments and its management (Lee, 2009) which in turn brings forth more risks of losing money by using investment derivatives without proper calculation of risk involved in the investment related to the exchange rate fluctuation and correctly predicting FOREX forecast. It is very important to first analyze the risks associated before deciding whether or not to hedge against it or if it is even worth hedging against (Lee, 2009). Anomalies Despite what we expect based upon our calculative procedure of forecasting and weighting and comparing alternatives, there is always a chance for an anomaly to exist within all kinds circumstances. With all our observation of increasing Chinese currency value and dollar being instable, we would have expected the world to shift to a more stable and risk free currency as their reserve currency. However, we see that with the exception of challenging statement from the governor of Peoples Bank of China, Dollar remains as the reserve currency of most of the countries uncontested (Montecillo, 2009). Conclusion We conclude our term paper with summarizing the findings during the course of our research and finally stating the end result to what our findings led us to extract as our conclusion. We found that Fluctuating exchange rates have impacts, both positive and negative on, on different sectors of the economy, especially trade and investment. We also found that investment brings along a lot of risks and it requires a very careful and analyzed decision whether to hedge against these risk or not and using which derivative. We learned that despite our careful calculations, not everything works out according to our predictions and there is always some chance of error in calculations or an unpredictable situation taking over. The reason for slow appreciation in Chinese Currency against other currency, especially US Dollar, in the first half of the current decade can be credited to the efforts put in to keep the exchange rate from appreciating, which projected a threat of protectionist policies from trading partners against the Chinese exports that were becoming less cheap (Business Asia, 2007). The, efforts however, involved binding the monetary policy to exchange rate fluctuations and keep it from being used for other sectors. On the other hand, if the Chinese had let the exchange rate fluctuate freely, it would free th

Peter Tosh and Nelson Mandela Fighting from Opposite Corners Essay

Peter Tosh and Nelson Mandela Fighting from Opposite Corners The Prize: Equal Rights Peter Tosh and Nelson Mandela are two men who dedicated their lives to fight for equal rights. They are united by common goals but walked on different paths in their struggles against the oppressors. The major commonality, which made both men brilliant leaders and revolutionary thinkers, was their passion. The passion they had for their beliefs and turning their visions into reality. Tosh and Mandela’s divergent approaches started during their youth and followed both individuals through a lifetime struggle. Peter Tosh was born on October 9, 1944 in Westmoreland, Jamaica. Born with the name Winston Huburt McIntosh, curtsey of his absent churchgoing preacher father James McIntosh and mothered by Alvera Coke, Tosh found himself alone in the world. Peter faced the hardships of Jamaican country life including lack of supervision and a poor economic standing. Immediately challenged as a child, he was watched by his aunt but claimed that he raised himself. Peter always took responsibility for his actions and never relied on others for help. Self-reliance was the strongest characteristic trait gained during this period. The separation from his parents deeply rooted his need for finding peace in this world. "I was born raised in righteousness, not to say that my parents was righteous, because they did not know righteousness. They were being led away to a shitstem, or being deceived by deceivers, you see, because they wanted to know what was righteousness" (Holmes and Steffens, Reasoning with Tosh). Tosh negatively associated his parents with all that is bad in society and that which one must never become. He chose at a young age to live his life ... ...Piersons, Leroy Jodie and Steffens, Roger. Discography/Track Notes: Peter Tosh — Honorary Citizen. Honorary Citizen Box Set. Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 1997. 15) Steffens, Roger. "The Peter Tosh Biography." Honorary Citizen Box Set. Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 1997. 16) Stepping Razor Red X, The Peter Tosh Story. Nicholas Cambpell, 1992, Northern Art Entertainment. Inc. 17) Tosh, Peter. "Peter Tosh: Honorary Citizen". Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 1997. 18) Tosh, Peter. "Peter Tosh at Sunsplash 1980" The Beat Magazine, 1989. 19) Tosh, Peter. "Herb" High Times Magazine, September 1976. 20) Unknown Reporter. The Weekend Star, Friday, July 4. 1980 21) Walker, John. "Tough Tosh." Trouser Press Interview, 1983. 22) White, Timothy. "In the Path of the Steppin’ Razor." Web: www.boomshaka.com/tosh/razor.html 23) www.anc.org, Mandela Notes

John Updikes A & P Essay -- John Updike A & P Social Class Wealth Ess

John Updike's A & P At first read, John Updike's 'A & P' contrasts old and new; the old manager in his settled life conflicting with the new age of girls wearing bathing suits in buildings. All the while, the narrator stuck in the middle, finally deciding to join the side of new, or youth. Instead of old vs. new, an observation closer to the heart of the story is conflict between the worlds of the rich and the middle class. ?A & P? is the setting for one man to decide in which way he will seek to follow his life, standing on his own two feet and treating everyone as equals, or bowing before the wealthy, and searching for his own riches above all else. In walk three girls into a grocery store in bathing suits. They?re far enough away from the beach that it is customary for them to be wearing more clothes. Their actions are deliberate and exaggerated; they came in the store to buy one item, but that was not their purpose for being there. It?s easy to extract from the story that the girls stood out in many ways, money being an important one. Updike presents Sam the cashier as thinking, ?Her father and the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big glass plate and they were all holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them.? Sam?s impression of the girls was obviously that they came from wealth, something that he could not claim of himself. And although he outwardly admired their bodies, he was really admiring their wealth. The girls walked in and by the lack of conformity of their dress, immediately they set a different tone within the store. They walked the wrong way down isles and paid no att... ...o become what they are, so that he can walk around and have others treat him with respect above others. In ?A & P? John Updike gives a story of a man faced with two choices for his life in a seemingly unimportant circumstance. He can stand up for himself and for his rules, as his manager encourages him to do so. But as the story goes, he remains oblivious to the forces at work, and decides to bend his will to three girls in bathing suits, or more generally, to those who have the power and nobility of wealth behind them. Sam makes the wrong choice, and subsequently, makes the rest of his life more difficult, as he admits that he must life his life under another class of people, the wealthy, as though he is less than them. By admitting that he is less than them, Sam has started to live his life not for the happiness he can obtain, but for the wealth he can obtain.

Coffee Industry Essay

Coffee is an important commodity next to oil. It’s one of the world’s most popular beverages with over 501 billion cups consumed every year. It has been around for more than 1,000 years. During that time, coffee has been considered a food, a medicine, an aphrodisiac, and even a wine. This was before the advent of specialty coffee shops in the country. Today, however, coffee is known as a beverage to be savoured and enjoyed. And thus, specialty coffee shops are a common sight especially in the Manila Metropolis. Specialty/Gourmet coffee refers to the highest-quality green coffee beans roasted to their greatest flavour potential by true craftspeople and then properly brewed to well-established standards (Specialty Coffee Association of America/SCAA). The SCAA further explained that specialty/gourmet coffee tastes better than instant or mass-produced coffee because it is made from coffee beans grown only in ideal climates and prepared according to exacting standards. Also, specialty coffee possesses a richer and more balanced flavour. The Specialty/Gourmet Coffee is not frequently purchased on commodities exchanges. For instance, Starbucks purchases nearly all its coffee through private contracts that often pay double the commodity price. Thus, it is also important to note that the coffee sold at retail is a different economic product than wholesale coffee traded as a commodity. Such has coffee’s popularity grown through the centuries. Today, it can be safely assumed someone, somewhere is savouring a cup, a mug or any of coffee’s delightful and delicious preparations at almost every hour of the day. From sun up to sun down, it’s coffee time! History. Specialty coffee shops trace their roots from the coffee shops of Europe in the 16th and 17th century upon the introduction of coffee which became a popular drink. In the United States, specialty coffee shops are said to have been popularized by Starbucks Coffee. Starbucks Coffee was established in 1971 by Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin, and Zev Siegl originally to sell coffee beans only. The company’s current business of retailing coffee beverages came about when then marketing person Howard Schultz (currently Chairman) got interested in selling espresso by the cup after visiting Italy. Initially, the company tested the new business model in one of its outlets and became an instant hit. Despite of this success, however, one of the owners opposed Schultz’s idea of expanding the concept to all of its stores. In 1985, Schultz left Starbucks and opened his own specialty coffee shop called Il Giornale. By 1987, the owners of Starbucks decided to sell the company to focus on a 1983 acquisition Peet’s Coffee and & Tea, which was Starbuck’s coffee bean supplier. Schultz, together with other investors, purchased Starbucks for US$3. 7 million. Schultz eventually changed II Giornale’s name to Starbucks Coffee Company. Starbucks currently has more than 10,000 outlets worldwide, with 93 located in the Philippines operated by its franchisee Rustan Coffee Corporation. In the Philippines, even before Starbucks came in 1997, there were enterprising Filipinos who had the foresight to put-up specialty coffee shops. The pioneers in the local industry are Figaro Coffee Company and The Coffee Experience, both established in early 1993. Figaro Coffee Company was set up by a group headed by Pacita Juan, the company’s president and chief executive officer. Its first outlet was a small kiosk located at the Glorietta mall in Makati. The outlet was initially called the F store. The Coffee Experience, meanwhile, started in the same mall in Makati, also under a different name – Coffee X. It now has 24 outlets located mainly in Metro Manila. [ 1 ]. â€Å"DOST Coffee Industry Analysis† [ 2 ]. â€Å"Economics of Coffee†< http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Economics_of_coffee> [ 3 ]. â€Å"Coffee Industry Cluster†< http://sme12. ph/sme12/index. php > [ 4 ]. â€Å"The Brewing Business of the Philippine Specialty Coffee Shop Industry†.

Interpretive vs. Escapist

Interpretive vs. Escapist As defined by Arp and Johnson, commercial fiction, or escapist literature, is â€Å"fiction written to meet the taste of a wide popular audience and relying usually on tested formulas for satisfying such taste† (Arp 744). Arp and Johnson also state that literary fiction, otherwise known as interpretive literature, is â€Å"fiction written with serious artistic intentions, providing an imagined experience yielding authentic insights into some significant aspect of life† (Arp 745). In â€Å"Once upon a Time†, Nadine Gordimer uses a unique combination of both interpretive and escapist literature styles to portray a message that there is no way to absolutely guarantee a person’s safety. Although Nadine Gordimer does use some elements of the escapist literature style to develop this piece of fiction, the story is primarily interpretive literature. Arp and Johnson state that â€Å"literary fiction plunges us, through the author’s imaginative vision and artistic ability, more deeply into the real world† (Arp 4). In â€Å"Once upon a Time†, Gordimer leaves the reader to his or her own insights as to what could have been done to avoid the particular outcome. She does not point out any particular moral to the story, but instead lets the reader absorb the family’s plight. The escapist style is recognized in the bedtime story that the narrator creates—the story within the story. In this story the emphasis is on plot rather than on character development, and the characters are obviously lacking the full dynamic quality that the reader identifies in the round character. Yet, again, unlike escapist literature, the conclusion of this story is far from the â€Å"happily ever after† endings of its type, and, being that there is no real moral to the story, in this way also, it is thus rendered more interpretive. The interpretive style is also apparent in the author’s choice of plot. The plot, unlike the typical escapist piece of literature, is non-linear; the ending, as opposed to the happy ending of an escapist literature piece, is indeterminate. In the beginning, the reader is introduced to a person who is experiencing anxiety, and this person then begins her own story. The reader is never brought back to the story of the narrator. As the narrator’s initial conflict remains unresolved at the closing of the story, the ending is indeterminate. In the bedtime story also, the problem is unsolved at the end. Instead, the narrator ends the story in a decidedly sardonic mocking of the traditional â€Å"They lived happily ever after† story. Due to both of these points, â€Å"Once upon a Time† would be described as a non-linear story. Though she is the most realistic character in the entire work of fiction, the character of the narrator is also more flat than round. Her situation is described to the reader in painful detail and in such a way that the reader will identify with her. However, her behavior is very typical of a person in her position. Awakened in the middle of the night as she was and hearing â€Å"a creaking of the kind made by the weight carried by one foot after another along a wooden floor† (Gordimer 183), the reader could not expect anything else but fear. Her roundness is shown in her slight internal conflict. She believes that she should not be scared, yet she cannot make her imagination—or mind—yield to her will. I couldn’t find a position in which my mind would let go of my body—release me to sleep again† (Gordimer 184). Although she is given an element of roundness, the narrator’s character remains more flat than round. The man, holding the role of a father, a husband, a son, and an employer in the story, is just what a reader would expect of an accommodating man in his positi on—in essence, the stereotypical man. This is shown in a number of ways. He played the role of supporting husband perfectly in always acknowledging his wife’s concerns. In order to calm her fears, â€Å"he had electronically controlled gates fitted† (Gordimer 185), to provide further control of any outsiders’ access to their property, as well as having the wall surrounding their property built higher. For the reason of pacifying the trusted housemaid, he had bars affixed â€Å"to the doors and windows of the house, and an alarm system installed† (Gordimer 185). Throughout the story, the man acquiesces to one after another requests, changing little from the unafraid, doting provider that the author first introduces to the reader. In the beginning of the story, the man is clearly unconcerned about his or his family’s safety from such people as the wife worries about. On more than one occasion, he assured his wife that â€Å"there was nothing to fear† (Gordimer 185). However, in the course of events, he attains some small quality of roundness in that his concern over his family’s security evolves into an obsession, perhaps due to his wife’s influence. During times that the family would go for walks, they would no longer pause â€Å"to admire this show of roses or that perfect lawn† (Gordimer 187); instead â€Å"the husband and ife found themselves comparing the possible effectiveness of each style [of each security system] against its appearance† (Gordimer 187). In changing his mind and/or in his allowance of the circumstances to change him, a slight element of roundness is added to the father’s relatively flat character. The man’s wife does not change by the end of this story, thereby showing her to be a flat character—predictable, stereotypical, static, and, in this case, easily defined as â€Å"good. † However, in the course of the story, the reader will also see a side of her that conflicts with her fears, which gives her some roundness. Women in general are typically more concerned than men with safety issues. Danger, whether real or perceived, is seen as a threat to their well-being, as well as to that of their loved ones. Be that as it may, the wife’s actions and fears are entirely understandable and predictable in â€Å"Once Upon A Time. † â€Å"She was afraid that some day†¦people might come up the street†¦and open the gates and stream in† (Gordimer 185). Perhaps not entirely logical, but such behavior is considered the norm for women, thus displaying her flatness as a character. However, at the same time, she also has a quality of roundness to her as well. Even though she advocates every extra security measure to protect herself and her family from â€Å"such people† (Gordimer 185), from the streets, those are the very ones that she feels compassion for. â€Å"The wife could never see anyone go hungry. She sent the trusted housemaid out with bread and tea† (Gordimer 186). The fact that she feels torn over the plight of these individuals and then her very attempts to isolate herself from them shows her internal conflict, thus giving a small element of roundness to her otherwise flat character. In the little boy, Gordimer paints the picture of endearing, playful innocence as well as naivete. His naivete and playfulness is demonstrated in his â€Å"[fascination] with the [intercom] device† (Gordimer 185), as well as in his tendency to imagine himself the hero in a fairytale story, which leads to his demise: â€Å"he pretended to be the Prince who braves the terrible thicket of thorns to enter the palace and kiss the Sleeping Beauty back to life† (Gordimer 188). Interestingly enough, the boy has the smallest role throughout the story and yet he becomes the character that the narrator uses to bring his/her point home. However, due to the fact that his character never undergoes any kind of change, he cannot be labeled as a round character. The trustworthy maid is also a stereotypical, flat character. This is suggested simply by her given name of â€Å"trusted housemaid† (Gordimer 185). Despite the circumstances of the times and the distrust that the wife feels towards people of her kind, the man and his wife trusted the housemaid enough to leave her â€Å"with responsibility for [their] possessions† (Gordimer 185). Also, not unlike the typical housemaid, she was an influence on her mistress. The housemaid fed the wife’s fears of these â€Å"people of another color† (Gordimer 185), telling the wife that â€Å"these were loafers and tsotsis† (Gordimer 186). In pointing out the â€Å"loafers’† shortcomings, perhaps because of her insecurities, she redirected the wife’s attentions away from caring for these people—typical behavior from an employee anxious to keep her job. On account of this stereotypical behavior, as well as the fact that she remains a static character throughout the story, the housemaid is a flat character. The last human character, the itinerant gardener, is also a flat character. The only thing that the author mentions concerning the gardener is that he was â€Å"highly recommended by the neighbors† (Gordimer 184). The gardener’s one purpose in the story was to aid in getting the little boy out of the security coil. â€Å"†¦the itinerant gardener, whose day it was, came running†¦and tore his hands trying to get at the little boy† (Gordimer 188). Typical of a man of service, he seemed willing to help in whatever way necessary. In the beginning of the story the narrator battles to control her own fears regarding physical security. The â€Å"bedtime story† created to alleviate his or her discomfort attempts to convince the hearer or the reader of the fact that one’s fate is out of one’s control. The author uses â€Å"Once upon a Time† to illustrate that there is no real way to guarantee anyone’s safety, no matter how hard the person tries.

In the time of the butterflies Essay

1 Overview In the Time of the Butterflies is a book about the struggle of the Mirabal sisters in their fight against the totalitarian of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, the merciless ruler of the Dominican Republic. The, though, fictitious, book tackles many issues mainly centered on the Dominican Republic Government and the true essence of its function. The Mirabal sisters went through drastic changes, one of the notable themes in the book is that the sisters put photographs of Jesus Christ and Trujillo together and cite differences between the two. The tremors of a dictatorial rule to citizens is also another attention grabbing theme in the narrative. The story in its entirety is told by the famous Mirabel sisters who each tell their version of how they fought Trujillo’s tyranny. The book was based on a true story Summary In an era where free will is totally controlled by one person, four sisters showed courage in its truest form and joined a rogue faction to fight a dictator to the end. The tale of the Mirabel sisters tells a story of courage and repulsion. The four sisters denied dictatorial decree in every means necessary until their lungs ceased to draw breath. The narrative starts with the surviving Mirabal sister, Dede. Telling th events of their struggle to an American interviewer. The succeeding chapters are told by each sister. Throughout the book, the sisters’ endeavors against the government, apart from this, a personal struggle on the hands of Trujillo are also told by each sister. Three of the Mirabal sisters who were major contributors to the rebel group that fought against Trujillio were beaten to death in 1960. In the Time of the Butterflies 2 The Root of all Evil Trujillo claimed his name to power the hard way, meaning he did not simply grabbed it but he worked his way to achieve it. The path to his reign began when the United States conducted an occupation on the Dominican Republic in the twentieth century. The U. S Marine-trained Trujillo quickly rose among the ranks in the Guardia Nacional, an army of locals trained by the U. S armed forces. The United States made many developments during the occupation. The Americans built infrastructures, developed public health, and established schools, creating a middle-class society. Trujillo enrolled himself in a military school operated by America, in the year 1921. By the end of the year, he was assigned to command a particular battalion. This was the stepping stone to his rule. He the collaborated with rebel troops and forced the current president to file an immediate resignation. Come the next election, Trujillo was the sole candidate for the Dominican Party. Rafael Trujillo’s Tyrant career was already put into practice upon the beginning of his term. This is because of the disastrous hurricane that hit the country, Santo Domingo was totally devastated. Help soon arrived and the United States Red Cross provided the funds and the City of Santo Domingo was reconstructed by Trujillo. Tranquility lasted for a year, Trujillo later began to make the citizens aware of his powers. He decreed that the only political party shall be the Dominican Party, hence making elections only a formality for his dictatorship to last. Government employees were forced to shell out ten percent of their wage to the National Treasury. All who opposed the decrees met their demise. From own yard, Trujillo expanded his domain to the local populace. Trujillo was incomprehensive of the biggest challenge to his career, upon unveiling his will to the people, Maria Argentina Minerva Mirabal refused to be controlled by Trujillo and fought for what she believed in, Trujillo was unmindful of the other threats and the only dreadful thought to him was to be beaten by a woman, when Trujillo finally got rid of his greatest nemesis, he thought the he finally won. Contrary to his convictions, the assassination of the key figures of the resistance led to a revolution in a nationwide scale which led to the plot of his his death on May 30, 1961. In the Time of the Butterflies 3 The Way of the Butterfly Minerva was the second born of the Mirabal Sisters. Minerva grew up a strong woman with rebellious tendencies. She started concerning herself when she noticed that she can’t even speak her mind in her own home. In Minerva’s narrative chapter, she told that her eyes opened little-by-little, she exclaimed that her primary motives were political as she fought for her freedom, as a girl and as a citizen. As she sees the torment inflicted by Trujillo’s cronies to her friends’ families, in her years with Immaculada Concepcion, her separatist ideology was turning into angst. Her revitalized cause went on, as she got associated with the Popular Socialist Party. Her acquaintance with the group’s leader strengthened Minerva’s rogue emotions toward the Trujillo Administration. These sentiments that she had were also backed up by literary works with leftist implications and radio frequencies from the nearby lands of Cuba and Venezuela that centered discussion on the Dominican Republic’s political turmoil. Minerva’s first encounter withTrujillo was when the Mirabals were invited to a party by Trujillo, the invitation was personally brought by prominent local government officials. Don Enrique, Dona Chea, Patria with her husband Pedro, Dede along with her husband Jaime and Minerva attended the Banquet. A storm ruined the party which prompted the family to make a graceful exit. Minerva’s father was immediately apprehended the next day, followed by Minerva and her Mother the day after. Trujillo, angered by the family’s early departure, treated such act as a form of disrespect. Prior to their arrest, the governor suggested that Don Enrique should submit a letter of apology to Trujillo. The head of the Mirabal family complied, however Trujillo was not satisfied. Minerva was detained with her mother at he Hotel Nacional apart from Don Enrique who was barred at the Ciudad Trujillo(Santo Domingo). Everyday, Minerva was taken to the Fortaleza Ozama for interrogation. Minerva was questioned about communism charges and was also obliged to write a letter of apology but declined. The connections of the family brought Minerva and her family back to liberty’s arm. In the Time of the Butterflies 4 They were again arrested, after two years of freedom, Don Enrique was incarcerated on Ozama while Minerva and the other females were placed under house arrest. They were convicted of failure to purchase a book written about Trujillo. The truth behind the arrest was actually Minerva’s contempt for Trujillo’s ideologies in government. These accounts proved to be too straining for their father, fear and stress brought Don Enrique Mirabal to his grave in 1953. Due to this recent events, Minerva’s motives list added a fresh one, a personal motive, her angst turned into desire, the desire to get Rafael Trujillo out of position. She went to the city of Santo Domingo to study law in her belief that it would give her a big leap in her struggle against Trujillo’s governance, she was then persuaded by a law professor, Lio Morales and taught her that Trujillo was Neither the God nor the Supreme Ruler whom the people believed he is. As she was in law school, her her studies were ordered to stop due to the sensitivity of her topic. The next years were periods of peace for Minerva as she led a normal life. Minerva and her sisters pursued romantic relationships. Four years later Minerva would be part of an internal anti-regime group in her re-kindled attempts to abolish the Trujillo-led government. The group in which Minerva’s husband was the president, was named The 14th of June Movement. The movement was named as such as a tribute to the Dominican Liberation Troops who were slaughtered by Trujillo’s army in an effort to end his regime. The group has an elite subgroup â€Å"The Butterflies† in which Minerva is a part of. The members of the Leftist Sect were apprehended and later released due to increasing anti-government uprisings. Unfortunately, some of the prisoners remained, one of them was Minerva’s husband Manuel. This move by Trujillo did not stop Minerva in fighting for her cause, one after noon when Minerva was on her way home from a visit to her husband, the vehicle they were in was ambushed by the Trujillo Soldiers. They were brought in a sugarcane filled where the unarmed Minerva together with her sisters Patria and Maria Teresa. Here they were ruthlessly beaten to death. Minerva did not die in vain. Her death served as a wake up call and started an anti Trujillo which resulted to the ruler’s assassination, thus ending his barbarous sovereignty. References Alvarez, J. (1994). In the Time of the Butterflies. New York. Alonquin.

Hamburger †Nutrition Essay

Do you like to eat fast food Nowdays people’s lives are becoming faster and faster. Because of a tight schedule, many people decide to eat fast food. Fast food is a western food. Fast food refers to any poor nutrition food that is easily prepared. Fast food may include chips, hot pies, sandwiches, burgers, kebabs, pizzas, soups, and salads. It also includes drinks, for instance, milkshakes, and soft drinks. Fast food has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages of fast food are that fast food is cheap, time saving, and quick. Fast Food Saves Time. People can order fast food on their way to or from work, without ever leaving their car, which is drive thru. Fast food is also designed to come in small packaging, So that people can consume it while traveling. Light on the Wallet Its means Eating fast food can save a lot of money for large families, students and anyone else looking to eat out without breaking the bank. Many fast food chains offer discount menus with foods costing. Customers also avoid having to leave a tip when they choose a fast food establishment over a typical restaurant. Easy to find place Some of the most popular fast food chains include McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dunkin’ Donuts, and many more. Despite of having many advantages, fast food has many disadvantages including obesity and different kinds of diseases. Obesity Extra calories can lead to being overweight or obese. As we know children nowadays like to eat fast food. So the percentages of obesity among children increase from year to year. With obesity come other problems like high blood pressure, the increasing of cholesterol and other related diseases of the heart that can lead to heart attack and many more serious diseases. Fast food has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages are that it is easy, quick, and inexpensive. On the other hand, some of the disadvantages are that it causes obesity and different kinds of diseases. Eating fast food is like playing with our health and if we lose our health neither the money, nor the time can get it back.