Dividend policy of the firm is irrelevant to the rational investor Essay

Profit strategy of the firm is unimportant to the sound speculator - Essay Example These variables lead to change in the offer costs and valuation of the organizations. The pertinence of profit strategy to an objective speculator has been talked about in the ensuing segments (Gross, 2007, p.14). Reasonable for profit installments The target of speculations is focused on capital energy about the benefits or protections over the time of holding. In this way, there is a positive purpose behind the organizations to deliver profits which really diminishes the drawn out capital gratefulness because of fluid installments as profit. The profit installments are obvious articulations by the organizations to grandstand their capacities to deal with their benefits and execution to accomplish monetary benefits and development. The installment of profits by the organizations guarantees lion's share of the speculators of sound budgetary execution in future and assembles certainty for interest in stocks (Xu and Wang, 1997, p.19). The organizations choose through their profit str ategy on the extent of profit payout and the rate to be saved for held income. The profit installment assignments are sensitive as the organization likewise needs to concentrate on expanding the budgetary riches in future and lessen their reliance on influence. The intrigue and assessment rates additionally assume a significant job in the profit strategy of the organizations. A decrease in the expense rates on long haul and momentary capital increases would ask the organizations to chop down their profit installments and contribute increasingly held procuring for long haul capital additions (Funke, 2007, p.11). Observational speculations: Irrelevance of Dividend Policy The part of superfluity of profit strategy to a sound financial specialist can be clarified by thinking about the exact hypotheses of profit strategy. Leftover... The organizations give highest need to back their needs of venture taking a gander at the objective development rates to be accomplished in the present moment just as since quite a while ago run. Simply in the wake of addressing the requirements of funds, the organizations choose to disperse the lingering benefits to the investors as profit installments. In this way the investors would not be worried of the profit strategy as capital additions for future from the speculations done by the organization lies at the center of boost of their riches. The normal financial specialists are additionally learned that there is no profit strategy that could alluded to as an ideal profit strategy. The profit approaches are a result of the store necessity of the organizations for financing the speculation ventures. Thus, the profits are proclaimed by the organizations which lead to rebuilding of certainty among the investors. In this way the investors are pulled in additional towards the interest i n the organization stocks because of which the cost of the offer ascents and the valuation of the organizations are expanded.

Htc Introduction Essay Example for Free

Htc Introduction Essay HTC immediately developed on the cell phone scene with the noteworthy achievement of The Sense, one of its first models, and broke numerous industry deals records. Individuals were asking, â€Å"Who is HTC? † Our examination demonstrates that HTCs quick ascent to progress was a result of advancement and mechanical capacities. Despite the fact that the HTC brand was not broadly perceived, its cell phones were producing interest. In our essential research, we found that a few people claimed a HTC telephone yet didn't have a clue about that HTC was the maker. Clearly, brand mindfulness was moderately low. For HTC to remain significant in the hypercompetitive cell phone industry, it needs genuine redoing of its promoting plan. With cell phone advertise entrance expanding to in excess of 20 percent in the previous five years and arriving at 46. 8 percent in Q3 2011, HTC has gigantic chances to build up a strong market position. Subsequent to looking at the economic situations and current HTC execution in the U. S. , our group recommends that HTC position itself as an innovative pioneer by focusing on buyers ages 18 to 34. This promising portion has potential deals of $2. 5 million. We broke down the business and inspected outer variables that could affect HTCs primary concern. This investigation gave us pivotal knowledge into the cell phone showcase. We likewise broke down the serious condition that incorporates Apple, Motorola, and RIM (Blackberry). HTC, which has a positive notoriety on the benefits of its innovation, needs to intensely separate itself in the commercial center. Through market investigation, we found that HTC has a solid market size, showcase potential, and unmistakable objective markets. We suggest that HTC make explicit strides through sectioning, focusing on, and situating to execute its advertising plan. We are certain that our arrangement can expand HTCs piece of the pie by 2 percent every year. Before the finish of 2012, our advertising objective is to arrive at a 24 percent piece of the overall industry of the cell phone industry, which rises to 18. 7 million HTC clients. The arrangement incorporates proposals and precautionary measures at circulation channels so that HTC separates itself from different brands. We built up a financial plan for the advertising plan and contrived methods to screen every exertion so as to arrive at our anticipated piece of the pie increment. We are certain that our advertising plan can take HTC from a developing brand to a predominant market pioneer.

55 Amazing New Books You Need to Read This Winter

55 Amazing New Books You Need to Read This Winter Fiction Looking for a good book to cozy up with this winter? Check out these hot new titles coming out this December through February! Fiction North of Dawn by Nuruddin Farah December 4 | Riverhead Books After their beloved son, Dhaqaneh, turns to jihadism and blows himself up in a suicide attack, his parents, two Somalian immigrants living in Oslo, take in Dhaqaneh’s wife and children. But as his wife withdraws more deeply into religion, his children are enthralled by the freedoms of their new homeland, fracturing the fault lines of a family already on the brink. Hearts of the Missing by Carol Potenza December 4 | Minotaur Books Fire-Sky tribal members are being targeted by a ruthless killer. When a young woman linked to the missing commits suicide, Pueblo Police Sergeant Nicky Matthews is assigned to the case and when those she cares for are caught in the crossfires, she must sacrifice everything to catch the killer before it’s too late. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield December 4 | Atria/Emily Bestler From the author of The Thirteenth Tale comes this mysterious tale of a girl come back from the dead. Three families claim she is a lost loved oneâ€"a daughter, a granddaughter, a sisterâ€"but each family has secrets that must be revealed for the girl’s true identity to be known. The Day the Sun Died by Yan Lianke, Translated by Carlos Rojas December 11 | Grove Press From one of China’s most acclaimed novelists, whose most renowned works have been banned for their biting satire, comes this tale of a village trapped in a dream. One evening, fourteen-year-old Li Niannian is mystified as he watches his neighbors continuing with their business as if it were still day. Soon, chaos erupts as the dreamwalking denizens act out desires suppressed during waking hours. China Dream by Ma Jian December 25 | Chatto Windus Ma Daode has just been appointed to the prestigious position of Director of the China Dream Bureau, tasked with overwriting people’s private dreams with President Xi’s great China Dream of national rejuvenation. But soon Ma Daode begins experiencing nightmares and flashbacks of the Cultural Revolution that threaten his bright future. To suppress these unwelcome visions, he sets out to find a secret recipe for a legendary broth of amnesia that will eradicate history forever. Watching You by Lisa Jewell December 26 | Atria Tom Fitzwilliam, the headmaster of a Bristol school, is loved by everyoneâ€"including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who harbors a secret infatuation with the charming schoolmaster. Jenna Tripp, one of Tom’s students isn’t so charmed. She’s noticed Mr. Fitzwilliam taking a suspicious liking to her best friendâ€"and Jenna’s mother is convinced Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her. And then, a murderer strikes… Freefall by Jessica Barry January 8 | Harper When her fiancé’s private plane crashes in the Colorado Rockies, Allison Carpenter miraculously survives. Meanwhile, in her small Maine hometown, Allison’s estranged mother, Maggie, is shocked to learn that her daughter is not only missing but engaged to be married to a wealthy pharmaceutical CEO. Maggie learns that Allison and her fiancé are hiding dark secrets and desperately fights to uncover the truth before it’s too late. The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye January 8 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons From the beloved author of Jane Steele comes this Prohibition-era story about Alice James, a woman fleeing west from New York City after an illicit drug deal gone wrong. Upon arriving in Portland, Alice finds sanctuary at the all-black Paragon Hotel. The lodgers there are in a state of dread thanks to the arrival of the Ku Klux Klan, who proceed to incite violence at every turn. When a mixed-race orphan goes missing in the Oregon woods, Alice and her new family of Paragon residents must find the child before it’s too late. 99 Nights in Logar by Jamil Jan Kochai January 8 | Viking Twelve-year-old Marwand returns to Afghanistan to visit his extended family. There, he encounters Budabash, the dog that guards the family compound, with whom Marwand has a contentious history. Eager for a friend, Marwand approaches Budabashâ€"with disastrous results. Marwand loses a finger and Budabash escapes. What ensues is a ninety-nine night adventure across the landscape of Logar to find the missing dog. The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh January 8 | Doubleday Longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize, this book has been described as “The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Virgin Suicides.” In the dystopian world of the novel, three sisters are raised are raised completely isolated from the violent world of men. In fact, the only man they have ever seen is their father. But when their father disappears and two men and a body wash up on the shore of their paradise-prison, the sisters must confront both the threat and promise their visitors hold. Sugar Run by Mesha Maren January 8 | Algonquin Jodi McCarthy is seventeen years old when she’s sentenced to life in prison for manslaughter. Eighteen years later, she’s released and goes searching for someone she left behind. But along the way she meets and falls in love with Miranda, a troubled young mother. Together, they try to make a fresh start, but that’s difficult in the insular and backward-thinking rural West Virginia town where they live. An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma January 8 | Little, Brown Co. From the Man Booker Finalist and author of The Fisherman comes the story of Chinonso, a poor Nigerian poultry farmer who sacrifices everything to win the woman he loves. After a harrowing encounter on a bridge, Chinonso and Ndali fall in love, but in Ndali is from a wealthy family that objects to Chinonso’s lack of education. Chinonso sells his possessions to attend school but is duped by a scam artist leaving him penniless. Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley January 15 | Harper Alexandr, Christine, Zach, and Lydia have been friends for thirty years. Alex and Christine are spending a leisurely summer’s evening at home when they receive a call from Lydia: Zach is dead. In the wake of this profound loss, Lydia moves in with Alex and Christine but instead growing closer, the proximity gives rise to old grievances. The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay January 15 | Grove Press Following her mother’s death, Shalini, a privileged young woman from Bangalore, returns to the remote Himalayan village of her youth. Shalini is convinced that her mother’s death is somehow related to the decades-old disappearance of Bashir Ahmed, a Kashmiri salesman who frequently visited her childhood home, and she intends to confront him. But shortly after her arrival, the politics of the small village turn volatile and violence threatens to erupt. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker January 15 | Random House One night in an isolated college town in the hills of Southern California, a first-year student stumbles into her dorm room, falls asleepâ€"and doesn’t wake up. When a second girl falls asleep, and then a third, panic takes hold of the college and spreads to the town. Those affected by the illness, doctors discover, are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, higher than has ever been recorded before. They are dreaming heightened dreamsâ€"but of what? Golden State by Ben H. Winters January 22 | Mulholland Books After the erosion of truth made public life impossible, like-minded Americans retreated to the Golden Stateâ€"formerly Californiaâ€"where contradicting the truth is the greatest crime. Laszlo Ratesic is a nineteen-year-veteran of the Speculative Service, the law enforcement agency that investigates crimes against the truth. But when those in charge of the facts twist them to serve their own ends, the Speculators are the only ones with the power to fight back. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas February 5 | Balzer + Bray From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give comes this story of Bri, a sixteen-year-old girl who dreams of being one of the greatest rappers of all time. Caught in a cycle of poverty and racism, Bri vents her anger in her first song, which goes viral for all the wrong reasons. Finding herself at the center of a controversy and with her family about to be kicked out of their apartment, Bri is desperate to hit the big time. Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima, Translated by Geraldine Harcourt February 12 | Farrar, Straus Giroux “A young woman, left by her husband, starts a new life in a Tokyo apartment. Territory of Light follows her over the course of a year, as she struggles to bring up her two-year-old daughter alone. Her new home is filled with light streaming through the windows, but she finds herself plummeting deeper into darkness, becoming unstable, untethered. As the months come and go and the seasons turn, she must confront what she has lost and what she will become.” American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson February 12 | Random House It’s 1986 and Marie Mitchell is a brilliant intelligence officer with the FBI. But she’s also a young black woman fighting to prove her worth to an agency full of white men. So when she’s given the opportunity to join a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the communist leader of Burkina Faso, she jumps on it, despite the fact that she secretly admires what Sankara has done for his people. Daughter of Moloka’i by Alan Brennert February 19 | St. Martin’s Press This sequel to Moloka’i tells the story of Ruth, the daughter Rachel Kalamaâ€"quarantined for most of her life at the leprosy settlement of Kalaupapaâ€"was forced to give up a birth. The book follows Ruth throughout her lifeâ€"from her adoption by a Japanese couple and unjust internment at Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II to the day she receives a life-altering letter from her birth mother. Never Tell by Lisa Gardner February 19 | Dutton A man is murderedâ€"shot three times in his home office, his computer shot twelve times, and his pregnant wife is found holding the gun. When D. D. Warren arrives on the scene, she recognizes the woman from an old case. And when Flora Dane sees news of the murder on TV, she recognizes the victim from the night she was kidnappedâ€"and her captor knew him. Nonfiction Bestseller by Robert McParland December 15 | Rowman Littlefield In this book, Robert McParland looks at the reading tastes of Americans from the early twentieth century to the present. Which books dominated the bestseller lists each decade and why? From Harper Lee and Kurt Vonnegut in the 60s to James Patterson in the 2010s, McParland discusses the books that have shaped our national consciousness and imagination over generations. Book Love by Debbie Tung January 1 | Andrews McMeel Publishing In Book Love, Debbie Tung captures the essence of what it means to be a book lover with warmth, humor, and beautiful illustrations. This delightful comics collection is something bibliophiles everywhere will be able to relate to. A Rope from the Sky by Zach Vertin January 1 | Pegasus Books A Rope from the Sky chronicles the violent birth and death of South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation. It examines the role of the U.S. in South Sudan’s liberation and attempts to answer the question: What went so horribly wrong? How did a beacon of hope fall into chaos and ruin? The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris January 8 | Penguin Press If you’ve been seeing a lot of Kamala Harris on the news lately and want to get to know her better, now’s your opportunity. In this memoir, the California senator recounts her Oakland childhood, the lessons she learned from her immigrant parents, and her rise through the ranks from local prosecutor to where she is today. Give Back the Light by James C. Moore with Steve Charles, M.D. January 8 | Greenleaf Book Group Press When James Moore was faced with potential blindness, he flew from Austin to Memphis to see Dr. Steve Charles. This book offers a portrait of a physician whose innovative work in the field of ophthalmological surgery has largely gone unpublicized and chronicles the author’s own struggle to save his eyesight. The Unwinding of a Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams January 8 | Random House In the tradition of When Breath Becomes Air, this heart-wrenching memoir chronicles a life that Julie Yip-Williams once thought impossible. Born blind in Vietnam, Julie narrowly escaped euthanasia at the hands of her grandmother and the ravages of war in the 1970s. Ultimately landing on American shores, Julie built the life she dreamed ofâ€"only to be diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer at the age of thirty-seven. Now at the end, she leaves behind a final gift to worldâ€"her story. The Enchanted Hour by Meghan Cox Gurdon January 15 | Harper The Enchanted Hour is all about the power and magic of reading aloud. Drawing on neuroscience, behavioral research, and, of course, literature, Wall Street Journal writer Meghan Cox Gurdon details the cognitive and social-emotional benefits this time-honored practice bestows on children and adults alike. A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing by DaMaris B. Hill January 15 | Bloomsbury In the tradition of Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, this book honors the history of black women bound by racist systems throughout our country’s historyâ€"from slavery and Jim Crow to the modern prison industrial complex. Written in verse and illustrated with black-and-white photographs, it celebrates the women who have lived and died resisting the dehumanization of involuntary confinement. When Death Becomes Life by Joshua D. Mezrich, M.D. January 15 | Harper In When Death Becomes Life, Dr. Joshua Mezrich deep dives into over one hundred years of medical history that led to the development and perfection of the organ transplant. When doctors are empowered to steal life from the jaws of death, a number of ethical and philosophical questions arise: “How much risk should a healthy person be allowed to take to save someone she loves? Should a patient suffering from alcoholism receive a healthy liver? What defines death?” Mezrich thoughtfully explores all these questions and more. Out of the Gobi by Weijian Shan January 17 | Wiley Weijian Shan had just finished elementary school when the Cultural Revolution ripped through the fabric of Chinese society. Exiled to the Gobi Desert at the age of fifteen and denied schooling for ten years, Shan never gave up on his dream of obtaining an education. In this memoir, he chronicles his improbable journey from hard laborer to becoming one of Asia’s best-known financiers. All the Lives We Ever Lived by Katharine Smyth January 22 | Crown “Katharine Smyth was a student at Oxford when she first read Virginia Woolf’s modernist masterpiece To the Lighthouse in the companionable silence she shared with her father. After his death, she returned to that beloved novel as a way of wrestling with his memory and understanding her own grief.” In this memoir, Smyth explores “universal questions about family, loss, and homecoming” through the lens of Woolf’s work. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer January 22 | Riverhead Books Challenging the popularly-held notion that Native civilization was essentially stamped out at Wounded Knee, this book offers a sweeping history of Native American life from 1890 to the present day. Black Is the Body by Emily Bernard January 29 | Knopf In this essay collection, Emily Bernard writes about the experience of being black in America. The first essay is about the day she and six strangers were stabbed in a random attack at a coffee shop near the Yale campus. She writes, “I was not stabbed because I was black but I have always viewed the violence I survived as a metaphor for the violent encounter that has generally characterized American race relations.” Underground by Will Hunt January 29 | Spiegel Grau This book takes readers on a grand tour of the world’s subterranean spacesâ€"from sacred caves and catacombs to tombs, bunkers, and underground cities in more than twenty countries around the world. Dark Shadows by Joanna Lillis January 30 | I.B.Tauris If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Gee, I really wish I knew more about Kazakhstan,” this book is for you. Though one of the most overlooked countries on the map, Kazakhstan is in a unique positionâ€"sandwiched the superpowers of Russia and China, and with a history as compelling as it is enigmatic. The Man in the Willows by Matthew Dennison February 5 | Pegasus In this biography, Matthew Dennison illuminates the life of Kenneth Grahame, author of the beloved children’s classic, The Wind in the Willows. Inspired by the comforting pastoral landscape of the English Countryside, Dennison reveals how Grahame’s fear of social and ecological change in the years leading up to World War I permeate the story. Women: Our Story by DK February 5 | DK This richly illustrated volume chronicles human history through the eyes of women and highlights the accomplishments of trailblazing women that most history books have forgotten to mention. The Feminism Book by DK February 5 | DK This latest addition to DK’s Big Ideas series highlights more than eighty-five of the most important ideas, movements, and events that have defined feminism throughout history. No Beast So Fierce by Dane Huckelbridge February 5 | William Morrow Between 1900 and 1907, the Champawat Man-Eater, a ferocious tiger in the foothills of the Himalayas, killed an unprecedented 436 people. Hunters and soldiers failed to kill the big cat and finally, desperate for help, the authorities recruited a railroad employee named Jim Corbett. This unlikely choice led to a dramatic chase and the final end to the tiger’s reign of terror. Milk of Paradise by Lucy Inglis February 5 | Pegasus Opium in its many forms has had an enormous impactâ€"both for good and illâ€"on our history and society. “In Milk of Paradise, cultural historian Lucy Inglis takes readers on an epic journey from ancient Mesopotamia to modern America and Afghanistan, from Sanskrit to pop, from poppy tears to smack, from morphine to today’s synthetic opiates.” Brown White Black by Nishta J. Mehra February 5 | Picador In this intimate essay collection, Nishta Mehra grapples with America’s rigid stereotypes about race, gender, and sexuality. As a brown woman with a black son and a white wife, she writes about her family’s struggle for acceptance, her efforts to protect her son from racial prejudice, and argues for a more “compassionate understanding of identity and family.” Renegade Women in Film and TV by Elizabeth Weitzman, Illustrated by Austen Claire Clements February 5 | Clarkson Potter This illustrated compendium combines beautiful illustrations, short biographical profiles, and interviews to celebrate the accomplishments of iconic women who have continually pushed up against Hollywood’s glass ceiling. Included in the book are women like Barbra Streisand, Rita Moreno, Sigourney Weaver, Lucille Ball, Oprah Winfrey, Nora Ephron, Alla Nazimova, Anna May Wong, and many more. The Pianist from Syria by Aeham Ahmad, Translated by Emanuel Bergmann February 12 | Atria “Aeham Ahmad was born a second-generation refugeeâ€"the son of a blind violinist and carpenter. When his grandparents and father were forced to flee Israel and seek refuge from the conflict ravaging their home, they raised a new generation in Syria while waiting for the conflict to be resolved so they could return home. Instead, another fight overtook their asylum. Forced to leave his family behind, Aeham sought out a safe place for them to call home and build a better life.” Nature’s Mutiny by Philipp Blom February 12 | Liveright In our environmental history, most have forgotten about the climate crisis of the seventeenth century, when temperatures dropped so drastically that “frost fairs” erected on the frozen Thames became a semi-permanent part of the city. Historian Philipp Blom describes these seemingly apocalyptic weather patterns and offers insight into how they might inform our thinking on climate change today. Parkland by Dave Cullen February 12 | Harper From the author of Columbine comes this account of the survivors and student activists who catalyzed the gut-wrenching assault on their community into a powerful movement for change. Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham February 12 | Simon Schuster Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, this harrowing narrative brings the Chernobyl disaster to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it firsthand. America Deconstructed by Chaithanya Sohan Shaima Adin February 12 | Motivational Press America Deconstructed follows the journeys of sixteen immigrants as they maneuver cultural differences, accents, and uncomfortable situations while feeling a sense of belonging in America. How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr February 19 | Farrar, Straus Giroux Many forget that America’s history encompasses not just the fifty states we call the United States but the islands, atolls, and archipelagos within reach of the long arm of American colonialism. In this book, Daniel Immerwahr tells the fascinating story of “the United States outside the United States.” The Shape of a Life by Shing-Tung Yau Steve Nadis February 19 | Yale University Press Harvard geometer Shing-Tung Yau has provided a mathematical foundation for string theory, offered new insights into black holes, and mathematically demonstrated the stability of our universe. In this autobiography, Yau reflects on his improbable journey to becoming one of the world’s most distinguished mathematicians. The Price We Pay by Marty Makary, M.D. February 26 | Bloomsbury America’s healthcare system is obviously broken but how do we go about fixing it? In this book, Dr. Marty Makary draws on research, his own experience, and the personal stories of Americans to expose the system’s hidden weaknesses and offer a better way forward. The Enlightened Capitalists by James O’Toole February 26 | HarperBusiness Capitalism gets a bad rap these days and for good reason. It’s a system that seems to allow unscrupulous characters to pollute the environment, underpay workers, and hijack democracy with relative impunity. But is there a better way to be capitalist? This book looks at business owners who are trying to build socially responsible companies within a capitalist framework and asks the question, “Are virtuous corporate practices compatible with shareholder capitalism?” Evil by Julia Shaw February 26 | Abrams Press What is evil? Dr. Julia Shaw argues that our understanding of evil is rooted in culture and that things we might consider evil might seem perfectly normal to someone from another culture. And then the question arises, “If evil is only in the eye of the beholder, can it be said to exist at all?” Drawing on case studies, pop culture, anecdotes, and neuroscience, Shaw challenges readers to think critically about what makes evil, well, evil. Women Warriors by Pamela D. Toler February 26 | Beacon Press Though largely erased from the history books, Pamela Toler says “women have always gone to war.” This book chronicles the exploits of women warriors throughout history including Tomyris (who killed Cyrus the Great), Amina of Hausa (a great West African ruler who fought to expand her territory for thirty years), the Joshigun (a group of thirty highly trained Japanese women who fought against the Meiji emperor in the late nineteenth century), and many more. The Fourth Reich by Gavriel D. Rosenfield February 28 | Cambridge University Press Ever since the collapse of the Third Reich, anxieties have persisted about Nazisms revival in the form of a Fourth Reich.” In this book, Gavriel Rosenfeld reveals how fears of a Nazi resurgence helped combat far right forces in the twentieth century following World War II and how the specter of the Fourth Reich was seized upon by neo-Nazis in the 2000s. You may also like… 75 Spectacular New Books You Need to Read This Fall 12 Amazing New Audiobook Memoirs to Add to Your Playlist 45 Great Book Adaptations You Can Watch on Netflix Right Now

Congress Is Not Doing Their Job - 1263 Words

Congress is not doing their job, and the Americans of United States are disapproving on how Congress is proceeding to do their duties. Theoretically, this is not really a new issue in Congress; they have had multiple fights and delays on bills throughout the years. An example would be the House of Representatives proposing fewer bills throughout this past decade. This is one of many issues that Congress had been doing behind the people of United States of America. While Congress members are slacking to do anything productive, we the â€Å"Americans† are slipping this situation right by our eyes. Congress needs to be situated and organized; and we the people, cannot afford any slackers in the Legislative Branch. In a recent event, one of Supreme Court Justices has passed away. Theoretically, the President would have to appoint a new justice and also have that nomination to be confirmed by the Senate. But recently Senate has declined to support Barack Obama approval on the new m ember of Justice. Now, statistically, the Senate is controlled by the Republicans by fifty four to forty six. This causes the Democrats to lose the majority in the Senate. Due to this Republicans are seeing this as a loophole to stop the nominations of a new Justice nominated in favor of a Democratic President. Instead of Congress members letting go of the rivalry in the two sets of parties, Republicans or known as the Senate has decided that it would be a good idea to leave only 8 Justices in theShow MoreRelatedIs The Congress Broken Branch?1409 Words   |  6 PagesIs The Congress Broken Branch ? Congress plays an important role in ruling the United States. Congress job is to represent the citizens of the U.S. by sharing the power with the current president of the United States of America and Supreme Court. Congress is one of the three branches of the United States. One of the main Congress jobs is to make law, basically, America without the Congress is pretty much without no laws. The Congress today is suffering from partisanship, parties are not workingRead MoreCongress : Getting The Job Done?1380 Words   |  6 Pages Congress: Getting the Job Done? Congress. A word that comes with it, feelings of anger, hope and, frustration to most people. The United States Congress was created to represent and govern the citizens of the United States of America. In doing so it has done a remarkable job. The past 200 years of this country proves this. In recent years though, Congress has gained the reputation of being indifferent in creating and passing laws. Many factors come in to effect in supporting this claim. RepublicanRead MoreEssay about Congress and the Law Making Process1376 Words   |  6 PagesBranch consists of Congress, which is made up of two parts; The House of Representatives and the Senate. These two parts of Congress was a result of the 1789 Compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. The Virginia Plan was about states wanted more representation in Congress because they were bigger states. From that plan the New Jersey Plan was brought forth. The New Jersey Plan basically said was smaller and bigger state s should have equal power in Congress, so the bigger statesRead MoreEssay on separation of powers629 Words   |  3 Pagesthese 3 branches. Each of these branches are given powers so that they can check the powers of the other 2 branches ensuring that one branch doesn’t become to powerful One of these branches is the legislative branch this is the branch that includes congress, they are responsible for making laws. The second branch of government is the executive branch this is the branch that includes the president, they are responsible for carrying out laws. The last branch of government is the judicial branch, thisRead MoreThe Current Political Machine For House Incumbents1480 Words   |  6 PagesIt is no secret that Americans are disappointed with the current political machine that is running the country. This dislike was illustrated in a 2013 Gallup Poll. The poll discovered that only sixteen percent of Americans were happy with Congress. When American citizens are a sked what solution they think would solve this problem, most respond, â€Å"Term limits† (Gallup)   In fact, eighty percent of Americans support the concept (Cato).   Ã‚  Ã‚   The turnover rate for House incumbents who attempt reelectionRead More‘the Separation of Powers Hinders Effective Government in the Usa!’ Do You Agree?976 Words   |  4 Pagesgovernment. The president is given the power to recommend legislation to the Congress. He does this formally in January of ever year in the State of the Union Address. It is in this opportunity that he effectively says to Congress ‘this is what I want you to debate and pass into law’. Also, the president has the power to veto bills passed by Congress. This can hinder the effectiveness of the government as bills put forward by Congress could be vital, but due to the powers of the president, he can rejectRead MoreThe Relationship With The Legislative Branch904 Words   |  4 PagesA member of Congress is someone who has been elected and appointed to represent a particular constituency and advocate their interest and needs. In a perfect world the representative will listen to the people and speak on their behalf. However, that is further from the truth, only 15% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 75% disapprove. I agree with the disapproval of Congress, the relat ionship with the legislative branch is extremely negative because the public’s needs are notRead MoreThe Responsibilities of Congress and the President Essay1045 Words   |  5 Pagesmodule we have study modifications to the way Congress and the President do business. The Constitution lists specific duties for Congress to attend to; it is a little vaguer when assigning duties to the President. It is up to both of these institutions to best determine how to accomplish these duties. The major theme of this module is change, the addition of offices under the President and the modifications to the power distribution within the Congress to help better and sometimes hinder these institutionsRead MoreA Government Divided Essay1519 Words   |  7 Pagesare. This explains why currently the approval rating for Congress is below 20% according to the new Gallup polls (Gallup, 2011). The Washington Post posted an article called, Poll: Voters say throw out entire Congress, where the wri ter explains that Americans are displeased by Congress and a high percentage wish they were all removed (The Washington Post, 2011). All of these statistics are pretty predictable considering the 112th Congress is filled with uncompromising members who value the censusRead MoreTerm Limits Of Congress : Congress1675 Words   |  7 PagesLimits in Congress More than seventy-nine congressmen have been in office in both the United States House of Representatives and the Senate for twenty years or more; Patrick Leahy, Dianne Heinstein, Mitch McConnell, Mac Thornberry, and many, many more. James Madison states in Federalist 48 that â€Å"The legislative department is everywhere†¦ drawing all power into its impetuous vortex†(Will). Congress corrupts with power and the only way to stop this is to impose term limits on the US Congress. Term limits

United States Six Economic Social Classes - 1450 Words

Society is set up into a hierarchical triangle that essentially determines social class. A social class is any person or group of people with the same educational, social or economical status. Social class can be broken down into many different categories such as race, age, gender, economic status, educational status and many more. Social class can be measured in many different ways such as financial status, family values, appearance, and demeanor. In America there are six main economical social classes which are the: Very poor, Poor, Working class, Middle class, Upper middle class, and the ruling class. The very poor class contains all citizens that have a very low economic status. Most have no economic security, are unemployed, and have no education after high school. American citizens in this class have just enough money to survive. The poor class includes any American citizen who does not have enough money to have basic necessities. The working class includes American citizens who have enough to provide basic needs for their family. They do not have some of the simple luxuries; if they do; they have to save up to buy it. In the middle class, most citizens go to college. People in the middle class do not necessarily live paycheck to paycheck, but have enough money to spend on leisure. The next social class in America is the upper middle class, whose citizens mainly attend private or charter schools. ( Hancock, 1998). They hold professions such as doctors andShow MoreRelatedEducation Is An Essential Element Of Early Life1445 Words   |  6 Pagesan essential element of early lif e and is considered to be the bridge between classes and social structures. It is a worldwide equalizer and instructor, but academic systems have only been standardized and mandatory for roughly two-hundred years and consistently vary across the globe. 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Iranian Political Structure The Iranian Political Structure is very similar to the United States in that it has a popularlyRead MoreSocial Class And Its Effects On Health1336 Words   |  6 PagesAll over the world status hierarchy and social class are a common concept of how well we live our lives, however they affect our lives more than we think. Social class can affect many things such as education, opportunities presented to us, economic factors, and even our health. Recently socioeconomic status effects on health has become a more popular topic of discussion but is nothing new to researchers. â€Å"Research on socioeconomic inequalities in health in the UK has a long history. In the earlyRead MoreSocial Inequality And Social Class Essay1377 Words   |  6 PagesThe idea of social inequality dates back since the time of our founding fathers. The mistreatment and unlawful equality and opportunity that these foreigners received became embedded into our history—this endless list includes, just to na me a few, the Irish, Chinese, Jews, and most notably the African Americans (Blacks), who became slaves to the American people. Here in the United States, the current social class system is known as the class system, where families are distributed and placed intoRead MoreCompare And Contrast Social Class In 16th Century England1141 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Social class refers to a group of people within a society who possess roughly the same socioeconomic status.† (â€Å"Social Class†) Social class plays a major role in a society. A person’s social class affects his/her education, respectability, and ability to get a job. Most people in America’s society are born into their social class, but it is easier now to move up than it was in 16th century England. Although there are some slight differences in

Angels Demons Chapter 109-112 Free Essays

string(88) " feeling they were too late as they watched the mammoth machine slow to a stop over St\." 109 Meanwhile, in St. Peter’s Square, the wall of Swiss Guards yelled orders and fanned outward, trying to push the crowds back to a safer distance. It was no use. We will write a custom essay sample on Angels Demons Chapter 109-112 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The crowd was too dense and seemed far more interested in the Vatican’s impending doom than in their own safety. The towering media screens in the square were now transmitting a live countdown of the antimatter canister – a direct feed from the Swiss Guard security monitor – compliments of the camerlegno. Unfortunately, the image of the canister counting down was doing nothing to repel the crowds. The people in the square apparently looked at the tiny droplet of liquid suspended in the canister and decided it was not as menacing as they had thought. They could also see the countdown clock now – a little under forty-five minutes until detonation. Plenty of time to stay and watch. Nonetheless, the Swiss Guards unanimously agreed that the camerlegno’s bold decision to address the world with the truth and then provide the media with actual visuals of Illuminati treachery had been a savvy maneuver. The Illuminati had no doubt expected the Vatican to be their usual reticent selves in the face of adversity. Not tonight. Camerlegno Carlo Ventresca had proven himself a commanding foe. Inside the Sistine Chapel, Cardinal Mortati was getting restless. It was past 11:15 P.M. Many of the cardinals were continuing to pray, but others had clustered around the exit, clearly unsettled by the hour. Some of the cardinals began pounding on the door with their fists. Outside the door Lieutenant Chartrand heard the pounding and didn’t know what to do. He checked his watch. It was time. Captain Rocher had given strict orders that the cardinals were not to be let out until he gave the word. The pounding on the door became more intense, and Chartrand felt uneasy. He wondered if the captain had simply forgotten. The captain had been acting very erratic since his mysterious phone call. Chartrand pulled out his walkie-talkie. â€Å"Captain? Chartrand here. It is past time. Should I open the Sistine?† â€Å"That door stays shut. I believe I already gave you that order.† â€Å"Yes, sir, I just – â€Å" â€Å"Our guest is arriving shortly. Take a few men upstairs, and guard the door of the Pope’s office. The camerlegno is not to go anywhere.† â€Å"I’m sorry, sir?† â€Å"What is it that you don’t understand, Lieutenant?† â€Å"Nothing, sir. I am on my way.† Upstairs in the Office of the Pope, the camerlegno stared in quiet meditation at the fire. Give me strength, God. Bring us a miracle. He poked at the coals, wondering if he would survive the night. 110 Eleven-twenty-three P.M. Vittoria stood trembling on the balcony of Castle St. Angelo, staring out across Rome, her eyes moist with tears. She wanted badly to embrace Robert Langdon, but she could not. Her body felt anesthetized. Readjusting. Taking stock. The man who had killed her father lay far below, dead, and she had almost been a victim as well. When Langdon’s hand touched her shoulder, the infusion of warmth seemed to magically shatter the ice. Her body shuddered back to life. The fog lifted, and she turned. Robert looked like hell – wet and matted – he had obviously been through purgatory to come rescue her. â€Å"Thank you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she whispered. Langdon gave an exhausted smile and reminded her that it was she who deserved thanks – her ability to practically dislocate her shoulders had just saved them both. Vittoria wiped her eyes. She could have stood there forever with him, but the reprieve was short-lived. â€Å"We need to get out of here,† Langdon said. Vittoria’s mind was elsewhere. She was staring out toward the Vatican. The world’s smallest country looked unsettlingly close, glowing white under a barrage of media lights. To her shock, much of St. Peter’s Square was still packed with people! The Swiss Guard had apparently been able to clear only about a hundred and fifty feet back – the area directly in front of the basilica – less than one-third of the square. The shell of congestion encompassing the square was compacted now, those at the safer distances pressing for a closer look, trapping the others inside. They are too close! Vittoria thought. Much too close! â€Å"I’m going back in,† Langdon said flatly. Vittoria turned, incredulous. â€Å"Into the Vatican?† Langdon told her about the Samaritan, and how it was a ploy. The Illuminati leader, a man named Janus, was actually coming himself to brand the camerlegno. A final Illuminati act of domination. â€Å"Nobody in Vatican City knows,† Langdon said. â€Å"I have no way to contact them, and this guy is arriving any minute. I have to warn the guards before they let him in.† â€Å"But you’ll never get through the crowd!† Langdon’s voice was confident. â€Å"There’s a way. Trust me.† Vittoria sensed once again that the historian knew something she did not. â€Å"I’m coming.† â€Å"No. Why risk both – â€Å" â€Å"I have to find a way to get those people out of there! They’re in incredible dange – â€Å" Just then, the balcony they were standing on began to shake. A deafening rumble shook the whole castle. Then a white light from the direction of St. Peter’s blinded them. Vittoria had only one thought. Oh my God! The antimatter annihilated early! But instead of an explosion, a huge cheer went up from the crowd. Vittoria squinted into the light. It was a barrage of media lights from the square, now trained, it seemed, on them! Everyone was turned their way, hollering and pointing. The rumble grew louder. The air in the square seemed suddenly joyous. Langdon looked baffled. â€Å"What the devil – â€Å" The sky overhead roared. Emerging from behind the tower, without warning, came the papal helicopter. It thundered fifty feet above them, on a beeline for Vatican City. As it passed overhead, radiant in the media lights, the castle trembled. The lights followed the helicopter as it passed by, and Langdon and Vittoria were suddenly again in the dark. Vittoria had the uneasy feeling they were too late as they watched the mammoth machine slow to a stop over St. You read "Angels Demons Chapter 109-112" in category "Essay examples" Peter’s Square. Kicking up a cloud of dust, the chopper dropped onto the open portion of the square between the crowd and the basilica, touching down at the bottom of the basilica’s staircase. â€Å"Talk about an entrance,† Vittoria said. Against the white marble, she could see a tiny speck of a person emerge from the Vatican and move toward the chopper. She would never have recognized the figure except for the bright red beret on his head. â€Å"Red carpet greeting. That’s Rocher.† Langdon pounded his fist on the banister. â€Å"Somebody’s got to warn them!† He turned to go. Vittoria caught his arm. â€Å"Wait!† She had just seen something else, something her eyes refused to believe. Fingers trembling, she pointed toward the chopper. Even from this distance, there was no mistaking. Descending the gangplank was another figure†¦ a figure who moved so uniquely that it could only be one man. Although the figure was seated, he accelerated across the open square with effortless control and startling speed. A king on an electric throne. It was Maximilian Kohler. 111 Kohler was sickened by the opulence of the Hallway of the Belvedere. The gold leaf in the ceiling alone probably could have funded a year’s worth of cancer research. Rocher led Kohler up a handicapped ramp on a circuitous route into the Apostolic Palace. â€Å"No elevator?† Kohler demanded. â€Å"No power.† Rocher motioned to the candles burning around them in the darkened building. â€Å"Part of our search tactic.† â€Å"Tactics which no doubt failed.† Rocher nodded. Kohler broke into another coughing fit and knew it might be one of his last. It was not an entirely unwelcome thought. When they reached the top floor and started down the hallway toward the Pope’s office, four Swiss Guards ran toward them, looking troubled. â€Å"Captain, what are you doing up here? I thought this man had information that – â€Å" â€Å"He will only speak to the camerlegno.† The guards recoiled, looking suspicious. â€Å"Tell the camerlegno,† Rocher said forcefully, â€Å"that the director of CERN, Maximilian Kohler, is here to see him. Immediately.† â€Å"Yes, sir!† One of the guards ran off in the direction of the camerlegno’s office. The others stood their ground. They studied Rocher, looking uneasy. â€Å"Just one moment, captain. We will announce your guest.† Kohler, however, did not stop. He turned sharply and maneuvered his chair around the sentinels. The guards spun and broke into a jog beside him. â€Å"Fermati! Sir! Stop!† Kohler felt repugnance for them. Not even the most elite security force in the world was immune to the pity everyone felt for cripples. Had Kohler been a healthy man, the guards would have tackled him. Cripples are powerless, Kohler thought. Or so the world believes. Kohler knew he had very little time to accomplish what he had come for. He also knew he might die here tonight. He was surprised how little he cared. Death was a price he was ready to pay. He had endured too much in his life to have his work destroyed by someone like Camerlegno Ventresca. â€Å"Signore!† the guards shouted, running ahead and forming a line across the hallway. â€Å"You must stop!† One of them pulled a sidearm and aimed it at Kohler. Kohler stopped. Rocher stepped in, looking contrite. â€Å"Mr. Kohler, please. It will only be a moment. No one enters the Office of the Pope unannounced.† Kohler could see in Rocher’s eyes that he had no choice but to wait. Fine, Kohler thought. We wait. The guards, cruelly it seemed, had stopped Kohler next to a full-length gilded mirror. The sight of his own twisted form repulsed Kohler. The ancient rage brimmed yet again to the surface. It empowered him. He was among the enemy now. These were the people who had robbed him of his dignity. These were the people. Because of them he had never felt the touch of a woman†¦ had never stood tall to accept an award. What truth do these people possess? What proof, damn it! A book of ancient fables? Promises of miracles to come? Science creates miracles every day! Kohler stared a moment into his own stony eyes. Tonight I may die at the hands of religion, he thought. But it will not be the first time. For a moment, he was eleven years old again, lying in his bed in his parents’ Frankfurt mansion. The sheets beneath him were Europe’s finest linen, but they were soaked with sweat. Young Max felt like he was on fire, the pain wracking his body unimaginable. Kneeling beside his bed, where they had been for two days, were his mother and father. They were praying. In the shadows stood three of Frankfurt’s best doctors. â€Å"I urge you to reconsider!† one of the doctors said. â€Å"Look at the boy! His fever is increasing. He is in terrible pain. And danger!† But Max knew his mother’s reply before she even said it. â€Å"Gott wird ihn beschuetzen.† Yes, Max thought. God will protect me. The conviction in his mother’s voice gave him strength. God will protect me. An hour later, Max felt like his whole body was being crushed beneath a car. He could not even breathe to cry. â€Å"Your son is in great suffering,† another doctor said. â€Å"Let me at least ease his pain. I have in my bag a simple injection of – † â€Å"Ruhe, bitte!† Max’s father silenced the doctor without ever opening his eyes. He simply kept praying. â€Å"Father, please!† Max wanted to scream. â€Å"Let them stop the pain!† But his words were lost in a spasm of coughing. An hour later, the pain had worsened. â€Å"Your son could become paralyzed,† one of the doctors scolded. â€Å"Or even die! We have medicines that will help!† Frau and Herr Kohler would not allow it. They did not believe in medicine. Who were they to interfere with God’s master plan? They prayed harder. After all, God had blessed them with this boy, why would God take the child away? His mother whispered to Max to be strong. She explained that God was testing him†¦ like the Bible story of Abraham†¦ a test of his faith. Max tried to have faith, but the pain was excruciating. â€Å"I cannot watch this!† one of the doctors finally said, running from the room. By dawn, Max was barely conscious. Every muscle in his body spasmed in agony. Where is Jesus? he wondered. Doesn’t he love me? Max felt the life slipping from his body. His mother had fallen asleep at the bedside, her hands still clasped over him. Max’s father stood across the room at the window staring out at the dawn. He seemed to be in a trance. Max could hear the low mumble of his ceaseless prayers for mercy. It was then that Max sensed the figure hovering over him. An angel? Max could barely see. His eyes were swollen shut. The figure whispered in his ear, but it was not the voice of an angel. Max recognized it as one of the doctors†¦ the one who had sat in the corner for two days, never leaving, begging Max’s parents to let him administer some new drug from England. â€Å"I will never forgive myself,† the doctor whispered, â€Å"if I do not do this.† Then the doctor gently took Max’s frail arm. â€Å"I wish I had done it sooner.† Max felt a tiny prick in his arm – barely discernible through the pain. Then the doctor quietly packed his things. Before he left, he put a hand on Max’s forehead. â€Å"This will save your life. I have great faith in the power of medicine.† Within minutes, Max felt as if some sort of magic spirit were flowing through his veins. The warmth spread through his body numbing his pain. Finally, for the first time in days, Max slept. When the fever broke, his mother and father proclaimed a miracle of God. But when it became evident that their son was crippled, they became despondent. They wheeled their son into the church and begged the priest for counseling. â€Å"It was only by the grace of God,† the priest told them, â€Å"that this boy survived.† Max listened, saying nothing. â€Å"But our son cannot walk!† Frau Kohler was weeping. The priest nodded sadly. â€Å"Yes. It seems God has punished him for not having enough faith.† â€Å"Mr. Kohler?† It was the Swiss Guard who had run ahead. â€Å"The camerlegno says he will grant you audience.† Kohler grunted, accelerating again down the hall. â€Å"He is surprised by your visit,† the guard said. â€Å"I’m sure.† Kohler rolled on. â€Å"I would like to see him alone.† â€Å"Impossible,† the guard said. â€Å"No one – â€Å" â€Å"Lieutenant,† Rocher barked. â€Å"The meeting will be as Mr. Kohler wishes.† The guard stared in obvious disbelief. Outside the door to the Pope’s office, Rocher allowed his guards to take standard precautions before letting Kohler in. Their handheld metal detector was rendered worthless by the myriad of electronic devices on Kohler’s wheelchair. The guards frisked him but were obviously too ashamed of his disability to do it properly. They never found the revolver affixed beneath his chair. Nor did they relieve him of the other object†¦ the one that Kohler knew would bring unforgettable closure to this evening’s chain of events. When Kohler entered the Pope’s office, Camerlegno Ventresca was alone, kneeling in prayer beside a dying fire. He did not open his eyes. â€Å"Mr. Kohler,† the camerlegno said. â€Å"Have you come to make me a martyr?† 112 All the while, the narrow tunnel called Il Passetto stretched out before Langdon and Vittoria as they dashed toward Vatican City. The torch in Langdon’s hand threw only enough light to see a few yards ahead. The walls were close on either side, and the ceiling low. The air smelled dank. Langdon raced on into the darkness with Vittoria close at his heels. The tunnel inclined steeply as it left the Castle St. Angelo, proceeding upward into the underside of a stone bastion that looked like a Roman aqueduct. There, the tunnel leveled out and began its secret course toward Vatican City. As Langdon ran, his thoughts turned over and over in a kaleidoscope of confounding images – Kohler, Janus, the Hassassin, Rocher†¦ a sixth brand? I’m sure you’ve heard about the sixth brand, the killer had said. The most brilliant of all. Langdon was quite certain he had not. Even in conspiracy theory lore, Langdon could think of no references to any sixth brand. Real or imagined. There were rumors of a gold bullion and a flawless Illuminati Diamond but never any mention of a sixth brand. â€Å"Kohler can’t be Janus!† Vittoria declared as they ran down the interior of the dike. â€Å"It’s impossible!† Impossible was one word Langdon had stopped using tonight. â€Å"I don’t know,† Langdon yelled as they ran. â€Å"Kohler has a serious grudge, and he also has some serious influence.† â€Å"This crisis has made CERN look like monsters! Max would never do anything to damage CERN’s reputation!† On one count, Langdon knew CERN had taken a public beating tonight, all because of the Illuminati’s insistence on making this a public spectacle. And yet, he wondered how much CERN had really been damaged. Criticism from the church was nothing new for CERN. In fact, the more Langdon thought about it, the more he wondered if this crisis might actually benefit CERN. If publicity were the game, then antimatter was the jackpot winner tonight. The entire planet was talking about it. â€Å"You know what promoter P. T. Barnum said,† Langdon called over his shoulder. â€Å"‘I don’t care what you say about me, just spell my name right!’ I bet people are already secretly lining up to license antimatter technology. And after they see its true power at midnight tonight†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Illogical,† Vittoria said. â€Å"Publicizing scientific breakthroughs is not about showing destructive power! This is terrible for antimatter, trust me!† Langdon’s torch was fading now. â€Å"Then maybe it’s all much simpler than that. Maybe Kohler gambled that the Vatican would keep the antimatter a secret – refusing to empower the Illuminati by confirming the weapon’s existence. Kohler expected the Vatican to be their usual tight-lipped selves about the threat, but the camerlegno changed the rules.† Vittoria was silent as they dashed down the tunnel. Suddenly the scenario was making more sense to Langdon. â€Å"Yes! Kohler never counted on the camerlegno’s reaction. The camerlegno broke the Vatican tradition of secrecy and went public about the crisis. He was dead honest. He put the antimatter on TV, for God’s sake. It was a brilliant response, and Kohler never expected it. And the irony of the whole thing is that the Illuminati attack backfired. It inadvertently produced a new church leader in the camerlegno. And now Kohler is coming to kill him!† â€Å"Max is a bastard,† Vittoria declared, â€Å"but he is not a murderer. And he would never have been involved in my father’s assassination.† In Langdon’s mind, it was Kohler’s voice that answered. Leonardo was considered dangerous by many purists at CERN. Fusing science and God is the ultimate scientific blasphemy. â€Å"Maybe Kohler found out about the antimatter project weeks ago and didn’t like the religious implications.† â€Å"So he killed my father over it? Ridiculous! Besides, Max Kohler would never have known the project existed.† â€Å"While you were gone, maybe your father broke down and consulted Kohler, asking for guidance. You yourself said your father was concerned about the moral implications of creating such a deadly substance.† â€Å"Asking moral guidance from Maximilian Kohler?† Vittoria snorted. â€Å"I don’t think so!† The tunnel banked slightly westward. The faster they ran, the dimmer Langdon’s torch became. He began to fear what the place would look like if the light went out. Black. â€Å"Besides,† Vittoria argued, â€Å"why would Kohler have bothered to call you in this morning and ask for help if he is behind the whole thing?† Langdon had already considered it. â€Å"By calling me, Kohler covered his bases. He made sure no one would accuse him of nonaction in the face of crisis. He probably never expected us to get this far.† The thought of being used by Kohler incensed Langdon. Langdon’s involvement had given the Illuminati a level of credibility. His credentials and publications had been quoted all night by the media, and as ridiculous as it was, the presence of a Harvard professor in Vatican City had somehow raised the whole emergency beyond the scope of paranoid delusion and convinced skeptics around the world that the Illuminati brotherhood was not only a historical fact, but a force to be reckoned with. â€Å"That BBC reporter,† Langdon said, â€Å"thinks CERN is the new Illuminati lair.† â€Å"What!† Vittoria stumbled behind him. She pulled herself up and ran on. â€Å"He said that!?† â€Å"On air. He likened CERN to the Masonic lodges – an innocent organization unknowingly harboring the Illuminati brotherhood within.† â€Å"My God, this is going to destroy CERN.† Langdon was not so sure. Either way, the theory suddenly seemed less far-fetched. CERN was the ultimate scientific haven. It was home to scientists from over a dozen countries. They seemed to have endless private funding. And Maximilian Kohler was their director. Kohler is Janus. â€Å"If Kohler’s not involved,† Langdon challenged, â€Å"then what is he doing here?† â€Å"Probably trying to stop this madness. Show support. Maybe he really is acting as the Samaritan! He could have found out who knew about the antimatter project and has come to share information.† â€Å"The killer said he was coming to brand the camerlegno.† â€Å"Listen to yourself! It would be a suicide mission. Max would never get out alive.† Langdon considered it. Maybe that was the point. The outline of a steel gate loomed ahead, blocking their progress down the tunnel. Langdon’s heart almost stopped. When they approached, however, they found the ancient lock hanging open. The gate swung freely. Langdon breathed a sigh of relief, realizing as he had suspected, that the ancient tunnel was in use. Recently. As in today. He now had little doubt that four terrified cardinals had been secreted through here earlier. They ran on. Langdon could now hear the sounds of chaos to his left. It was St. Peter’s Square. They were getting close. They hit another gate, this one heavier. It too was unlocked. The sound of St. Peter’s Square faded behind them now, and Langdon sensed they had passed through the outer wall of Vatican City. He wondered where inside the Vatican this ancient passage would conclude. In the gardens? In the basilica? In the papal residence? Then, without warning, the tunnel ended. The cumbrous door blocking their way was a thick wall of riveted iron. Even by the last flickers of his torch, Langdon could see that the portal was perfectly smooth – no handles, no knobs, no keyholes, no hinges. No entry. He felt a surge of panic. In architect-speak, this rare kind of door was called a senza chiave – a one-way portal, used for security, and only operable from one side – the other side. Langdon’s hope dimmed to black†¦ along with the torch in his hand. He looked at his watch. Mickey glowed. 11:29 P.M. With a scream of frustration, Langdon swung the torch and started pounding on the door. How to cite Angels Demons Chapter 109-112, Essay examples

Critical assessment of annual report of Wm Morrison Supermarkets free essay sample

Introduction An annual report is a portrait of the business of a firm. In fact, it is the most important way for a company to disclose information to the public (Dainelli et al. , 2013). Such information includes both financial and non-financial information, which might be quite useful for investors and potential investors of the company to make their decisions. Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc (abbreviated as â€Å"Morrisons† below) is â€Å"the UK’s fourth largest food retailer by sale† (Morrisons, 2013). This report will use Morrisons as an example to make a critical evaluation of corporate annual report. There will be mainly four parts in this report. First of all, an overview of the annual report of Morrisons will be provided. On this basis, the second part will critically assess the section of â€Å"Performance and Strategy Review† of the annual report of Morrisons. We will write a custom essay sample on Critical assessment of annual report of Wm Morrison Supermarkets or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The third part asses the section of â€Å"Governance†. Then, the fourth part will evaluate the reliability of the annual report of Morrisons. Finally, a conclusion will be given. 1. 0 Overview of the Annual Report of Morrisons The annual report 2013 of Morrisons includes 116 pages and comprises of mainly three parts, 1) performance and strategy review, 2) governance, and 3) financial statements. The first and second parts are mainly qualitative information while the third part is mainly quantitative information about the financial accounts of the company. This report focuses on the qualitative information of this annual report. 2. 0 Performance and Strategy Review This part is intended to provide investors with useful information about the business strategy and current performance of Morrisons. Based on such information, investors can make estimation about the future prospects of the company. In this section of the annual report of Morrisons, detailed information about the strategy and performance of the company is provided. Investors and potential investors can get the following useful information. From the business model of Morrisons stated in Page 2, it can be seen what is the core business of Morrisons and where they do the business. Then from page 3 to page 5, it tells how Morrisons do differently from its competitors and how it competes in the market place. Also, the current position of Morrisons in the market place is analyzed. The annual report further discloses the new channels of Morrisons to the market. From such information, investors can judge whether this business model will be effective in helping Morrisons gain competitive advantage and obtain sustainable growth in the future. The limitation with the information in this aspect is that it mainly focuses on the favorable things for the company. It identifies the strengths and advantages of Morrisons over its competitors but mentions little about its weaknesses and disadvantages. This may lead to the overconfidence of investors about the future prospects of Morrison. Following the business model and marketplace information, chairman’s review and chief executive’s review are available in the annual report. These are the reviews about historical, current and future operations of the company by the board chairman and chief executive officer. They analyze the business environment, the performance and position, threatens opportunities, and the strengths weaknesses of the company, which represent the opinions of the director board and management board of Morrisons. From their reviews, investors can see how senior management of the company considers the future prospect of the company. The confidence director board and management board tends to make investors be confident about the future prospects about the company. However, chairman’s review and chief executive’s review also have the problem of misleading investors. In fact, the annual report is a useful channel for a company to disclose favorable information. It could be used as a useful marketing tool (Lee, 1994). Both board chairman and chief executive have the incentive to select to disclose only the information that could make investors confident about the company. The third aspect in this section is about the specific strategic objectives of Morrisons and how to achieve these strategic objectives. Morrisons have further identified their key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of financial performance and operational excellence, including financial KPIs and non-financial KPIs. These indicators are the ones the board considers to be important for stakeholders, customers, suppliers and colleagues to assess the achievement of the strategy. By reading such information, investors can see how Morrisons are performing and what are the future prospects like to be. According to annual report of Morrison, it tends to show that the company is â€Å"driving the topline, increasing the efficiency, and capturing growth†. This will convey information to investors that the company is currently performing quite well and have good future prospects. However, the as the company has the incentive to attract more investors and keep high stock price in the stock market. Therefore, it could choose to only measure and disclose the KPIs that could reflect good performance of the company (Alves et al. , 2012). The information in this aspect could be biased to some extent. The fourth aspect in this section is financial review. This aspect also tends to increase investor confidence as well. It provides a summary about the financial results of the company in the past few years, including the cash flows, investment, capital structure, and returns to shareholders. Cash flow analysis reflects strong working capital management. Acquisition activities show expansion of the operational activities of the company and thus great future growth potential. The growing returns to shareholders indicate high value of the company for investors. Similar to the information about KPIs, the financial review could be biased as well. The company could choose to only disclose the good financial information in this part. The fifth aspect in this section is managing risks and uncertainties. This aspect identifies the risks and uncertainties in the operation of Morrison. The measures that can be taken to manage these risks and uncertainties are also stated in this part. Such information can help investors to have an overall understanding about the risk management of the company thus make better anticipation about the future prospects of the company. But the information disclosed in the annual report is not sound as well. Some other risks and uncertainties might be neglected in the annual report but such risks and uncertainties could be fatal to the regular operation of the company in the future (Abraham and Shrives, 2014). Finally, there are several pages that address the corporate social responsibility of Morrisons. Morrisons think about more beyond selling products. They care for lifecycle of products, for reduction in carbon emission, for charity program, for customers, for farmers, for communities, and so on. This makes Morrisons more than a business organization. It is a member of our community and cares about the balanced development of our community (Ashcroft, 2012). More investors with high moral standards might be attracted to invest in Morrisons. 3. 0 Governance Following the section of â€Å"performance and strategy review†, there is another section that focuses on the governance of Morrisons. It introduces the structure of board of directors and management board. The photos and resume of the members of the two boards are provided. Investors could get information from the annual report that the management team of Morrisons is highly qualified and experienced in corporate management. They are capable of managing the company efficiently. After the introduction of management team, there is a corporate governance report. This report compares the corporate governance structure of Morrisons to the UK Corporate Governance Code and concludes that Morrisons is fully compliant with the Code. This report provides information for investors that the company can be directed and controlled efficiently thus various agency problems could be mitigated properly and corporate objectives could be achieved. After the governance report, the statement of directors’ responsibility in respect of the annual report and financial statements and the independent auditor’s report are provided. These two parts states clearly the respective responsibilities of directors and auditors. In the independent auditor’s report, the auditor’s opinion about the financial statements of Morrisons is given. The auditor of Morrisons is the KPMG Audit Plc. It gives standard audit opinion to Morrison’s financial statements (in accordance with the IFRSs and provide a true and fair view of the state of the company. This independent auditor’s report increases the reliability of the financial accounts of Morrisons. 4. 0 Reliability of the Annual Report of Morrison Based on the analysis above, it can be seen that the first 59 pages of Morrisons’ provide some relevant and useful information to investors and potential investors about Morrison’s performance and future prospects. However, there are some limitations with the information, especially the unaudited qualitative information. As it is stated in the above section, the company has the incentive to provide positive information that favors its firm image and stock market price. Thus, it can choose to disclose mainly the positive aspects of its business. Such information is biased. In other words, the reliability of the annual report is limited to some extent. Investors might be misled when they are making their decisions. Information from other sources is also needed to make a more comprehensive and all-round analysis about Morrisons. Compared to unaudited qualitative information, the audited quantitative information in the financial statements of the company is more reliable. But such audited information also needs to be analyzed together with other information to make right decisions. 5. 0 Conclusion In conclusion, this report has critically assessed the annual report of Morrisons, the fourth largest food retailer in the UK. The qualitative information in the annual report could provide important and relevant information for investors and potential investors. From the annual report, it can be see what the company does, how it competes in the market place, what the objectives of the company are, what measures it takes to achieve these objectives, how the company is currently performing, how it manages its risks and uncertainties, etc. All of such information can help investors and potential investors determine the performance and future prospects of the company. However, the information is biased and its reliability is limited to some extent. It is unaudited information and the company has the incentive to provide mainly positive information. Thus, the reliability of the annual report is limited and information from other sources is also needed to help investors make good decisions.