Investment Options Essay Example for Free

Investment Options Essay Mutual funds remain the central instruments investors use to achieve their financial goals. Whether for retirement or in the search for additional profits, individual and corporate investors choose mutual funds as a relatively reliable and non-volatile method of making investments. It appears, however, that apart from satisfying the needs of individual investors, mutual funds can successfully work to secure corporate market players from changes and shifts in external markets. In this context, J.  P. Morgan is the bright example of the way mutual funds are used to reduce the negative impact of financial crisis and to overcome the difficulties faced in tough bond markets. J. P. Morgan has probably been the first to use mutual funds as the instrument of protection against the negative impacts of financial crisis. In his article, Michael Pollock (2009) sheds the light on the way J. P. Morgan Strategic Income Opportunities fund helps the company deal with tough bond markets. It appears, that the fund â€Å"has few restrictions typical of bond funds that are marketed to general public† (Pollock, 2009); as a result, it is better equipped to help investors survive through the difficult financial times. The fund functions according to a predetermined set of principles, of which putting money only into places where potential profits overweigh potential risks is probably the most important. The mutual fund at J. P. Morgan does not avoid keeping a portion of assets in cash, so that investors can materialize their investment opportunities when the right moment comes. Short selling is just another instrument the fund uses to generate additional profits; Pollock (2009) also notes that short selling is becoming a widely spread investment tool among bond funds. The list of investment instruments J. P. Morgan uses to manage its mutual fund is not limited to short selling and cash operations. Here, investors are also given a chance to make short borrowings and then to sell these borrowed shares; â€Å"investors can also make similarly bearish bets by buying credit-derivative instruments whose value increases if the price of an underlying corporate bond declines† (Pollock, 2009). To a large extent, the fund relies on the whole set of quantitative techniques that work to identify significant investment opportunities. The fund is actively involved into managing long-term high-yield corporate securities and nonagency mortgage-backed bonds. As a result, the fund has been able to achieve the total return rate of 4. 3% this year (Pollock, 2009). Does that mean that beyond using mutual funds as investment targets and the sources of additional profits, companies can also utilize the benefits of portfolio investment to protect themselves from external crisis threats? There is no definite answer to that question, but J.  P. Morgan obviously tries to change traditional opinions about investment options available to consumers. The truth is that everything we currently know about mutual funds does not make them look as an ideal investment solution. Given that mutual funds are not usually guaranteed by the FDIC and are not insured by any government agency; that mutual funds’ past performance is not always indicative of its future positive prospects; and that to be a member of a mutual fund also means to bear certain costs associated with investments, the whole picture of a mutual fund does not look as much attractive. However, where J. P. Morgan was able to reach the point of total return rate of 4. 3%, investors may have some sort of confidence that the company will pursue the same set of investment principles, being extremely cautious in its investment options and using the mutual fund as an effective means of anti-crisis protection. Conclusion Mutual funds are included into the list of the most widely used investment options. It appears, however, that mutual funds can also be successfully used to protect companies and investors from the negative impact of the financial crisis. Despite the costs investors have to carry as well as unpredictability of external environments, which mutual funds cannot control, the latter remain relatively stable and non-volatile means of dealing with tough bond markets.

Military and Societal Values :: Military Philosophy Society Essays

Military and Societal Values Colonel Malham M. Wakin, in his evening address, asks whether Plato's claim that "knowledge is virtue" is true. Much contemporary experience suggests otherwise. To some extent, such an observation could apply to the military as well. Col Wakin argues that we do have some basic knowledge about human conduct, but that we live in a highly pluralistic society in which some practices reject that basic knowledge. Nonetheless, even though we draw members of the military from that pluralistic society, the uniqueness of the military function will always keep its leading practitioners apart from the mainstream of civilian society. The military profession swears to defend the values, the lifestyle that incorporates the minimal conditions for human dignity. After examining the convergence of the values that are functionally necessary for the military and those that we know are fundamental to social existence, he concludes that a competent military profession can serve as a moral anchor for its p arent society. I Many years ago when I learned I was going to have the opportunity to study philosophy at the graduate level, I was tremendously excited. What a wonderful opportunity this would be, I thought, to sit at the feet of Socrates and be enlightened by those who studied the crucial problems of human existence. I expected that senior philosophy professors would be marvelous role models in their personal lives and I looked forward with great anticipation to associating with those who had solved the problems of the universe. Indeed, these senior professors seemed very wise. They were dazzling in their abilities to rattle off the names and theories of great thinkers from every era. They knew the views of those whose names I couldn't even pronounce and I said to myself: "I'll never be able to grasp all of these ideas nor remember them well enough to teach them to others." But as time went on, I was slightly devastated to observe that these senior professors were not, as a group, the congenial masters of everyday living I expected them to be. They were not all basically kind persons--not even to each other. In fact, some would occasionally cross the street to avoid meeting and speaking with a colleague. And some had difficulties in their most important personal relationships--divorce, legal squabbles, envy, character assassination, narcissism--hardly what I had hoped for in the most knowledgeable, most studious persons in our society.

Position of Women in India

â€Å"Savitri fought with the God of Death (Yama) and succeeded in getting her husband back to life. Can you find any instance in the scriptures or history where a husband was prepared to do sacrifice for his wife? If the wife is dead, he is ready to have a second marriage. Such unfair things are happening in the world in respect of women. † -: Sathya Sai (Volume 31, Chapter 14 ‘Glory Of Womanhood') When we look at the Hindu mythology we see that women are supposed to be treated as Goddesses. One of the most popular festivals of Hindus is the ‘Navratra’ in which Hindus worship Goddess Durga (the worrier goddess), Goddess Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth and prosperity) and Goddess Saraswati (the goddess of Knowledge and Arts). On the last day of this festival, the daughters of the house are worshiped. But still in India we see that our society has grown so favorable towards the males. Hindu’s, even after referring to the daughters as Devi (goddess), expect a widow to jump on the pyre of the husband, a practice known as Sati. Dowry is still date given (even after being criminalized) to the groom at the time of marriage. The Gender imbalance can be traced down to Manusmriti in 200 B. C. which lays down the duties of a woman. â€Å"In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent. † . The Manusmriti were used as a model for the framing of the Dharmashastra, which later became the local laws. Thus we can see the position of women in India today is because of century old traditions and customs. Even though the Constitution of India promotes gender equality through the notion of Equality and secularism providing a framework to treat all its citizens equal and commands that no discrimination should be made on the bases of one’s gender , gender discrimination still exists due to the presence of various personal laws. In recent years, India has witnessed many reforms for example the abolishment of sati and criminalizing sex determination. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (HSA) amends and codifies the law relating to intestate succession among Hindus and aims to lay down a uniform law of uccession whereby attempt has been made to ensure equality of inheritance rights between sons and daughters. It applies to all Hindus including Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs’ . The section 6 of the act is as follows: ‘Devolution of interest of coparcenary property. – When a male Hindu dies after the commencement of this Act, having at the time of his death an interest in a Mitakshara coparcenary property, his interest in the property shall devolve by survivorship upon the surviving members of the coparcenary and not in accordance with this Act. Provided that, if the deceased had left him surviving a female relative specified in class 1 of the Schedule or a male relative specified in that class who claims through such female relative, the interest of the deceased in the Mitakshara coparcenary property shall devolve by testamentary or intestate succession, as the case may be, under this Act and not by survivorship. Explanation 1. For the purposes of this section, the interest of a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to be the share in the property that would have been allotted to him if a partition of the property had taken place immediately before his death, irrespective of whether he was entitled to claim partition or not. Explanation 2. – Nothing contained in the proviso to this section shall be construed as enabling a person who has separated himself from the coparcenary before the death of the deceased or any of his heirs to claim on intestacy a share in the interest referred to therein. For example, F (th e farther who had an interest in the coparcenary property) has two sons A & B (who are also the members of the coparcenary) and a daughter D. In such a case on the death of A, D will get only 1/3 share from the share of A in the coparcenary property. While the sons A and B will get 1/3 +1/9 each. But this act remained under controversy as the laws of inheritance gave preference only class I heirs in a joint Hindu family. This included only the male members and excluded women. Due to this women of the family could not inherit the family ancestral property. But even before the amendment took place, in states like Maharashtra, and Karnataka, women were given equal rights. Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 For a very long time female members of the family were not considered a coparcener. The family property was divided only amongst the male members of the family. But then thanks to the feminist movements in India, the law commission of India submitted its 174th report in the year 2000: â€Å"Property Rights of Women: Proposed Reform under the Hindu Law†. In this report it was suggested that female members of the family should be included under the list of coparcenary thus giving them the right to inherit property. As a result of this report and other feminist movements, the Hindu Succession Act was amended and the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 came into force from 9th September 2005 ‘section 6 (l). Devolution of interest in coparcenary property. 1) On and from the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, in a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law, the daughter of a coparcener shall,– (a) by birth become a coparcener in her own right the same manner as the son ; (b) have the same rights in the coparcenary property as she would have had if she had been a son; (c) be subject to the same liabilities in respect of the said coparcenary property as that of a son, and any reference to a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to include a reference to a daughter of a coparcener: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall affect or invalidate any disposition or alienation including any partition or testamentary disposition of property which had taken place before the 20th day of December, 2004. 2) Any property to which a female Hindu becomes entitled by virtue of subsection (1) shall be held by her with the incidents of coparcenary ownership and shall be regarded, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force in, as property capable of being disposed of by her by testamentary disposition. (3) Where a Hindu dies after the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, his interest in the property of a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law, shall devolve by testamentary or intestate succession, as the case may be, under this Act and not by survivorship, and the coparcenary property shall be deemed to have been divided as if a partition had taken place and,- a) the daughter is allotted the same share as is allotted to a son (b) the share of the pre-deceased son or a pre-deceased daughter, as they would have got had they been alive at the time of partition, shall be allotted to the surviving child of such pre-deceased son or of such pre-deceased daughter; and (c) the share of the pre-deceased child of a pre-deceased son or of a predeceased daughter, as such child would have got had he or she been alive at the time of the partition, shall be allotted to the child of such pre-deceased child of the pre-deceased so or a pre-deceased daughter, as the case may be. Explanation. — For the purposes of this sub-section, the interest of a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to be the share in the property that would have been allotted to him if a partition of the property had taken place immediately before his death, irrespective of whether he was entitled to claim partition or not. 4) After the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, no court shall recognize any right to proceed against a son, grandson or great-grandson for the recovery of any debt due from his father, grandfather or great-grandfather solely on the ground of the pious obligation under the Hindu law, of such son, grandson or great-grandson to discharge any such debt: Provided that in the case of any debt contracted before the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, nothing contained in this sub-section shall affect– (a) the right of any creditor to proceed against the son, grandson or great-grandson, as the case may be; or (b) any alienation made in respect of or in satisfaction of, any such debt, and any such right or alienation shall be enforceable under the rule of pious obligation in the same manner and to the same extent as it would have been enforceable as if the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 had not been enacted. Explanation. For the purposes of clause (a), the expression â€Å"son†, â€Å"grandson† or â€Å"great-grandson† shall be deemed to refer to the son, grandson or great-grandson, as the case may be, who was born or adopted prior to the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005. 5) Nothing contained in this section shall apply to a partition, which has been effected before the 20th day of December 2004. Explanation- For the purposes of this section â€Å"partition† means any partition made by execution of a deed of partition duly registered under the Registration Act, 1908 or partition affected by a decree of a court’ The main objective of this act was to include women in the category of coparcenaries so that even the female members could inherit property under any circumstances which could lead to a situation of where the family property is being divided amongst its members . The author submits that this amendment gave women the right they deserv ed and which had been denied from the very beginning. This amendment also opposes Section 23 of the original act, suggesting omission of the same as it does not permit any female heir to ask for a partition. In the earlier act only a male heir could chose to have a partition. The amendment on the other hand does not interfere with the special rights of those who are members of Hindu coparcenary except to provide rules and certain other regulations for division of interest of a deceased male. The Author also submits that the anomalies which still persist are because of the retention of the core essence of the Mitakshara joint property system. The system believed that making daughter coparceners would affect the share of other Class I female heirs like the deceased’s widow and mother. This would be because the coparcenary’s share would in fact come from the Class I female heirs. Another problem is the fact that coparcenary remains a primary entitlement of the males in the house. By this system the male heir is put before the female heir as this legal set up provides that the male heirs should inherit an additional independent share over and above what they inherit with the female heirs. In the case of a ‘Hindu female dying without a will; her property divides first to her husband’s heirs, then to husband's father's heirs and finally only to mother's heirs; more or less this property of a Hindu female is well kept and maintained within her husband’s hold. ’ .

Biography of French Pirate François L’Olonnais

Franà §ois L’Olonnais (1635-1668) was a French buccaneer, pirate, and privateer who attacked ships and towns – mostly Spanish – in the 1660s. His hatred for the Spanish was legendary and he was known as a particularly bloodthirsty and ruthless pirate. His savage life came to a savage end: he was killed and reportedly eaten by cannibals somewhere in the Gulf of Darien. Franà §ois L’Olonnais, Buccaneer Francois LOlonnais was born in France sometime around 1635 in the seaside town of Les Sables-dOlonne (the Sands of Ollone). As a young man, he was taken to the Caribbean as an indentured servant. After having served his indenture, he made his way to the wilds of the island of Hispaniola, where he joined the famous buccaneers. These rough men hunted wild game in the jungles and cooked it over a special fire called a boucan (hence the name boucaniers, or buccaneers). They made a rough living by selling the meat, but they were also not above the occasional act of piracy. Young Franà §ois fit right in: he had found his home. A Cruel Privateer France and Spain fought frequently during L’Olonnais’ lifetime, most notably the 1667-1668 War of Devolution. The French Governor of Tortuga outfitted some privateering missions to attack Spanish ships and towns. Franà §ois was among the vicious buccaneers hired for these attacks, and he soon proved himself an able seaman and fierce fighter. After two or three expeditions, the Governor of Tortuga gave him his own ship. L’Olonnais, now a captain, continued attacking Spanish shipping and acquired a reputation for cruelty so great that the Spanish often preferred to die fighting than to suffer torture as one of his captives. A Close Escape L’Olonnais may have been cruel, but he was also clever. Sometime in 1667, his ship was destroyed off the western coast of the Yucatan. Although he and his men survived, the Spanish discovered them and massacred most of them. L’Olonnais rolled in blood and sand and lay still among the dead until the Spanish left. He then disguised himself as a Spaniard and made his way to Campeche, where the Spanish were celebrating the death of the hated L’Olonnais. He persuaded a handful of slaves to help him escape: together they made their way to Tortuga. L’Olonnais was able to get some men and two small ships there: he was back in business. The Maracaibo Raid The incident fanned LOlonnais hatred of the Spanish into a blaze. He sailed to Cuba, hoping to sack the town of Cayos: the Governor of Havana heard he was coming and sent a ten-gun warship to defeat him. Instead, LOlonnais and his men caught the warship unawares and captured it. He massacred the crew, leaving alive only one man to carry a message back to the Governor: no quarter for any Spaniards LOlonnais encountered. He returned to Tortuga and in September of 1667 he took a small fleet of 8 ships and attacked the Spanish towns around Lake Maracaibo. He tortured the prisoners to make them tell him where they had hidden their treasure. The raid was a huge score for LOlonnais, who was able to split some 260,000 Pieces-of-eight among his men. Soon, it was all spent in the taverns and whorehouses of Port Royal and Tortuga. L’Olonnais’ Final Raid In early 1668, L’Olonnais was ready to return to the Spanish Main. He rounded up some 700 fearsome buccaneers and set sail. They plundered along the Central American coast and even marched inland to sack San Pedro in present-day Honduras. In spite of his ruthless questioning of prisoners – on one instance he ripped out a captive’s heart and gnawed on it – the raid was a failure. He captured a Spanish galleon off of Trujillo, but there was not much loot. His fellow captains decided the venture was a bust and left him alone with his own ship and men, of which there were about 400. They sailed south but were shipwrecked off of Punta Mono. The Death of Franà §ois L’Olonnais L’Olonnais and his men were tough buccaneers, but once shipwrecked they were battled constantly by the Spanish and the local natives. The number of survivors dwindled steadily. L’Olonnais attempted an attack on the Spanish up the San Juan River, but they were repulsed. L’Olonnais took a handful of survivors with him and set sail on a small raft they had built, heading south. Somewhere in the Gulf of Darien these men were attacked by natives. Only one man survived: according to him, L’Olonnais was captured, hacked to pieces, cooked over a fire and eaten. Legacy of Franà §ois L’Olonnais LOlonnais was very well known in his time, and greatly feared by the Spanish, who understandably loathed him. He would probably be better known today if he had not been closely followed in history by Henry Morgan, Greatest of the Privateers, who was, if anything, even harder on the Spanish. Morgan would, in fact, take a page from LOlonnais book in 1668 when he raided the still-recovering Lake Maracaibo. One other difference: whereas Morgan was beloved by the English who saw him as a hero (he was even knighted), Franà §ois LOlonnais was never greatly revered in his native France. LOlonnais serves as a reminder of the reality of piracy: unlike what the movies show, he was no noble prince looking to clear his good name, but a sadistic monster who thought nothing of mass murder if it gained him an ounce of gold. Most real pirates were more like LOlonnais, who found that being a good sailor and charismatic leader with a vicious streak could get him far in the world of piracy. Sources: Exquemalin, Alexandre. The Buccaneers of America. Online edition from the Harvard University Library.Konstam, Angus. The World Atlas of Pirates. Guilford: the Lyons Press, 2009