Analysis Of Chinas Foreign Exchange Reserve Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 20 Words: 5919 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? China has accumulated substantial stock of foreign exchange reserves from different sources, for instance, foreign direct investment, export-oriented trade and maintenance of currency exchange rate. This has triggered a need to consider management of those reserves that is adequacy and optimality in order to determine the excessiveness and hence exposure to risk. Risk management frameworks would then be structured under informed bases. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Analysis Of Chinas Foreign Exchange Reserve Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Error correction model following dynamic ordinary least squares will be employed in the assessment of adequacy and optimality while Value at Risk will measure risk exposure. Central banks accumulate foreign exchange reserves to facilitate international trade and as a means of financing exchange rate interventions in the foreign exchange market. Reserves can therefore be perceived as a buffer portfolio held for precautionary purposes (Borio, Ebbesen, Galati, Heath, 2008). The threshold of accumulating foreign exchange reserves is not clearly defined though (Park Estrada, 2009). Nonetheless, Disyaitat (2001) attempted to bridge this gap by formulating an optimizing model of currency crisis. Foreign exchange reserves consist of official public sector foreign assets that are readily available to and controlled by monetary authorities. Reserve asset portfolios have special characteristic that distinguish them from other foreign currency assets. Foreign exchange reserve assets do not only consist of liquid foreign currency assets, but they need to be held in the form of convertible foreign currency claims as well (Archana et al 2004). Henceforth, management of foreign exchange reserves portfolio is a crucial task given that foreign exchange reserves have potential to exert pressure unto the economy both internally and externally. The most common reserve currency globally is US dollar. Second to US dollar is euro. Euro as a reserve currency is gradually becoming an alternative reserve currency globally. There are speculations that Euro may be at par with or may even overtake US dollar as the main currency worldwide (Aristovnik Cec, (2009): Eichengreen Mathieson, (2000)). This is drawn from diversification of the currency composition of foreign exchange reserves point of view. In aggregate, due to diversification and other factors reserve assets denominated in US dollars have been slowly declining while at the same time reserve asset denominated in other curr encies are increasing  [CITATION Guj95 l 1033]  . Conversely, US dollar still claims the biggest share as a reserve currency (Pà ©tursson, 1995). 1.1.2 Chinas Economy brief review Post economic reform of 1978, China has been rapidly growing economically under export-led growth. Her openness to outside world with respect to trade has proven to be a great economic success which paved a way to rapid economic growth over almost three decades. In the process of international trade China managed to build a huge current and capital account surplus and hence accumulated enormous foreign exchange reserves. Chinese government implemented different strategies in order to attain rapid economic growth like encouraging inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). In times of trade and current account deficit FDIs support is available to keep foreign exchange reserve rising. And hence the economy kept on growing lucratively. In 2006, China overtook Japan to the worlds largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. Chinas foreign exchange reserves are roughly three times as high as the reserves held by Japan, the country with the second largest holdings. Currently about 70% of Chinas foreign exchange reserves is held in US Dollars denominated assets, primarily US state bonds. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2009 the reported foreign exchange reserves stood at US$2, 3992 trillion. This is growth of foreign exchange reserves portrays strength of Chinas economy in aggregate. However, challenges both internally and externally that are brought by this success cannot be overlooked. Internally China is exposed to inflationary pressures while externally the pressure is on appreciation of her currency. During Chinas economic reform, foreign exchange reserves were handy in terms of facilitating foreign trade and investment. However, the recent rapid growth has tended to worsen the imbalance in Chinas balance of payments and created risks to Chinas financial system. Thus vigilant measures towards management of this foreign exchange reserves has to be taken. The critical policy decision of central bank should be how to allocate those reserves, noting that t his action have important implications for global markets. There should be clear definition of optimal foreign exchange reserve: maximizing yield and simultaneously minimizing risk. In short, foreign reserves should be sufficient to meet the future anticipated claims on these reserves. 1.1.3 Chinas Foreign exchange reserves review Beginning from 1950 to 1992, Chinas foreign exchange reserves have been steadily growing with few fluctuations. This may be explained by economic reforms which took place during that time. A call for rapid economic growth in 1992 was followed by reform initiatives which opened a door for inflow of foreign direct investment. As result of FDI inflows to China, the foreign exchange reserves have been growing rapidly. A starting point for this rapid growth in Chinas foreign exchange reserves can be traced from January 1993 until present. In January 1993 the size Chinas foreign exchange reserves was about US$ 20.138 bn, this amount gradually increased, by June 2010 the size was about US$2454.275 bn. This is a considerable accumulation and probably it will keep on growing larger and larger under the current exchange rate regime. The remaining question is how these reserves can be managed accordingly given that they have potential to impact financial system both in China and abroad. To manage the foreign exchange reserves, Chinese government under Peoples Bank of China has established State Administration Foreign Exchange (SAFE) institution. SAFE is the agency in charge of administering Chinas foreign exchange reserves. This institution has so far remained as one of the most secretive reserve managers in the world. Its investment strategy has been mainly in investing US government bonds. But recent trends show SAFE trying to reduce investment in the US treasury bonds and higher allocation to equities (Hu, 2010). In addition to SAFE, China Investment Corporation (CIC) was established solely for the purpose of reducing the size of foreign exchange reserves and increasing investment returns. Amongst its mandates CIC will pursue a variety of investments, primarily in overseas securities, including equities. SAFE and CIC operate within parameters of Peoples Bank of China (PBC). Chinas state sector as a whole including the central bank, public banks, and China Investme nt Corporation holds roughly US$3 trillion in foreign currency assets  [CITATION Guj95 l 1033]  . Meanwhile, US dollar is losing value over the long-term as measured by either exchange rates, Treasury notes or the amount of US dollars held by foreign countries (Kimberly, 2010). The rising current account deficit and external debt of the United States has created pressure on the dollar. As a result, confidence in the value of US dollar is reducing  [CITATION Guj95 l 1033]  and some countries are even shifting towards holding their reserves in Euro and other currencies. There is a concern that portfolio shifts from dollar denominated assets to those denominated in the euro and other main currencies by central banks, could result in sharp dollar depreciation (Elias et al (2006), Truman Wang, (2006)). This depreciation of US dollar translates into risk to the value of Chinas huge foreign reserves. Thus, any decline in the value of US dollar assets will amount to a decline in the value of Chinas foreign exchange reserves. Nevertheless, Chinas currency renminbi is pegged to US dollar (and basket of other foreign currencies). Consequently, China is compelled to increase her foreign exchange reserves holdings in US dollars to maintain the value of renminbi ( (Tatom, 2008): (Dooley, Folkerts-Landau, Garber, 2004)). In order to limit renminbi movement against the dollar, the PBC purchases and sells foreign exchange reserves on a daily basis. China continues to purchase large amounts of foreign exchange, adding to its reserves while resisting renminbi appreciation against US Dollar. If the domestic currency appreciates against all foreign currencies, the value of the governments foreign investments will decline. This may be one reason why the government resists currency appreciation. Generally, accumulating foreign exchange reserves is aimed at overcoming a balance of payments crisis. However, as Yongnian Jingtao, (2007) noted the huge foreign exchange r eserves can cause imbalances in the countrys economy. Sekine, (2009) noted that due to the capital inflows to China brought by its trade surplus and inward foreign direct investment and the fact that only the Peoples Bank of China is allowed to hold foreign exchange and intervenes in the foreign exchange market to sell renminbi for foreign currency to ensure that the renminbi does not appreciate, Chinas foreign exchange reserves are set to increase unless there is a sudden capital outflow. In other words, Chinas accumulation of foreign exchange reserve has been somehow closely related to the exchange rate regime as well. Intuitively, if the exchange rate regime changes the implication the foreign exchange reserves will reduce. The foreign exchange reserves of a country like China with a managed floating exchange rate regime are mainly used to pay off import bills and foreign debts, to maintain the bands within which the currency floats, and to invest in foreign assets. 1.2 Problem Statement Given the rapid accumulation of China foreign exchange reserves over past 20 years and the trend of continuing growth in the foreseeable future, the question of how to manage those reserves has become a very crucial issue for Chinese authorities. The concern is that, as much as foreign exchange reserves supports countrys financial system in times of economic shocks, they can as well invite pressure unto the countrys financial system. Sekine, (2007) pointed out that huge foreign exchange reserves of China have created excess liquidity in the country, which in turn creates the risk of inflation and investment overheating. Yongnian Jingtao, (2007) asked whether Chinese foreign exchange reserves are excessive. With consideration that accumulation of foreign exchange reserves earns credibility and maintains stability of the currency. On the other hand, excessive accumulation of foreign exchange reserves creates pressure for the currency to appreciate, and the appreciation would result in financial losses and instability of the currency. Even so, China manages its foreign exchange reserves in a stable manner and this is not going to change swiftly  [CITATION Guj95 l 1033]  . The foreign exchange reserves of China have created mix feelings concerning their magnitude. Some people feel that those reserves are excessive some feel otherwise. For instance, Li (2006) argues that Chinas foreign exchange reserves are not excessive because China needs sufficient reserves to maintain the stability of the renminbi and to maintain the confidence of international investors. He also argues that Chinas foreign exchange reserves have been rewarded by sufficient returns. Frankel (2005) emphasized the opportunity cost of huge foreign exchange reserves and argued that China was presumably paying foreign investors on their inward investment a higher return than it was earning from its investment in foreign exchange reserves. Xia (2006) estimated that approximately 22 percent of foreign exchange reserves accumulated in 2005 was induced by expectations of the Chinese currencys appreciation, mostly in terms of short-term capital inflows. He maintained that US$700bn in foreign exchange reserves should be sufficient. But the actual accumulation of reserves in 2005 was about US$819bn  [CITATION Guj95 l 1033]  . Liu (2007) maintains that Chinas holding of foreign exchange reserves exceeds the estimated adequate level. Moreover, much of Chinas foreign reserves are said to be invested in dollar-denominated assets, primarily US Treasury bonds. This investment of the worlds largest foreign reserves in mostly US dollar denominated assets also creates exposure to the risk of asset price declines resulting from dollar depreciation. Another risk to be considered is that if dollar-denominated assets were replaced with assets denominated in other currencies (e.g. Euro), the act of switching itself, depending on the scale and frequency, would also trigger a decline in the value of the US dollar. This would translate into news for China, since any decline in the value of US dollar assets will amount to a decline in the value of Chinas foreign exchange reserves. 1.3 Purpose of the Study Too much of anything in most cases turns out to be bad news. Countries accumulate foreign exchange reserves and maintain an optimal level where they are sufficient to meet countrys urgent needs in times of financial crisis. This is done to ensure stable financial environment. Likewise China as a large developing country needs to maintain a certain scale of foreign exchange reserves, in order to be in a better position to effectively fend off future crises. What happens when a country has accumulated foreign reserves beyond its needs (optimal level) is a different story. Liu (2007) and Yongnian Jingtao (2007) confirmed that China has accumulated reserve not only to its optimal level but also exceeds demand for liquidity and other economic needs. This act has a propensity to cause imbalance in the economy, though inflation and currency appreciation pressure. Much of the writings which touch foreign exchange reserve topic dwell much on the general discussions of determinants of th e demand for foreign exchange reserves or empirically analyzes countries holding compositions ( (Dooley, Lizondo, Mathieson, 1989), (Pà ©tursson, 1995), (Eichengreen Mathieson, 2000), (Aristovnik Tanja, 2010)). Little attention have been paid on the analysis of risk associate with Chinas foreign exchange reserves been held in US dollar denominated assets. Give the huge US current account deficit, the expectation is that eventually US dollar will depreciate in the long run. This suggests diversification of reserves away from US dollar denominated assets. Sudden move would likely harm both US dollar and those reserves. More besides, there is no super-sovereign reserve currency that can be used not only to eliminate the inherent risks of credit- based sovereign currency, but also to make it possible to manage global liquidity  [CITATION Guj95 l 1033]  . This paper considers Chinas Foreign exchange reserves as portfolio which is under control of Peoples Bank of China (The Cen tral Bank of China). Management of these reserves is a critical issue, which is why it is imperative to understand the risk involved in holdings. With reference to the size of Chinas foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world, a policy decision lies with allocation. In particular, efficient allocation and management of the foreign reserves will promote the liquidity needed to fulfill policy mandates while at the same time minimizing the costs of holding reserves. Central bank foreign reserves risk management can contribute to these objectives by managing and controlling the exposure to financial and operational risks. Given that not only is a large amount of money at stake, but also significant elements of national economic policy. Generally foreign exchange reserves are accumulated to perform four major tasks; to pay for imports bill, maintain the value of currency, to pay for international debt and to be invested in foreign assets. Based on the ground that China has ex cessive foreign exchange reserves (Liu, 2007; Park Estrada, 2009), the purpose of this paper is to measure the risk exposure of those reserves using Value at Risk (VaR) technique. Being aware of extent to which foreign exchange reserves holdings are exposed to market risk play important task in the risk management. VaR is straightforward to estimate and interpret as a measure of risk exposure, and these advantages often appeal to asset managers (Culp, et al, 1998; Nocetti, 2006). VaR measures the worst expected loss under normal market conditions over a specific time interval at a given confidence level. In other words, VaR is the lowest quantile of the potential losses that can occur within a given portfolio during a specified time period. The basic time period T and the confidence level (the quantile) q are the two major parameters that should be chosen in a way appropriate to the overall goal of risk measurement (Benninga Wiener, 1998). The two main focal points of this pape r are management and risk management of chinas foreign exchange reserves. Foreign exchange reserves can to certain extend be considered as major national asset since they account for significant percentage of GDP. From national asset preserving background, management of foreign exchange reserves is a vital task of central bank. This task trade off three objectives namely safety (capital preservation), liquidity and return. Reserves accumulation motives which are precautionary and transaction-related regard safety and liquidity. In the same manner, the investment of excess balances naturally places greater weight on return. The problem centers on allocation. Poor management of the reserves may put at risk other elements of national policy (e.g exchange rate) and this can cause severe economic damage out of all proportion to the financial loss suffered on the assets themselves. Reason for holding reserves plays a very important part in planning how those reserves should be managed and how they should be invested. Since the end objective a central bank in of its operations is usually the pursuit of a chosen policy for example, maintaining the exchange rate at a certain level, rather than merely financial gain. In this case, it may be unwilling or unable to withdraw from an operation, even if a simple financial cost-benefit analysis suggests that it is unfavorable. The very act of holding net foreign exchange reserves entails an unavoidable currency risk, as the liabilities that fund the net reserves will be denominated in domestic currency. This risk cannot be reduced without reducing the holdings of the reserves themselves. Similarly, other risks for example credit risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, currency risk and cross-country spread risks constitute an integral part of holding reserve assets, and cannot be wholly avoided. 2.0 Literature review The theoretical and empirical studies on the demand for international reserves have revealed that a countrys reserve demand is a function of certain variables, and such a functional relationship is relatively stable over a long-term period. Xu, (1992) shows that a countrys demand for international reserves is not only determined by economic variables but is also affected by the institutional as well as structural conditions in the economy. Ito Cheung, (2009) groups the determinants of international reserves into three categories: traditional macro variables, financial variables, and institutional variables. They notice that this classification scheme is mainly determined for the sake of convenience and should not be interpreted too strictly. These three categories are formulated from framework of analysis on reserve adequacy and optimality which could be classified by the methodologies used into two categories: ratios as tools of analysis and regression analysis. As Liu, (2007) listed them, the ratios are: reserves to imports, reserves to domestic money supply, reserves to short-term debt and opportunity cost of capital. According to Wyplosz (2001) the choice of the reserve holdings of developing countries is influenced by the exchange rate and financial and trade ties to the countries of the reserve currencies. Aristovnik Cec (2009) and Papaioannou, et al, (2006) made a list of factors which determine foreign currency reserve composition. In managing of international reserve, the objective of a central bank is to protect the value of those reserves against high-risk events and imported inflation. Hence a need to diversify foreign exchange reserves holdings into different currencies. A study by Ramaswamy, (1999) presumes that a representative central bank would only want to invest in four leading global currencies: the dollar, the euro, the yen and the pound sterling. For these currencies, a central bank can specify the acceptable share of a given cur rency that can make up the reserve holdings and base its requisites on the depth and liquidity of an individual currency in the global foreign exchange market. Truman Wang,( 2006) and Chiou, et la, ( 2008) mentions the priorities reserves managers are faced with. Firstly, protection of the value of the countrys foreign exchange reserves, including their safe investment in impeccable assets or claims on first-class institutions. The reserve manager may be concerned about the potential appreciation or depreciation of his own currency. That concern creates incentives to intervene, which adds to or reduces reserve holdings, but those concerns are not immediately relevant to the choice of the currency in which to hold the stock of the countrys foreign exchange reserves once acquired. Secondly, protection of liquidity of the countrys foreign exchange reserves. This motive dictates concentrating holdings in short-dated instruments in deep markets and thereby to minimize transaction cos ts, including costs associated with converting from the countrys intervention currency to another currency and potentially back again. And lastly the return on the countrys foreign exchange reserves. Everything else being equal in terms of value preservation and liquidity preference is that the countrys reserves generate a higher, rather than a lower, return. In a comparative study of currency composition of foreign exchange reserves, Soesmanto (2008) finds that both the mean-variance theory and the transaction theory are important in playing a combined role in the determination of currency composition of foreign exchange reserves in the country. Transaction theory asserts market transaction activities as a drive behind holding reserves assets denominated in a certain currency rather than optimal distribution of net wealth across currencies (Dooley, et al, 1989). That is governments purchases and sales of foreign exchange are closely related to accumulation of reserves asset deno minated in a particular currency. On the hand mean-variance theory dwells on the issue of trade off between risk and returns of an optimal portfolio (Markowtiz, 1952). That is the distributions of net wealth, which include the risks and returns associated with holding reserve assets denominated in different currencies, are important in determining the composition of foreign exchange reserves. Henceforth, central bank must consider optimal composition of foreign exchange reserves that minimize risk for a given level of return on the reserves, or vice versa, maximize the return on the reserves for a given level of risk. History suggests that the primary considerations for the composition of reserves have been market liquidity (which in turn depends on central banks willingness to ensure it, currency convertibility, financial stability, and the underlying development of financial markets) and a dominant position in international trade. Heller Knight, (1978) provided evidence in sup port of the view that transaction needs played a major role in determining the currency composition of reserves. This study explained variations in the proportions of a countrys foreign exchange reserves held as assets denominated in the U.S. dollar, pound sterling, deutsche mark, French franc, and other reserve currencies as a function of the countrys exchange rate arrangements, which influenced both the foreign currencies bought and sold to defend such arrangements and the share of its trade with a particular reserve-currency country. Their results indicated that countries increased the proportion of their foreign exchange reserves held as a given reserve currency if they pegged their exchange rate to that currency or if the reserve center was an important trading partner. Eichengreen Mathieson, (2000) replicates Dooley, et la, (1989) in utilizing confidential IMF data on shares of the major international currencies in reserve holdings in a large number of industrial and devel oping countries to investigate the persistence. They found stability over time not only the reserves currency composition but also of the relationship between demand for reserves denominated in different currecies and its principal determinants: currency pegs, the direction of trade, and the currency of foreign debt. These factors are highly significant and robust determinants of the currency composition of reserve holdings. Much of the relevant literature on foreign exchange reserves investigation focus on the determinant in foreign reserves management. This is the case due to the difficulty of accessing truthful data. A countrys actual reserves are usually confidential, not only retrieving truthful data becomes difficult, but also the relative literatures are rare. The above cited papers mention liquidity, currency pegs, the direction of trade, and the currency of foreign debt as the key determinants in reserves management decision. When it comes to risk management, Hallerbach, (1999) decomposes the portfolio total risks into separated Value-at-Risks in parts. The study on central bank foreign reserves risk management appears in Blejer Schumacher, (1998) who theoretically construct a central banks investment portfolio VaR evaluation model and then analyze the associates policies implications, but unfortunately no empirical examinations were made. 3.0 Methodology 3.1 Model and Data The data in this paper will be sourced from World Economic Outlooks and International Financial Statistics of IMF and Peoples Bank of China SAFE. The considered duration will be monthly data from 1993 to 2010. The rationale behind this duration is to look at chinas foreign exchange reserves starting from the time they begun to accumulate rapidly. Estimation will be broken into three different time periods namely: whole sample period from 1993-1 to 2010-6; pre crisis 1993-1 to 1997-11 and post-crisis 1998-3 to 2010-6. The variables of interest are: foreign exchange reserves (Rt); imports (IMt); gross domestic product (GDPt); variance of current account balance (ÃÆ' Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢t) and it is proxied by ratio of reserves to imports; opportunity cost of holdings (rt) is proxied spread of domestic bond yield and US Treasury bond yield; Average propensity to import (APIt), which is ratio of import to GDP, is a proxy to adjustment cost: it indicates Chinas degree of exposure to the i nternational economy, and the potential risk involved therein. Either GDPt or IMt can be used as scaling variable  [CITATION Guj95 l 1033]  . This paper uses GDPt as a scale variable following the conventional method. All absolute values will be in U.S. million dollars, average market exchange rate will be used if necessary. If some or all of the variables follow non-stationary processes, then estimation in levels may not be meaningful because of the spurious regression problem. If the variables are cointegrated, the long-run relationship would be captured through cointegrating relationships in levels, and an appropriate dynamic model can be estimated in an error correction setting. Cointegration estimation method called dynamic ordinary least squares method will be considered to examine the cointegrating vectors. An error correction model is adopted to include the long-run equilibrium process in the short-run dynamics. The one of the objectives of this paper is to draw a con clusion on whether Chinas holding of foreign exchange reserves is larger than the desired amount. Under management of international reserves, it is important to explore both the adequate level of holding and an optimal level. Adequacy is defined as a sufficient level of holding to meet the general liquidity and security needs. On the other hand, optimality takes into account the risk/return characteristics of international reserves holding. The concept of excess reserves follows from the concept of optimal reserves, which, in turn, reflects the fact that countries not only obtain benefits from holding reserves but also incur costs. In determining the optimal level of reserves, the monetary authority will seek to balance the macroeconomic adjustment costs incurred if reserves are exhausted (crisis-prevention motive) with the opportunity cost of holding reserves. 3.1.1 Ordinary least squares regression To assess Adequacy and optimality of foreign exchange reserves the following regression will be adopted. (1) The scaling variable measures the size of international transactions and is generally represented by real GDP, real GDP per capita, or population size. It should have a positive coefficient. In empirical work, the average propensity to import was used instead of the marginal propensity and in most cases its coefficient is positive. The positive coefficient suggested that the demand for reserves increases as the economy faces greater external vulnerability. Opportunity cost of holding reserves should enter with a negative coefficient. Since opportunity cost of holding reduces a countrys national income which can be used for domestic consumption and investment. Current account balance variance should have positive coefficient. Serving as a buffer stock accommodating fluctuations in external transactions, the desired amount of reserves is expected to be positively proport ional to the variability of external net receipts. 3.1.2 Error correction model Dynamic ordinary least squares model will be utilized to examine the adjustment process of foreign exchange reserve changes. If two variables x and y, have a proportional long-run equilibrium relationship then the simplest error correction form would be given by: (2) Where. Equation (2) indicates that the change in one variable is related to the change in another variable, as well as the gap between the variables in the previous period. is the error correction. It can be argued that there is a long run, would be stationany random variable, even though or exhibits unit root  [1]  . Thus an error correction model would be an appropriate specification if the variables are cointegrated. Due to cointegration relations built into the specifications, error correction model restricts the long-run behavior of the cointegrated variables to converge on their cointegrating relationships. The error correction term captures gradual adjustment of the model to the long-run equilibrium th rough a series of partial short-run adjustments. The coefficient of the error correction term measures the speed of adjustment of the variables towards equilibrium (Hamilton, 1994). Thus the error correction model will be used to capture both the short-term dynamics and the long-term relationship among the variables (Ra, 2007). Let be a vector of exogenous variables then under cointegration, the following equation will be estimated using the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) method developed by Saikkonen (1991), and generalized by Stock and Watson (1993), because of relatively small sample size. The DOLS procedure provides unbiased and asymptotically efficient estimates of the long-run relation, even in the presence of endogenous regressors. Thus, the endogeneity of any of the regressors has no effect, asymptotically, on the robustness of the estimates. Furthermore, statistical inference on the parameters of the cointegrating vector is facilitated by the fact that the t- stat istics of the estimated coefficients have an asymptotic normal distribution, even with endogenous regressors (Stock Watson, 1993). Another advantage of DOLS is that it allows for direct estimation of a mixture of I(1) and I(0) variables. Moreover, it performs well in small samples. The inclusion of lags and leads of the first differences of the I(1) variables solves potential endogeneity biases among regressors. The estimation equation is given as: (3) Where is a vector of long run coefficients and the inclusion of the lead and lag difference terms takes care of possible endogenity of. The dependent variable at time t is regressed upon the independent variables at time t plus an appropriate number of lead and lag differences of the independent variables including the contemporaneous difference. The estimate for the parameter vector, typically the main parameters of interest, is super-consistent if the system of I(1) variables are cointegrated. The equation is estimated in most cases with p=1, but then a general to specific procedure (Campos, et al, 2005) is applied to reduce the model to a more parsimonious specification where only significant variables are retained, therefore no need to worry about autocorrelation. After cointegrating relationship has been estimated, the following error correction model is constructed and estimated to investigate the short-run impact of the explanatory variables on the reserve demand. (4) Where is an error correction mechanism and it is estimated from the data. The conventionally the error correction is given by. Once the EC term has been computed, equation (4) will be estimated first and then engage in general to specific search for parsimonious equation. 3.2 Risk assessment Reserves management is one of the few areas of central bank operations where extra risk is voluntarily taken on in order to achieve a policy objective. This section considers risk management in the reserves management operation from a narrow financial risk control perspective. As Blejer Schumacher (1998) noted central bank portfolio may be too involved to be analyzed and updated with sufficeint frequency required more besides information may not even be readily available. In addition, for central bank reserves managers portfolio management returns and risk parameters are most commonly defined by reference to a benchmark (Dwyer Nugà ©e, 2004). In this case Ex post tracing error can be employed. Ex post tracking error is defined as the standard deviation of the difference in the return on a portfolio and the return on the benchmark. However, Ex post tracing error is concerned with what occurred in the past rather than what might happen in the future. As such a model that looks int o the future may be more appropriete like Value at Risk (VaR). VaR technique focuses attention on risk as pertain to monetary authority. It provides a better risk assessment of central banks specific macroeceonomic policy. Since, VaR estimates the exposure of a portfolio to market risk, that is changes in prices such as interest rate, foreign exchange rate and commodities. Given normal circumstances of the market, VaR tries to identify the possible lose of a portfolio. Therefore, knowing VaR is imparetive in risk management. However, the normal VaR is criticized firstly for its strong normality assumption, since financial variables usually violate this assumption. Financial returns distribution functions are characterized by both flat tails and Kurtosis excess. The normal VaR is also criticized for its inadaptability to nonlinear financial instruments such as derivatives. Generally, there are two procedures that can be used to compute VaR, viz historic simulation and Factor ap proach. Factor approach includes delta-normal method or variance-covariance method, and Monte Carlo Simulation. Historic Simulation procedure pretends that the change in market parameters from today to tomorrow will be the same as it was some time ago. Delta-normal method is based on the assumption that the short term changes in the market parameters and in the value of the portfolio are normal. And lastly Monte Carlo Simulation is based on the assumption that we have some information about the joint distribution of market changes. Then using this distribution we can draw randomly a large number of scenarios and price the portfolio for each scenario. The applicability of these approaches depends heavily on the availability of data and the distribution assumptions of the underlying returns of the portfolio. For historic simulation accurate data is a prerequisite to attain meaningful results. On the other hand, central to the assumptions contained in the factor approach to VaR is the use of the normal curve for the distribution of market movements. In aggregate, the understanding of assumptions underlying any risk model helps in ensuring realistic sense of control and security (Dwyer Nugà ©e, 2004). The normality assumption has the great advantage to simplify the VaR calculation since only the mean and the variance-covariance matrix are to be calculated for the different asset price fluctuations. Hence, for the purpose of this analysis delta-normal method will be employed to compute VaR, the reasons being simplicity and normal distribution assumption asset prices changes. This means portfolio return is a linear combination of normal variables and it is normally distributed as well. When a portfolio consists of financial instruments with linear behavior toward risks, portfolio volatility is directly calculated via the variance-covariance matrix of the risk factors. Following portfolio selection conception of weighted sum (linear combination), variance of a p ortfolio is given by: (5) Where: is variance of the portfoliois the proportion invested in asset ; is the variance of changes in asset prices ( return on asset ), let return on asset be ; is covariance between and , is correlation coefficient are standard deviations of and prices respectively. Square root of is standard diviation. Equation (5) can be used to construct the VaR of a portfolio positions which is given by (6) Where is the amount of the position multiplied by the worst move in the relevant price in the horizon. Let be the amount of the position and , the volatility of the position , or , then is the VaR of  [CITATION Guj95 l 1033] The worst loss to which a portfolio composed by normally distributed assets returns is exposed at 95% (respectively 99%) confidence level, is determined by calculating negative (unfavorable) fluctuations of prices corresponding to 1.65 (respectively 2.33) standard deviation away from the mean. 4.0 Conclusion The objective of this paper is not to debate the excessiveness of Chinas foreign exchange reserves rather to analyze their exposure to risk, ie financial risk perspective. Risk is the probable variability of returns which is not always possible or desirable to eliminate. But understanding it is an important step in determining how to manage it. Identifying exposures and risks forms the basis for an appropriate financial risk management strategy.

Piagets and Vygotskys Theories in the Classroom Essays

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This private speech gradually progresses into thinking as children become more proficient. He was also a proponent for scaffolding which is a process in which a new task is given and direct instruction is given then gradually taken away as the child learns. Both psychologists believed that children learn and develop through action but in different ways; Piaget felt it was through personal, self action while Vygotsky felt is was through social interaction, internalization and vocalization. Vygotsky and Piaget realized that social factors play a part in cognitive development but in different ways; According Piaget, self processing within a child leads to social processing while Vygotsky felt the opposite- social processing leads to self processing. Lastly, both came to the conclusion that by internalizing information, children transform it into knowledge and mental growth. Piaget’s stages of development are broken into stages of growth to bridge the connection between cognitive and biological development. According to Piaget, there are four stages to cognitive development; Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operations and Formal Operations. In the sensorimotor stage, children form babies to two years old, experience and gather information by using the five senses.Show MoreRelatedJean Piaget s Theory Of Education1672 Words   |  7 PagesPsychologists Jean Piaget’s and Lev Vygotsky’s contributions to our knowledge about cognitive development and learning, forms the foundations of modern education. Both men’s work was revolutionary for their times, underpinning the transformative shift to a constructivist way of thinking, which emerged as the most significant influence on education of the 21st Century (James Bader, 2002). Piaget, was the first psychologist to investigate the world from the perspective of the child, determining thatRead MoreJean Piaget And Vygotsky And Language Development In Children1748 Words   |  7 PagesJean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are two influ ential thinkers who have impacted the speech and language pathology field with their key theories. Piaget believed that there are four main stages in a child’s development that lead to a child learning language. Without these stages, Piaget argues that a child cannot cognitively grow at an appropriate pace (Kaderavek, 2105, p. 18 and p. 23). However, Vygotsky argues the Social Interactionist Theory, which states children develop language through social interactingRead MoreThe Theory Of Cognitive Development1647 Words   |  7 Pagesboth Piagetian and Vygotskian theories on cognitive development in relation to the given scenario of year eight science students. 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The purpose of this paper is to show some similarities as well as differences in the theories of Piaget and VygotskyRead MoreCompare Piaget and Vygotsky Essay1718 Words   |  7 PagesPiaget v Vygotsky Cognitive development is the term used to describe the construction of thought process, including remembering, problem solving and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. In this essay I will compare and contrast the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, both of which were enormously significant contributors to the cognitive development component to/in psychology. In addition to this I will also weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of each theory and outlineRead MoreThe Theory Of Cognitive Development1025 Words   |  5 Pageshave developed theories of how individuals learn over the decades. As an individual progresses through life from childhood to adulthood, the manner in which they take in knowledge, and mature is the basic theory of cognitive development. Cognitive development can be described as how an individual’s thought process develops, and how these thought processes impact how an individual comprehends and interacts in the world. The psycholog y theorists of the past have shaped the classrooms of the presentRead MoreCognitive Development Theory Essay1691 Words   |  7 PagesA. Cognitive Development Theory In a general sense the theory of cognitive development is not just a single theory but a number of theories offered by a number of cognitive psychologists over the past century. In summary though, cognitive development is the processes by which learning is developed by the construction of thought processes, memory, solving problems, decision-making and covers the life span from childhood to adulthood, but learning does not necessarily stop with adulthood. ThisRead MorePiaget Vs Vygotsky : Piaget And Vygotsky1314 Words   |  6 PagesCompare Two Famous Educators: Piaget vs. Vygotsky Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are often considered the most influential cognitive development and learning psychologists of the 20th century. Their research efforts have inspired numerous interpretations and spawned new outlets of approaching developmental psychology. The following paragraphs will analyze the theories of Piaget of Vygotsky and discuss how their research can be used to advance the use of cognitive development in learning, both traditionalRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Experiential Learning1481 Words   |  6 Pageschildhood developmental study, a comparative analysis of the theories of Lee Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, and Howard Gardner will be evaluated through the lens of experiential learning. Through Vygotsky’s realization of the childhood learning through â€Å"hands-on† experience (experiential learning), the cultural and socioeconomic factors defines the progress a child makes in the individual progression towards growth in the educational system. Piaget b eheld similar views on experiential learning in the contextRead MoreLearning Prompted By Language Creates An Optimal Space For Supporting Cognitive Development952 Words   |  4 Pagescreates an optimal space for supporting cognitive development. As a result, learning takes on a social component, and the child can and will benefit from a group environment. Looking at it a step further, the social aspect explains why this learning theory is considered culturally comprehensive. When children take part in a learning activity, they benefit from the instruction and aid of others–be it teachers or peers. In an ideal setting, children work together as a social group, with each member contributing

According to Kennewick Man in his article Free Essays

Introduction According to Kennewick Man in his article that â€Å"for NAGPRA and other related legal purposes, the federal government defines native Americans as any tribe, people, or culture that resided in the territory of the United States before historic European contact and exploration. At present, there are more than 2,000,000 Native Americans in the United States, represented by 769 federally recognized tribes† (See K. Man, â€Å"Who are Native Americans?† Past concepts of Native Americans). We will write a custom essay sample on According to Kennewick Man in his article or any similar topic only for you Order Now In Wikepedia, the free encyclopedia stated that â€Å"the term indigenous people of the America encompasses the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the first European explorers in the late 15th century, as well as many present-day ethnic groups who identify themselves with those historical people (See â€Å"Indigenous Peoples of the Americas†. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). On the other hand, the National Museums Liverpool published in its website that â€Å"the people of West Africa had a rich and varied history and culture long before the Europeans slavers arrived. They had a wide variety of political arrangements which include kingdoms, city and other organizations, each with their own languages and culture† (See â€Å"Africa before European slavery†. National Museums Liverpool). Native Americans *Culture* Even though cultural features included language, garb, and customs vary enormously from one tribe to another, there are certain elements which are shared by many of the indigenous people of the America (See â€Å"Indigenous Peoples of the Americas†. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). *Music and Art* Native America music of North America Indians is almost entirely monophonic but there not notable exceptions. Traditional Native American music often includes drumming but little other instrumentation, although flutes are played by individuals. While the art of the indigenous people of Central Mexico and Central Americas comprises a major category in the world art collection. Their contributions are pottery, paintings, jewelry, weavings, sculptures, basketry, and carvings (See â€Å"Indigenous Peoples of the Americas†. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). *European Colonization* In wikipedia, its researched stated that â€Å"the European colonization of the Americas forever changed the lives and cultures of the indigenous peoples of the continent. In 15th century up to 19th century, their populations were ravaged by the privations of displacement, by disease and in many cases by warfare with European groups and enslavement by them. The first indigenous group that was met by Columbus was about 250,000 in number which were the Arawaks of Hispaniola and this group was enslaved by them. These European people also brought illnesses against which the indigenous people of America had no immunity† (See â€Å"Indigenous Peoples of the Americas†. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).   According to David Ruvolo that â€Å"the history of America religion is dominated by the presence of Christianity brought to the New World by European settlers. Time had run out for the indigenous race that populated the continent of North America. Native Americans were faced with an enemy that was more advanced like with the Israelites of the sixth century B.C.E.† (See D. Ruvolo, â€Å"A Summary of Native American Religious†). *Africa before the European slavery* According to Olaudah Equiano on his autobiography which he wrote in 1789 stated that â€Å"the part of Africa which was known by the name Guinea to which the trade is carried on extends along the coast above 3,400 miles from Senegal to Angola and includes a variety of kingdoms. This kingdom is divided into many provinces or distinct. In one of the most remote and fertile of which is called Eboe. Equiano was born in 1745, in charming fruitful vale named essaka. The distance of the province from capital of Benin and the sea coast must be very considerable, for Eboe Equiano had never heard about the white men or Europeans† (See O. Equiano. â€Å"Early Life†. Merseyside maritime museum). *Agriculture* As Equiano stated that their â€Å"land was uncommonly rich and fruitful, and produces all kinds of vegetables in abundance. All industries were exerted to improve those blessings of nature. Agriculture was their chief employment, and everyone even the children and women were engaged in it† (See O. Equiano. â€Å"Early Life†. Merseyside maritime museum). *Clothing* He continued, Equiano, which â€Å"their manners were simple and their luxuries were few. The dress of both sexes was nearly the same. It generally consists of a long piece of calico or Muslin, wrapped loosely around the body, somewhat in the form of a highland plaid. This was usually dyed blue, which their favorite color. It was extracted from a berry and was brighter and richer than any he had seen in Europe. Their women, of distinction wore golden ornaments which disposed with profusion on their arms and legs. When their women were not employed with the men in tillage, their usual occupation was spinning and weaving cotton, which they afterwards dye and made into garments. They also manufacture earthen vessels of which they had many kinds† (See O. Equiano. â€Å"Early Life†. Merseyside maritime museum). *Dance and Music*   Moreover, Equiano added that â€Å"they were almost a nation of dancers, musicians and poet. In every great event such as a triumphant return from battle or other cause of public rejoicing,   was celebrated in public dances which were accompanied with songs and music which was suited to the occasion† (See O. Equiano. â€Å"Early Life†. Merseyside maritime museum). *After the Europeans* West Africans had traded with Europeans through merchants in North Africa for centuries. In the 15th century, the Portuguese were the first traders who sailed down the West African coast. After that, the Dutch, British, French and Scandinavians followed. They were mainly interested in precious items such as ivory, gold, and spices, in particular the pepper (See â€Å"Africa before European slavery†. National Museums Liverpool). References â€Å"Indigenous Peoples of the Americas†. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas Ruvolo, D. â€Å"A Summary of Native American Religious†. http://are.as.wvu.edu/ruvolo.htm â€Å"Indigenous Peoples of the Americas†. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. How to cite According to Kennewick Man in his article, Essay examples

Significantly On Natural Resources Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Significantly On Natural Resources. Answer: It has been seen that the government of United States depends significantly on natural resources like natural gas, coal, oil and many more fossil fuels that are not at all renewable. That indicates that whether it is extracted in an uncontrolled or controlled manner, eventually the resources will be hard to get and the world will run out of the necessary resources. The major amount of renewable energies is retrieved directly or indirectly from the solar energy. Solar energy might be used indirectly or directly from the sunlight for lighting and heating purposes in domestic houses or in business organizations. Nowadays renewable energy has become an important tool for generating electricity in an environment-friendly manner. There is ocean energy that can be generated from waves of the ocean or from the tidal waves (Ellabban, Abu-Rub and Blaabjerg 2014). Recently there have been significant rise in using geothermal energy extracted from Earths internal heat. The major advantages of renewable energy are that there is no threat of running out of energy and those are in general extremely environment friendly. Using renewable energy requires very less maintenance cost and in most cases, the renewable energy generates no harmful waste products that are harmful for the environment (Twidell and Weir 2015). In various regional areas, the projects related to renewable energy provides economic benefits. There are some disadvantages of using renewable energy too and those are mentioned in this section of this essay. It is significantly troublesome to generate the required electricity for the domestic and business sectors only from the renewable sources and sometimes the reliability of the supply of energy from renewable sources get hampered (Strupeit and Palm 2016). There are some other issues too, like, to generate adequate solar energy, the sky needs to be clear and bright sunlight on the solar panel will be necessary. Thus, it can be said that using both renewable energy and energy from the fossil fuel in a balanced way can become the best solution. Using renewable energy sources can open up various business opportunities and those are mentioned in this part of the essay. It is seen that the business organizations have to pay a significant amount of money each month for their consumption of electricity, where as if they opt for renewable energy, they will certainly be able to lower the cost (Stigka, Paravantis and Mihalakakou 2014). As a responsible business organization the management of the organization can show the people of their operational area that using renewable energy is their contribution for the benefit of environment as a corporate social responsible business organization. This type of initiative can immensely improve the brand image of the organization. Uses of renewable energy can potentially increase job opportunities as it would require modification in infrastructure to generate adequate renewable energy. Thus to conclude, it can be said that though depending solely on the renewable energy can become an issue, b ut, being able to balance the usage of renewable energy with the fossil fuel or generating energy from the natural resources will be much more effective in the current situation. References Ellabban, O., Abu-Rub, H. and Blaabjerg, F., 2014. Renewable energy resources: Current status, future prospects and their enabling technology.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,39, pp.748-764. Stigka, E.K., Paravantis, J.A. and Mihalakakou, G.K., 2014. Social acceptance of renewable energy sources: A review of contingent valuation applications.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,32, pp.100-106. Strupeit, L. and Palm, A., 2016. Overcoming barriers to renewable energy diffusion: business models for customer-sited solar photovoltaics in Japan, Germany and the United States.Journal of Cleaner Production,123, pp.124-136. Twidell, J. and Weir, T., 2015.Renewable energy resources. Routledge.

Apple Computer free essay sample

Case Study: Apple Computer (2006) Apple Computer has always been an interesting and often exciting firm. It had been the first to make and the mass-market a personal computer with its Appl IIc. The company had been the darling of the stock market in the mid-1980s when it cemented its technological advantage through the introduction of its state-of-the-art Macintosh (MAC) personal computer. Nevertheless, the Microsoft Windows operating system and Office software coupled with Intel microprocessors left Apple far behind in PC market share by mid-1990s.Apple Computer had fallen to being just a niche player in the industry. At that time, it was rumored that the company had little future unless it merged with or sold out to another computer company. With the beginning of 21st century, Apple’s fortunes changed for better. The introduction of the iPod catapulted apple back into the spotlight, just at a time when Microsoft and Intel seemed to be losing momentum. We will write a custom essay sample on Apple Computer or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 2006 was another exciting year for Apple Computer and for its management and shareholders for both good news and bad news. GOOD NEWS On May 23, 2006, Apple and Nike announced a joint-technology running shoe. The new Nike shoe would have a sensor placed in a small pocket of the shoe, and the wireless receiver on the iPod Nano. The runner would be able to track distances covered, calories burned, and time pent exercising On August 2, 2006, Coke and Apple announced that Coke would offer codes for 70 million free iTunes to German and UK Coke customers. Coke was to be allowed to links its website with Apple’s iTunes site.On October 9, 2006, Apple Computer announced 4th Quarter profits rose 27% to $546 million, and revenues rose 32% to $4. 84 billion when compared with 2005 results. Mac shipments reached 1. 61 million computers, which was the highest sales in the company’s history. On November 8, 2006, Apple’s management announced that iTunes would offer Spanish language and bilingual shows in cooperation with NBC Universal’s Telemundo. It was also to offer regional Mexican baladas y boleros and pop Latino.On November 12, 2006, Apple announced that it had made an agreement with 6 airlines, AirFrance, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United, to install iPod connections in their in-flight entertainment systems. This was scheduled for mid-2007. On November 16, 2006, Apple announced that its iPhone, the highly anticipated iPod cell phone, would include a 2. 0 megapixel digital camera. An analyst estimated that this iPhone could add 22% to Apple’s earnings in 2007.

Course of Study for 1st Grade Math

Course of Study for 1st Grade Math The following list provides you with the basic concepts that should be attained by the end of the school year. Mastery of the concepts at the previous grade is assumed. All 1st grade worksheets. Number Read, print, locate, compare, order, represent, estimate, identify numbers to 100 and mentally add numbers to 10 Count by 2s, 5s and 10s to one hundred, count backwards from any given point from 100Understand number conservation - 6 pennies is represented by a 6 etc. Understand 1/2 and use the term applied to every day situations Recognize coins, add pennies and take away pennies Measurement Use and understand more than, less than, the same as, heavier than, lighter than, taller than etc. Tell time to the half and full hour with both analog and digital clocks Compare objects by several attributes and classify them (red small squares, red large triangles etc.)Understand temperature differences outside and inside, colder weather and hotter weather Measure items with non-standard units of measure (pencil lengths, finger widths etc.) Geometry Describe, identify, create and sort shapes (squares, triangles, circles, rectangles etc.) Describe similarities and differences in 3 dimensional objects (some slide, some roll etc.)Construct pictures using a variety of shapes that can be identified Recognize symmetry in drawings and shapes Move shapes in front of, beside, behind, ahead of etc. Algebra Identify, describe and extend patterns of numbers, shapes, colors or words e.g., **-**-**- or 1,3,5,7 Find patterns in counting charts to 100 [Count by 2s] Be able to talk about pattern rules. 1,3,5 is skip a number etc. Probability Use graphs to record number of pets, hair colour temperature etc. Conduct simple surveys and generate yes, no questions All Grades Pre-K Kdg. Gr. 1 Gr. 2 Gr. 3 Gr. 4 Gr. 5 Gr. 6 Gr. 7 Gr. 8 Gr. 9 Gr. 10 Gr.11 Gr. 12

Feminism in Much Ado About Nothing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Feminism in Much Ado About Nothing - Essay Example From the feminist perspective, the relationship between the two main characters reflects greatly on the overall feelings of the sexes in general. In the play Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick's opinions regarding love and relationships, and the presentation of the concept of love and relationships in the play, both demonstrate how Elizabethan times mistreated the female role, emphasizing the concept of radical-cultural feminism, and also how the male code of honor can bring a man do collapse and devastation. The Radical-Cultural feminists believe that women should encompass their femininity because it is better than masculinity. Mary Daly advocates finding the "wild female within". This type of radical feminist sees sex and penetration as male dominated. They see a link between sex, female subordination, porn, rape and abuse. These must be eliminated, according to Cultural-Radical feminists. Yet another opposing view is that reproduction is the source of power for women. They believe that men are jealous of women, and that they try to control reproduction through means of technology. In order to set the stage for the initial criticisms of marriage, Shakespeare first introduces his audience to the set of conventional lovers, Claudio and Hero. These two characters undergo a relatively predictable and acceptable type of courtship. However, another important aspect is presented in this relationship, that reflects on the concept of feminism. The progression of Claudio and Hero's relationship demonstrates to the audience how women were very much dominated by men. For instance, Claudio states, "can the world buy such a jewel," when referring to Hero. This metaphor is important because it reflects Claudio, the male's, perceptions of the female, Hero, as an object, and not as an actual living, breathing individual. Even Hero's father refers to her as an object to be owned. For example, Hero's father, Leonato, states: 'If the Prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer." This demonstrates the fact that Hero has no control over her own life; even if she does n ot like the Prince, she must agree to a marriage. Hero, however, is the typical dutiful Elizabethan daughter; during this time, and considering her status, she was a mere pawn in this patriarchal society. According to Eleanor Bron: Elizabethan women were expected to bring a dowry to the marriage. A dowry was an amount of money, goods, and property that the bride would bring to the marriage. It was also referred to as her marriage portion. After marriage Elizabethan women were expected to run the households and provide children. Large families were the norm as the mortality rate for children and babies was so high. Many Elizabethan woman made arrangement for the care of their children in case they themselves died during childbirth. Thus, she must do and say as her father says, and then later, as her husband says. She is therefore not allowed to think for herself; she is simply told what to do and expected to do what she is told. This presentation of Hero's character and situation

Description and definition Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Description and definition - Assignment Example Harte, "In Our Own Hands: A Strategy for Conserving Biological Diversity in California," 1990). c. Watershed Management is a â€Å"process of managing human activities in an area defined by watershed boundaries in order to protect and rehabilitate land and water, and associated aquatic and terrestrial resources, while recognizing the benefits of orderly growth and development† (Watershed Planning Implementation PMC, 1997). A new and exciting hobby that entails hiding and seeking treasures is geocaching. The equipment needed to indulge in this hobby is a GPS devise or a Global Positioning System which is a â€Å"a radio navigation system that allows land, sea, and airborne users to determine their exact location, velocity, and time 24 hours a day, in all weather conditions, anywhere in the world† (GPS Resources, n.d.). The objective of this hobby is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, located outdoors through the GPS devise and to share one’s experiences online, through the worldwide

Comparative Data in Healthcare Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparative Data in Healthcare - Term Paper Example The use of such information can help healthcare funders as well as practitioners identify problem areas in clinical performance and enhance quality improvement strategies (Powell, Davies, & Thomson, 2003). On the other hand, patient benefit by having the capacity to make informed choices of a care provider based quality standards and competitive costs (Davies, & Marshall, 1999). There are several ways in which comparative data is useful in improving quality and performance in health care organizations (Powell, Davies, & Thomson, 2003). Comparative data is efficient in pointing out problems related to clinical performance. Even though, outcome of quality of care given to a patient is easily measured as a whole, analyzing performance data of an individual practitioner can shade some the light. Quality of clinical performance can also be measured using comparative data across departments of different hospitals. For instance survival or a recovery rate of patients admitted to cardiac and orthopaedic surgery across different hospitals can be compared to rate clinical performance (Goodroe, 2010). Comparative data is also useful in informing and driving quality improvement activities in a healthcare organization (Powell, Davies, & Thomson, 2003). Such data provides useful and specific information on quality improvement strategies used by best performing institutions. Even though quality improvement is a standard goal for all healthcare institution. (Davies, & Marshall, 1999)

Business Analysis of Comestibles Aldor S.A.

Business Analysis of Comestibles Aldor S.A. Executive Summary It is not common when a company like Comestibles Aldor S.A. opens itself to investors. Aldor is an extremely liquid company that is extremely successful and ambitious, but wants something more. It is the type of company that looks for something else, someone that is willing to put more than money into a company, an individual that feels they are part of the organization. This type investor will not only invest money, but themselves. They will immerse themselves in a product they believe in and keep the companys vision of bringing joy to the world. At Aldor we believe that if an individual has a stake in something, they will work as if it was theirs, but if they like the product, it will be part of their life. The company has managed to go into over 60 countries but it is going to try a new approach, something that is innovative like the rest of the company; something unprecedented. We want to present to the world the joy of life and we are looking for someone to help us do so in another country, Canada. As in every new market, Canada poses new challenges, challenges for which we need an investor from the country itself to launch the product. At Aldor we believe that having someone from within the country that knows the market, how it operates and more importantly, how people think, is only a recipe for success. It is the essence of what we believe in and it is the essence of what you will too. We are presenting to you Videns Joy, a product that keeps the companys vision of bringing joy to the world and a profit that few companies are able to offer. It is in a recession like the one we are in that we are able too see a hole in the market, a gap that has yet to be filled. Fortunately we have an answer, the product we are about to present will not only satisfy this gap but will give you the opportunity to be part of it. Videns Joy will consist of a new chewing gum that will not only enhance the way people live, but it will become part of their life. Videns will present the consumer a less expensive, more nutritious and more convenient way of being healthy while giving them a natural boost. It is this chewing gum that will set the benchmark of health products and the way they are ingested. One hand cannot clap by itself, it needs another one, we want this other hand to be you. To launch a one-year campaign in Canada and produce Videns Joy, we will need to expand the factory and buy new machinery. At a cost of 1.4 million, will be able to do so with some of the best machinery in the confectionary industry. To advertise the product for one year we will also invest 1.4 million on advertisements ranging from TV ads to billboards and pamphlets. The cost of raw materials for one year with a production of 30 tons per month will be 4.5 million for the entire year. For a total of 7.3 million we will be able to bring this product to the country with an aggressive marketing campaign. This cost will be divided in two; we will pay 3.65 million as well as the investing party. A return on investment of 10.5 million is expected by the end of the year. To be divided equally among Aldor and the investor. 25% royalties of the net profit from the subsequent years will be given to you, the investing party. INTRODUCTION The Company Comestibles Aldor S.A. was founded in 1991 by Raif Aljure; the company produces candy which it sells in over sixty countries around the world. Aldor manufactures candy for other companies and has a competitive advantage that is virtually impossible to beat. Manufacturing over 200 billion pieces of candy, it is the biggest candy company by quantity and volume in the world. Specializing in products that range in cost from $.01 cent to $.25 , it appeals mostly to the bigger part of the population in the world, those that have limited resources. The company has expanded at a such rapid rate that it has outpaced its current market. The plant currently runs at full capacity and produces over 300 tons of candy per day. At this point, the market for its products is saturated, and with the development of the new chewing gum Videns Joy, the company is now expanding its market segment. Currently the most expensive product the company manufactures, Videns has a cost to the consumer of approximat ely one quarter of a dollar. It is a phenomenon similar to the case of Walmart at a lesser degree. The market for low-cost candy is saturated and the biggest consumer, children between the ages of 8 to 17 years old is already familiar and consuming the product in the countries the company sells. With a monopoly in the majority of Africa, Aldor has reached its peak with the current products it sells. Our people â€Å"With More than 2000 skilled and experienced employees committed to working as a team . While keeping an open mind towards a changing world. Through its research and development, Aldor is constantly searching for new ideas and products, which keep it one step ahead of the competitors. Aldor has a professional team devoted to standard control, thereby assuring high quality products.† Agility and flexibility â€Å"Aldor is agile and flexible, it adapts to the consumers and clients needs, taking into account different cultures, beliefs, demands and international commerce dynamics resulting form globalization† Mission â€Å"Our main promise and commitment: Research, create, and develop innovative and fun products for our customers. We are a dynamic, innovative and flexible company with an international vision. We will continue to grow, open up new markets and bring fun and joy to life.† Vision â€Å"Since the very beginning, Aldor has opened up markets in different countries, offering innovative products to people of different cultures. Its marketing division is constantly looking for new opportunities, studying the worldwide consumer, needs and preferences. Aldors international vision enables it to position itself with its products in more than 60 countries throughout the five continents† The Plant â€Å"Colombia is recognized as the second most productive land for sugar cane plantation in addition, it is recognized for the purity of its sugar. With one of the most modern plants of America, inaugurated in June of 2004, and under a 280,000 sm. We produce 300 tons per day of sugar confectionery: lollypops with different fillings, hard and soft caramels. Today we produce more than 2 hundred billions of lollypops a year, demonstrating growth in a global market that changes constantly. We have extended our products through the development of international brands maintaining a global thought with local performance. Our quality management system is certificate by SGS. de Colombia S.A. in fulfillment of the requirements of ISO 9001: 2.000 since February 20 of 2,004 and initially certified since January 21 of 2002 with ISO 9001: 1.994.† Why we will be successful? After commenting our idea with numerous individuals that have influence over many people and have established companies that are now in the billions of dollars, we have received an unanimous opinion, one that has success written all over it. Now, opinions have in reality no real monetary value, no matter if the individual is the wealthiest in the world or a worker at a fast food restaurant, but they are important. On a recent trip to Colombia, one of our team members Josà © F. Del Corral conducted numerous survey and studies on the idea we are offering. The results were exorbitant and expected. PRODUCTS Since its very beginning in 1991, Aldor has been characterized as having a dynamic production infrastructure that is pivotal to both a productive and efficient confectionery manufacturing process. Today, our company is viewed as one of the best candy production plants in the world. Our products range from filled and chewy candies to a variety of lollipops that have been distinguished because of the addition of different fillings and extracts, all manufactured in plants and facilities that are internally owned and managed. Aldors major products are lollipops with several varieties including chewy centered, gum centered and solids. The gums filled lollipops are made with different fruit flavors including watermelon, cherry, blackberry, mango and wild fruit with both juicy and sour features. Lollipops that were first launched by Aldor include the Yoguetas. This is a variation of lollipops that are very unique to the industry. Not only do these lollipops have gum-filled centers, they also include fruit flavored and chewy centers along with assorted yogurt-filled middles. Products that include gum contain forty percent of gum base and composed of PVAC to sometime include synthetic or derivative wax. In addition, gum also contains polyols that results from the hydrogenation of sugar with the major one being Xylitol. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that aids in preventing cavities and help to whiten teeth by neutralizing the PH level in the mouth. In rare cases when Xylitol is unavailable, other sugars or derivatives of sugar namely sorbitol and manithol are sometimes used in bubble gum manufacturing primarily because of its very long molecular strength. PRODUCT INTRODUCTION In keeping with the companys history of innovation, Aldor intends to introduce a line of candy products that aims to satisfy the healthy trends of our current lifestyles by promoting the inclusion of not only cavity-fighting but health-conscious alternatives to the regular candy offerings. According to investigations made by different agencies the percentage of people suffering from health troubles due to eating disorders and bad consumption of food keeps growing every day. As a result, many people have chosen to consume products with very little or no preservatives compare to what they previously consumed. This has revolutionized the food market and has lead to the evolution of new restaurants serving only organic food. Other existing ones have managed to change their menu to include more natural choices. Today, the choice of natural products is a trend that continues to increase and consumers are open to try foods that are consistent with their every day diet. In keeping with this revelation, we have chosen to produce candies with botanical extracts and infusions that have the potential to become an integral part of the daily diet of our consumers. Such approach to market will not only have a significant impact on the kids market but also the adult market as well. With this innovative idea, we plan on giving customers the pleasure of enjoying a hundred percent natural candy alternative that will at the same time will give them a sensation that will be consistent with that of maintaining a healthy lifestyle along with the ultimate comfort and relaxation at the same time. We have focused our research and developments around finding botanical extracts that will fit into the lifestyles of potential customers within our target market. We have decided to include the following extracts into our product offerings. Green Tea Extract Dental techniques have improved greatly in the past few years, but once teeth have been damaged by cavities they can never be restored to their original condition. It is of the highest priority, therefore, to prevent cavities from developing in the first place. By the end of the 19th century, it had been determined that cartes are caused by cariogenic bacteria. Cavity production begins when the cariogenic bacteria first produce non-watersoluble glucan from sugar or other foods, and this glucan adheres to the tooth enamel as hard plaque. They then feed on sugar to generate acids such as lactic acid in the plaque then these acids dissolve the tooth enamel. In order to prevent cavities it is necessary to keep plaque off the teeth by brushing. However, experiments have shown that green tea catechin can suppress the process by which cariogenic bacteria create glucan. Experiments have also shown that that green tea catechin can destroy cariogenic bacteria, making it antibacterial. Green te a catechin then not only suppresses the formation of plaque by the cariogenic bacteria but also kills the bacteria themselves. It has also been known for some time now that small amounts of fluorine can strengthen teeth and help prevent cavities. As a result, many cities across the world have added fluorine to their drinking water. Green tea extract, however, contains natural fluorine that is thought to help prevent cavities. Various reports have shown a reduction in cavities among grade school children who drank green tea after lunch. We strongly feel that kids will have a natural gravitation toward candy with green tea extract while parents will have the peace of mind while giving candy to their kids. Halitosis or bad breath is caused by a number of bacteria that flourish in the mouth. Green tea is also known to kill other oral bacteria besides those causing cartes and therefore as a result, possess the ability to prevent bad breath by destroying the cause of bad breath. It is also reported that the consumption of green tea is often recommended as a good treatment for diarrhea. Research has also shown that catechin is a powerful sterilizing agent for many types of bacteria that cause food poisoning. Green tea extract contains caffeine which, when taken in the proper quantity, simulates every organ in the body. It has a particularly strong effect on the central nervous system, the heart, and liver. This reaction is even more pronounced when one is sleepy or tired. The consumption of green tea will help clear a dull mind after rising in the morning or after a prolonged period without sleep. The power to stimulate and awaken the mind comes from caffeine. It is also said that the amou nt of caffeine contained in normal servings of green tea can stimulate the skeletal muscles and facilitate muscular contraction. As a result, it is quite helpful and recommended to consume green tea in the middle of the work day in order to refresh the mind and restore the body. The caffeine in green tea is mostly extracted in the first infusion of the leaves, but the quantities in subsequent infusions will still be greater than coffee. And since green tea caffeine combines with catechin in the brewing water, its action is said to be rather milder than other caffeine-containing beverages. Green tea is known for its rich source of anti oxidants and having a high extract is also said to help repair the effects of aging from environmental factors Kava Kava Kava is sedating and is primarily consumed to relax without disrupting mental clarity. The kava extract has been known to be a herbal medicine against stress, insomnia, and anxiety. Research has shown that kava may be effective in treating ovarian cancer and leukemia. Study shows that kava compounds inhibited the activation of a nuclear factor that led to the growth of cancer cells. The Aberdeen University researchers published in the journal The South Pacific Journal of Natural Science that kava methanol extracts had been shown to kill leukemia and ovarian cancer cells in test tubes. Kava has been known to relax aching muscles, calm nerves, create a general feeling of well-being, induces a feeling of peace, relaxation and contentment, enhances mental alertness and concentration, reduces inhibitions, and has historical use as an herbal aphrodisiac. Kava has an effect on the nerve centres, at first stimulating and then depressing, ending with paralysis of the respiratory centre. The irritant action and insolubility of the resin has lessened its use as a local anesthetic, but for over 125 years kava root has been found valuable in the treatment of gonorrhea both acute and chronic, vaginitis, leucorrhoea, nocturnal incontinence and other ailments of the genitourinary tract. Being a local anesthetic it relieves pain and has an aphrodisiac effect. As kava is a strong diuretic it is useful for gout, rheumatism, bronchial and other ailments, resulting from heart troubles. Kava is an essential and integral part of life in the Pacific Islands often thought of as one of the most precious gifts from the Earth. Not only is it a pleasant drink that can be a safe alternative for alcohol. Kava Root was actually becoming more popular than Prozac in Europe. Some scientist and herb researchers feel as though kavasinfringement on pharmaceutical s ales deeply concerned the drugcompanies. In turn, they became determined to do their best to tarnish the spotless reputation of kava. It once an ancient, safe and effective herbal supplement. Kava has not been shown to be physically addictive. It has been used safely for over 3,000 years, without any reported withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Kava gum will be marketing to the age group ranging from 40 years and up. It will be targeting Canadian citizens that may suffer from arthritis of the joints and may be hesitant to use costly and addictive pharmaceutical pain relievers that must be prescribed from a physician. Individuals that may have suffered from a minor sprain or bruise, who do not have the time for an appointment with their primary physician and are looking for quick and effective relief with a delightful taste. Kava gum will also induce a feeling of peace, relaxation and contentment. Also enhancing mental alertness and concentration, Kava Gum would seem to be extremely usef ul to consumers with anxiety and social barriers. Kava could be given to patients of therapist and physiologist to help cope with social problems and cut down the supply of addictive and dangerous psychiatric and anxiety drugs. â€Å"We wont go over the details here, but a study was conducted in Germany that did a great job of making the world think that Kava caused liver damage, when in reality, this highly-publicized â€Å"study† seemed to be aimed at only doing whatever it could to damage the 3,000 year-old reputation of Kava. This alone shows the fear that pharmaceutical companies have over kava† . They refused to let a cheap yet highly effective herb surpass the production of the variety of additive and costly drugs. Aldor is certain that if kava is given a chance to prove itself on a wide based scale, that the gum will help people out with multiple ailments and will not tarnish the Canadian population with another drug for younger generations to tarnish themselve s with. Acai Berry The health benefits of the Acai berry is widely known and is now backed by scientific research into the fruits properties. Acai is a rich source of anthocyanins and other phenolics and phyto-nutrients and are amongst the most nutritious foods of the Amazon. Acai berries are rich in B vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Acai also contains oleic acid (omega-9), a beneficial fatty acid. Potassium is the mineral most abundant in the Acai berry that is also rich in copper and unusually high in manganese. Only a small portion of berries supply far more than the body needs of this ultra-trace mineral. Anthocyanins are compounds that have potent antioxidant activity, allowing for the neutralization of potentially harmful free radicals. The famous research regarding the French Paradox attributes anthocyanins as being the antioxidant that protects the French from heart disease. The French are known to consume large amounts of coffee, nicotine, sugar, white flour, cheese and saturated fats, yet they have a very low rate of heart disease compared to neighboring countries like the UK and Denmark. The red wine grape, due to its anthocyanins is what is believed to be responsible for the very low incidence of heart disease. While red wine has good quantities of anthocyanins, the Acai berry has been shown to contain many times more than the anthocyanins levels of red wine. By neutralizing these free radicals, anthocyanins from the Acai berry may actually serve to maintain the healthy function of numerous systems and organs. Some of the anthocyanins that have been found in Acai include cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-glucoside-coumarate. Other phenolics include catechin and epi-catechin (the same compounds in green tea), quercetin derivatives and other flavonoids. It is likely that the synergistic effects of these compounds, as present in Acai fruit are responsible for its potent antioxidant activities. In Brazilian herbal medicine, the oil of the Acai fruit is used to treat diarrhea; an infusion of the grated fruit rind is used as a topical wash for skin ulcers; and, the fruit seeds are crushed and prepared in an infusion for fevers. In the Peruvian Amazon, an infusion of the toasted crushed seeds is used for fever. In Colombia, where the trees grow along the Pacific coast line, it is called naidà ­ and the fruit is turned into a common and popular drink. The Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) assay, a test developed for the USDA by scientists at Tufts University to measure the antioxidant speed and power of foods and supplements measures the total antioxidant activity of a biological sample. The ORAC scale is used in human, agricultural, food and pharmaceutical products, as well as food ingredients and is quickly becoming the accepted standard for comparing antioxidant potential in foods and supplements. For the average person to cope with all the reactive oxygen and free radicals they will encounter on a daily basis, foods and beverages totaling an ORAC value of at least 2000 units per day are needed. Its been estimated that eighty to ninety percent of the worlds population fails to consume even half of this level. Acai is reputed to be extremely high on the ORAC scale and provides levels multiple times that of many anthocyanin-rich fruits and vegetables, such as cherries, cranberries and mulberries. Easily the most common use of the Acai fruit by Amazonians is the dark purple juice. This juice is extracted from the small round fruit by soaking the seeds in water to soften the thin outer shell and then squeezing and straining them to produce a very tasty, dense purple liquid. Acai liquid is typically served fresh and ice cold with (or sometimes without) sugar and tapioca flour. It is a nourishing and refreshing drink that is also used to produce ice cream, liquor, mousses and sweets in general. Consumption of up to two liters per day of this highly nutritious juice has been recorded amongst indigenous populations. The Acai juice has been and remains an extremely important part of northern native South American diets and has become very popular throughout all socio- economic levels. Acai gum is designed to act as an antioxidant and remover of toxic substances left over in the human system from smoking, alcohol, drugs, and foods with many preservatives. With the help of the acai palm, which is a species of palm tree in the genus Euterpe cultivated for their fruit and superior hearts of palms. Global demand for the fruit has increased dramatically over the past several years. Acai is now cultivated as an antioxidant primarily. Eight species are native to Central and South America, from Belize southward to Brazil and Peru, growing mainly in swamps and floodplains. Acai palms are tall, slender palms growing to 15-30 meters. The overall marketing goal of the antioxidant remover is to eventually offer the gum in Canadian health and fitness centers and spas. This goal may only be achieved after success has been demonstrated in the all-natural supermarket aisles. Health conscious individuals understand the importance of having a cleansed system, which in return greatly raises the ability to produce muscle and cut fat. Many people enjoy chewing gum while they work out because they are able to keep their mouths moist. Also if the gum can cleanse the body and encourage muscle growth then most gym goers would be interested in spending a dollar per pack. Another option is to offer the product to supplement stores such as GNC, Vitamin world, and any other health stores looking to offer there customer a relief from awful tasting body cleansing drinks that cost over $50 for every bottle. Our gum cost only cost 15 cents to have in Canada and is being sold for 50 cents to the retail stores. One could buy fifty packages of our product to compare cost, then having over a years supply to help assist the customer to live a healthier life. Rhodiola rosea Rhodiola rosea is a popular plant in traditional medical systems in Eastern Europe and Asia with a reputation for stimulating the nervous system, decreasing depression, enhancing work performance, eliminating fatigue, and preventing high altitude sickness. Rhodiola rosea has been categorized as an adaptogen by Russian researchers due to its observed ability to increase resistance to a variety of chemical, biological, and physical stressors. Its claimed benefits include antidepressant, anticancer, cardioprotective, and central nervous system enhancement. Research also indicates great utility in asthenic conditions (decline in work performance, sleep difficulties, poor appetite, irritability, hypertension, headaches, and fatigue) developing subsequent to intense physical or intellectual strain. The adaptogenic, cardiopulmonary protective, and central nervous system activities of Rhodiola rosea have been attributed primarily to its ability to influence levels and activity of monoamines and opioid peptides such as beta-endorphins. Rhodiola rosea, also known as golden root, is a member of the Crassulaceae family and grows across the Arctic, the mountains of Central Asia, the Rockies, the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Carpathian Mountains, Scandinavia, Iceland, Great Britain and Ireland. It is believed that it could also be a natural elixir. Rhodiola rosea may also be effective for improving mood and alleviating depression and early stage studies on people have shown some efficacy in improving physical and mental performance, alleviating fatigue, and reducing high-altitude sickness. A possible mode of action involves what could be described as â€Å"optimizing serotonin and dopamine levels†. It is said that this apparently happens by inhibition of the enzyme monoamine oxidase, which supposedly ties in with an effect on endorphins, the bodys natural opiates. The chemical composition and physiological properties of Rhodiola species are to a degree species-dependent, although some overlap in constituents and physiological properties does exist in many Rhodiola species. Twenty-eight compounds have been isolated from the roots and above-ground parts of Rhodiola rosea, including twelve novel compounds. The roots contain a range of biologically active substances including organic acids, flavonoids, tannins, and phenolic glycosides. The stimulating and adaptogenic properties of Rhodiola rosea were originally attributed to two compounds isolated from its roots, identified as p-tyrosol and the phenolic glycoside rhodioloside. Rhodioloside was later determined to be structurally similar to the known glycoside salidroside found in several other plant species. Salidroside, rhodioloside, and occasionally rhodosin are used to describe this compound and are considered to be synonyms. Additional glycoside compounds isolated from the root include rhodioniside, rhodiolin, rosin, rosavin, rosarin, and rosiridin. These glycoside compounds are also thought to be critical for the plants observed adaptogenic properties. The adaptogenic properties, cardio-pulmonary protective effects, and central nervous system activities of Rhodiola rosea have been attributed primarily to its ability to influence levels and activity of monoamines and opioid peptides such as beta-endorphins. Rhodiola rosea has also been shown to moderate against stress-induced damage and dysfunction in cardiovascular tissue. Treatment with Rhodiola rosea extract prevents the decrease in cardiac contractile force secondary to environmental stress in the form of acute cooling and contributes to stable contractility. The new product is named Energize and is primarily made of the herb Rhodiola rosea. Rhodiola rosea is a plant known as the golden root, member of the Crassulaceae family that grows in cold regions of the world, the perennial plants grows in areas up to 2280 meters elevation. Rhodiola may help induce weight loss by activating the bodys store of adipose lipase, a key enzyme that helps burn its fat stores. A Russian study found that participants who consumed Rhodiola rosea lost 20 pounds in three months, compared to just 7 pounds in those who took placebos. Rhodiola rosea also strengthens the immune system by reducing the effect of stress, which is known to weaken the bodys ability to defend against illness. Studies have shown that Rhodiola may be of special benefit to athletes; it appears to help normalize heart rate after intense exercise, and increases protein synthesis and blood flow throughout the body. It may also lower blood pressure and decrease stress-induced arrhythmia. There have been no toxic side effects associated with this substance to date, and no tolerable upper limit has been established. Energize gum has the benefit of being a credited weight loss tool; it contains none of the sometimes deadly drugs that are the main ingredient of the major weight loss scam programs. All they contain is harmful drugs like Ephedra, Chitosan, and hoodia. Many deaths have been reported in past five to ten years ever since the skinny craze started as a result of these weights loss drugs. If there is a perfect weight loss/stress-relieving herb this could be it. In Energize weve managed to formulate the two essential elements needed by most people to lose weight and truly feel great. Not only does it have the ability to lift the stress that causes your body to crave foods of comfort and store more fat. It also has the power in of itself to make you cut weight in fewer than three to six months. All one must do is chew this gum before and after a workout routine or a ru n around the neighborhood with your dog, then you will be on your way to losing some serious weight while enjoying the refreshing taste and teeth whiting effect of our newest product. We plan to offer this product to Canada in the main supermarkets and herb + vitamin stores. We hope to carry the product along side all the powerful and unhealthy weight loss pills that are sold throughout the country. Aldor is confident the Energize gum will make its consumers feel significantly better daily and have the same result if not superior to its competitors. St Johns wort St. Johns wort is a long-living plant with yellow flowers whose medicinal uses were first recorded in ancient Greece. It contains many chemical compounds. Some are believed to be the active ingredients that produce the herbs effects, including the compounds hypericin and hyperforin. Preliminary studies suggest that St. Johns wort might work by preventing nerve cells in the brain from reabsorbing the chemical messenger serotonin, or by reducing levels of a protein involved in the bodys immune system functioning. St. Johns wort has been used over the centuries for mental conditions, nerve pain, and a wide variety of other health conditions. Today, St. Johns wort is used for anxiety, mild to moderate depression, and sleep disorders. In Europe, St. Johns wort is widely prescribed for depression. In the United States and Canada, there is public interest in St. Johns wort as a treatment for depression, but it is not a prescription medicine. In the United States and Canada, St. Johns wort products are sold mainly as capsules, tablets, teas, and liquid extracts where specific types of chemicals are removed from the herb, leaving the desired chemicals in a concentrated form. Scientific evidence co-funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and two other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Mental Health and the Office of Dietary Supplements regarding the effectiveness of St. Johns wort for depression