The Hypocrisy of Washington essays

The Hypocrisy of Washington essays When looking at the men who founded this country it is easy to lift them onto a pedestal and perceive them as perfect. The time itself is looked at as purely American; a time when American ideals were lived for the first time, when the ideals were lived perfectly and perhaps lived for the last time. Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Franklin. Alexander Hamilton. John Adams. George Washington. Those names seem to be synonymous with America, with liberty, and with everything American culture stands for. Thus, seeing America as perfect, as something like the light in a world full of darkness, it is no wonder that Americans see these men as perfection embodied in men. Looking more closely it is found that there were faults in these men. Franklin was an arrogant, self-righteous, and obnoxious man. Hamilton and Adams were the same pigheaded. Yet, despite the fact that faults can be seen in these men, the higher caste founder, George Washington, is still seen as faultless. He is see n as the person who, seemingly by his mere will alone, made this country; molded thirteen colonies into what is now the most powerful country in the world. It is odd to think that he could have been at fault in some arena of his life. It is strange and slightly daunting to actually search his life for that fault. It is relieving and refreshing to have found one that, however slight it may have been, still reverberates in the modern time and culture. In order to understand George Washington and his main fault his time period must be thoroughly examined. George Washington was born February 22, 1732. Little is actually known about his childhood aside from menial details and facts. His father, Augustine Washington, after enlarging his third generation Virginian land holdings died in 1743. Thus, from the age of eleven Washington was raised by his mother, Mary. He learned to read and write at a young age either by tutors or at the local school...

The Development and Institutionalization of Slave Trade Essay Example

The Development and Institutionalization of Slave Trade Essay Example The Development and Institutionalization of Slave Trade Essay The Development and Institutionalization of Slave Trade Essay The Development and Institutionalization of Slave Trade BY vwoods 1987 Slavery, the condition of one human being owned by another (Slavery), has gone through many stages in its development and its reception around the world. As part of the Roman Empire in the 1st century BCE, slaves were a large part of civilized society as entertainers in the gladiator arena. These slaves would have been forced to compete, but with their victories and their deaths they would gain respect and some even their freedom. In Africa before the 16th century, slavery and systems of ervitude existed throughout the continent. African slaves during this time were often captives of war or indentured servants; however they were not treated with disrespect. Instead it was common practice for such slaves to be fully integrated into the village or tribe to which their owners belonged. Slaves would live side by side with their owners and could eventually become each others peers. It wasnt until the colonization of the New World and the spread of tobacco cultivation (Foner 101), began that the bond of slavery became less about the slave and more about cheap nd lifelong labor. As Eric Foner states in Give Me Liberty! An American History, no European nation embarked on the colonization of the New World with the intention of relying on African Slaves for the bulk of its labor force (101). Unfortunately, as the New World began to develop and expand its agriculture base, namely tobacco, that the demand for workers increased. European settlers originally had no plan to meet the labor request. Their first resort was to force Indian labor (Morgan 52). This plan began to unravel quickly however, since the Indians were easily susceptible to oreign diseases and began to die off before profits could be made (Morgan 53). It became clear that the Indian population would not support the labor force needed, and so the Europeans began looking elsewhere. Having considered other options, Europeans set their sights on Africa (Morgan 53). The nations of West Africa had had long standing relationships with the different European nations. In the early years of what would become the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Spain and Portugal were the first nations to export slaves from Africa in great numbers. Records show that from the years 1500 to 1 550 over 64, 000 slaves were exported by these two countries alone (Number of Captives). These same records conclude that until the 1640s, Spain and Portugal were the only two countries with significant numbers in the slave trade. In 1619, the first Africans, twenty in all, arrived in Virginia (Foner 105), and with their arrival, the flood gates opened. It was at this time that other nations, namely Great Britain and the Netherlands, became more involved in the slave trade. The British and the Dutch began importing laves to the New World to meet the needs of the colonies. The British colonies of Virginia and Maryland, as well as the Dutch colony in New York, made up the Chesapeake area, with each having its own large tobacco industries that needed to be fueled by slave labor. By the turn of the century, the British and the Dutch had imported nearly 640,000 slaves to the colonies. With the importation of large number 0T slaves came more ana more laws tnat trlea to ratlonallze slavery as well to create a never ending supply of new slaves. Laws were passes regarding the birth of slave children as well as interracial children, with nearly all laws stating that if the mother was a slave that the child was a slave also, and became property of the slave owner. These laws consequently made sexual abuse of slave women profitable for slave holders (Foner 106). In such a short time Virginia had changed from a society with slaves, in which slavery was one system of labor among others, to a slave society, where slavery stood at the center of the economic process (Foner 108). Across the Atlantic, as stated efore, slavery was practiced throughout much of Africa among the various tribes and villages. However, with the increasing demand for slaves, coastal tribes would raid the inland tribes and capture their fellow Africans and sell them to the Europeans for small valuable trinkets. These newly captures slaves couldnt possibly have known what their futures held for them in the New World, if they made it there. Within the borders of the New World slaves tried to escape whenever possible, but rarely succeeded in such a new and strange world. Slaves newly imported were ubject to laws and customs that they didnt understand, and since many of them came from different villages few could communicate with each other (Marques). Slave rebellion was kept under control by the fierce and open violence aimed at those who stepped out of line. Fear for ones life suddenly became more important than freedom for many of the newly enslaved. As the years progressed the slave trade would see fluctuations in the number of slaves exported from Africa and imported to various countries as well as into the colonies, and then the United States of America. Political tensions, including the Revolutionary War, contributed to decline in slave importation but it wasnt until the 1831s that the slave trade essentially ended, at least for the United States. As History is bound to repeat itself, in recent times, there are numerous occasions were slavery has peaked and then declined. Fortunately these recent incidences, have never reached such catastrophic and saddening numbers as the Tran-Atlantic Slave Trade had. Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!. An American History. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton, 2011. Print. Marques, Leonardo. Slave Trading In a New World. Journal of the Early Republic 32. 2 Academic search complete. web. 4 oct. 2012 Morgan, Philip D. Origins of American Slavery. OAH Magazine of History 19. 4 (2005): 51-56. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Oct. 2012 Number of Captives Embarked and Disembarked Per Year. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. Emory University, 2009. Web. 4 Oct. 2012. Slavery. Encyclop? ¦dia Britannica. Encyclop? ¦dia Britannica Online. Encyclop? ¦dia Britannica Inc. , 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012

Globalization of production & the spread of counterfeit products; A Essay

Globalization of production & the spread of counterfeit products; A Comparative analysis of the International Law on counterfeit & Piracy - Essay Example The region has since developed from a mere supplier of raw materials to an emerging production economy brought about by its export capability (Haggett, 2002). On a sad note, however, Asia is now emerging to be the single largest producing region for counterfeits and pirated goods. The Internet lent itself handy as a new platform for boosting sales, with considerable assistance from criminal networks and organised crime. The glitter of enormous profit has encouraged more counterfeiters and pirates to join the bandwagon. Moreover, penalties were believed to be relatively light even when the counterfeiting and piracy operations are detected and the perpetrators are brought to justice (OECD, 2007). This paper discusses the mechanisms which promote the growth of counterfeiting and piracy operations; the existing initiatives and laws in the war against counterfeit and pirated goods with special emphasis on the Southeast Asian region in the light of its new sobriquet as the top manufacturing region for counterfeit and pirated products; and the weaknesses or loopholes of these laws, if any. An attempt was also made to perform a comparative analysis of the policy failures, if any, and successes of coordinated efforts to fight counterfeiting and piracy. Finally, recommendations will be forwarded in the light of the inputs from the data analysed. The OECD (1998) defined counterfeiting as â€Å"an infringement of the legal rights of an owner of intellectual property† (p. 5). This is the broadest essence of the term counterfeiting. To be more specific in this discussion, however, the paper utilised the definitions of counterfeiting and piracy from the context of the TRIPs Agreement2, as counterfeit trademark goods and pirated copyright goods, respectively: Counterfeit trademark goods shall mean any goods, including packaging, bearing without authorisation a trademark which is

Weather Phenomenons vs. Crop Prices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Weather Phenomenons vs. Crop Prices - Essay Example These elements are composed of what is known as weather phenomena such a drought, hurricane, wind, heavy rainfall, and snow. Drought, for example, tends to destroy crops, thereby decreasing its supply in the market and increasing prices. Other weather phenomena also affect the prices of the crops commodities in different ways, as will be discussed in the paper. Weather Phenomenon vs. Crop Prices Introduction In its literal meaning, weather refers to a state of the atmosphere, to the extent to which it is cold, hot, dry, wet, stormy, calm, cloudy, or clear. In general terms, it refers to the day-to-day temperature and rainfall activities. According to Arnold (2010), weather is associated with a number of phenomena that influence greatly the prices of crops. The phenomena include droughts, prolonged heavy rainfalls (El-Nino), hurricanes, hailstorms, lightning, clouds, snow, and wind. The objective of this paper is to explore the current weather phenomena and their impact on crop prices . Drought Drought refers to a period of a dry spell when there is no rainfall. It is one of the major weather phenomena that affect the prices of crops. This is due to the fact that during a dry spell, crops usually dry up in the farms leading to poor harvest. This in turn, will lead to shortage of crops in the market (Bolling, 2000). When such a shortage occurs, the demand of the crops in the market will likely outweigh their supply. This will result in an increase in the price of these crops, as many buyers will be competing to buy them. Such a situation is being witnessed in the Midwest of the USA, where persistent drought has seen the prices of corn increase tremendously over the past few weeks (Sosnowski, 2012). Johnson (2012) notes that 10-months corn futures and soybeans’ prices hitting unprecedentedly high since 2008 are due to the speculation that the spreading drought currently witnessed in the Midwest of the US will cut the US’s supplies of these crops, as i t is the world’s largest producer of the crops. This was after the meteorological department predicted that the Midwest would experience unusually hot and dry spell in the next 10 days, as occasional light showers would be too little for more than brief crop improvements. Gim Gerlach was reported as saying that the crops are shrinking daily, while prices are shooting up for less available supply of crops for domestic use and export (Johnson, 2012). Statistically, corn futures for December supply jumped 4.4% to close at $7.725 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The trade market also had hit $7.78 high early on. This general increase in corn and soybeans due to the drought would also probably lead to inflation. Demand and supply curve: Price S2 S1 P2 D2 P1 D1 D Q2 Q1 Quantity Before the drought hit Midwest, production of corn stood at Q1 at S1 supply curve while price charged was P1and demand D1. However, after the drought hit the country, the supply curve shifted to S2 and the quantity supplied moved to Q2, thereby increasing prices from P1 to P2. The price increase in this case was caused by a fall in supply of corn, as people scrambled for the few remains, shifting the demand to D2. Adequate Rainfall Theoretically, farmers perceive rainy seasons as a period of bumper harvest. This is because the proper frequency of rainfalls leads to a good yield (Libecap & Steckel, 2010). The result would be that there would be enough supply of the crop in question to feed the nation and to export. Similarly, the forces of demand and supply would help determine the prices of the crops. Since supply would be high, this means

The Empires of the Past Essay Example for Free

The Empires of the Past Essay The modern world is shaped by different cultures and beliefs that are rooted from the past. Moreover, most of the strategies and techniques used in architecture, policy making and trade are also handed down from former civilizations. The three most prominent empires that highly influenced modern day culture are the Roman, Gupta and Han empires. These empires rise and fall almost simultaneously while leaving behind a great legacy. Acquisition The Roman Empire (27 B. C. – 476 A. D. ) was acquired after years of civil wars. These wars resulted from the fall of the Roman Republic. It started when the Roman Senate designated Octavious as Agustus. Augustus succeeded in capturing the hearts of the populace. In the process, he successfully managed to end the civil wars across the Roman territory and unite them under one rule. The Gupta empire (320-550 A. D. ) proliferated in the Northern India. It started when different states become reunited under the Gupta’s influence. Furthermore, the empire extends through extensive military conquest to the surrounding states. Han Dynasty started during about 206 B. C until 220 A. D. Economic expansion had been the foremost strategy that expands Han’s territory. Although, they also established military supremacy. Like the Roman and Gupta Empire, the Han dynasty also worked towards to create a united China. Rule The Roman Empire tried to tolerate most of the religion in their territory; however, the government is somehow against Christianity. During the empire’s reign, the people experienced a wide divergence of cultures and beliefs. Arts, mathematics and literature where central to education. The Gupta Empire also invests on education of literature, mathematics and astronomy. They also tolerate different beliefs and tradition especially the prevalence of Hinduism and Buddhism. Han dynasty, while investing in trade and education, promotes philosophical structures of Taoism and Confucianism. They incorporate these traditions into their political and civil systems. All of the empires are believed to encompass the ‘golden age’ in each area. Roman Empire prospered during the Pax Romana. The Gupta Empire had been well-known during the time when trade was abundant in South Asia. Han dynasty reached new regions as it expand its territory and established the ‘Silk Road’ where most merchants enter and live China. Collapse The reign of the different empires started with the goal of reuniting or uniting the different states within and beyond their actual territories. Nonetheless, the expansion later led to lack of sufficient control. Although, bureaucracy was established in all empires, due to several differences, the populace revolts against the government. In the case of the Roman Empire, the fall of the empire was commonly attributed to the rise of Christianity and the economic problems during those years. The Gupta Empire was said to have declined after the invasion of the Huns which caused their trade to falter and raised tension among different regions. Han dynasty was believed to collapse due to corruptions among the officials of the government. Small farmers were mostly the victim of such corruption. Civil wars broke since the people were against the government. Conclusion The impact and legacy of the three different empires discussed are far-reaching. Christianity is still in existence and the prominence of Roman Culture is still significant as of today. Their tradition and heritage, as well as their rhetoric and arts are still studied in various schools and university. Architectures and political structure are highly scrutinized and admired. The regions acquired by the Gupta dynasty resemble most of modern day’s India. The culture and religion that exist before are still in existence. Han dynasty focuses on trade and commerce. These trade expertise and traditions are still adapted by Chinese after communism failed. Modern China has intermixed Taoism and Confucianism as a religion and a way of life. Works Cited Stearns, P. N. Documents in World History. 4th edition. Longman, 2005. Brummett, P. J. , Edgar, R. R. , Hackett, N. J. , Jewsbury, G. F. and Molony, B. S. Civilizations Past and Present Volume 1 to 1650. 11th edition. Longman, 2005.

Family Practice :: Residency Admissions Essays

Family Practice    I was born in Tamil Nadu, a southeastern state in India. I did my schooling in Madras, a large metropolitan city in India. I was interested in science courses especially in Zoology. This interest, combined with my desire to serve the humanity, I set my career goal to become a physician. I then joined Stanley Medical College, which is one of the finest in medical schools in India.    After graduation, I worked for a year with an internist, where I dealt with medical emergencies and did inpatient management. I decided to pursue my postgraduate studies to further broaden my knowledge in July 1993. I chose Obstetrics and Gynecology as my specialty and received my diploma in Ob Gyn in June '95. I participated in the continuing medical education programs and also did bed side teaching for the medical students and received excellent feedback from my preceptors. Following my post graduation, I worked for two years with hands on experience with a variety of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Medical and Surgical cases and attended a free weekly clinic providing primary care to the rural people.    I moved to California in July 1997. I have successfully completed my step one and step two exams in June and March 1998 respectively. In order to gain some insight into the medical practices in the United States, I am volunteering as a research assistant at the Veteran's Affairs Hospital in Palo Alto, an affiliate of the Stanford University School of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, where I am involved with the evaluation of ' The Diagnosis and Staging of Lung Cancer using Positron Emission Tomography', the results of this work will be published in a few months. At the Veteran's Hospital, I also attend the Pulmonary Grand Rounds, Pulmonary Clinics and lectures with the Stanford Residents in the ICU and the GMC. I also volunteer in other primary care facilities. Research and work has given me the opportunity to interact with people and to acclimatize to the US culture.    My personal interest includes Indian classical music and travel. I play the Veena, a string instrument used widely in the Indian Classical Music; which has amazed the western artists for its wide range of musical tones.    Family Practice deals with all the aspects of medicine and focuses on preventive care.

Financial Analysis of Bank of America

Financial Statement Analysis of Bank of America Group 1 Chen, Yelin Dong, Xiaoxu Gransbach, Jennifer Shuai, Wang Weiss, Charles 1Financial Statements of Bank of America1 1. 1Balance sheet1 1. 2Income statement2 1. 3Regulatory capital ratios2 1. 4Investment portfolio2 1. 5Impact of the FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2 on OTTI3 1. 5. 1Bank of America3 1. 5. 2JP Morgan Chase3 1. 5. 3Citi Group3 1. 6Netting Financial Instruments3 1. 6. 1Bank of America4 1. 6. 2Comparable banks4 1. 6. 3Analysis of the impact4 2Fair Value Accounting for Financial Instruments4 2. Fair value accounting4 Table 6 Summary of the Fair Value Income5 2. 2Opinions about fair value accounting5 3Interest Rate Risk and Net Interest Earnings6 3. 1Net interest margin6 3. 2Interest rate risk7 4Credit Risk and Losses7 4. 1Main loss reserve adequacy ratios8 4. 2Policy to designate past due loans as non-performing8 4. 3Adequacy of the bank’s allowance for loan losses8 4. 4Disclosure policies relating to loans8 5Appendix9 * Part 1 Financial Statements of Bank of America . 1. 1 Balance sheetBank of America’s balance sheet has total assets of $2,129,046 million in 2011, which is less than last year’s $2,264,909 million, a fairly significant decline. There are a few primary assets on the balance sheet. The largest asset is loans and leases which makes up 41. 92% of the total assets. The next largest asset was Available-For-Sale securities making up 12. 97% of total assets. Total liabilities on the balance sheet were $1,898,945 million, with the primary liability being deposits in U. S. offices both interest bearing and noninterest bearing, at 50. 4% of total liabilities. The next largest liability was long-term debt at 19. % of total liabilities. In millions| 2011| % of total assets| 2010| % of total assets| % chg from 2010-2011| Total asset| 2,029,046 | 100. 00%| 2,264,909 | 100. 00%| -10. 41%| Loans and leases| 892,417 | 43. 98%| 898,555 | 39. 67%| -0. 68%| Available-for-sale| 276,151 | 13. 61%| 337,627 | 14. 91%| -18. 21%| Total liabilities| 1,898,945 | 93. 59%| 2,036,661 | 89. 92%| -6. 76%| Total deposits| 1,033,041 | 50. 91%| 1,010,430 | 44. 61%| 2. 24%| Deposits in U. S. offices| 957,042 | 47. 17%| 930,913 | 41. 10%| 2. 81%| Long-term debt| 372,265 | 18. 35%| 448,431 | 19. 80%| -16. 98%| Leverage ratio| 14. 0 | ? | 8. 92 | ? | 63. 58%| Table 1 Selected Financial Data from Balance Sheet of Bank of America Chase and Citi are fairly similar in size and distribution of their balance sheets. Chase and Citi have total assets of 2,265,792 and 1,873,878( ) respectively, both with slightly lower loans as a percentage of total assets at slightly over 30%, while AFS securities are around 16% of total assets for each. Liabilities are also very similar, with Chase having total liabilities of $2,082,219 million and Citi $1,694,305 million. The primary line items are also very similar once again with Chase’s total deposits 54. 6% and long-term debt 22. 77% of total lia bilities, while Citi has deposits 51. 11% and long-term debt of 19. 09%. According to the deposits in U. S. offices, BOA focus more in U. S market and Citi focus more on market outside U. S. In millions| Bank of America| % of total assets| JP Morgan Chase| % of total assets| Citi Group| % of total assets| Total asset| 2,129,046 | 100. 00%| 2,265,792 | 100. 00%| 1,873,878 | 100. 00%| Loans and leases| 892,417 | 41. 92%| 696,111 | 30. 72%| 617,127 | 32. 93%| Available-for-sale| 276,151 | 12. 97%| 364,793 | 16. 10%| 293,413 | 15. 66%| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |In millions| Bank of America| % of total liabilities| JP Morgan Chase| % of total liabilities| Citi Group| % of total liabilities| Total liabilities| 1,898,945 | 100. 00%| 2,082,219 | 100. 00%| 1,694,305 | 100. 00%| Total deposits| 1,033,041 | 54. 40%| 1,127,806 | 54. 16%| 865,936 | 51. 11%| Long-term debt| 372,265 | 19. 60%| 256,775 | 22. 77%| 3,235,050 | 190. 94%| Leverage ratio| 8. 25 | ? | 11. 34 | ? | 9. 44 | ? | | | | | | | | In millions| Bank of America| % of total deposits| JP Morgan Chase| % of total deposits| Citi Group| % of total deposits| Deposits in U. S. offices| 957,042 | 92. 64%| 851,534 | 75. 0%| 343,288 | 39. 64%| Table 2 Selected Financial Data from Balance Sheets of Three Banks in 2011 In the event of a bank run, Bank of America will be in trouble due to its high leverage, similar to many banks. Bank of America has deposits of $1,033,041 million, among which liquid assets only have $314,425 million, including cash and cash equivalents of $120,102 million, time deposits and other short-term investments of $26,004 million and trading assets of $169,319 million. Even with the ability to liquidate those non-cash assets, it will still only be able to honor slightly more than 30% of its depositors.Income statement The primary line item on Bank of America’s income statement is net income of $1,446 million, which increased compared to a net loss of 2,238 in 2010. Interest income was $66 ,236 million, down from $75,497 million in 2010. Total interest expense was $21,620 million, which makes the net interest income become $44,616 million, down 13. 4% from the previous year. Lastly, total noninterest income was $48,838 million, decreased by 16. 8% from 2010. This is partly due to the big loss of mortgage banking income, decreasing from $2,734 million in 2010 to $(8,830) million in 2011.Chase and Citi had similar trends, both slightly increasing their bottom line while having net interest income decrease slightly. Regulatory capital ratios 2011| Bank of America| JP Morgan Chase| Citi Group| To be well capitalized| Leverage ratio| 7. 53%| 6. 80%| 7. 19%| 5%| Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio| 12. 40%| 12. 30%| 13. 55%| 6%| Total risk-based| 16. 75%| 15. 40%| 16. 99%| 10%| Table 3 Regulatory Capital Ratios of Three Banks in 2011 In 2011, Bank of America was considered well capitalized for all three regulatory ratios–Tier 1 capital, risk-based capital and leverage.Ba nk of America slightly increased all of its ratios from 2010 to 2011. Its tier 1 capital ratio was 12. 4% while 6% is considered well capitalized, its risk based capital ratio was 16. 75% while 10% is considered well capitalized, and its leverage ratio was 7. 53% while 5% is considered well capitalized. ( Table 4, Table 3) Chase and Citi had very similar ratios to Bank of America. Chase was slightly below Bank of America and Citi for all three ratios but still well above the floor to be well capitalized.Citi had a slightly lower leverage ratio and slightly higher tier 1 capital and risk based capital ratios. Regulatory ratios are fairly important; however there are some issues with them. The ratios are backwards looking, so there could be a large amount of change since in the numbers. There are also lots of adjustments made by the company to the different numbers that make up the ratio that might not even make sense such as ignoring AFS losses. The current risk weighting is also ve ry simplistic currently and might not reflect the actual risk of the assets.One important thing to note is that the newly released Basel III norms by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) would require a higher regulatory capital ratio on banks. It is recommended that Basel III be implemented by January 1, 2015. According to the new rules, the mandatory Tier 1 common capital ratio would be 7%. Banks should maintain conservation buffer of 2. 5% and reserves amounting to 8. 5% of assets. Therefore, in order for Bank of America to meet the future requirements and be well capitalized in face of potential financial meltdowns, it should hold more and better quality capital, carry more liquid ssets, and limit leverage. ( , ) Investment portfolio The net unrealized gains on HTM securities of $177 million = $181 million + ($4) million that have not been recognized in OCI as of the end of 2011 are attributable to HTM securities that have not been deemed other than temporarily (OTT) i mpaired, so that amortized cost is the carrying value. Amortized cost is a highly limited valuation basis for risky securities. There was very little mention of reclassification in Bank of America’s 10-K. There was a mention of a reclassification of $26. billion primarily due to noninterest earning equity securities being moved from trading account assets to other assets, but no mention of anything else. Impact of the FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2 on OTTI Bank of America According to FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2, banks are allowed to report non-credit related OTTI in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI). Only credit-related OTTI is recognized in net income. The Total OTTI losses (unrealized and realized) for 2011 is $360 million, and portion of other-than-temporary impairment losses recognized in other comprehensive income is about $61 millions.The net amount is $299 million which is recognized in earnings on AFS debt securities in 2011, compared to $970 million on AFS debt and mark etable equity securities in 2010. When we compute the regulatory Tier One Capital, the unrealized losses on AFS investments are (added back) excluded. Thus, the $61 million is added back to calculate the Tier One Capital. With adding back, Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio is 12. 40% as shown on 2011 Y9C. In absence of adding back, the ratio is (159,231,999-61,000)/ 1,284,466,933=12. 39%. JP Morgan Chase For JP Morgan Chase, the10K shows Total other-than-temporary impairment losses for are 27, 94, nd 946 million for year 2011, 2010 and 2009 respectively. ( ) However, it doesn’t divide these amounts into credit-related portion and non-credit related portion. Based on the other two banks examples, we can infer that the Tier One Capital for JP Morgan Chase will go up after adoption. Citi Group Citigroup also adopted the same rules above in first quarter of 2009. As a result of the FSP, Company’s Consolidated Statement of Income reflects the full impairment on debt securiti es that the Company intends to sell or would more-likely-than-not be required to sell before the expected recovery of the amortized cost basis.As a result of the adoption of the FSP, Citigroup’s income in the first quarter of 2009 was higher by $631 million on a pretax basis ($391 million on an after-tax basis) and AOCI was decreased by a corresponding amount. However, 2011 10K does not gives details about regarding the credit loss component of OTTI in 2011. When we compute the regulatory Tier One Capital for Citigroup, the unrealized losses from non-credit loss component on debt securities are (added back) excluded, which leads to an increase in Tier One Capital.Netting Financial Instruments | Â  | Bank of America| JP Morgan Chase| Citi Group| IFRS(Before netting)| Total assets| 2,130,796| 3,976,317| 2,749,470| | Total debt| 1,900,695| 3,792,742| 2,564,671| | Total equity| 230,101| 183,575| 184,799| | Leverage ratio| 8. 26| 20. 66| 13. 88| GAAP(After netting)| Total assets| 2,129,046| 2,265,792| 1,873,878| | Total debt| 1,898,945| 2,082,219| 1,694,305| | Total equity| 230,101| 183,573| 179,573| | Leverage ratio| 8. 25| 11. 34| 9. 44| Table 4 Netting Adjustments for Three Banks in 2011 Bank of AmericaAccording to Note 4—Derivatives, Bank of America had legally enforceable master netting agreement that would reduce both derivative assets and derivative liabilities by the same amount of 1,749. 9 million, respectively. Moreover, cash collateral was applied to net off derivative assets by 58. 9 million and derivative liabilities by 51. 9 million, respectively. However, the reduction caused by cash collateral wouldn’t affect total assets and total liabilities. If Band of America were to adopt IFRS, it would report higher gross derivative assets and liabilities by an increase of 1,749. million. However, the adjustment (1,749. 9 million) was insignificant compared to Bank of America’s total asset base (2,129,046 million, about 0. 08%). Th erefore, the leverage ratio would only increase slightly due to this change, from 8. 25 under GAAP to 8. 26 under IFRS. Comparable banks J. P. Morgan Chase’s gross derivative assets were offset by 1,710,525 million netting adjustments and gross derivative liabilities by 1,710,523. Such adjustments almost made up of 75% of Chase’s total asset base which is 2,265,792 million.Therefore, if to adopt IFRS, Chase would record a much higher assets and liabilities up to 3,976,317 million and 3,792,742 million, respectively. Leverage ratio, accordingly, would rise from 11. 34 to 20. 66, with an almost doubled increase. Citi Group’s netting adjustments of 875,592 million against derivative assets made up 46. 7% of total assets, and 870,366 million against derivative liabilities made up 33. 9% of total liabilities. When adopting IFRS, Citi would report a higher assets and liabilities, with its leveraging ratio growing from 9. 44 to 13. 88 due to the significant amount of t he netting adjustments. Analysis of the impactFrom the above table, we can see that Bank of America was merely affected by the presentation of netting financial instruments, while the other two banks were greatly affected in terms of leverage ratio. The main reason to such a distinguished difference is that Bank of America had the smallest investment in derivative instruments, compared to Chase and Citi. The gross approach would definitely give a more comprehensive picture of banks’ derivative instruments; however, it would overstate risk to some extent. Market risk of the derivative positions can be better evaluated using the gross presentation which is more detailed.Firstly, net figures are by far more relevant metrics than the gross amounts. Naturally, this comes about from looking to the way that derivatives are traded under an enforceable master netting agreement. The master netting agreement allows for the aggregation of all trades and the replacement by a single net am ount. Secondly, another metric to measure derivative portfolios is volatility which is driven by the risk of open market positions and the potential changes in net asset values and not the size of gross derivatives amounts.Therefore, gross balance sheet amounts are not particularly useful indicators of how much net derivative asset values would have to change before solvency is affected. Finally, as the third most important metric when evaluating the risks, collateral together with cash settlement procedures results in a liquidity profile that is more aligned with net presentation. Collateral amounts further reduce the risks and have to be taken into consideration for reporting derivatives Fair Value Accounting for Financial InstrumentsFair value accounting From table 5 and the three computation tables in Appendix, we can see that under Full Fair Value method, Bank of America’s net income would grow from 1,446 million to 2,750 million, an increase of 90. 2%. Similarly, Citi w ould experience an increase of 128. 2% in net income from 11,067 million to 25,257 million. However, full fair value method had insignificant impact on Chase, with a total adjustment of 1,773 million compared to its pre-adjustment net income of 18,976 million.In millions| Bank of America| JP Morgan Chase| Citi Group| Adjustments for assets and liabilities at HC on balance sheet| 6,127 | 1,140 | 12,000 | Adjustments for assets and liabilities at FV on balance sheet with gains and losses in OCI| -4,819 | 633 | 2,190 | Total adjustment| 1,308 | 1,773 | 14,190 | Net income as per financial statements| 1,446 | 18,976 | 11,215 | Full fair value income with information available| 2,754 | 20,749 | 25,405 | * Table 5 Summary of the Fair Value IncomeAnother thing to note is that BOA stands out as it had a significant unrealized loss of 4,819 million on AFS, while its comparable banks, Chase and Citi, had a positive gain of 633 million and 2,190 million, respectively. Based on our analysis, su ch difference was driven by the following factors. (1). According to its disclosure, Bank of America recognized $299 million of other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) losses in earnings on AFS debt securities in 2011 compared to $970 million on AFS debt and marketable equity securities in 2010, which contributes greatly in such a large amount of unrealized loss on AFS.The recognition of OTTI losses on AFS debt and marketable equity securities is based on a variety of factors, including the length of time and extent to which the market value has been less than amortized cost, the financial condition of the issuer of the security including credit ratings and any specific events affecting the operations of the issuer, underlying assets that collateralize the debt security, other industry and macroeconomic conditions, and management’s intent and ability to hold the security to recovery. (2).According to its disclosure, Bank of America presents debt securities purchased for longer term investment purposes which are as part of asset and liability management (ALM) and other strategic activities, as available-for-sale (AFS) securities, and report these securities at fair value with net unrealized gains and losses included in accumulated OCI. In 2011, the fair value of net ALM contracts decreased $7. 9 billion to a gain of $4. 7 billion, compared to $12. 6 billion in 2010. The decrease was primarily attributable to changes in the value of U. S. dollar-denominated pay-fixed interest rate swaps of $9. billion, foreign exchange contracts of $1. 8 billion and foreign exchange basis swaps of $1. 4 billion. The decrease was partially offset by a gain from the changes in the value of U. S. dollar-denominated receive-fixed interest rate swaps of $6. 6 billion. Opinions about fair value accounting Fair Value Accounting has many advantages and disadvantages as listed below. FVA advantages include the following: FVA depicts a clearer picture of the company’s financi al situation, as it provides an accurate asset and liability valuation as the prices are reflected in the market price.Fair value accounting limits managers’ ability to manipulate the reported net income, as the gains and losses are reported in the period they occur, not when they are realized as the result of a transaction. For Level 1 & 2, the price for financial instruments, are available in a liquid market. While under amortized accounting method, firms can manage their income through the selective realization of cumulative unrealized gains and losses on positions, an activity referred to as gains trading.FVA provides investors with more accurate, timely, and comparable financial information versus other alternative accounting approaches, even during extreme market conditions. Gains & losses resulting from changes in fair value estimates indicate economic events that companies and investors may find worthy of additional disclosures. Under amortized accounting, income typi cally is persistent for as long as firms hold positions, but becomes transitory when positions mature or are disposed of and firms replace them with new positions at current market terms.Disadvantages of FVA include: The price for certain assets and liabilities may fluctuate often, resulting in higher volatility than other accounting methods. When the market is volatile, the price for financial instruments may change a lot, so companies may recognize gains/losses. This volatility of earnings would make it more difficult for users to predict future performance and make regulatory capital ratio vary dramatically across periods. A solution for this disadvantage is regulatory capital should be delinked from fair value and reported by using historic cost information.After the market stabilizes, the price may change back to the normal level. Not every asset or liability can be easily fair valued. For financial instruments in level 3, there is no fair value in the liquidity market. Manager s need model to estimate the value of financial instruments in level 3. Using fair value accounting may have adverse effect on a down market. Companies may sell some financial instruments whose value decreased because of the drop in the current market price. They may not realize the drop without the fair value accounting.The market may stabilize over time, and the price for the financial instruments will return to their normal level. Another issue with fair value accounting is that when the market for instruments freezes up and there’s no liquidity in the market, financial instruments would have to be valued by using mark-to-model which in many situations are not reliable and transparent to investors. A solution to this is that regulators provide more specific guidance on how to determine fair value for financial statements.Disclosure requirements would include disclosure of fair value of all financial instruments along with method adopted to determine fair values, any signif icant assumptions used in their estimation, some indications of the sensitivity of the estimated fair value to these assumptions, and discussion of risk exposure and issues associated with the estimation of fair value. In addition, fair value accounting has very significant feedback effects, especially during financial crisis.Fair value accounting would further contribute to the deterioration in the value of a company’s financial instruments or assets and make it more difficult for companies to recover from the crisis. Recommendation here is that in special situations, regulators would allow companies that face severe crisis to adopt other accounting methods temporarily and minimize the loss of these companies. In summary, fair value has both advantages and disadvantages under today’s economy. FVA provides better insight of the financial statements, in ddition to limiting the potential for manipulation. However, in my opinion, under today’s economy situation, it is hard to fully implement the fair value accounting. Every disadvantage has proposed solutions to resolve the issues identified. Overall, FVA is recommended for use. Interest Rate Risk and Net Interest Earnings Net interest margin The net interest yield on a FTE basis was 2. 48 percent for 2011 compared to 2. 78 percent for 2010. Net interest income on a FTE basis decreased $7. 1 billion in 2011 to $45. 6 billion. The decline was primarily due to: (1).There’s a noticeable decrease in the yield on consumer loans from 6. 04% in 2010 to 5. 37% in 2011, which reduces net interest income by about 4,244 million (633,507 million * 0. 57%). * Debt securities and residential mortgage mainly contributed to the decline. The yield rate for debt securities decreased from 3. 66% to 2. 85%, and the residential mortgage from 4. 78% to 4. 18%. (2). Noninterest income declined from the previous year due to lower mortgage banking income, reflecting$11. 6 billion in representations and warrant ies costs and decline of $3. billion income from trading account profits. Noninterest income being the major source of Bank of America's income drastically impacts the profitability of the company. (3). In 2011 Bank of America had a decreased investment security yields, including the acceleration of purchase premium amortization from an increase in modeled prepayment expectations, and increased hedge ineffectiveness. (4). Bank of America’s declining net interest margin was partially offset by ongoing reductions in its debt footprint and lower rates paid on deposits.The total U. S interest-bearing deposits had an average yield of 0. 36%, compared to 0. 55% in 2008. Such downward trend in net interest margin can be observed in other banks as well. The following table presents total interest-earning assets rate and total interest-bearing liabilities for all three banks over 2009 to 2011. As shown, all banks experienced a decline in interest-earning assets rate over three years: 1) BOA from 4. 31% in 2009 to 3. 65% in 2011, with an average decrease of 8% every year; 2) Chase from 4. 04% to 3. 1%, with an average decrease of 6. 8%; 3) Citi from 4. 78% to 4. 27%, with an average decrease of 5. 5%. The main reasons for the other two banks’ declining net interest margin were higher deposit balances with lower loan yields. | Bank of America| JP Morgan Chase| Citi Group| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2011| 2010| 2009| Total interest-earning assets rate| 3. 65%| 4. 02%| 4. 31%| 3. 51%| 3. 83%| 4. 04%| 4. 27%| 4. 55%| 4. 78%| Total interest-bearing liabilities| 1. 39%| 1. 39%| 1. 77%| 0. 86%| 0. 84%| 1. 02%| 1. 63%| 1. 61%| 1. 3%| Table 6 Net Interest Margin of Three Banks Interest rate risk BOA’s net interest income decreased by $2,122 million in 2011 and $998 million in 2010 from a 1% downward parallel shift in interest rate. 1% downward change in interest rate results in a bigger decrease in net interest income in 2011 than in 2010. However , according Chase’s 10K, downward 100bps parallel shocks result in a Federal Funds target rate of zero and negative three- and six-month treasury rates. The earnings-at-risk results of such a low-probability scenario are not meaningful.For Citi, a 100 bps decrease in interest rates would imply negative rates for the yield curve, so not meaningful either. 1% downward shift| 2011| 2010| BOA| ($2,122)| ($998)| JP Morgan Chase| NM| NM| Citi Group| NM| NM| Table 7 The Impact of 1% downward shift on Net Interest Income BOA’s net interest income would increase by $1,505 million in 2011 and $601 million in 2010 from a 1% upward parallel shift in interest rate. The same as downward change, 1% upward change in interest rate also would result in a bigger increase in the net interest income in 2011 than in 2010.Compared with BOA, 1% upward shift in interest rate has a bigger impact for Chase and smaller impact for Citi. 1% upward shift| 2011| 2010| Bank of America| $1,505 | $601 | JP Morgan Chase| $2,326 | $1,483 | Citi Group| $97 | ($105)| Table 8 The Impact of 1% Upward Shift on Net Interest Income Credit Risk and Losses Main loss reserve adequacy ratios Policy to designate past due loans as non-performing Adequacy of the bank’s allowance for loan losses Disclosure policies relating to loans Appendix BOAIn $ millions| 2011| 2011| 2010| 2010| 2011| 2010| 2011| ? | Carrying Value| Fair Value| Carrying Value| Fair Value| CURG| CURG| URG| Adjustments for assets and liabilities at HC on balance sheet| Assets:| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Held-to maturity debt securities| 35,265 | 35,442 | 427 | 427 | 177 | – | 177 | Loans| 870,520 | 843,392 | 876,739 | 861,695 | (27,128)| (15,044)| (12,084)| Total assets| 905,785 | 878,834 | 877,166 | 862,122 | (26,951)| (15,044)| (11,907)| Liabilities:| ? ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Deposits| 1,033,041 | 1,033,248 | 1,010,430 | 1,010,460 | 207 | 30 | 177 | Long-term debt| 372,265 | 343,211 | 448,431 | 441,672 | (29,0 54)| (6,759)| (22,295)| Total liabilities| 1,405,306 | 1,376,459 | 1,458,861 | 1,452,132 | (28,847)| (6,729)| (22,118)| Pretax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,896 | (8,315)| 10,211 | Aftertax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? ? | 6,127 | Adjustments for assets and liabilities at FV on balance sheet with gains and losses in OCI? | Aftertax adjustment for AFS securities| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (4,270)| Aftertax adjustment for CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (549)| Total adjustment to net income| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,308 | Net income as per financial statements| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,446 | Full fair value income with information available| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 2,754 | JP Morgan ChaseIn $ millions| 2011| 2011| 2010| 2010| 2011| 2010| 2011| ? | Carrying Value| Fair Value| Carrying Value| Fair Value| CURG| CURG| URG| Adjustments for assets and liabilities at HC on balance sheet| Assets:| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Loans| 696,100 | 695,800 | 660,700 | 663,500 | (300)| 2,800 | (3,100)| Other| 66,300 | 66,800 | 64,900 | 65,000 | 500 | 100 | 400 | Total assets| 762,400 | 762,600 | 725,600 | 728,500 | 200 | 2,900 | (2,700)| Liabilities:| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |Deposits| 1,127,800 | 1,128,300 | 930,400 | 931,500 | 500 | 1,100 | (600)| Accounts payable and other liabilities| 167,000 | 166,900 | 138,200 | 138,200 | (100)| – | (100)| Beneficial interests issued by consolidated VIEs| 66,000 | 66,200 | 77,600 | 77,900 | 200 | 300 | (100)| Long-term debt and junior subordinated deferrable interest debentures| 256,800 | 254,200 | 270,700 | 271,900 | (2,600)| 1,200 | (3,800)| Total liabilities| 1,617,600 | 1,615,600 | 1,416,900 | 1,419,500 | (2,000)| 2,600 | (4,600)| Pretax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? ? | ? | 2,200 | 300 | 1,900 | Aftertax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,140 | Adjustment s for assets and liabilities at FV on balance sheet with gains and losses in OCI| Aftertax adjustment for AFS securities| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,067 | Aftertax adjustment for CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (279)| Cash flow hedge| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (155)| Total adjustment to net income| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,773 | Net income as per financial statements| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 18,976 | Full fair value income with information available| ? ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 20,749 | Citi Group In $ millions| 2011| 2011| 2010| 2010| 2011| 2010| 2011| ? | Carrying Value| Fair Value| Carrying Value| Fair Value| CURG| CURG| URG| Adjustments for assets and liabilities at HC on balance sheet? | Assets:| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Investment| 293,400 | 292,400 | 318,200 | 319,000 | (1,000)| 800 | (1,800)| Loans| 614,600 | 603,900 | 605,500 | 584,300 | (10,700)| (21,200)| 10,500 | Total assets| 908,000 | 896,300 | 923,700 | 903,300 | (11,700)| (20,400)| 8,700 | Liabilities:| ? ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Deposits| 865,900 | 865,800 | 845,000 | 843,200 | (100)| (1,800)| 1,700 | Long-term debt| 323,500 | 313,800 | 381,200 | 384,500 | (9,700)| 3,300 | (13,000)| Total liabilities| 1,189,400 | 1,179,600 | 1,226,200 | 1,227,700 | (9,800)| 1,500 | (11,300)| Pretax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | (1,900)| (21,900)| 20,000 | Aftertax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 12,000 | Adjustments for assets and liabilities at FV on balance sheet with gains and losses in OCI| Aftertax adjustment for AFS securities| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 2,360 | Cash flow hedge| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (170)| Total adjustment to net income| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 14,190 | Net income as per financial statements| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 11,215 | Full fair value income with information available| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 25,405 | Financial Analysis of Bank of America Financial Statement Analysis of Bank of America Group 1 Chen, Yelin Dong, Xiaoxu Gransbach, Jennifer Shuai, Wang Weiss, Charles 1Financial Statements of Bank of America1 1. 1Balance sheet1 1. 2Income statement2 1. 3Regulatory capital ratios2 1. 4Investment portfolio2 1. 5Impact of the FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2 on OTTI3 1. 5. 1Bank of America3 1. 5. 2JP Morgan Chase3 1. 5. 3Citi Group3 1. 6Netting Financial Instruments3 1. 6. 1Bank of America4 1. 6. 2Comparable banks4 1. 6. 3Analysis of the impact4 2Fair Value Accounting for Financial Instruments4 2. Fair value accounting4 Table 6 Summary of the Fair Value Income5 2. 2Opinions about fair value accounting5 3Interest Rate Risk and Net Interest Earnings6 3. 1Net interest margin6 3. 2Interest rate risk7 4Credit Risk and Losses7 4. 1Main loss reserve adequacy ratios8 4. 2Policy to designate past due loans as non-performing8 4. 3Adequacy of the bank’s allowance for loan losses8 4. 4Disclosure policies relating to loans8 5Appendix9 * Part 1 Financial Statements of Bank of America . 1. 1 Balance sheetBank of America’s balance sheet has total assets of $2,129,046 million in 2011, which is less than last year’s $2,264,909 million, a fairly significant decline. There are a few primary assets on the balance sheet. The largest asset is loans and leases which makes up 41. 92% of the total assets. The next largest asset was Available-For-Sale securities making up 12. 97% of total assets. Total liabilities on the balance sheet were $1,898,945 million, with the primary liability being deposits in U. S. offices both interest bearing and noninterest bearing, at 50. 4% of total liabilities. The next largest liability was long-term debt at 19. % of total liabilities. In millions| 2011| % of total assets| 2010| % of total assets| % chg from 2010-2011| Total asset| 2,029,046 | 100. 00%| 2,264,909 | 100. 00%| -10. 41%| Loans and leases| 892,417 | 43. 98%| 898,555 | 39. 67%| -0. 68%| Available-for-sale| 276,151 | 13. 61%| 337,627 | 14. 91%| -18. 21%| Total liabilities| 1,898,945 | 93. 59%| 2,036,661 | 89. 92%| -6. 76%| Total deposits| 1,033,041 | 50. 91%| 1,010,430 | 44. 61%| 2. 24%| Deposits in U. S. offices| 957,042 | 47. 17%| 930,913 | 41. 10%| 2. 81%| Long-term debt| 372,265 | 18. 35%| 448,431 | 19. 80%| -16. 98%| Leverage ratio| 14. 0 | ? | 8. 92 | ? | 63. 58%| Table 1 Selected Financial Data from Balance Sheet of Bank of America Chase and Citi are fairly similar in size and distribution of their balance sheets. Chase and Citi have total assets of 2,265,792 and 1,873,878( ) respectively, both with slightly lower loans as a percentage of total assets at slightly over 30%, while AFS securities are around 16% of total assets for each. Liabilities are also very similar, with Chase having total liabilities of $2,082,219 million and Citi $1,694,305 million. The primary line items are also very similar once again with Chase’s total deposits 54. 6% and long-term debt 22. 77% of total lia bilities, while Citi has deposits 51. 11% and long-term debt of 19. 09%. According to the deposits in U. S. offices, BOA focus more in U. S market and Citi focus more on market outside U. S. In millions| Bank of America| % of total assets| JP Morgan Chase| % of total assets| Citi Group| % of total assets| Total asset| 2,129,046 | 100. 00%| 2,265,792 | 100. 00%| 1,873,878 | 100. 00%| Loans and leases| 892,417 | 41. 92%| 696,111 | 30. 72%| 617,127 | 32. 93%| Available-for-sale| 276,151 | 12. 97%| 364,793 | 16. 10%| 293,413 | 15. 66%| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |In millions| Bank of America| % of total liabilities| JP Morgan Chase| % of total liabilities| Citi Group| % of total liabilities| Total liabilities| 1,898,945 | 100. 00%| 2,082,219 | 100. 00%| 1,694,305 | 100. 00%| Total deposits| 1,033,041 | 54. 40%| 1,127,806 | 54. 16%| 865,936 | 51. 11%| Long-term debt| 372,265 | 19. 60%| 256,775 | 22. 77%| 3,235,050 | 190. 94%| Leverage ratio| 8. 25 | ? | 11. 34 | ? | 9. 44 | ? | | | | | | | | In millions| Bank of America| % of total deposits| JP Morgan Chase| % of total deposits| Citi Group| % of total deposits| Deposits in U. S. offices| 957,042 | 92. 64%| 851,534 | 75. 0%| 343,288 | 39. 64%| Table 2 Selected Financial Data from Balance Sheets of Three Banks in 2011 In the event of a bank run, Bank of America will be in trouble due to its high leverage, similar to many banks. Bank of America has deposits of $1,033,041 million, among which liquid assets only have $314,425 million, including cash and cash equivalents of $120,102 million, time deposits and other short-term investments of $26,004 million and trading assets of $169,319 million. Even with the ability to liquidate those non-cash assets, it will still only be able to honor slightly more than 30% of its depositors.Income statement The primary line item on Bank of America’s income statement is net income of $1,446 million, which increased compared to a net loss of 2,238 in 2010. Interest income was $66 ,236 million, down from $75,497 million in 2010. Total interest expense was $21,620 million, which makes the net interest income become $44,616 million, down 13. 4% from the previous year. Lastly, total noninterest income was $48,838 million, decreased by 16. 8% from 2010. This is partly due to the big loss of mortgage banking income, decreasing from $2,734 million in 2010 to $(8,830) million in 2011.Chase and Citi had similar trends, both slightly increasing their bottom line while having net interest income decrease slightly. Regulatory capital ratios 2011| Bank of America| JP Morgan Chase| Citi Group| To be well capitalized| Leverage ratio| 7. 53%| 6. 80%| 7. 19%| 5%| Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio| 12. 40%| 12. 30%| 13. 55%| 6%| Total risk-based| 16. 75%| 15. 40%| 16. 99%| 10%| Table 3 Regulatory Capital Ratios of Three Banks in 2011 In 2011, Bank of America was considered well capitalized for all three regulatory ratios–Tier 1 capital, risk-based capital and leverage.Ba nk of America slightly increased all of its ratios from 2010 to 2011. Its tier 1 capital ratio was 12. 4% while 6% is considered well capitalized, its risk based capital ratio was 16. 75% while 10% is considered well capitalized, and its leverage ratio was 7. 53% while 5% is considered well capitalized. ( Table 4, Table 3) Chase and Citi had very similar ratios to Bank of America. Chase was slightly below Bank of America and Citi for all three ratios but still well above the floor to be well capitalized.Citi had a slightly lower leverage ratio and slightly higher tier 1 capital and risk based capital ratios. Regulatory ratios are fairly important; however there are some issues with them. The ratios are backwards looking, so there could be a large amount of change since in the numbers. There are also lots of adjustments made by the company to the different numbers that make up the ratio that might not even make sense such as ignoring AFS losses. The current risk weighting is also ve ry simplistic currently and might not reflect the actual risk of the assets.One important thing to note is that the newly released Basel III norms by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) would require a higher regulatory capital ratio on banks. It is recommended that Basel III be implemented by January 1, 2015. According to the new rules, the mandatory Tier 1 common capital ratio would be 7%. Banks should maintain conservation buffer of 2. 5% and reserves amounting to 8. 5% of assets. Therefore, in order for Bank of America to meet the future requirements and be well capitalized in face of potential financial meltdowns, it should hold more and better quality capital, carry more liquid ssets, and limit leverage. ( , ) Investment portfolio The net unrealized gains on HTM securities of $177 million = $181 million + ($4) million that have not been recognized in OCI as of the end of 2011 are attributable to HTM securities that have not been deemed other than temporarily (OTT) i mpaired, so that amortized cost is the carrying value. Amortized cost is a highly limited valuation basis for risky securities. There was very little mention of reclassification in Bank of America’s 10-K. There was a mention of a reclassification of $26. billion primarily due to noninterest earning equity securities being moved from trading account assets to other assets, but no mention of anything else. Impact of the FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2 on OTTI Bank of America According to FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2, banks are allowed to report non-credit related OTTI in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI). Only credit-related OTTI is recognized in net income. The Total OTTI losses (unrealized and realized) for 2011 is $360 million, and portion of other-than-temporary impairment losses recognized in other comprehensive income is about $61 millions.The net amount is $299 million which is recognized in earnings on AFS debt securities in 2011, compared to $970 million on AFS debt and mark etable equity securities in 2010. When we compute the regulatory Tier One Capital, the unrealized losses on AFS investments are (added back) excluded. Thus, the $61 million is added back to calculate the Tier One Capital. With adding back, Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio is 12. 40% as shown on 2011 Y9C. In absence of adding back, the ratio is (159,231,999-61,000)/ 1,284,466,933=12. 39%. JP Morgan Chase For JP Morgan Chase, the10K shows Total other-than-temporary impairment losses for are 27, 94, nd 946 million for year 2011, 2010 and 2009 respectively. ( ) However, it doesn’t divide these amounts into credit-related portion and non-credit related portion. Based on the other two banks examples, we can infer that the Tier One Capital for JP Morgan Chase will go up after adoption. Citi Group Citigroup also adopted the same rules above in first quarter of 2009. As a result of the FSP, Company’s Consolidated Statement of Income reflects the full impairment on debt securiti es that the Company intends to sell or would more-likely-than-not be required to sell before the expected recovery of the amortized cost basis.As a result of the adoption of the FSP, Citigroup’s income in the first quarter of 2009 was higher by $631 million on a pretax basis ($391 million on an after-tax basis) and AOCI was decreased by a corresponding amount. However, 2011 10K does not gives details about regarding the credit loss component of OTTI in 2011. When we compute the regulatory Tier One Capital for Citigroup, the unrealized losses from non-credit loss component on debt securities are (added back) excluded, which leads to an increase in Tier One Capital.Netting Financial Instruments | Â  | Bank of America| JP Morgan Chase| Citi Group| IFRS(Before netting)| Total assets| 2,130,796| 3,976,317| 2,749,470| | Total debt| 1,900,695| 3,792,742| 2,564,671| | Total equity| 230,101| 183,575| 184,799| | Leverage ratio| 8. 26| 20. 66| 13. 88| GAAP(After netting)| Total assets| 2,129,046| 2,265,792| 1,873,878| | Total debt| 1,898,945| 2,082,219| 1,694,305| | Total equity| 230,101| 183,573| 179,573| | Leverage ratio| 8. 25| 11. 34| 9. 44| Table 4 Netting Adjustments for Three Banks in 2011 Bank of AmericaAccording to Note 4—Derivatives, Bank of America had legally enforceable master netting agreement that would reduce both derivative assets and derivative liabilities by the same amount of 1,749. 9 million, respectively. Moreover, cash collateral was applied to net off derivative assets by 58. 9 million and derivative liabilities by 51. 9 million, respectively. However, the reduction caused by cash collateral wouldn’t affect total assets and total liabilities. If Band of America were to adopt IFRS, it would report higher gross derivative assets and liabilities by an increase of 1,749. million. However, the adjustment (1,749. 9 million) was insignificant compared to Bank of America’s total asset base (2,129,046 million, about 0. 08%). Th erefore, the leverage ratio would only increase slightly due to this change, from 8. 25 under GAAP to 8. 26 under IFRS. Comparable banks J. P. Morgan Chase’s gross derivative assets were offset by 1,710,525 million netting adjustments and gross derivative liabilities by 1,710,523. Such adjustments almost made up of 75% of Chase’s total asset base which is 2,265,792 million.Therefore, if to adopt IFRS, Chase would record a much higher assets and liabilities up to 3,976,317 million and 3,792,742 million, respectively. Leverage ratio, accordingly, would rise from 11. 34 to 20. 66, with an almost doubled increase. Citi Group’s netting adjustments of 875,592 million against derivative assets made up 46. 7% of total assets, and 870,366 million against derivative liabilities made up 33. 9% of total liabilities. When adopting IFRS, Citi would report a higher assets and liabilities, with its leveraging ratio growing from 9. 44 to 13. 88 due to the significant amount of t he netting adjustments. Analysis of the impactFrom the above table, we can see that Bank of America was merely affected by the presentation of netting financial instruments, while the other two banks were greatly affected in terms of leverage ratio. The main reason to such a distinguished difference is that Bank of America had the smallest investment in derivative instruments, compared to Chase and Citi. The gross approach would definitely give a more comprehensive picture of banks’ derivative instruments; however, it would overstate risk to some extent. Market risk of the derivative positions can be better evaluated using the gross presentation which is more detailed.Firstly, net figures are by far more relevant metrics than the gross amounts. Naturally, this comes about from looking to the way that derivatives are traded under an enforceable master netting agreement. The master netting agreement allows for the aggregation of all trades and the replacement by a single net am ount. Secondly, another metric to measure derivative portfolios is volatility which is driven by the risk of open market positions and the potential changes in net asset values and not the size of gross derivatives amounts.Therefore, gross balance sheet amounts are not particularly useful indicators of how much net derivative asset values would have to change before solvency is affected. Finally, as the third most important metric when evaluating the risks, collateral together with cash settlement procedures results in a liquidity profile that is more aligned with net presentation. Collateral amounts further reduce the risks and have to be taken into consideration for reporting derivatives Fair Value Accounting for Financial InstrumentsFair value accounting From table 5 and the three computation tables in Appendix, we can see that under Full Fair Value method, Bank of America’s net income would grow from 1,446 million to 2,750 million, an increase of 90. 2%. Similarly, Citi w ould experience an increase of 128. 2% in net income from 11,067 million to 25,257 million. However, full fair value method had insignificant impact on Chase, with a total adjustment of 1,773 million compared to its pre-adjustment net income of 18,976 million.In millions| Bank of America| JP Morgan Chase| Citi Group| Adjustments for assets and liabilities at HC on balance sheet| 6,127 | 1,140 | 12,000 | Adjustments for assets and liabilities at FV on balance sheet with gains and losses in OCI| -4,819 | 633 | 2,190 | Total adjustment| 1,308 | 1,773 | 14,190 | Net income as per financial statements| 1,446 | 18,976 | 11,215 | Full fair value income with information available| 2,754 | 20,749 | 25,405 | * Table 5 Summary of the Fair Value IncomeAnother thing to note is that BOA stands out as it had a significant unrealized loss of 4,819 million on AFS, while its comparable banks, Chase and Citi, had a positive gain of 633 million and 2,190 million, respectively. Based on our analysis, su ch difference was driven by the following factors. (1). According to its disclosure, Bank of America recognized $299 million of other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) losses in earnings on AFS debt securities in 2011 compared to $970 million on AFS debt and marketable equity securities in 2010, which contributes greatly in such a large amount of unrealized loss on AFS.The recognition of OTTI losses on AFS debt and marketable equity securities is based on a variety of factors, including the length of time and extent to which the market value has been less than amortized cost, the financial condition of the issuer of the security including credit ratings and any specific events affecting the operations of the issuer, underlying assets that collateralize the debt security, other industry and macroeconomic conditions, and management’s intent and ability to hold the security to recovery. (2).According to its disclosure, Bank of America presents debt securities purchased for longer term investment purposes which are as part of asset and liability management (ALM) and other strategic activities, as available-for-sale (AFS) securities, and report these securities at fair value with net unrealized gains and losses included in accumulated OCI. In 2011, the fair value of net ALM contracts decreased $7. 9 billion to a gain of $4. 7 billion, compared to $12. 6 billion in 2010. The decrease was primarily attributable to changes in the value of U. S. dollar-denominated pay-fixed interest rate swaps of $9. billion, foreign exchange contracts of $1. 8 billion and foreign exchange basis swaps of $1. 4 billion. The decrease was partially offset by a gain from the changes in the value of U. S. dollar-denominated receive-fixed interest rate swaps of $6. 6 billion. Opinions about fair value accounting Fair Value Accounting has many advantages and disadvantages as listed below. FVA advantages include the following: FVA depicts a clearer picture of the company’s financi al situation, as it provides an accurate asset and liability valuation as the prices are reflected in the market price.Fair value accounting limits managers’ ability to manipulate the reported net income, as the gains and losses are reported in the period they occur, not when they are realized as the result of a transaction. For Level 1 & 2, the price for financial instruments, are available in a liquid market. While under amortized accounting method, firms can manage their income through the selective realization of cumulative unrealized gains and losses on positions, an activity referred to as gains trading.FVA provides investors with more accurate, timely, and comparable financial information versus other alternative accounting approaches, even during extreme market conditions. Gains & losses resulting from changes in fair value estimates indicate economic events that companies and investors may find worthy of additional disclosures. Under amortized accounting, income typi cally is persistent for as long as firms hold positions, but becomes transitory when positions mature or are disposed of and firms replace them with new positions at current market terms.Disadvantages of FVA include: The price for certain assets and liabilities may fluctuate often, resulting in higher volatility than other accounting methods. When the market is volatile, the price for financial instruments may change a lot, so companies may recognize gains/losses. This volatility of earnings would make it more difficult for users to predict future performance and make regulatory capital ratio vary dramatically across periods. A solution for this disadvantage is regulatory capital should be delinked from fair value and reported by using historic cost information.After the market stabilizes, the price may change back to the normal level. Not every asset or liability can be easily fair valued. For financial instruments in level 3, there is no fair value in the liquidity market. Manager s need model to estimate the value of financial instruments in level 3. Using fair value accounting may have adverse effect on a down market. Companies may sell some financial instruments whose value decreased because of the drop in the current market price. They may not realize the drop without the fair value accounting.The market may stabilize over time, and the price for the financial instruments will return to their normal level. Another issue with fair value accounting is that when the market for instruments freezes up and there’s no liquidity in the market, financial instruments would have to be valued by using mark-to-model which in many situations are not reliable and transparent to investors. A solution to this is that regulators provide more specific guidance on how to determine fair value for financial statements.Disclosure requirements would include disclosure of fair value of all financial instruments along with method adopted to determine fair values, any signif icant assumptions used in their estimation, some indications of the sensitivity of the estimated fair value to these assumptions, and discussion of risk exposure and issues associated with the estimation of fair value. In addition, fair value accounting has very significant feedback effects, especially during financial crisis.Fair value accounting would further contribute to the deterioration in the value of a company’s financial instruments or assets and make it more difficult for companies to recover from the crisis. Recommendation here is that in special situations, regulators would allow companies that face severe crisis to adopt other accounting methods temporarily and minimize the loss of these companies. In summary, fair value has both advantages and disadvantages under today’s economy. FVA provides better insight of the financial statements, in ddition to limiting the potential for manipulation. However, in my opinion, under today’s economy situation, it is hard to fully implement the fair value accounting. Every disadvantage has proposed solutions to resolve the issues identified. Overall, FVA is recommended for use. Interest Rate Risk and Net Interest Earnings Net interest margin The net interest yield on a FTE basis was 2. 48 percent for 2011 compared to 2. 78 percent for 2010. Net interest income on a FTE basis decreased $7. 1 billion in 2011 to $45. 6 billion. The decline was primarily due to: (1).There’s a noticeable decrease in the yield on consumer loans from 6. 04% in 2010 to 5. 37% in 2011, which reduces net interest income by about 4,244 million (633,507 million * 0. 57%). * Debt securities and residential mortgage mainly contributed to the decline. The yield rate for debt securities decreased from 3. 66% to 2. 85%, and the residential mortgage from 4. 78% to 4. 18%. (2). Noninterest income declined from the previous year due to lower mortgage banking income, reflecting$11. 6 billion in representations and warrant ies costs and decline of $3. billion income from trading account profits. Noninterest income being the major source of Bank of America's income drastically impacts the profitability of the company. (3). In 2011 Bank of America had a decreased investment security yields, including the acceleration of purchase premium amortization from an increase in modeled prepayment expectations, and increased hedge ineffectiveness. (4). Bank of America’s declining net interest margin was partially offset by ongoing reductions in its debt footprint and lower rates paid on deposits.The total U. S interest-bearing deposits had an average yield of 0. 36%, compared to 0. 55% in 2008. Such downward trend in net interest margin can be observed in other banks as well. The following table presents total interest-earning assets rate and total interest-bearing liabilities for all three banks over 2009 to 2011. As shown, all banks experienced a decline in interest-earning assets rate over three years: 1) BOA from 4. 31% in 2009 to 3. 65% in 2011, with an average decrease of 8% every year; 2) Chase from 4. 04% to 3. 1%, with an average decrease of 6. 8%; 3) Citi from 4. 78% to 4. 27%, with an average decrease of 5. 5%. The main reasons for the other two banks’ declining net interest margin were higher deposit balances with lower loan yields. | Bank of America| JP Morgan Chase| Citi Group| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2011| 2010| 2009| Total interest-earning assets rate| 3. 65%| 4. 02%| 4. 31%| 3. 51%| 3. 83%| 4. 04%| 4. 27%| 4. 55%| 4. 78%| Total interest-bearing liabilities| 1. 39%| 1. 39%| 1. 77%| 0. 86%| 0. 84%| 1. 02%| 1. 63%| 1. 61%| 1. 3%| Table 6 Net Interest Margin of Three Banks Interest rate risk BOA’s net interest income decreased by $2,122 million in 2011 and $998 million in 2010 from a 1% downward parallel shift in interest rate. 1% downward change in interest rate results in a bigger decrease in net interest income in 2011 than in 2010. However , according Chase’s 10K, downward 100bps parallel shocks result in a Federal Funds target rate of zero and negative three- and six-month treasury rates. The earnings-at-risk results of such a low-probability scenario are not meaningful.For Citi, a 100 bps decrease in interest rates would imply negative rates for the yield curve, so not meaningful either. 1% downward shift| 2011| 2010| BOA| ($2,122)| ($998)| JP Morgan Chase| NM| NM| Citi Group| NM| NM| Table 7 The Impact of 1% downward shift on Net Interest Income BOA’s net interest income would increase by $1,505 million in 2011 and $601 million in 2010 from a 1% upward parallel shift in interest rate. The same as downward change, 1% upward change in interest rate also would result in a bigger increase in the net interest income in 2011 than in 2010.Compared with BOA, 1% upward shift in interest rate has a bigger impact for Chase and smaller impact for Citi. 1% upward shift| 2011| 2010| Bank of America| $1,505 | $601 | JP Morgan Chase| $2,326 | $1,483 | Citi Group| $97 | ($105)| Table 8 The Impact of 1% Upward Shift on Net Interest Income Credit Risk and Losses Main loss reserve adequacy ratios Policy to designate past due loans as non-performing Adequacy of the bank’s allowance for loan losses Disclosure policies relating to loans Appendix BOAIn $ millions| 2011| 2011| 2010| 2010| 2011| 2010| 2011| ? | Carrying Value| Fair Value| Carrying Value| Fair Value| CURG| CURG| URG| Adjustments for assets and liabilities at HC on balance sheet| Assets:| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Held-to maturity debt securities| 35,265 | 35,442 | 427 | 427 | 177 | – | 177 | Loans| 870,520 | 843,392 | 876,739 | 861,695 | (27,128)| (15,044)| (12,084)| Total assets| 905,785 | 878,834 | 877,166 | 862,122 | (26,951)| (15,044)| (11,907)| Liabilities:| ? ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Deposits| 1,033,041 | 1,033,248 | 1,010,430 | 1,010,460 | 207 | 30 | 177 | Long-term debt| 372,265 | 343,211 | 448,431 | 441,672 | (29,0 54)| (6,759)| (22,295)| Total liabilities| 1,405,306 | 1,376,459 | 1,458,861 | 1,452,132 | (28,847)| (6,729)| (22,118)| Pretax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,896 | (8,315)| 10,211 | Aftertax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? ? | 6,127 | Adjustments for assets and liabilities at FV on balance sheet with gains and losses in OCI? | Aftertax adjustment for AFS securities| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (4,270)| Aftertax adjustment for CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (549)| Total adjustment to net income| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,308 | Net income as per financial statements| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,446 | Full fair value income with information available| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 2,754 | JP Morgan ChaseIn $ millions| 2011| 2011| 2010| 2010| 2011| 2010| 2011| ? | Carrying Value| Fair Value| Carrying Value| Fair Value| CURG| CURG| URG| Adjustments for assets and liabilities at HC on balance sheet| Assets:| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Loans| 696,100 | 695,800 | 660,700 | 663,500 | (300)| 2,800 | (3,100)| Other| 66,300 | 66,800 | 64,900 | 65,000 | 500 | 100 | 400 | Total assets| 762,400 | 762,600 | 725,600 | 728,500 | 200 | 2,900 | (2,700)| Liabilities:| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |Deposits| 1,127,800 | 1,128,300 | 930,400 | 931,500 | 500 | 1,100 | (600)| Accounts payable and other liabilities| 167,000 | 166,900 | 138,200 | 138,200 | (100)| – | (100)| Beneficial interests issued by consolidated VIEs| 66,000 | 66,200 | 77,600 | 77,900 | 200 | 300 | (100)| Long-term debt and junior subordinated deferrable interest debentures| 256,800 | 254,200 | 270,700 | 271,900 | (2,600)| 1,200 | (3,800)| Total liabilities| 1,617,600 | 1,615,600 | 1,416,900 | 1,419,500 | (2,000)| 2,600 | (4,600)| Pretax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? ? | ? | 2,200 | 300 | 1,900 | Aftertax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,140 | Adjustment s for assets and liabilities at FV on balance sheet with gains and losses in OCI| Aftertax adjustment for AFS securities| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,067 | Aftertax adjustment for CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (279)| Cash flow hedge| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (155)| Total adjustment to net income| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1,773 | Net income as per financial statements| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 18,976 | Full fair value income with information available| ? ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 20,749 | Citi Group In $ millions| 2011| 2011| 2010| 2010| 2011| 2010| 2011| ? | Carrying Value| Fair Value| Carrying Value| Fair Value| CURG| CURG| URG| Adjustments for assets and liabilities at HC on balance sheet? | Assets:| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Investment| 293,400 | 292,400 | 318,200 | 319,000 | (1,000)| 800 | (1,800)| Loans| 614,600 | 603,900 | 605,500 | 584,300 | (10,700)| (21,200)| 10,500 | Total assets| 908,000 | 896,300 | 923,700 | 903,300 | (11,700)| (20,400)| 8,700 | Liabilities:| ? ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Deposits| 865,900 | 865,800 | 845,000 | 843,200 | (100)| (1,800)| 1,700 | Long-term debt| 323,500 | 313,800 | 381,200 | 384,500 | (9,700)| 3,300 | (13,000)| Total liabilities| 1,189,400 | 1,179,600 | 1,226,200 | 1,227,700 | (9,800)| 1,500 | (11,300)| Pretax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? | ? | ? | ? | (1,900)| (21,900)| 20,000 | Aftertax adjustments before AFS securities and CFH derivatives| ? ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 12,000 | Adjustments for assets and liabilities at FV on balance sheet with gains and losses in OCI| Aftertax adjustment for AFS securities| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 2,360 | Cash flow hedge| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (170)| Total adjustment to net income| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 14,190 | Net income as per financial statements| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 11,215 | Full fair value income with information available| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 25,405 |

Living In A Multicultural Society Essay

Today it is not unusual to see people of all different races, ethnic backgrounds or cultural groups living in one society. Our society is formed of a mix of different people and sometimes it is not easy to define ones self. Since we live in a society that is influenced by many social aspects expressing ones personal identity may be a hard task. Aspects of society that make it hard to identify ones self include a persons sexual orientation, their ethnicity and their lifestyles. In society there are many labels that are put on people because of their sexual orientation. For years people have been taught that the correct way to live is to be in a heterosexual marriage. Andrew Sullivan states in his article What Are Homosexuals For? that â€Å"Heterosexual marriage is perceived as the primary emotional goal for your peers; and yet you know this cannot be your fate† (Sullivan 351). By stating this Sullivan makes it apparent that being a homosexual presents a challenge for the individual because he or she is considered different then others because of his or her sexual orientation. Sullivan also inquires the idea that without homosexuals in today’s society there are some things that would never be made sense of or even acknowledge. Sexual orentation may not be accepted by many in society, but it is a growing idea that people are becoming more adapt to because it is being exposed more and more in society. Another problematic area to identifying ones self is their ethnicity. Society sometimes does not make it easy to express yourself if you are not white. What I mean by this is that sometimes because you’re of a different race other then white like Spanish or African-American there may be disadvantages for you in society. For instance, I have a friend named Pedro and because Spanish is the only language he knows fluently before taking regular English courses in college he must first take and pass English as a second language. Language barriers are a part of everyday life for minorities. Not only does this mean that they will have to learn our English language it also means that they must find a way to hold on to their personal cultural backgrounds. A persons lifestyle can influence their role in society not only does it define who they are but it may present obstacles when trying to be accepted  in society. Zora Hurston lived in an all black society and was conditioned to their way of life and knew no other. Hurston states, â€Å"White people differed from colored people to me only in that they rode through town and never lived there† (Hurston 385). It was not until Hurston left her society that she realized that her lifestyle was much different then others. She expected that people of different cultures or who grew up in other areas had the same mind set as her, she found this not true. Despite the fact that she was colored there were many things that differed between her and society as whole. It was not just the color of her skin. A multicultural society presents obstacles to all humans, every person tries to find out who they are and where they stand in the world. Homosexual, heterosexual, Spanish, English, black or white it does not matter where you come from or what you look like there are always social changes, stereotypes, ethnicity differences and cultural differences, it’s just a way of life. Works Cited Huston. Zora Neale. â€Å"How It Feels to Be Colored Me.† The Presence of Others. Ed. Andrea A Linsford and John J. Rusziewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 384-88. Sullivan, Andrew. â€Å"What Are Homosexuals For?† The Presence of Others. Ed. Andrea A. Linsford and John J. Rusziewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 350-59.

Methods of Food Preservation Essay Example

Methods of Food Preservation Essay Example Methods of Food Preservation Paper Methods of Food Preservation Paper STUDENT NAMES I. D. NUMBER: Tonja Thomas I. D # 807001358 Miranda Alexander I. D # 807000561 FACULTY: Science and Agriculture SEMESTER AND ACADEMIC YEAR: Summer (semester 3) 2009/2010 COURSE CODE: FOUN 1102 COURSE TITLE: Academic writing for different disciplines- Option C TUTOR’S NAME: Claudette Jessop TUTORIAL DAY AND TIME: Thursday 10-12noon COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT: Expository method- Classification DATE OF SUBMISSION: Monday 28th 2010. â€Å"Food preservation†). Removal of moisture is also a class of food preservation. It includes drying and dehydration processes that inhibit micro-organisms which require moisture to survive, thus preventing growth of microorganism and food spoilage. A great variety of drying techniques are used for these products including sun drying, tunnel drying, spray drying, and evaporation (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1993. ed. , â€Å"Food preservation†). When this method of preservation is used most of the flavour is retained and th e result is a less bulk y product, whereby reducing transportation cost, and increasing shelf life of foods (Morris 2004). Moisture removal techniques can include the spreading of food product in thin layers under the sun, or the application of hot air to remove moisture from food. Foods that are commonly dried are raisins, peas, soups, and milk products (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1993. ed. , â€Å"Food preservation†). Irradiation is another kind of food preservation method. It entails the treatment of food with radiation that produces electrically charged particles. Radiation used in food preservation can be in the form of gamma rays, x rays and electron beams. Bacteria are killed and enzymes are inactivated by low doses of radiation, with little or no chemical change in foods (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1993. ed. , â€Å"Food preservation†). Radiation can avert the division of microorganisms which cause food spoilage, such as bacteria and moulds, by changing their molecular structure. It can also inhibit ripening or maturation of certain fruits and vegetables by modifying the physiological processes of the plant tissues. The use of irradiation can play an important role in reducing post harvest losses due to food spoilage (International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation 1999). Foods can also be preserved by types of methods that employ temperature control or manipulation. Freezing is one such method that uses low temperatures to slow the growth of microorganisms and stop nutrient breakdown in food. At -10  °C, the temperature of the average household freezer, there is minimal microbial growth and chemical reactions progress slowly. This lengthens the period of time the food product retains its wholesomeness. At -40  °C and below, the temperature maintained in commercial freezers, the shelf-life of food products is even longer because freezing occurs more rapidly. At room temperature, microbial and enzymatic reactions proceed swiftly, accounting for the rapid degradation of food. Another method is pasteurization, which uses heat at temperatures between 60-70  °C (Morris 2004). This treatment is designed to destroy the most heat resistant pathogens. Pasteurization is used on foods such as milk, juice and beer (JRank Science and Philosophy). Canning is one of the most popular methods of preservation that also uses high temperatures to destroy microorganisms that cause food spoilage. Foods are placed in airtight cans, jars or tins and sealed, processed at controlled temperature and time, and then cooled. A disadvantage of canning is that the heating process changes the texture, flavour and colour of the food. Though some nutrient loss occurs during the process, canned foods are popular with consumers because they are economical, convenient, offer a wide variety of products, and have a long shelf-life (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1993. ed. , â€Å"Food preservation†). The use of chemical preservatives, removal of moisture, irradiation and temperature control are categories of food preservation methods that have the same main goal. That is to lengthen the period of time for which a food product maintains a high standard of quality and safety for consumers while causing as little chemical, physical and nutritional degradation as possible. References Fact about Food Irradiation. 1999. International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation. iaea/d5/public/food irradiation. pdf. (accessed June 25, 2010). Food Preservation- Historical-Methods-Preservation, Thermal Processes, Packaging Chemical Additives, Irradiation. 010: â€Å"JRank and Science Philosophy†. http://science. jrank. org/pages/2809/Food-Preservation. html. (accessed June 25, 2010) Morris, Audrey, Audia Barnett, and Olive- Jean Burrows. 2004. Food Preservation. â€Å"FAO/Caribbean Food Nutrition Institute Publication†. Vol. 39 (3): 119-127. Rahaman, Shafiur M. 2007. â€Å"Hand book of food preservation†. CRC Press. http://books. google. tt/books (accessed June 24, 2010) Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. 2008. â€Å"Food preservation†. http://en. wikipedia. org/ (accessed June 22, 2010). Zeuthen P. , Ley Bogh- Sorensen. 2003. â€Å"Food preservation techniques†. Woodhead Publishing. http://books. google. tt/books (accessed June 24, 2010).

How to Conjugate Organiser (to Organize) in French

How to Conjugate Organiser (to Organize) in French Can you guess what the French verb  organiser  means? If you answered to organize, youre correct. Yet, to use it properly in a sentence, the verb must be conjugated. A quick lesson will show you how to do that and form the French equivalents to organized and organizing. The Basic Conjugations of  Organiser Organiser is a regular -er verb and that makes this lesson a little easier than most. Thats because its part of the largest family of French verbs, all of which share the same conjugation patterns. If you have previously studied similar verbs, you can apply what you already know to this one. The indicative mood is the best place to begin with any conjugation. This includes the basic present, future, and imperfect past tenses which you will use most often in French conversations. Using the chart, find the corresponding conjugation for the subject pronoun and the tense you wish to use  organiser  in. This will help you identify which ending was applied to the verb stem (organis-). For instance, an  e  ending forms that present tense  jorganise  (I am organizing) and -ions  forms the imperfect  nous organisions  (we organized). Present Future Imperfect j organise organiserai organisais tu organises organiseras organisais il organise organisera organisait nous organisons organiserons organisions vous organisez organiserez organisiez ils organisent organiseront organisaient The Present Participle of  Organiser An -ant ending is always added to regular -er and -re verbs to form the present participle. For organiser, that produces the word organisant. Organiser  in the Compound Past Tense The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is the French compound past tense and it requires two parts. The first is the present tense conjugate of the auxiliary verb  avoir  and the second is the  past participle  organisà ©. The two come together to form phrases such as  jai organisà ©Ã‚  (I organized) and  nous avons organisà ©Ã‚  (we organized). More Simple Conjugations of  Organiser As your vocabulary grows and youre more comfortable with French conversation, you will find a few more simple conjugations useful.  The subjunctive, for instance, helps you imply some degree of uncertainty to the act of organizing. In a similar fashion,  the conditional  allows you to state that its dependent on certain conditions. Though they are used less frequently, and most often in written French, it is a good idea to know  the passà © simple  and  imperfect subjunctive  forms of  organiser  as well. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive j organise organiserais organisai organisasse tu organises organiserais organisas organisasses il organise organiserait organisa organist nous organisions organiserions organismes organisassions vous organisiez organiseriez organistes organisassiez ils organisent organiseraient organisrent organisassent You can skip the subject pronoun when using organiser in the imperative. These direct statements are often short and forceful, so all formality is dropped and you can simply say organise. Imperative (tu) organise (nous) organisons (vous) organisez

Health Isurance and Quality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health Isurance and Quality - Research Paper Example Erris in his report on Safer Health System recons that medical errors cause’s high death rate, disability and terminal ailment. The DHCS has since introduced policies that help in reducing health care acquired problems. It also emphasis on monitoring and tracking of health care progress to ensure better health care services. DHCS has established measures such as the realization of section 2702, ACA. According to this section, the Department of Health aims at reducing preventable health conditions such as a foreign object after a surgery, a falls, trauma and surgical infections (Douglas, 2012). Moreover, implementation of ‘Delivery System Reform Incentive Pool’ (DSRIP) helps in improving the quality of health care(Douglas, 2012). DSRIP is financed through the Medicaid program. The program aims at improving early detection and management of serious blood infections. Douglas outline more preventable measure including reducing harm in hospitals, preventable events and improving on maternal health care and obstetrical outcome. Provision of effective, efficient and affordable health care is a measure that improves on the quality of health care. In order for an effective health system, the department of health has simultaneously considered the need for proper health care in relation to population health, per capita cost of health care and quality given that there are limited resources. These challenges require development of health care models such as organizations, medical homes and, ensuring none of abuses and fraud in care givers. DHCS has provision that enhances care of Seniors and People with Disabilities. To this effect, the DHCS utilizes the 11 15 Waiver that allows it to coordinate, manage and improve care to Seniors members and Persons with Disabilities (Douglas, 2012). The DHCS is in the process of developing an innovative program where people eligible for Medi-Cal and Medicare will find assistance. The

Physician Assisted Suicide Should Be Legalized Essay

Physician Assisted Suicide Should Be Legalized - Essay Example Under such circumstances, some of these patients would decide to die rather than continue to live under these conditions. At this stage, in order to ease their ongoing pain, few of the patients request assistance from their physicians (Blank & Bonnicksen, 1994). The patients who ask for such favours do not fall into simple diagnostic categories. The spectrum of patients who has been asking for this favour is very wide and the range of physicians’ response is equivalent to nothing when compared. Yet each request can be compelling and their ongoing life is miserable. Few of the examples include a person who is suffering from AIDS from eight years and as a result, has lost his sight and also losing his memory; a mother with seven children suffering from ovarian cancer, who can no longer eat and has bedsores on her abdomen (Blank, Bonnicksen, 1994). These are the sort of cases for which the physician assisted suicide must become legal. Supportive argument Physician assisted suicid e is part of Euthanasia. In 1985, the Dutch Government Commission has defined this as the deliberate act in which the patient’s life is terminated on the request of the patient by a physician. The same government defines physician-assisted suicide as the act in which the patient takes the lethal drugs her or himself. According to the Oregon Death with Dignity Act 1994, physician-assisted suicide is defined as â€Å"the prescription of a lethal dose of medication for a person with a terminal illness (Dees, Dassen, Dekkers & Weel, 2010). In 1994, the state of Oregon, USA, has legalized the physician-assisted suicide. In this year, 0.12 % of the annual death rate was recorded by this process. In Belgium, when physician-assisted suicide was legalized in 2002, 0.3 % of the annual deaths were labelled under its title (Lachman, 2010). The above discussed statistics show that physician assisted suicide has not affected the overall death rate of the states. It can also be concluded t hat the process was used only in the dire situation for deserving patients. Other than this, in Physician Assisted suicide: Compassionate Liberation or Murder, Lachman (2010) states that the legalization of assisted death has shown significant improvements in the level of communication between the patient and the physicians and in palliative care training for the physicians. In order to reduce the influence of assisted suicide in the wrong direction, certain implications can be used such as raising the retirement age; this will help the older people to remain active for a longer period of time. This will also help the older people to continue with their contribution to the society and a fewer number of people will suffer from the long period of decline before death. Other than this, a considerable time must be given to the patient between the oral and the written request. In case, it is seen that the patient can turn down his request by the help of psychological counselling, it must be provided to him/her. Most importantly, the patient who is opting for physician assisted suicide must be the resident of the state. Any case from outside the state must not be catered. Due to such implications, it will be made sure that the suicide assistance is given only to the deserving patients. Counter argument At first, assisted suicide seems to be a