Insurance Derivatives Futures Contracts Essay

Insurance Derivatives Futures Contracts Essay Insurance: Derivatives Futures Contracts Essay What are derivatives? A financial derivative is an instrument whose value depends on the performance of another (the underlying) asset. For e.g, stock option 5 major types of derivatives 1. Futures 2. Options 3. Forward contracts 4. Options on Futures 5. Swaps Uses of derivatives Futures Contracts Definition: A contractual agreement, generally made on the trading floor of a futures exchange, to buy or sell a particular commodity or financial instrument at a pre-determined price on a pre-determined date in the future. Long Position: Means you have purchased a futures contract. Allows you to buy the underlying instrument. Short position: Means you have sold a futures contract. Obligated to sell the underlying instrument at a predetermined price. Futures Price (Delivery Price): The pre-determined price. Maturity Date (Delivery Date): The pre-determined date. Usually a window of days (2-3 weeks) If today you purchase an October Orange juice futures contract for $1 per gallon. You are agreeing to pay that specified price when the contract matures in October. It doesn’t matter how much the price of orange juice changes, you will only have to pay $1 per gallon for the orange juice. Money swaps hands when contract matures and delivery is received. Underlying instruments 1. Commodities – agricultural, metals, energy 2. Financial – interest rate, currency, index 3. Nonconventional- snowfall, weather, water, single-stock futures Single stock futures- a futures contract on individual stocks. A one Chicago single stock futures contract is an agreement to deliver 100 shares of a specific stock at a designated date in the future called and expiration date Futures Trading 1. OTC 2. Futures Exchanges a. 24-hour- globex for international trading. b. Membership- floor traders (trade for their own accounts) and floor brokers ( trade for others and earn commission). Floor brokers use trading pits. c. open-outcry and

Annual and Anniversary

Annual and Anniversary Annual and Anniversary Annual and Anniversary By Maeve Maddox A non-native English speaker wonders about this use of the word anniversary in a business communication: The prices and products below are based on a 36-month contract, free unit and free installation. Tracker experiences an across-the-board anniversary increase (inflation based) every October. The reader comments, I cannot remember ever seeing â€Å"anniversary† used in this context. I would have expected a word such as â€Å"annual.† The usage sounds odd to a native speaker as well. Both words, annual and anniversary, derive from the Latin annus, â€Å"returning yearly.† Anniversary entered the language as a noun in the early 13th century with the meaning â€Å"day of a person’s death.† In church use, anniversary came to be used attributively in the phrase â€Å"anniversary days,† dates on which saints or martyrs were celebrated. Annual came along as an adjective about 150 years later in the context of paying an â€Å"annual wage.† Although both words can function as either noun or adjective, in modern usage, anniversary is used primarily as a noun and annual as an adjective: The Queen to celebrate the 70th anniversary of VE Day at a Westminster Abbey service with veterans   Penguin Celebrates 80th Anniversary Annual price increases are common in B2B [business-to-business] subscriptions. The  Annual Picnic  is usually a purely social event, and everyone is encouraged to attend. Although both words refer to a yearly event, anniversary carries connotations of celebration and remembrance, whereas annual is a workaday word meaning â€Å"occurring once a year.† In observing an anniversary, one might speak of â€Å"an anniversary celebration† or â€Å"an anniversary dinner,† but in a business context, it’s more idiomatic to speak of â€Å"annual meetings† and â€Å"annual price increases.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative ConflictCapitalization Rules for the Names of GamesHow to Punctuate Introductory Phrases

Drag racing in Terre Haute Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Drag racing in Terre Haute - Assignment Example Nonetheless, I felt that we should have done more research before going to participate in the sport but we were too keyed up to be bothered. I hardly slept Thursday night as I anticipated the next day’s turn of events. Come Friday night and we were all geared up with our own street cars to take part in the race. Our excitement was however dialed down when we had to read the rules concerning the race. Any slight error could lead to disqualification. It was here where I learnt that drag racing was a type of motor vehicle racing where vehicles usually compete in sets of twos to cross a finish line that was set. The race followed a straight course that was short over a distance that was measured. Some of my friends were a bit disappointed with this information since they had hoped it would be a race like that of the world’s greatest drag race which involved more than ten vehicles at a time. Some even opted to be spectators in lieu of actual racing. I learnt that before a race began, each driver was given the permission to perform what was known as a burn out. This allowed the tires to heat in order to put down the tire’s rubber at the start of the track which helps improve traction. Both drivers then lined up at the starting point. I also learnt that the races were all started using an electronic system known as a Christmas tree. It consisted of six light columns for each driver. Three were amber, one blue, one green and a red one. They were all connected to beams of light on the race track. There was the blue light which was split into two halves. A vehicle’s front tires were what would break the light beam and would light up the blue light’s first half, staging the vehicle at the starting point which would then light up the blue light’s second half. Once there was this staged beam from the first competitor, the Christmas tree was automatically activated. The opponent then had less

Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Counseling - Essay Example This is because the process of being sick includes other aspects of health which is not an individual event alone but also concerns the family and social relationship. When one member of the family is ill, it is normal for the other members to be likewise affected more so, when the illness entails long term care. Thus, becoming ill and recover from it is a challenge. Being sick may lead to many adverse reactions which may further contribute to the process of the illness and recovery. It creates a change in the environment of the patient affecting her behavior. How the patient behaves during the duration of illness is a strong contributory factor in coping with the illness. With this situation, counseling the patient is deemed empirical. However, before counseling commence, case analysis of the patient should be carried out. Analysis of the patient’s experience of illness includes examining the progress of the illness and the process of recovery identifying the patient’s own psychosocial characteristics that may influence the illness and recovery while intervention suggests psychosocial counseling with the application of behavioral cognitive theory (CBT). The Nature of the Case Melinda is a married 50 year old female with six children who is sick of cervical cancer. She claims she did not have any hospitalization for several months prior to her illness. This is her first consultation with her physician. According to her, she is not supposed to have her consultation if not for a fall from the staircase of their house causing her some bruised at her back and arms. However, the bruises according to her doctors are just but minor health problems as compared to the result indicated in her health history taken from her. Her health history reveals that she is showing warning signs and symptoms of cervical cancer. Accordingly, she had been having vaginal bleedings for several months after her menopausal period. However, she never had any consultations nor alarmed because she believes her menstrual cycle had resumed. In May of 2010, she was diagnosed of first stage cervical cancer. Like any individual who is diagnosed with such illness, she was shocked to hear the r esult of her laboratory examination as revealed by her physician and is immediately under a circumstance where she had no prior experience (Clarke, et al. 2005) thus, her reaction to the information is devastating. Shock is followed with denial as evident in her statement, â€Å"I never had any health problems in the past. Why would I be sick of such disease†? Melinda had married three times one after the other and had been sexually active. From the time of her diagnosis, she lost her appetite, has not been sleeping well and been irritable. She also does not want to sleep with her husband anymore. She defends she is more comfortable to sleep alone in a room. This made a gap in their relationship. Most often, Melinda does not respond when her husband tries to communicate with her. Observation also reveals that she rejects foods and drinks offered by her children. However, her family is regarded to be caring and tried their best to adjust to the behavior change of Melinda. Meli nda does not also like to see neighbors and even friends as she shuns away from them whenever they pay visit. When ask if other members of the family had been stricken or have died of the same illness in the past, she answered, â€Å"Does it matter† that shows that she is not interested to know her family health history. Her mother died of breast cancer many years ago and a distant relative recently passed away with lung cancer. Now, she is under the care of an oncologist and several other

French Revolution Essay Example for Free

French Revolution Essay The French Revolution marked a period that was characterized by fundamental social and political disturbances in France. The French society was initially under an absolute monarchy prior to the Revolution which occurred in the late 18th century. The French society went through ambitious transformations whereby feudalism, aristocracy and religious privileges sublimed due to spirited attacks from the political activists and the masses. There was a call to shift from the old hierarchical system and adopt the enlightenment tenets of nationality and absolute rights. The Revolution in France is said to have begun in 1789 and it was marked by various stages with the various revolutionary groups executing the much needed transformations. This paper shall explore how the various groups executed their revolutionary activities that eventually contributed towards the political changes witnessed during the time. The French Revolution The revolution was initiated by the Third Estates-General who demanded that the king undertake practical reforms in the government. The ‘constituent’ forcefully ensured that France had undergone reformations that brought in the constitutional monarch while abolishing feudal advantages and also creating a representative electorate though not a democracy. The constituent had a well elaborated law that was referred to as the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens’ which can be compared to the bill of Rights in the American constitution . Between the years 1791 and 1792, the Legislative Assembly was introduced and the King was supposed to govern hand in hand with this entity. In August of 1792, the king was forced to flee and take cover in the Legislative Assembly during the Parisian march that happened near the royal residence. The king became de facto as the Assembly took control. From 1792 to 1795, France witnessed the First Republic and grand terror in its history . This is a time when the revolution reached its peak. Terror was established as a means of dealing with the opponents of the regime and France was pronounced to be a republic in the year 1792. The somehow liberal constitution that observed some democratic tenets was introduced in 1793 but was to be shelved by the revolutionary government. France was under the rule of the Committee of Public Safety which comprised of a dozen members whose first leader was Danton . Following the execution of Danton, Robespierre took over. In the year 1794, the Revolutionary activities were intensified and it begun executing those who were in opposition to its activities. This led to the execution of its own leader, Robespierre in July of 1794 . After the execution of Robespierre, there arose what was referred to as the ‘Thermidorian Reaction’ which led to the creation of a new constitution. The reaction was in opposition to the terror and paved way for the final stage of the Revolution . In the years 1795 to 1799, the Directory regime was established in which case the executive authority was shared among five directors. The regime was unpopular but it used any means possible to cling to power. There were numerous attempts to overthrow the Directory which culminated in the final disposal of the regime in 1799 by Bonaparte. Napoleon Bonaparte’s coup led to the installation of the Consulate before Bonaparte established his dictatorial regime.  He later proclaimed himself as emperor which ended the republican chapter of the revolution. Conclusion The French Revolution was a period characterized by upheavals in the political arena in France towards the late 18th century. However the Revolution played a crucial part in European politics. The revolution ensured that sovereignty was observed as absolutism was discarded which led to the replacement of monarchy with nationhood. The French Revolution therefore marked a major turning point in human history especially in regard to the political orientation of the western society of the 18th century and the world in general.

The Tragedy and Despair of Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- GCSE Coursew

The Tragedy and Despair of Macbeth  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Macbeth is one of the best known of Shakespeare's plays. It is commonly classed, along with Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear, among Shakespeare's four great tragedies. After reading Macbeth, several significant aspects of the play come to mind: the central characters (Lady Macbeth and her husband) and their development, the treatment of gender issues, the nature and conflict of good and evil, the final triumph of the forces of goodness and life, and the troubling implications of that triumph. One way to approach the play's leading characters is to see how they fit Aristotle's ideas about tragedy. The problem with this approach is that they don't fit Aristotle's ideas very well. Aristotle wrote that a tragic character should be more good than evil and that the character's fall should be the result of a mistake or misstep (the probable meaning of Aristotle's term hamartia) rather than moral depravity. Lady Macbeth and her husband, by contrast, are more evil than good, and they deliberately commit or arrange several horribly depraved acts: among others, the murder of King Duncan, the murder of Macbeth's friend Banquo, and the murder of Macduff's wife and children. Their motives are purely selfish: they want power and all the personal benefits it will bring. It doesn't look as if Aristotle's ideas work very well at all in Macbeth. But despite the fact that the play doesn't fit the ideal Aristotelian mold (and Shakespeare probably had no intention that it should, anyway), looking at the play in this way sheds some light on it. We're required to ask, "Is Macbeth purely evil? Is his wife?" The more closely I've looked at the play, the more I've become convinced that its power comes f... ...tues we commonly associate with women and children -- or with Christ -- have not been given adequate attention. Macbeth shows us characters who have succumbed to despair: Lady Macbeth, who comes to believe that "What's done cannot be undone" (5.1.68), and Macbeth, who argues that, since "I am in blood/ Stepp'd in so far," repentance is pointless: "should I wade no more,/ Returning were as tedious as go o'er" (3.4.135-37). The play shows these characters defeated, but not redeemed. Works Cited Cooke, Patricia. "Macbeth: Origin of Despair." Online posting. 20 Nov. 1996. SHAKSPER: The Global Electronic Shakespeare Conference. 5 March 2001 <http://www.shaksper.net/archives/1996/0937.html>. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999.

Care and love Essay

However, this is when we contradict our first impression of him being a caring father, because no commendable father or even guardian will wait until morning to find out what is wrong with a child. Especially if previous events might have been the key to the survival of the child. We first see how he treats his daughter, Betty now we see the other responsibility he neglects, his niece; she is an orphan and should be treated with care and love. Instead he questions her commitment to the church and notes she was â€Å"dancing like heathen in the forest†; this testifies that he really does not care about his own flesh and blood, being an outcast of the church in this time was very dangerous: it was the centre of the community. Hale’s main interrogation method is to ask leading questions; therefore his victory of the debate whether Tituba was a witch or not. In the same way Parris asks leading questions to Abigail â€Å"What did you do with her in the forest?†. There is one thing about Parris though when dealing with minors he always is completely sure of who should take charge of the conversation.  Parris is quite selfish on numerous occasions he talks about himself more than Betty, by â€Å"my enemies† and the fact that â€Å"they will ruin me† does show some sort of over reaction. Getting frustrated over position and forgetting the main cause of the conversation driven to the point of believing a â€Å"faction swore to drive me out of my pulpit† we see definite troubles in Parris. The employment of a teenager nearing womanhood was very important it showed that you were respected if you became a servant in those days, Abigail had not been employed for a â€Å"seven month† but until this conversation he had always over-looked the matter and never inquired why as to she was sacked.  The Crucible reveals to us the modern day â€Å"tooth for a tooth†, Parris uses emotional blackmail, when he demands for an issue to be revealed in his favour he declares that he has â€Å"put clothes upon you back† this implies the use of emotional blackmail for getting something he wants; but putting clothes on your nieces back should not be a chore. Goody Putnam is the husband of a wealthy land owner, when she intervenes he shows a certain â€Å"deference† towards her for she is on the winning side of the community her husband is a rich land owner. Parris shows greed and hunger for money and status, he is easily â€Å"swayed† into agreeing with the Putnam’s that witches were among them in Salem we get the feeling of neglecting one self he is a man who thinks he is prosecuted everywhere, unpopular and mistrusted in the community.  Finally Parris makes a decision and indeed leaves in kin over money and power, he cleverly leaves Abigail in a complicated situation by stating â€Å"then you were conjuring spirits last night† he gives away his own kin for power and respect. Millers concern is that many in power are led astray by greed. Miller wants to have these people not in control of the public and it is people like Parris whom are dangerous and selfish  Goody Putnam and Parris have similar status she is a women she is married to a powerful landlord. Parris looks up to her and will believe anything, like her. In order to keep status.  Goody Putnam is directly portrayed as a â€Å"twisted soul† Miller makes us keep a open mind. We already get the gist of this. It means that a person who not trustworthy and has been through so much that they have become bended to one side of an argument. She has been described as â€Å"Death ridden† because she had lost all her â€Å"seven babies†. Later on we will learn how and why she acts in such a irresponsible and insane manner. When she first appears with play she is â€Å"shiny eyed† this gives us the opinion that she had just heard extraordinary news that Parris daughter had just flown over a barn. â€Å"How high did she fly† as a question shows clear stupidity for then or now anyone could have worked out for themselves they cannot. She indicates to Parris that the â€Å"devil† was right under his nose and in his household for there was a â€Å"stroke of hell† upon him and the â€Å"devil† was directly attacking him. Goody Putnam’s only daughter is â€Å"sick† as well and has the same sort of sickness as Betty, before thinking of a medical explanation she forces a recognition of witchcraft for the â€Å"devils touch† was on the children and was no natural cause for this illness.  This superstitious ignorance was terribly dangerous then: There could be a false accusation and someone’s life would pay the price these are Millers concerns. She does in some reference act like Hale. She is completely zealous in terms of supernatural causes but her reasons are not intellectual but ignorant. In depth we must look why, she believes she gave birth to seven â€Å"hearty babies† which suggest they were healthy. But â€Å"withered† in her arms. Now we could have a reason maybe a rare type blood disease for instance. At the time, a lack of science helped to sustain superstitious ideas  She is so immersed in her beliefs to the point that she sends her own daughter, Ruth to dance with the girls and try and â€Å"get closer† to her previous dead kids. This is entirely a kind of taboo. Since there is no other resource or explanation for these things at these times, the supernatural good and evil were heeded: the local doctor was â€Å"baffled† because the science was not advanced, not because the devil had intervened.