Inflation Rates Essays - Foreign Exchange Market,

Inflation Rates The price of one currency in terms of another is called the exchange rate. The exchange rate affects the economy in our daily lives because it affects the price of domestically produced goods sold abroad and the cost of foreign goods bought domestically. ?Mexicans use pesos, French use francs, Austrians use schillings, and this use of different monies by different countries results in the need to exchange one money for another to facilitate trade between countries?(Husted 315). Without the exchange rate it would make it impossible to purchase goods in other countries that have a different currency. Day-to-day movements in exchange rates are closely related to people's expectations. ?The role of monetary policy would be to manage the exchange rate. A monetary expansion would tend to lower interest rates, thus lead to short-term funds flowing into foreign currencies, and so depreciate the domestic currency?(Corden 21). Throughout the history of the economy, the exchange rate has not always been controlled under the same monetary system. Foreign exchange is usually traded as bank accounts denominated in different currencies. Most of the trade takes place between the major banks and between banks and their corporate customers. Modern communications make it a truly global market. The rates vary by minute. ?Exchange rates changes are largely unexpected and so there is an important element of risk in multinational transactions that domestic transactions lack?(Husted 320). The closing rates in each financial center are reported regularly in the media. The closing rates of the previous day are listed in the morning newspaper for leisurely reading. There are two main typ es of foreign exchange systems: 1) fixed exchange rate, and 2) floating exchange rate. A fixed exchange rate system is where governments can set a certain fixed rate at which their currencies will exchange for each other and then commit themselves to maintaining this rate. Countries use an agreed-upon currency worth a specific measure standard. On the other hand, the unregulated forces of supply and demand determine the floating exchange rate system. ?During this, there is a trade-off between the rate of inflation and the current account?(Corden 86). ?If a country imports large quantities or goods, the demand will push up the exports imports large quantities of good, the demand will push up the exchange rate for that country, making the imported goods more expensive to buyers in that country. As the goods become more expensive, demand drops, and that country's money becomes cheaper in relation to other countries' money?(Gwinn 627). From 1870 to 1914, the exchange rate was determined by the Gold Standard. This system was a fixed exchange rate, and the way it worked was by pricing every currency in terms of gold. So in general terms, if X amount of one currency was equal to one ounce of gold, and Y amount of currency was also equal to one ounce of gold, then X and Y can also be exchanged. But this system had many flaws that led to a new system after all those years. The main problem with the gold standard arose due to the fact that the money supplied depended a great deal on the amount of gold held in banks, but the countries had little control over the money supply. If the demand for a currency exceeded the actual supply, banks were forced to ship gold to satisfy the individual country's requirements for the scarce currency. A flow of gold into a country obviously increased the money supply, which in turn raised prices and made its goods more expensive. This, in turn, reduced foreign demand for its currency. The n an example of how this relates to exchange rates is that if the total demand for a certain currency is decreased, the value of the currency also decrease. So more of it has to be exchanged for another currency to be equal in value. So because of this problem, the gold standard was replaced by a new monetary system. This new system was established near the end of World War II, and it was called the Bretton Woods system. ?The experts who had negotiated the Bretton Woods Agreement, and the Governments that had endorsed it, had been inspired by a desire to learn from

Cryptology and Data Protection

Cryptology and Data Protection Due to the increase in internet usage, emphasis on data security and integrity has been escalated. Better measures in relation to software and hardware based mechanisms are still being invented and put into practice. All information regarding an organization’s business processes is of critical importance.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Cryptology and Data Protection specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Information security and integrity is therefore, a vital consideration in all planning and implementation of processes in an organization. Data security ensures that all data is free from damage, erasure, theft, corruption, unauthorized access or modification, (Summers, 2004). Data integrity on the other hand ensures that data is not altered in any way either by addition or substitution. In this essay we look at how to achieve security and integrity of data, in transit and in storage. Considering the case for Store ItRite Inc, the business may be classified as data warehousing. There is need to secure data during transmission and storage. Another issue that arises is how to carry out communication between the staff members effectively yet securely over insecure communication channels. First, we look at data transmission from the client to the database; data should be transmitted as ciphertext to avoid man- in- the- middle attacks. StoreItRite has no business accessing the data that is held in their hard disks for the customers; its sole business is to store data securely on behalf of its clients. A private key scheme will therefore, work effectively in this setting. Each of the clients will generate a key which will be known only to the particular client. The key will be used to encrypt data for sending to the warehouse and the same key will be used to decrypt data on receipt from the warehouse, (Katz and Lindell, 2007). Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you ! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Flow of data from the client to the warehouse and back Secondly, to transmit the daily data back up, the warehouse needs to combine all the data received throughout the day. To enhance cost effectiveness of the scheme, the combined data files should be compressed and then encrypted with StoreItRite’s private key. This will reduce the size of the file being transmitted, (Gollmann, 2006). When a client requires the stored data, it will just be retrieved and transmitted to them as ciphertext just the way it came in. On receiving the data from the warehouse, the client decrypts the data using his private key to obtain it in plaintext, (Smith, 2011). In the office, the warehouse staff need to each generate a key pair, {public and private keys}. The public key is given out to all other staff members and each of them keeps their private keys secret. When sending emails, the sender will encrypt the outgoing mail with the recipient’s public key, (Diffie, 1988). To verify the authenticity of the sender, the sender will attach a digital signature to the message. This signature will also serve to prove the integrity of the email. It will be created by first generating a hash of the entire mail and then encrypting it with the sender’s private key. The resulting ciphertext is attached to the email being sent. On receipt the recipient will decrypt the signature with the sender’s public key. If it works that verifies the originator since he alone has his private key. Then he will decrypt the message with his private key and generate a hash of that message. This is then compared with the hash in the signature. If they match the message is original from the sender, (Ferguson and Schneier 2003). Staff member, A Sender Staff member, B Recipient Encrypt message with B’s public key, Decrypt with B’s private key Generate a hash of the entire message Generate a hash of the message Encrypt hash with A’s private key Decrypt the digital signature with A’s public key Attach digital signature and send Compare the two hashes Email security at StoreItRiteAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on Cryptology and Data Protection specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Kerberos and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) are the two most widely used architectures for securing communication networks. Kerberos enables two communicating parties to exchange confidential information over an insecure network. In this scheme each user is assigned a secret key which is inserted in the messages sent by that user. This key serves to identify the sender. The Key Distribution Center (KDC) serves to authenticate parties in a transaction that is to be carried out over the network communication channels. On the other hand, Public Key Infrastructure employs a combination of public and private keys. It does not req uire any preceding key exchange. With the use of public-private key pair, a centralized hub is not necessary. Due to the use of a centralized hub, Kerberos is limited to a local intranet due to the management issues attached to a centrally managed KDC in widely distributed networks. The centralization of KDC makes Kerberos an easy to attack network architecture due to the single point of entry. KDC is also a throughput bottleneck in network performance and in case of its failure the whole network fails. PKI on the other hand has its keys distributed using a certificate repository that publicly accessible. This eliminates the risk of PKI becoming a performance bottle neck as well as that of it acting as a single point of failure, (Neuman and Tso 1994). While Kerberos is best suited for centralized platforms PKI is effectively applied in multi-platform and distributed computing. Message encryption and digital signatures are well supported in KPI enhancing the security and integrity of the messages sent and received throughout the network. Kerberos does not support these technologies hence, information security is questionable, (Kohl, Neuman, and Tso 1994). References Diffie, W. (1988). The first ten years of public-key cryptography. Proceedings of the IEEE. 76(2). 560-577.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ferguson, N., Schneier B. (2003). Practical Cryptography. England: John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Gollmann, D (2006). Computer Security. (2nd Ed) West Sussex, England: John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Katz, J., Lindell, Y. (2007). Introduction to Modern Cryptography. CRC Press. Kohl, J., Neuman, B., Tso, T. (1994). The Evolution of the Kerberos Authentication System. Distributed open systems. 78–94. Washington: IEEE Computer Society Press. Neuman, B., Tso, T. (1994). Kerberos: An Authentication Service for Computer Networks. IEEE Communications 32 (9): 33–8. Retrieved from http://gost.isi.edu/publications/kerberos-neuman-tso.html Smith, H. (2011).Data Center Storage: Cost-Effective Strategies, Implementation, and Management. CRC Press. Summers, G. (2004). Data and databases. In: Koehne, H Developing Databases with Access: Nelson Australia Pty Limited. P4-5.

Rates of Reaction Example Problem

Rates of Reaction Example Problem This example problem demonstrates how to use reaction rates to determine the coefficients of a balanced chemical equation. Problem The following reaction is observed:2A bB → cC dDAs the reaction progressed, the concentrations changed by these ratesrateA 0.050 mol/LÂ ·srateB 0.150 mol/LÂ ·srateC 0.075 mol/LÂ ·srateD 0.025 mol/LÂ ·sWhat are the values for the coefficients b, c, and d? Solution Chemical reaction rates measure the change in concentration of the substance per unit time.The coefficient of the chemical equation shows the whole number ratio of materials needed or products produced by the reaction. This means they also show the relative reaction rates.Step 1:Â  Find brateB/rateA b/coefficient of Ab coefficient of A x rateB/rateAb 2 x 0.150/0.050b 2 x 3b 6For every 2 moles of A, 6 moles of B are needed to complete the reactionStep 2:Â  Find crateB/rateA c/coefficient of Ac coefficient of A x rateC/rateAc 2 x 0.075/0.050c 2 x 1.5c 3For every 2 moles of A, 3 moles of C are producedStep 3:Â  Find drateD/rateA c/coefficient of Ad coefficient of A x rateD/rateAd 2 x 0.025/0.050d 2 x 0.5d 1For every 2 moles of A, 1 mole of D is produced Answer The missing coefficients for the 2A bB → cC dD reaction are b6, c3, and d1.The balanced equation is 2A 6B → 3C D

Answer Critical Question about The Acute Effects of Humor and Exercise Essay

Answer Critical Question about The Acute Effects of Humor and Exercise on Mood and Anxiety - Essay Example Based on this information, the author is able to develop new variables which to study based on the hypothesis which has been developed form previous studies. The study design is a quasi-experimental design. This is because there are experiments which are being performed upon the participants but there is not control group, which is normally the case in true experimental design. The interventions are being applied to assess the outcome. The sampling design was non-randomised as the participants were selected with certain specifications which the researcher desired. The specifics of the participants imply that non-random approaches were utilised in the sampling of the participants. The number of participants which was utilised within the context of this research appears sufficient to achieve the desired purpose of the research. This is mainly because previous studies which had been carried out consisted of relatively smaller number of participants and still yielded reliable results. Ecological validity is the capability for a study to be able to approximate the real world requirements in terms of materials, methods and setting. The author sought to maximise ecological validity through not information the participants about their experiments to ensure that there is no bias as a result of perceptions and expectation The author ensured there is treatment fidelity through ensuring the comfort of the participants by adherence to the required regulation the quantity and exposure of the participants to the treatment has also been limited for the safety of the

Public School Uniforms Outline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public School Uniforms Outline - Assignment Example However, there has been a rise in a group of people opposing the idea. Critics argue that uniforms do not add any value to the education of the students. They argue that most reforms which proponents cling on are not solely because of the use of school uniforms, but a combination of several reform measures taken by the institution (Draa, 2005). The effectiveness of the policies in terms of law and finance is also questioned (Brunsma et al, 1998). The rapid change of clothing trends that target the youth has created problems among the youth, who are mainly the majority in schools and colleges. There is an unending appetite among the youth to appear fashionable among their peers; hence an increase in unscrupulous means of acquiring the clothes (Draa, 2005). Students who cannot afford such lavish dressing may feel inferior in schools; hence the need of uniforms. Uniforms make everyone equal and eliminate the need of unhealthy competition between students in schools. Competition among the students over their appearance results in taunts and even fights (Holloman et al, 1996). The school community is made up of different kind of people, from different backgrounds. Allowing the students to dress up as they wish would make the school environment look chaotic. Different communities have their own unique dress codes; that could be their tradition and due to lack of exposure and tolerance, students wearing them can be ridiculed by others. The administrators ease the social problems, tension and appearance related issues by embracing the use of uniforms (Draa, 2005). The use of school uniforms is for the safety of the children themselves. According to Draa (2005), there are cases where school-age children are robbed or even killed for their shoes and clothes which are of high demand. The role of uniforms in the prevention of violence is framed as a safety issue for the students in schools

Objectives Of The Bretton Woods System Economics Essay

Objectives Of The Bretton Woods System Economics Essay Since the beginning of the 19th century, globalization, international trade and free trade between countries became the new economic order and several attempts have been made since then to develop policies and schemes to ensure the stability of the international monetary system. It is safe to say that in truth, the world economy has never been in a state of utopia, but nevertheless, we have never stopped trying to attain such. The Bretton Woods era of 1944 to 1977, one of the few fairly successful schemes the world powers created in trying to achieve economic utopia, though existed for a short period, has been accredited as being one of the most successful international monetary systems, so impressive was the economic stability and growth of the era that there have been ongoing talks for a comeback of the system. In this paper we attempt to shed some light on the defunct Bretton Woods system and the possibility of its comeback. In the first section, we discuss its history, design and objectives. Second section, we discuss the reasons for its demise. Third section, we discuss the reasoning behind the calls for a new Bretton Woods. Fourth section, we discuss the obstacles that could prevent the establishment of a new Bretton Woods and lessons from its past experience. Section five will contain the conclusion and some recommendations. SECTION ONE THE OVERALL DESIGN AND INTENDED OBJECTIVE OF THE BRETTON WOODS SYSTEM Background and Intended Objectives of the Bretton Woods system At the end of the World War II, 44 allied countries and Argentina came together in Mount Washington Hotel in the area of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, with a major motive of correcting the ills of the post-war I era which was characterized by International economic disorder, beggar-thy-neighbor policies- where countries trying to come out of their depressed states do so, but at the expense of other countries. The overall intended objective was therefore stable exchange rate and possible promotion of world peace. There was the recognized need for an institutional forum for International cooperation on monetary matters, so that in the advent of a world-wide crisis, such as world wars, there would be an internationally agreeable solution, rather than individual countries adopting selfish policies. Build-up of the System This recognized need had prior to the conference in 1944, instigated discussions amongst the British and American governments, and their economic experts, who had come up with different plans; Harry Dexter White of the U.S treasury on one hand, and Lord Keynes of Britain on the other, and the conference was seen as merely formalizing, and finalizing the agreements made. The final decisions which were agreed to at the Bretton woods conference were influenced majorly by the U.S plans. This is evident of the economic and military prowess of the United States at that time. The concentration of power in the hands of few countries, the like-mindedness of the overall goal (not necessarily the policies in achieving these goals) and the willingness and ability of one country-the U.S to takeover leadership, allowed for the success of the Bretton Woods conference. The Design The system was designed to incorporate the advantages of both a fixed rate system, such as the gold standard (stable exchange rate), and that of a flexible exchange rate system (flexibility), and the resultant system was the adjustable peg rate system. The Peg and Exchange Convertibility: The U.S dollar was pegged to gold at the fixed rate of $35 per ounce, and every other countrys currency was then pegged to the dollar at a par value which had to be maintained or defended by buying and selling the dollar in the foreign currency market. Though there was no International Central Bank to produce an International currency, and control its supply, the U.S dollar became in effect, the world currency. With the fixed peg of $35 per ounce of gold, the rate at which countries could exchange their dollar for gold and vice-versa, the U.S dollar became as good as gold, and this boosted faith in the U.S dollar. This system afforded an opportunity for exchange rates amongst countries to be fixed in the short run, within a 1% band around the pegged rate. A country could change the rate at which it was pegged to gold, outside the 1% band, only if its balance of payment was in fundamental disequilibrium. Why The U.S Dollars: The U.S was still the only currency being backed by gold, and at that time held three-quarter of the worlds monetary gold (Gold had been transferred to U.S by European nations during the war), leaving the $ the most appreciated currency to the rest of the world. It was also the strongest economy after the World War II, and was considered liquid enough to meet the demand of increasing Internationalization, and global trade. Addressing Liquidity: To satisfy International liquidity, and to prevent the repeat of the gold shortage of the 1920s, and the fallout of the fixed rate of the 1930s, another major decision to be made was as regards adequate supply of official monetary reserves; This was very fundamental to the effective running of an adjustable peg rate. The conference agreed to a system of subscriptions and quotas which reflected each countrys economic strength. The quota of each member country was made up of 25% of gold and the remaining 75% in the countrys domestic currency. The quotas were important also because they determined the voting right, and the amount of foreign currency each member country could borrow from the fund. The Commissions: Three commissions were set up at the conference to achieve its intended objectives. The first Commission headed by Harry D, White of the U.S treasury was designed to formulate the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, which was at the very heart of the system. The second commission was also introduced to formulate the Articles of Agreement for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This was chaired by Lord Keynes of the United Kingdom. It then had the duty of financing post-war international reconstruction and development. Now known as the World Bank, it remains a very influential global body with a broader capacity. The third commission, was chaired by Dr. Eduardo Suarez of Mexico, and it was charged with coming up with other means of International financial cooperation. SECTION TWO THE REASONS FOR THE EVENTUAL DEMISE According to economic historians, the Bretton Woods system came to a halt in the 1970s leading to a switch from a state-led to a market-led system of monetary control. Crucial events leading to its demise being the suspension of the dollars convertibility into gold  in 1971, the United states abandonment of Capital Controls in 1974, and Great Britains ending of capital controls in 1979 which was swiftly copied by most other major contries, amongst other reasons enumerated below: Balance of Payment: A major cause for the demise of the Bretton Woods system was its dependence on the United States economy. The system was designed to remain strong as long as the U.S economy remained strong. However, an excessive supply of US dollars on FOREX markets in exchange for other currencies led to the US dollar depreciation and appreciation of non-reserve currencies. To maintain the fixed exchange rate, non-reserve countries were required to intervene on the private FOREX. For example, the British central bank was required to run a balance of payments surplus, buy the excess dollars and sell pounds on the private FOREX market. This Balance of payment surplus had inflationary problems because of the excess supply of the non-reserve countrys currency. The U.S. economy also faced inflationary pressure from operating a balance of payment deficit, the federal government expenditure rose from financing the Vietnam War and social programs. The U.S used expansionary monetary policies, printing more money, in order to finance those huge expenses. This increased money supply, which led to U.S goods becoming more expensive than foreign goods due the rise in prices and caused a large demand for foreign currency. The Triffin Dilemma: Another reason for the collapse of the system was the Triffin dilemma. Robert Triffin was a Belgian economist and Yale University professor who highlighted the problems related to dollar overhang. Dollar overhang occurred when the amount of U.S dollar assets held by non-reserve central banks exceeded the total supply of gold in the U.S treasury at the exchange rate of $35 per ounce. Dollar overhang occurred in the system by 1960 and continued to worsen throughout the decade of the 1960s. By 1971, foreign holdings of U.S dollars stood at $50 billion while U.S gold reserves were valued at only $15 billion. This led to speculation on the U.S dollar, devaluing the dollar and holding gold became the safe route. In a gold exchange standard this linkage between gold and the reserve currency is believed to provide the constraint that prevents the reserve currency country from disproportionate monetary expansion and its ensuing inflationary effects. In the face of balance of payment deficits leading to a severe depletion of gold reserves, the U.S had several adjustment options open. One option was a devaluation of the dollar. However, this was not an option easy to implement. The only way to realize the dollar devaluation was for other countries to revalue their currencies with respect to the dollar, as the currencies were fixed to the dollar. The other devaluation option open to the US was devaluation with respect to gold. In other words, the U.S could raise the price of gold to $40 or $50 per ounce or more. However, this change would not change the fundamental conditions that led to the excess supply of dollars. At most, this devaluation would only reduce the rate at which gold flowed out to foreign central banks. Also, since the U.S gold holdings had fallen to very low levels by the early 1970s and since the dollar overhang was substantial, the devaluation would have had to be extremely large to prevent the depletion of U.S g old reserves. The other option open to the U.S was a change in domestic monetary policy to reduce the excess supply of dollars on the FOREX. Recall, that money supply increases were high to help finance rising federal deficit spending. A reversal of this policy would mean a substantial reduction in the growth of the money supply. If money supply increases were not available to finance the budget deficit the government would have to resort to a much more unpopular method of financing; namely raising taxes or reducing spending. The unpopularity and internal difficulty of such fiscal and monetary prudence led the U.S to resort to other options. Suspension of the Dollars Convertibility: The final blow on the Bretton Woods system came on August 15, 1971 when the then U.S president Richard Nixon announced measures to stem the excessive flight of dollars on foreign demand and reduce the balance of trade deficit as well as cause non-reserve countries to revalue their currencies against the dollar. The measures were a 10 percent surcharge on imports, a 90 day wage and price control, and the suspension of convertibility of dollar to gold. The 10 percent surcharge on imports was to force countries, such as Japan, to revalue their currency by 10 percent and the 90 day wage and price control was to prevent foreign exporters from transferring the burden of the 10 percent import tax through increased price on the American people as well as reduce inflation. The suspension of convertibility of dollar to gold ultimately ended the gold exchange standard of the Bretton Woods system and changed the system to a reserve currency system. This prompted the Smithsonian agreement of December 1971 where non-reserve countries agreed to revalue their currencies against the dollar for the 10 percent import charge to be dropped, and the eventual devaluation of the dollar. The price of gold rose from $38 per ounce to $44.20 per ounce in 1971 and even higher to $70.30 per ounce causing an increase in flight of dollar abroad and prompting non-reserve countries to abandon the pegging of their currency to the dollar and moving into a floating exchange rate regime. SECTION THREE THE REASONING BEHIND ONGOING DISCUSSIONS TO INTRODUCE A NEW SYSTEM The last 10 years have been followed by many public discussions about Bretton Woodss system with different controversial opinions. According to S.Dammasch (2000, p.11-12) Human rights activists argue that the programmes for the structural adjustment (SAP) of the developing countries initiated by the World Bank and the IMF has led to increase poverty of the East-bloc states. In contrast, however, major industrialized nations have begun to worry about the implications of the growing size and the speculative nature of financial movements in times of increasing globalization trends. Thus, calls for a new system of Bretton Woods have been heard in almost every industrialized country. Several calls have been made over the years for a refurbished international system to tackle the problem of uncontrolled capital flows amongst nations. Several Financial journalists have also noted that Financial crises since 1971 have been preceded by large  capital inflows  into affected regions. It wasnt until late 2008 that this idea began to receive substantial support from leading politicians. There has been a call by French President Nicolas Sarkozy during the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2010, for the reinvention of the Bretton Woods system of currency valuations in order to remove volatility and monetary manipulation by some nations to enhance their export successes. (Diane Francis, 2010) On October 13, 2008, British Prime Minister  Gordon Brown (APT Team, 2008) said world leaders must meet to agree to a new economic system: We must have a new Bretton Woods, building a new international financial architecture for the years ahead.' Generally the industrial nations experienced much slower growth and higher unemployment in the post Bretton Woods era, and according to Professor Gordon Fletcher in retrospect the 1950s and 60s when the Bretton Woods system was operating came to be seen as a  golden age. (Fletcher.G,1989). Financial crises are seen to have been more extreme and have increased in frequency with the emerging economies bearing the brunt of it before the most recent global financial crisis which started in 2007. Chief amongst these strengths of the old Bretton Woods as noted by Anna J. Schwartz (2000) was that there were low and stable inflation rates on the average for most Industrialised countries except for Japan during the Bretton woods era. More so, considerable expansion of international trade and investment and the real per capita income growth was higher than in any monetary regime since 1879. SECTION 4 CHALLENGES TO A NEW BRETTON WOODS SYSTEM Various factors have been identified as clogs in the wheel of the advancement of a new Bretton Woods system, some of them are: Evolution of the World Economy: One of the major reasons why a new Bretton Woods system might not work is because of how evolved the global economy has become in terms of international trade and monetary management. After the demise of the old Bretton Woods system, the following structural changes have taken place in world economies: Growth of international currency markets: due to the instability and lack of certainty in the financial world, having a fixed exchange rate became difficult and thus rational expectations and predictions were fuelled with uncertainty. Thus, for countries to make well informed decisions based on prevailing economic conditions, they adopted a floating exchange rate system, so that the true value of the economy could be revealed at all times. A major reason the Bretton Woods system was successful was because of its fixed exchange rate system. Thus, with the current increase in trade and volatility of the monetary system, a fixed rate system might be difficult to implement. Lack of Dominant Currency: During the Bretton woods era the U.S. dollar was the most stable and powerful currency. It was also the only currency strong enough to be exchanged for gold. Since it was the strongest currency, countries traded mostly in the dollar. Although currently, due to the prevailing economic conditions, the dollar and other currencies like the Chinese RMB, euro, yen are unstable and not strong enough to be dominant currencies. The Old Bretton Woods was successful because it only had one currency to measure by. The lack of a dominant currency would therefore pose challenges to the development of a new system and multiple currencies will only be more destabilizing. Derivative trading: with the emergence of the international currency markets, derivative trading has been a popular favourite of the financial market traders. Speculation, hedging, derivatives and arbitrage trading in the financial system have significant impact on the level of international prices and exchange rates, that it cannot be ignored. Integrating these in a new monetary system would involve complex controls which might be difficult to implement. Conflicts of Interest: Different nations have different levels of growth, different objectives, and different currency policies. For some countries adopting a fixed exchange rate is more convenient, while for others, especially developing countries having a flexible exchange is more profitable. Due to the varying preferences and objectives of each nation, being cooperative and following a particular policy could be quite inconvenient and disadvantageous for most. Floating Exchange Rate System: The fixed exchange rate system of the old Bretton Woods was advantageous but had limitations. Though it encouraged price stability and was anti-inflationary, its restrictive nature prevented necessary adjustments to economic disequilibrium. Presently, the exchange rates worldwide for most countries are flexible. This flexibility makes trade between developing and developed countries bearable and profitable. When fixed, trade is expensive for most developing countries. And with the current economic recession, flexibility is what the economy needs to make profitable trade. The Original vs. A Sequel: According to G. Rachman (2008, Financial times), a new bretton woods will flop. Reason being that; Like most sequels, Bretton Woods II is not going to be nearly as good as the original. The first conference gave birth to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Its successor will be duller and less consequential. The first reason for this is that the global financial crisis, bad as it is, is not as bad as the Second World War. The war destroyed the established order and so the world leaders who drew up the postwar institutions on a blank slate. Second, there isnt enough time. The original Bretton Woods conference benefited from two years of preparation, and not a few weeks. Finally, there are conflicts of interest and U.S has neither the power nor the inclination to impose a new set of arrangements on the rest of the world. Of course his opinion is subjective, but in truth, given an ill prepared plan and conflicts of interests, a new Bretton Woods is most likely to fail. Inefficient Governance: Creating a Bretton Woods system that takes account of the complex intrinsic and extrinsic framework of the global economy is quite difficult. The economy has evolved a lot since the 1944 when the first Bretton woods system was made. There are more world leaders now, and the more the world leaders are, the higher the differences in preferences. Creating a Bretton Woods that could possibly integrate the objectives of all nations is not only difficult but if created will require high maintenance. LESSONS FROM THE OLD BRETTON WOODS U.S Deficit budget: During the Bretton woods era, the U.S ran deficit budget. Due to the nations constant lending to other nations, they experienced a severe deficit in their balance of payments which strongly affected their international financial position and status negatively. This deficit made the dollar weak and undependable. Due to the large scale of economic activities globally, the exchange rate is always adjusting to reflect the real value of the economy. Thus having just one currency pegged to gold in this present time is no longer reasonable. Currencies need to be flexible against each other, so that when a nation runs a deficit, and its currency looses value, the whole economy will not lose at the same time. Bretton Woods Policies: When the policy of a fixed exchange rate system was established, the financial strength of developing countries was not adequately taken into consideration. In the short run, the fixed exchange rate worked well for the developed countries, but as the developing countries claimed independence and began to evolve into the global economy, trade with the developed economies at a fixed rate was definitely too expensive for them. Moreover, polices imposed by the World Bank and IMF on developing countries like SAP i.e. structural adjustment program didnt work out well on the developing countries, it has been argued that it worsened their level of poverty, S.Dammasch (2000, p.11). The Slide to breakdown: The breakdown of the Bretton Woods system occurred via the failure of the dollar as the dominant currency, the rules of cooperation for its convertibility into gold and the exchange rates regime. The lack of a backup currency to resolve the issue or at least minimize the losses incurred contributed to the demise of the system. Thus the Bretton Woods dependence on the dollar been the only currency that could be convertibility to gold was too risky. Short run vs. Long run functions: Another problem with the Old Bretton Woods was that the same plan was made for the short run and long run. Right after World War II, the international monetary system was only concerned with their present predicament of how to get the economy back on track. Given the destruction caused by the war, addressing the pressing need of the economy was appropriate but during evaluations in the short run, proper schemes and policies should have been arranged to counter what could go wrong in the long run. The undoing of the Bretton woods system was that the plans for the short run were allowed to run indefinitely into the long run until they could no longer hold. Thus the system defaulted. SECTION FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION The worst banking crisis since the  Great Depression  strongly suggests that a global rules-based system is necessary to oversee financial markets and coordinate economic management. Hence, this has led to the ongoing discussions to reintroduce the Bretton woods system. As discussed in the earlier part of this paper, this is not going to be an easy task as the worlds market economy has drastically changed and thus cannot be compared to mid 90s. This has led us to suggest some recommendations which should be helpful if this vision of reintroducing the Bretton Woods system is to be realized. A new Bretton woods system is plausible as long as it can adapt to varying economic conditions as the global economy evolves. Thus the following: Stronger monetary policy: Given the current system of floating exchange rates, the World Bank should advise the governments of each country to implement monetary policies that ensure that their currency is not undervalued or overvalued. Inflation targeting: Plans to prevent the occurrence of repetitive financial crises should be made; one defect that is common in all financial crises is inflation. Inflation is good for the economy, but when this inflation is excessive, the growth is one-sided. Thus as economic growth occurs for some sectors of the economy, other sectors are worse off accumulating loss and debt. There is a huge case of inequality in the economy and no real economic development ever occurs. Thus a new Bretton Woods system should take considerate account of the inequality caused by inflation. Regulation for derivatives: From the recent financial crisis, derivative trading has been seen to have played a huge role in increasing the negative impact of the crisis. If possible, a special regulation body or committee should be tasked with responsibility of monitoring and regulating the derivatives market. Because most derivatives are OTC, there is no public information as to their transactions, but since it has proven through the recent crisis that it has a strong hold in the market. Such activities should be divulged to the government. So, that to a certain extent an adequate regulatory framework can be established and financial loss minimized.

Coursework assignment: Jack the Ripper

1. Source A is part of a newspaper article describing the murder of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls. From source A I can learn that there have been two murders in London within a month of each other, I can also learn that Polly Nicholls and the other victim, Martha Tabram, were very poor. Source A also tells us that the murderer did not kill the women for financial gain as there was no proof of stealing, the killer had used too much force to kill these women and this suggests that the killer was not of stable mind. Source A is part of an article in the East End Observer describing the murders of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls and it was written within a month of the murders, it suggests that the murderer was not of stable mind. Source B is part of the Coroner's report of the death of Polly Nicholls and it suggests that the killer had a good knowledge of the human body. Source C is the report of Dr Frederick Blackwell on the body of Elizabeth Stride and its gives a detailed description of the victims body. Source A supports Source C by saying that the victims have been of the poorest of the poor whilst Source C implies that the victim, Elizabeth Stride, was poor as there was ‘no money on the body. ‘ However Source A is different to Source C as it says that the killer used ‘extraordinary violence' to murder the women where as Source C says that there was only one incision on the body and it cut the windpipe ‘completely in two meaning that no force was used'. Source C also says that the appearance of the face was calm meaning there was no force used against the victim and it was a quick kill. Source A states that the murders were a work of a ‘demented being' as so much effort was used to kill the victims but the evidence from Source C suggest that the killer had a knowledge of how to kill a person quickly as it says that only one incision was found on the victim and it rendered them dead. Source B says the killer had ‘anatomical skill and knowledge' the wounds inflicted on the victim were in specific places that would lead to certain organs, additionally Source C also suggests that the killer had a good understanding of the human body as it mentions that only one wound was inflicted on the victim and it was enough to kill her and this shows that Source B supports Source C. Source B also supports Source C by saying the killer used a knife as a weapon to kill the victims and Source C implies that the killer used a knife as an incision is caused by a knife or sharp object. However Source B is different from Source C as all the statements in this are opinions whereas all the statements of Source C are facts and are given by a doctor who knows what he is seeing. Source B is also trying to decipher the identity of the victim where as Source is just a description of the body 3. Source E is Part of an article published in a local newspaper after the murders of Polly Nicholls and Annie Chapman. It tells us of how an informant warned police officers that the security of the streets should be improved otherwise murders would ensue. It also tells us a bit about the geography of White Chapel. This source implies that the security of the streets in White Chapel was really poor as there were crimes going on in every street and people had predicted that there would be murders happening in the town if the quality of the police force was not increased. It also tells us that there were crimes going on such as ‘ruffianism' (violent lawless behavior), and although the police were told of it they did nothing to prevent or stop these crimes. This Source also tells us about the way White Chapel is built, with the main roads connected by narrow alleyways, meaning that the killer could easily slide into an alley if he heard or saw the police approaching. However the Source does not tell us who the informant is; implying that the killer had to be a police to hide his identity because otherwise he would have been fired from his job. As a result of not knowing the identity of the killer, we cannot tell if the Source is reliable or not. But as the source was a newspaper article, its main job was to inform people of the news accurately, however the newspapers also had to be sold meaning that the article evidence given by the informant could have stretched to make the article more interesting. Source D is the evidence of Elizabeth Long at the inquest into the death of Annie Chapman; she was describing the man seen talking to Annie before she was killed. It tells about the appearance of the man seen with Annie Chapman before she was killed. It says that the man was a foreigner and that he was of a ‘shabby genteel'. The description given by the eye-witness is very detailed and it describes a foreigner. During the time that the murders happened White chapel was a dirty and polluted place, people could even see their own hands in front of their faces in the dark. The time at which Miss Long said she say the man was at 5. 30 am and it was still pretty dark at that time which leads me to believe that this source is not very reliable. This however shows me that the police had trouble capturing the killer because of all the false eye-witness accounts given to them by the public, they could not interpret which ones were true and which were not and the killer took advantage of this. Source D is not very reliable as there is no way that Miss. Long could have made out the appearance of the man in such detail, it is a make belief story as at the time of which the account was given many people presumed that the killer was a foreigner, therefore Miss. Long gave the description of one. 4. The police made use of many methods to try and catch the killer but they were all to no avail. One of the things that the police was to circulate leaflets around to the general public. Source F is the leaflet distributed to over 80,000 households in hopes of catching the murderer. The leaflet contains dates of the first four murders (starting from Polly Nicholls) and it is suggesting that the killer lives in Whitechapel. It is asking for people to come forward and report anybody suspicious. This is a good idea as it would save the police from interviewing everyone in Whitechapel but the public did help the police as they came up with too many false witnesses and they gave information on people who acted the slightest unusual. Source G is part of a letter from the Home Secretary to the mile end vigilance committee on 17 September 1888. The Home Secretary states that offering a reward would mean people would make false accusations on innocent people just for the money. The police were asking permission to offer reward to anyone who gives information on the killer but they were declined. This would have been a good idea as they would get a list of suspects but the public would give information on anyone just to get the money and this would leave the police in a bigger state of confusion. The police also requested for 100 more men both uniformed and plain clothed so there can more of a chance to catch the killer. This was definitely a good idea as there were more men patrolling the area and there were more chances of spotting the killer. However this method proved to be insufficient as the killer was not seen the police, both uniformed and plain clothed. The metropolitan police sent a private and confidential letter to Col turner asking him to provide trained bloodhounds that could track the scent of the victim's blood in order to find the killer. This was a very good idea and it is still used today to track down suspects but this also failed to catch the notorious Whitechapel, murderer. Although this did prove that the killer murdered his victims rather stealthily as to not get any blood on himself. The police also put their time and effort into interviewing over a thousand lodgers in the area of Whitechapel. This does not seem like a good idea as all the murders had taken place on the weekend or on a holiday suggesting that the killer was from out of town or that he had a job meaning that he would have his own house. One of the stranger things the police did was use silent boots. There logic was that the killer would here the police man approach and so the killer would not run away. This obviously did not help the police catch the killer. These boots also cause pain to the officers as they were uncomfortable. Autopsies were carried out and police photographed each scene. Detailed interviews were conducted throughout the area and existing mental patients and those with a history of violence were investigated. Also the police offered pardons to accomplices willing to come forward with information. The police tried almost everything they could to try and catch the killer during the murders but the facilities that police had were just not enough and most of the time criminals were caught red handed or they would most likely escape. 5. The Whitechapel murders were something that the police have never experienced, they do not know of killing without reason or serial killing. As you have seen, the police tried various methods to try and catch the murderer but they were all a failure and that is due to the following reasons. The killer was a mad-man. This is what everybody believed in White chapel, that someone who kills for his own pleasure has to be foaming at the mouth, this was the perceived of Jack the ripper. He was seen as a man who could not keep his emotions in check and who was a basic raving lunatic. However through modern serial killings we have found that most serial killers look outwardly normal and sane even though they are mad on the inside. The killer could have had an ordinary day-light life with maybe even a family and by night time he could have set out to kill. This was not known at the time so people were looking out for mad person who was swinging a knife at every prostitute and because of this lunatics all over White chapel were examined but to no avail. This also meant that if the killer had family and friends they would never suspect him as he would not have filled the description of a lunatic. The killer on the other hand was a very confident person as he no doubt believed he would never be caught so he never hid the bodies and murdered in daring places, such as ten minutes away from the police station. The killer was also very artful as source H states that ‘not a trace is left' of the killer at the crime scene. The victims of the killer had one thing in common: heavy drinking. They were known for drinking and wondering around the streets, the first victim's, Polly Nicholls, marriage broke down as a cause of her heavy drinking. Polly Nicholls was a sad woman who made a living from prostitution. The second victim, Annie Chapman, was also a separated wife who suffered from alcoholism and she was also homeless. The next victim, Elizabeth Stride, was also separated from her husband and used prostitution as a source of a living. The fourth victim, Catherine Eddowes, was also a heavy drinker, a separated wife and a prostitute. The fifth and final victim was Mary Jane Kelly and she was a young prostitute whose husband had died. All these victims are prostitutes and almost all were heavy drinkers meaning they were all exceptionally easy targets as they would have to go in dark places with men who they were strangers with and when they were drunk they were disoriented and did not know what was going on. They would also do anything for a drink meaning they would meet up with men at night just because he promised a drink. The victims were also picked at random except for the fact that they were prostitutes so the police could not find a pattern in the victims and there were too many prostitutes in White chapel to protect them all. Whitechapel was a densely populated area in one of the poorest districts in London. There were many slaughterhouses and such in those parts of London, and so it wasn't odd for men to walk around in dirty and even blood stained clothes. Furthermore, the fact that there were so many narrow alleys and thoroughfares may have made the Ripper's escape easier. As source E tells us that the alley ways were ‘dark' and ‘narrow'. The area of Whitechapel had many penniless, homeless and nameless people drifting in and out of its streets, so it was difficult to keep the track, monitor the streets and the police also had to deal with the vigilante behaviour that erupted as a result of the murders. The eyewitnesses that came forward were almost all very inaccurate except for the police officers. In eye-witness account of Elizabeth Long (source D), a description of a man she sees talking to Annie Chapman is given but it is not very detailed and it only describes his attire and not his facial features. Elizebeth Long is also not sure about the things she sae as she says: ‘as well as I could make out', ‘I think' and ‘I cannot be sure'. Also, the time at which she saw the man, it was dark and smog covered the whole of White chapel so therefore she could not have seen clearly and her evidence is most likely made up. These sort of eye-witness accounts lead the police to a dead end and their time is wasted. The chance of the police catching any criminal in those days would drastically drop if they didn't catch him in the act. The investigative tools the police had at the time did not include fingerprinting, forensic evidence and DNA. The police tried almost everything they could and they made requests that would help catch the killer (even though some of them were denied). The police was not used to the concept of killing without a motive and this confused the police as to what course of action they should take. Although the police did make some mistakes such as when the writing on the wall was erased before it could be photographed and they let Catherine Eddowes out of jail at 1. 00 am when they clearly knew about the dangerous times. The police were not to blame for the ripper murders as they had never experienced anything like it and they did whatever they could to try and catch the killer. The public did not help the police in the investigation by giving false witnesses and accusations. The layout of White chapel was in such a way that it would be extremely easy for the ripper to escape.