Paper on the Lingering Impacts of Lehman Brothers’ Bankruptcy. The great thing about this assignment is the fact that you have already completed so much preparatory work with your first writing assignment – the literature review, which is the basis for your entire discussion in this paper. You will note that the assignment rubrics are located in the writing assignment link. All you need to do is click the “rubric” link. I have listed below some guidelines that will help you focus on the what I expect to be included in each rubric section. I encourage you all to familiarize yourselves with the rubrics and my expectations so you submit the very best paper you can!

Guidelines:

Rubric 1

Please include a heading for this section. This rubric is very self-explanatory. You should have already reviewed research that explores the impacts the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy had on other financial institutions throughout the US and the world. If your literature review was thorough, you should be able to provide a general theme regarding the overall impacts, as well as discussing some specific examples, based on the research. Be extremely careful to use correct reference citations!

Rubric 2

Please include a heading for this section. Your literature review should have specific data on industries that may have benefited from Lehman’s failure or those that were especially negatively impacted by their demise. Pick one (or both) and discuss in specific detail what the impacts were in each case. I am not looking for generalities here; I am looking for in-depth discussion of the benefits or the damages. Be extremely careful to use correct reference citations!

Rubric 3

Please include a heading for this section. Your literature review should have researched the managerial problems, ethical lapses, and lack of transparency with regard to the Lehman Brothers failure, so these are the types of points you should focus on when formulating your discussion on the third rubric. What are the lessons that should have been learned?  Be extremely careful to use correct reference citations!

Rubric 4

Please include a heading for this section. Based on the groundwork presented in your literature review, discuss whether or not it is likely that a similar catastrophic failure like Lehman Brothers could occur again, in today’s financial environment, given the regulations that were put in place following Lehman Brothers’ collapse and the ensuing financial crisis. Remember, it is NOT appropriate to make a statement of personal opinion. Any conclusion you present MUST be supported by the sound data and research by your references, as presented in your literature review.  Be extremely careful to use correct reference citations!

Rubric 5

Please include a heading for this section. Be very careful NOT to express your personal opinion here! You are to present conclusions based on the sound data and empirical research you reviewed in the first writing assignment. Based on your research, you should discuss in detail the data that supports the American economy being either stronger or weaker as a result of the reforms that have been put in place following Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy. You should list those reforms and explain how each was intended to change the system, and then provide support that either they have or they have not accomplished their intended goals.  Be extremely careful to use correct reference citations!

Rubric 6

Please include a heading for this section. This rubric is tricky because you are to relate the credit crisis to your own personal experience or that of someone with whom you are acquainted. But, you should NOT write this in the first person active voice! This is NOT a personal essay; it is academic research writing. This means that you should not discuss this as a personal experience, but rather you should use your experience as the context for the general experiences of many Americans during that time. So, what you should do is take this experience (either yours personally or someone else’s) and write about it as if you were a journalist reporting on the effects the credit crisis had on the average American. You will use the details of the experience you are familiar with, but you will relate them as if they were experienced by an anonymous individual. For instance, let’s say your uncle owns a specialty bakery shop and during the credit crisis he was not able to obtain the financing he needed to replace an old and faulty specialty oven for the business because the banks were not making loans. Perhaps he also noticed that clients did not want to spend as much as they used to for party and wedding baked goods, and there were fewer customers than before. What you should do is take the general impacts faced by this type of small business and describe them with enough specificity to clearly exemplify the far-reaching implications of the crisis. If you use specific references for this, be extremely careful to use correct reference citations!

Rubric 7

This rubric is completely self-explanatory, but I will elaborate a bit. You should all have reviewed five high-quality references in your literature reviews. If you did not use appropriate references for that assignment, it is essential that you make sure the references you use for this paper comply with the standards. References must be high-quality academic journals and/or peer-reviewed research papers. ANY Internet websites used will NOT count as references, and points will be deducted for any Wikipedia, Investopedia, commercial financial websites, or financial blog sites. This should not be a problem for those of you who did appropriate literature reviews. If you choose to use additional references, that is fine, as long as they are appropriate. The bottom line is there must be at least FIVE high-quality academic references.

Rubric 8

I am a stickler for writing mechanics; however, because my classes are so large, I am no longer able to mark each individual paper for spelling, grammatical and sentence structure errors. I will, however,  deduct points for those errors and make a general statement in the rubric feedback cells if those issues are a problem. So, it is incumbent on each of you to make sure you check your paper as many times as necessary to ensure that there are no such errors when you submit the assignment. I also encourage you to use Grammarly to check for writing mechanics errors as well as originality, because each paper will be automatically analyzed. If English is not your first language, you may feel more comfortable asking a friend or colleague to read through your final draft to help you catch grammatical errors that you may have overlooked.

specific APA writing guidelines I have previously provided for you.

SEE ATTACHED FOR SPECIFICS

Today’s urban transportation planning process is being impacted by the President’s Stimulus Plan. High speed rail is one such option to congestion along the highways of urban areas. These projects have two sides to them. There are those who support high speed rail and those who do not support high speed rail. You have been chosen to not support the Stimulus Plan for use of high speed rail to ease congestion. Your task is to help decision makers make up their minds. So, you are now on the opposing side. Discuss how this Stimulus Plan for high speed rail will not work. You can use any reference. But, you must also present your opinion based on facts and data, not just because you don’t like it. You will have to provide evidence to back up what you believe is a bad idea. (25 points)

Most (97 percent) roads and streets in the United States are under the jurisdiction of State and local governments. The Federal jurisdiction is mainly limited to National Parks, National Forests, and other government-owned land. Discuss what issues and problems might be common between the Federal jurisdiction and the State and Local governments, and what issues and problems might be unique to the Federal government compared to the State and local governments. List the common and unique attributes and provide a brief explanation to support your choice. Use references in APA format and also offer your own opinion on what you think of these issues and problems. (25 points)The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect on January 1, 1994. This sweeping agreement is designed to open the borders separating Canada, Mexico, and the United States to the free exchange of goods and services. There are many pros and cons of NAFTA that have emerged since 1994. The future of NAFTA is in the wind these days. It may fail or succeed for the next ten years. You job is to help Congress and other decision makers to decide what course of action they should take regarding NAFTA’s future. You are to take the side that NAFTA is a bad business investment; you are to represent the “con” side of the argument. So, discuss why you would defeat or destroy NAFTA or morph it from its current state to some other new state. (25 points)In early 1990s with a second wave of low-cost carriers (LCCs), which led to the second period of strong traffic growth from early 1993 through early 2000, Southwest Airlines arguably provided the blueprint for U.S. Between 2006 and 2009 a fuel crisis happened and a recession for business and the transportation industry. What is the impact today on LCC’s in order to be competitive in this economy coming on the heels of this recession?

Question 1

Identifying weaknesses, while recognizing the strengths is not needed in critical thinking, but only in SWOT Analysis.

Answer

True

False

.0.2 points

Question 2

Wages and Working Conditions are excluded from the ethical issues of concern in international business.

Answer

True

False

.0.2 points

Question 3

Which of the following is correct about ethical management?

Answer

a. Decision making leads to orientation, discussion, and implementation

b. Ethical decision making leads to orientation, discussion, and implementation

c. Ethical management has a handsome long-term reward

d. Ethical orientation leads to discussion, decision Making, and implementation

e. Ethical implementation leads to discussion, orientation, and ethical Decision Making

.0.2 points

Question 4

Critical thinking is a normal mode of thinking.Answer True

False

.0.2 points

Question 5

Which of the following is not in the logical order of progression in an

Ethical Process Dialogue:Answer a. Modify Proposals

b. Value Differences

c. Uncover Assumptions

d. Evaluate Alternative Views

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 6

Which of the following statement is incorrect?

Answer a. Ethical issues could be used as justification of the Market System

b. Ethics, economics, and the law are not related in business

c. Ethics could be viewed as a part of the conditions for free markets

d. Ethics, economics, and the Law are related in business

e. Ethical right or wrong could be justified by economics and could be legal or illegal

.0.2 points

Question 7

Ethical process analysisAnswer a. Uses argumentative structures

b. Is that which is examined as the outcome of an experiment

c. Is that which is manipulated or changed

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 8

Ethical process analysisAnswer a. Is designed for people who are willing to discuss controversial issues with others

b. Examines direct cause-and-effect relationships

c. Focus on cause and effect, but are pre-assigned

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 9

Decision making could be at:Answer a. Individual level

b. Organization level

c. Business System level

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 10

Critical thinking is:Answer a. Self-directed

b. Self-disciplined

c. Self-monitored

d. Self-corrective

e. All of the above

.0.2 points

Question 11

Ethics is a guide to thinking.Answer True

False

.0.2 points

Question 12

Disagreements, as an advantage:Answer a. May prevent mistakes

b. Can promote a more inclusive and realistic proposal

c. Creates opportunity for learning

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 13

Disagreements, as a disadvantage:Answer a. May threaten cooperation

b. Can create a debating game of winners and losers

c. May delay action

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 14

Analyzing, evaluating, and improving are critical in critical thinking.Answer True

False

.0.2 points

Question 15

Which of the following is correct about ethics and corporations?Answer a. Ethical behavior of Corporate entities could be legally binding on company executives through agency law

b. The decisions made by the teams are the responsibilities of the individual executives

c. Corporate teams perform as individuals when making ethical decisions

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 16

Critical thinking is Answer a. An objective reasoning and judgment to determine merits and faults.

b. Thinking aimed at a well-founded judgment, using appropriate evaluative standards to determine true worth, merit, or value.

c. The art of thinking about thinking while thinking, in order to make thinking better.

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above.

.0.2 points

Question 17

Critical thinkersAnswer a. Use theories to explain how the mind works.

b. Apply those theories to the way they live every day.

c. Have self-command of the principles of critical thinking; keep alive in the mind; and have continual engagement in everyday life.

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above.

.0.2 points

Question 18

Ethical process analysisAnswer a. Balances advocacy and inquiry

b. Includes both descriptive and normative analysis

c. Connects dialogue and argument

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 19

The following are related to the theory of absolutism and relativism, except:Answer a. Lack of contact with other cultures

b. Morally Relevant Differences

c. The variety of Ethical Outlooks

d. The Right of People to Decide

e. Required Conditions for Doing Business

.0.2 points

Question 20

Corporations are legal entities that bear no social responsibility.Answer True

False

.0.2 points

Question 21

The following could be identified in corporate governance, except:Answer a. Interested groups vs. Corporate goals

b. Stakeholders Theory

c. Devil’s advocate

d. Property Rights and Social Institutions Theory

e. Contractual Theory

.0.2 points

Question 22

The following could be identified in corporate governance, except:Answer a. Property Rights and Social Institutions Theory

b. Diversity myths

c. Contractual Theory

d. Agency Theory

e. Codes of Ethics

.0.2 points

Question 23

Which of these does not belong to the Dialogical Choice of Debate:Answer a. Is driven by implicit meanings

b. Exploits weaknesses

c. Increases alienation

d. Forces participants to protect positions

e. Forces participants to face each other as combatants

.0.2 points

Question 24

Critical thinkers use theories to explain how the mind works.Answer True

False

.0.2 points

Question 25

In international business, ethical frame of reference could beAnswer a. Diversity Consciousness versus Understanding

b. Awareness versus Skills in handling people

c. Absolutism versus Relativism

d. Enhanced Diversity versus Skills

e. Expanded Horizon versus Empowerment

.0.2 points

Question 26

Ethical issues of concern in international business include the following, except:Answer a. Taking an active role in educating yourself

b. Foreign Bribery

c. Cultural Differences

d. Employment Practices

e. Consumer Protection

.0.2 points

Question 27

Define critical thinking in five ways.Answer

1. First, critical thinking seeks to evaluate the validity of a claim by presenting oneself with arguments that will help the thinker know the validity of a claim.

2. From this, critical thinking is, as said in the previous questions, self-directed, self-disciplined, self- monitored, and self-corrective thinking. This means that a critical thinker is aware of his thought process, and evaluates it over and over again so that he can correct any preconceived notions and assumptions.

3. Because of this, critical thinking allows the thinker to have a clear and open mind that will entertain all sorts of claims, how absurd they may appear to be initially.

4. However, this does not mean that critical thinking will result in accepting all assumptions – after entertaining the claims, there will be a reasonable, disciplined, and controlled filtering process that will accept and reject some of the claims.

5. Lastly, critical thinking requires thinkers to use sound theories that explain how the mind works, and apply these theories in everyday decision-making processes. In the end, critical thinking involves criticizing one’s own mind.

.0.5 points

Question 28

Corporate social responsibility is the voluntary actions and decision outcomes affecting society, that are perceived to have the best interest of society, not just goals beyond purely economic and legal responsibilities.Answer True

False

.0.2 points

Question 29

Ethical process analysis Answer a. Is neither dependent nor independent

b. Begins with people stating their views of what should be done

c. Is only of the control, extraneous, and moderator variety

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 30

People see the role of managers in business ethics as:Answer a. Economic Actors

b. Company Leaders

c. Community Leaders

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 31

How can you apply critical thinking to your life and in business in five different ways?Answer

1. First, when we are presented with a claim or a problem, we must gather the necessary information needed to evaluate the claim properly and reasonably. We must be persistent in researching about the claim, so that we will not simply jump to conclusions as this can destroy us quite rapidly. Also, when we gather information, we must research furthermore where this information came from, as sources can affect the credibility of the information. For example, some guy tells me that my wife has been seeing some other guy. I should gather a lot of information about this claim before I confront my wife. Also, I should evaluate who this guy is (my father, my brother, or some prankster neighbor kid).

2. Second, after gathering the needed information, we must analyze it thoroughly. Weight out the evidence, conduct tests and experiments if this is about an academic research or a business survey.

3. After all of these, combine the findings and formulate possible conclusions. I can write these explicitly or this can happen in a few seconds only inside my head. As all these commence, we must remember to be open minded, and that in some cases, there is no absolute answer.

4. Consider and listen to the views of other people. In fact, it is better to try and put myself in the shoes of other people. For example, I have a heated disagreement with an officemate because he insists on cutting budget for production, while I defend my stand of increasing the budget so that quality products are made. Unknowingly, this officemate of mine can be the one who is pressured almost every day by questions of the board regarding the diminishing profits over the past few weeks, while I am not receiving that amount of flak. Considering this will push me to pursue an agreement that will benefit the both of us, in a clear and calm manner.

5. Lastly, I believe in trying to understand the background of the person talking to me. This is very much related to 4, but this involves the person’s ethnicity, cultural background, religion, job, etc. There are lots of listening that we need to do in life, and when we allow ourselves to really listen, then we can make each other’s lives better than before.

.0.5 points

Question 32

Ethical process:Answer a. Examines direct cause-and-effect relationships.

b. Focus on cause and effect, but are pre-assigned.

c. Is a way of working together to make better decisions and fewer mistakes.

d. All of the above

e. None of the above.

.0.2 points

Question 33

Likely guideline (s) for multinational companies (MNC) could be:Answer a. Human Rights

b. Welfare

c. Justice

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 34

To maintain ethical standards:Answer a. Become a critic of your thinking.

b. Establish old habits of thought.

c. Develop no confidence in your ability to reason and figure things out.

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above.

.0.2 points

Question 35

Ethical issues of concern in international business include the following, except:Answer a. Employment Practices

b. Be modest

c. Consumer Protection

d. Environmental Protection

e. Political Payments and Involvement

.0.2 points

Question 36

Ethics in the World of Business affect:Answer a. Business Decision Making

b. Economic Interest

c. Organizational Interest

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 37

Which of the following is not in the logical order of progression in an

Ethical Process Dialogue:Answer a. Encounter Disagreements

b. Engage in Dialogue

c. Develop Good Reasons

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 38

Disagreements, as a disadvantage:Answer a. May favor “argumentative” types over others

b. May stifle participation

c. May be stressful

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 39

The best critical thinker pays close attention to thinking by:Answer a. Analyzing

b. Evaluating

c. Improving

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

.0.2 points

Question 40

Thinking Critically, you would:Answer a. Examine your thinking and put it to test.

b. Take your thinking apart, to see it as something constructed out of parts.

c. Identify weaknesses, while recognizing the strengths.

d. Creatively reconstruct your thinking to make it better, overcoming the natural tendency of the mind to be rigid.

e. All of the above.

.0.2 points

Question 41

To maintain ethical standards:Answer a. Apply non-intellectual standards to thinking.

b. Focus on clarity, accuracy, precision, and relevance.

c. No need for depth and breadth.

d. All of the above

e. None of the above.

.0.2 points

Question 42

To maintain ethical standards:Answer a. No need for logic and significance.

b. No need for fairness.

c. Avoid sweeping statements that could lead to serious errors.

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above.

.0.2 points

Question 43

Ethics affect business decision making only in theory.Answer True

False

.0.2 points

Question 44

Ethical issues of concern in international business include the following, except:Answer a. Wages and Working Conditions

b. What is a Justified Wage?

c. Following through

d. Foreign Bribery

e. Cultural Differences

.0.2 points

Question 45

Which of these does not belong to the Dialogical Choice of Dialogue:Answer a. Is driven by individual interests

b. Supports strengths

c. Strengthens community

d. Allows participants to explore positions

e. Allows participants to face each other as partners

.0.2 points

Question 46

Ethics is the right or wrong without regard to culture or perception.Answer True

False

.0.2 points

Question 47

Disagreements, as an advantage:Answer a. Allows us to examine reasons

b. Increases the pool of resources

c. Can reveal a proposal’s limits

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

120 100 80 64 48

32 24 20 16 12

8

Percent shares traded

30 20 10

Target Price Range 2019 2020 2021

ORACLE NYSE-ORCL 38.46 14.7 14.614.0 0.81 1.6% TIMELINESS 3 Lowered 9/11/15 SAFETY 1 Raised 5/22/09 TECHNICAL 3 Lowered 11/11/16 BETA 1.05 (1.00 = Market)

2019-21 PROJECTIONS Ann’l Total

Price Gain Return High 60 (+55%) 13% Low 50 (+30%) 9% Insider Decisions

D J F M A M J J A to Buy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Options 4 1 2 4 2 1 6 7 2 to Sell 3 1 1 4 3 1 3 1 2 Institutional Decisions

4Q2015 1Q2016 2Q2016 to Buy 586 621 597 to Sell 760 745 741 Hld’s(000)245015124749762408086

High: 14.5 19.8 23.3 23.6 25.1 32.3 36.5 34.3 38.3 46.7 45.3 42.0 Low: 11.3 12.1 16.0 15.0 13.8 21.2 24.7 25.3 29.9 35.4 35.1 33.1

% TOT. RETURN 10/16 THIS VL ARITH.*

STOCK INDEX 1 yr. 0.5 6.4 3 yr. 19.5 15.7 5 yr. 24.4 76.0

CAPITAL STRUCTURE as of 8/31/16 Total Debt $54056 mill. Due in 5 Yrs $16150 mill. LT Debt $53057 mill. LT Interest $1800 mill.

(53% of Cap’l) Leases, Uncapitalized Annual rentals $328.0 mill.

No Defined Benefit Pension Plan Pfd Stock None

Common Stock 4,105,567,000 shs. as of 9/12/16

MARKET CAP: $158 billion (Large Cap) CURRENT POSITION 2015 2016 8/31/16

($MILL.) Cash Assets 54368 56125 68396 Receivables 5618 5385 3407 Inventories (FIFO) 314 212 286 Other 2883 2591 2362 Current Assets 63183 64313 74451 Accts Payable 806 504 551 Debt Due 1999 3750 999 Deferred Revenue 7245 7655 9462 Other 5241 5299 4130 Current Liab. 15291 17208 15142

ANNUAL RATES Past Past Est’d ’13-’15 of change (per sh) 10 Yrs. 5 Yrs. to ’19-’21 Sales 15.5% 12.0% 7.0% ‘‘Cash Flow’’ 17.5% 14.0% 6.5% Earnings 18.0% 13.5% 6.0% Dividends – – 39.0% 7.5% Book Value 20.5% 15.0% 3.5%

Fiscal Year Ends

Full Fiscal Year

QUARTERLY SALES ($ mill.)A Aug.Per Nov.Per Feb.Per May.Per

2013 8209 9113 8970 10961 37253 2014 8381 9283 9315 11326 38305 2015 8599 9608 9334 10712 38253 2016 8452 8996 9014 10594 37056 2017 8613 9150 9250 10487 37500 Fiscal Year Ends

Full Fiscal Year

EARNINGS PER SHARE AB Aug.Per Nov.Per Feb.Per May.Per

2013 .53 .64 .65 .87 2.68 2014 .59 .69 .68 .92 2.87 2015 .62 .69 .68 .78 2.77 2016 .53 .63 .64 .81 2.61 2017 .55 .61 .65 .82 2.63 Cal- Full

endar Year QUARTERLY DIVIDENDS PAID E

Mar.31 Jun.30 Sep.30 Dec.31 2012 .06 .06 .06 .24 .42 2013 – – – – .12 .12 .24 2014 .12 .12 .12 .12 .48 2015 .12 .15 .15 .15 .57 2016 .15 .15 .15 .15

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 1.80 1.94 1.78 1.81 1.96 2.36 2.82 3.57 4.39 4.69 5.38 7.07 7.59 8.02 .44 .52 .48 .50 .56 .73 .85 1.09 1.37 1.53 1.75 2.32 2.65 2.91 .35 .46 .39 .43 .50 .68 .80 1.01 1.30 1.44 1.67 2.22 2.46 2.68 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – .05 .20 .20 .24 .30

.05 .06 .05 .06 .04 .04 .05 .06 .05 .11 .05 .09 .13 .14 1.15 1.12 1.13 1.21 1.55 2.11 2.87 3.31 4.47 5.01 6.13 7.85 8.91 9.61

5615.1 5592.4 5431.0 5233.0 5171.0 5145.0 5232.0 5107.0 5150.0 5005.0 5026.0 5068.0 4905.0 4646.0 NMF NMF 36.8 24.6 25.1 17.9 16.3 17.0 15.8 13.1 13.7 13.0 12.0 12.0 NMF NMF 2.01 1.40 1.33 .95 .88 .90 .95 .87 .87 .82 .76 .67

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – .3% .9% .7% .8% .9%

14771 18208 22609 23495 27034 35850 37221 37253 41.9% 42.1% 43.9% 47.3% 47.2% 45.3% 47.5% 48.7% 223.0 249.0 268.0 263.0 298.0 368.0 486.0 546.0

4246.0 5295.0 6799.0 7393.0 8494.0 11395 12520 12958 29.7% 28.6% 29.5% 28.7% 27.1% 25.3% 24.0% 23.0% 28.7% 29.1% 30.1% 31.5% 31.4% 31.8% 33.6% 34.8% 5044.0 3496.0 8074.0 9432.0 12313 24982 24635 28820 5735.0 6235.0 10235 9237.0 11510 14772 13524 18494 15012 16919 23025 25090 30798 39776 43688 44648 20.9% 23.6% 21.0% 22.3% 21.0% 21.6% 22.6% 21.2% 28.3% 31.3% 29.5% 29.5% 27.6% 28.6% 28.7% 29.0% 28.3% 31.3% 29.5% 28.5% 24.3% 26.0% 25.9% 25.8%

– – – – – – 3% 12% 9% 10% 11%

2014 2015 2016 2017 © VALUE LINE PUB. LLC 19-21 8.58 8.81 8.97 9.50 Sales per sh A 12.30 3.10 3.04 2.93 3.20 ‘‘Cash Flow’’ per sh 4.15 2.87 2.77 2.61 2.63 Earnings per sh AB 3.65 .48 .51 .60 .64 Div’ds Decl’d per sh E .76 .13 .32 .29 .25 Cap’l Spending per sh .25

10.50 11.21 11.45 11.65 Book Value per sh D 13.10 4464.0 4343.0 4131.0 3950.0 Common Shs Outst’g C 3450.0

12.5 15.1 14.8 Avg Ann’l P/E Ratio 15.0 .66 .77 .78 Relative P/E Ratio .94

1.3% 1.2% 1.6% Avg Ann’l Div’d Yield 1.4%

38305 38253 37056 37500 Sales ($mill) A 42500 48.9% 47.3% 44.9% 45.5% Operating Margin 47.0% 608.0 712.0 871.0 900 Depreciation ($mill) 1000 13214 12489 11236 11785 Net Profit ($mill) 13375 22.5% 23.6% 23.2% 25.5% Income Tax Rate 24.0% 34.5% 32.6% 30.3% 31.4% Net Profit Margin 31.5% 33749 47892 47105 50000 Working Cap’l ($mill) 50000 22667 39959 40105 53000 Long-Term Debt ($mill) 53000 46878 48663 47289 46000 Shr. Equity ($mill) 45250 19.7% 14.7% 13.7% 13.0% Return on Total Cap’l 14.5% 28.2% 25.7% 23.8% 25.5% Return on Shr. Equity 29.5% 23.5% 21.0% 18.3% 20.0% Retained to Com Eq 23.5%

16% 18% 23% 22% All Div’ds to Net Prof 20%

Company’s Financial Strength A++ Stock’s Price Stability 75 Price Growth Persistence 70 Earnings Predictability 85

(A) Fiscal year ends May 31st. (B) Diluted earnings. Excl. nonrec. items: ’00, 70¢; ’05, d13¢; ’06, d12¢; ’07, d20¢; ’08, d24¢; ’09, d35¢; ’10, d46¢; ’11, d55¢;

’12, d50¢; ’13, d60¢; ’14, d49¢; ’15, d56¢; ’16, d54¢. Next earnings report due mid-Dec. (C) In millions. (D) Incl. intang. In 2016, $34.6 bill., $8.38 a share.

(E) Initial div’d paid May 8, 2009. Div’ds paid late January, April, July, and October. Div’ds ($0.06 ea.) for February, May, and August of CY2013 were paid in December, 2012.

BUSINESS: Oracle Corporation develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and services database and middleware software, app- lications software, and hardware systems, primariy consisting of computer server and storage products. 2016 revenue breakdown: new software licenses, 19.6%; cloud SaaS, PaaS, & IaaS, 7.7%; software license updates and product support, 50.9%; hardware

systems & support, 12.6%; services, 9.2%; foreign sales, 53.4%. R&D, 15.6% of 2016 sales. Employed 136,000 at 5/31/16. Stock owners: Lawrence J. Ellison, 28%; other off. & dir., 1% (9/16 proxy). Exec Chrmn & CTO: Lawrence J. Ellison; Co-CEOs: Safra A. Catz and Mark V. Hurd. Inc.: DE. Addr.: 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065. Tel.: 650-506-7000. Internet: www.oracle.com.

Oracle Corporation began fiscal 2017 with mixed financial results. (Years end May 31st.) The company continued to register strong growth in cloud services, with its software-as-a-service (SaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offerings remaining on a rapid advance. Nonethe- less, revenue from new software licenses once again found progress elusive, as large enterprises continue to work their way to finding a balance between their on- premise requirements and the advantages afforded by cloud architecture. That said, overall software revenues advanced mod- erately, benefiting from the combination of progress at license updates and support and the strength in cloud services. Finally, although the margin widened in the hardware business, profits declined. We have made adjustments to our es- timates for fiscal 2017. Although SaaS and PaaS should remain on a steep trajec- tory, growth in overall software revenue may well turn out to be more modest than earlier anticipated, reflecting the likely decline in new software licenses and slow- ing progress in software updates and sup- port. Accordingly, despite the steep ascent

of Oracle’s cloud offerings, our revenue call is now $37.5 billion, down $500 million. Meanwhile, we have also reduced our earnings target, with our non-GAAP es- timate now at $2.63 a share, versus the previous $2.83. When completed, the ac- quisition of NetSuite should be accretive. The transition to cloud computing remains front and center at Oracle. Billings for cloud offerings SaaS and PaaS are advancing rapidly, with profit margins widening on a sequential basis. In addi- tion, Oracle will be placing more emphasis on its infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) business, leveraging the offering with its strong position in the enterprise database arena and the services that can be pro- vided as a result. Amazon Web Services and Microsoft are keen competitors in this arena, and both are also trying to estab- lish some level of differentiation in what is basically a commodity-type business. Add- ing it all up, Oracle should prosper as the secular move to cloud architecture and computing unfolds. Accordingly, these shares should provide respectable risk- adjusted returns for patient accounts. Charles Clark November 11, 2016

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Exam 2 Questions
Discuss how banks make money, and are structured in respect to Asset, Liability and Capital Management – give examples.
The theory of bureaucratic behavior indicates that the FED never operates in the public interest. Is this statement true or false, or uncertain? Explain your answer and give specific examples.
it is a take home exam questions you will find most the answers in powerpoints

(it should be an essay format 4 to 5 paragraphs) you should add graphs if you could

+++the second homework is a geology homework it says everything in the document i attached

Stephenson Real Estate Capital Restructuring

Instructions: Your final report should include a complete set of tables, numerical and written answers to each part of the assigned questions. Show your computation steps. Your written report for this project should not exceed 10 pages. If necessary, you can choose to provide additional evidence such as supporting excel calculations, regressions, additional tables or data.

Stephenson Real Estate Company was founded 25 years ago by the current CEO, Robert Stephenson. The company purchases real estate, including land and buildings, and rents the property to tenants. The company has shown a profit every year for the past 18 years, and the shareholders are satisfied with the company’s management. Prior to founding Stephenson Real Estate, Robert was the founder and CEO of a failed alpaca farming operation. The resulting bankruptcy made him extremely averse to debt financing. As a result, the company is entirely equity financed, with 9 million shares of common stock outstanding. The stock currently trades at $37.80 per share. Stephenson is evaluating a plan to purchase a huge tract of land in the southeastern United States for $95 million. The land will subsequently be leased to tenant farmers. This purchase is expected to increase Stephenson’s annual pretax earnings by $18.75 million in perpetuity. Jennifer Weyand, the company’s new CFO, has been put in charge of the project. Jennifer has determined that the company’s current cost of capital is 10.2 percent. She feels that the company would be more valuable if it included debt in its capital structure, so she is evaluating whether the company should issue debt to entirely finance the project. Based on some conversations with investment banks, she thinks that the company can issue bonds at par value with a 6 percent coupon rate. From her analysis, she also believes that a capital structure in the range of 70 percent equity 30 percent debt would be optimal. If the company goes beyond 30 percent debt, its bonds would carry a lower rating and a much higher coupon because the possibility of financial distress and the associated costs would rise sharply. Stephenson has a 40 percent corporate tax rate (state and federal).

QUESTIONS

1. If Stephenson wishes to maximize its total market value, would you recommend that it issue debt or equity to finance the land purchase? Explain.

2. Construct Stephenson’s market value balance sheet before it announces the purchase.

While violations of the law still unfortunately occur, there are few credible persons who believe that any group of people should be discriminated against because of the race, gender, ethnicity, age, etc.

However, your text did not address Affirmative Action, one of the programs that impact employment where there are hotly debated issues upon which reasonable people can disagree. It originated from an executive order to suppliers of goods and services to the federal government, and includes those agencies like colleges and universities who receive funding from the federal government (i.e., research grants and financial aid).

The link below takes you to the Dept. of Labor page where you can view the official description of Affirmative Action requirements and programs. While the document speaks for itself, here’s a quote from President Lyndon Johnson that captures the essence of the idea behind the development affirmative action programs. “You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say you are free to compete with all the others, and still just believe that you have been completely fair.”

The main arguments against affirmative action efforts revolve around reverse discrimination and the effectiveness of these programs in the short and long run.

http://www.dol.gov/general/topic/hiring/affirmativeact

The next two links will take you to pages that purport to present the arguments for and against affirmative action programs. Please take the time to review them carefully.

http://www.balancedpolitics.org/affirmative_action.htm

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~jesan20l/classweb/pright.html

Of course, you are welcome to research other sites as well, but be warned that many do not even attempt to be balanced in their presentation of the topic. Even worse, some seem to actively conceal their intent.

Your assignment is to produce a short paper that addresses the following topics. As I mentioned before, these are debatable issues, so your answer will rarely be considered “right” or “wrong”. The point is to not only have you be familiar with the issues, but to encourage you to understand, while not necessarily agree, with those who hold differing opinions. As always, your expression of your thoughts in a college level manner is expected and required. Please label each response with the corresponding number below.

1. Overall, are you in favor of affirmative action programs or opposed to them? Provide a rationale for your position.
2. Which of the arguments you’ve read about that take a position contrary to yours do you feel are worthy of consideration? What ideas do you have that might be put into practice to address these concerns?
3. If, in #1, you expressed support for these programs, address the concept of how long they should be in place. Answers could range from “until no discrimination exists” to “next year”.

If, in #1, you expressed dissatisfaction with these programs, what alternative do you have that would take their place in instances where disparate treatment or disparate impact have been identified as having taken place?

Whatever your position, please provide a rationale for it.

Preparing a Written Case Analysis about Oliver’s Market case Maximum (2-4 pages)

Preparing a Written Case Analysis

Preparing a written case analysis is much like preparing a case for class discussion, except that your analysis must be more complete and put in report form. Unfortunately, though, there is no ironclad procedure for doing a written case analysis. All we can offer are some general guidelines and words of wisdom—this is because company situations and management problems are so diverse that no one mechanical way to approach a written case assignment always works.

Your instructor may assign you a specific topic around which to prepare your written report. Or, alternatively, you may be asked to do a comprehensive written case analysis, where the expectation is that you will (1) identify all the pertinent issues that management needs to address, (2) perform whatever analysis and evaluation is appropriate, and (3) propose an action plan and set of recommendations addressing the issues you have identified. In going through the exercise of identify, evaluate, and recommend, keep the following pointers in mind.3

Identification It is essential early on in your paper that you provide a sharply focused diagnosis of strategic issues and key problems and that you demonstrate a good grasp of the company’s present situation. Make sure you can identify the firm’s strategy (use the concepts and tools in Chapters 1–5 as diagnostic aids) and that you can pinpoint whatever strategy implementation issues may exist (again, consult the material in Chapters 9–11 for diagnostic help). Consult the key points provided at the end of each chapter for further diagnostic suggestions. Consider beginning your paper with an overview of the company’s situation, its strategy, and the significant problems and issues that confront management. State problems/issues as clearly and precisely as you can. Unless it is necessary to do so for emphasis, avoid recounting facts and history about the company (assume your professor has read the case and is familiar with the organization

Analysis and Evaluation This is usually the hardest part of the report. Analysis is hard work! Check out the firm’s financial ratios, its profit margins and rates of return, and its capital structure, and decide how strong the firm is financially. Table 1 contains a summary of various financial ratios and how they are calculated. Use it to assist in your financial diagnosis. Similarly, look at marketing, production, managerial competence, and other factors underlying the organization’s strategic successes and failures. Decide whether the firm has valuable resource strengths and competencies and, if so, whether it is capitalizing on them.

Check to see if the firm’s strategy is producing satisfactory results and determine the reasons why or why not. Probe the nature and strength of the competitive forces confronting the company. Decide whether and why the firm’s competitive position is getting stronger or weaker. Use the tools and concepts you have learned about to perform whatever analysis and evaluation is appropriate.

In writing your analysis and evaluation, bear in mind four things:

1. You are obliged to offer analysis and evidence to back up your conclusions. Do not rely on unsupported opinions, over-generalizations, and platitudes as a substitute for tight, logical argument backed up with facts and figures.

2. If your analysis involves some important quantitative calculations, use tables and charts to present the calculations clearly and efficiently. Don’t just tack the exhibits on at the end of your report and let the reader figure out what they mean and why they were included. Instead, in the body of your report cite some of the key numbers, highlight the conclusions to be drawn from the exhibits, and refer the reader to your charts and exhibits for more details.

3. Demonstrate that you have command of the strategic concepts and analytical tools to which you have been exposed. Use them in your report.

4. Your interpretation of the evidence should be reasonable and objective. Be wary of preparing a one-sided argument that omits all aspects not favorable to your conclusions. Likewise, try not to exaggerate or overdramatize. Endeavor to inject balance into your analysis and to avoid emotional rhetoric. Strike phrases such as “I think,” “I feel,” and “I believe” when you edit your first draft and write in “My analysis shows,” instead.

Recommendations The final section of the written case analysis should consist of a set of definite recommendations and a plan of action. Your set of recommendations should address all of the problems/issues you identified and analyzed. If the recommendations come as a surprise or do not follow logically from the analysis, the effect is to weaken greatly your suggestions of what to do. Obviously, your recommendations for actions should offer a reasonable prospect of success. High-risk, bet-the-company recommendations should be made with caution. State how your recommendations will solve the problems you identified. Be sure the company is financially able to carry out what you recommend; also check to see if your recommendations are workable in terms of acceptance by the persons involved, the organization’s competence to implement them, and prevailing market and environmental constraints. Try not to hedge or weasel on the actions you believe should be taken.

By all means state your recommendations in sufficient detail to be meaningful—get down to some definite nitty-gritty specifics. Avoid such unhelpful statements as “the organization should do more planning” or “the company should be more aggressive in marketing its product.” For instance, if you determine that “the firm should improve its market position,” then you need to set forth exactly how you think this should be done. Offer a definite agenda for action, stipulating a timetable and sequence for initiating actions, indicating priorities, and suggesting who should be responsible for doing what.

In proposing an action plan, remember there is a great deal of difference between, on the one hand, being responsible for a decision that may be costly if it proves in error and, on the other hand, casually suggesting courses of action that might be taken when you do not have to bear the responsibility for any of the consequences.

A good rule to follow in making your recommendations is: Avoid recommending anything you would not yourself be willing to do if you were in management’s shoes. The importance of learning to develop good managerial judgment is indicated by the fact that, even though the same information and operating data may be available to every manager or executive in an organization, the quality of the judgments about what the information means and which actions need to be taken does vary from person to person.4

It goes without saying that your report should be well organized and well written. Great ideas amount to little unless others can be convinced of their merit—this takes tight logic, the presentation of convincing evidence, and persuasively written arguments.

Objectives of Case Analysis

Using cases to learn about the practice of strategic management is a powerful way for you to accomplish five things:2

1. Increase your understanding of what managers should and should not do in guiding a business to success.

2. Build your skills in sizing up company resource strengths and weaknesses and in conducting strategic analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations.

3. Get valuable practice in identifying strategic issues that need to be addressed, evaluating strategic alternatives, and formulating workable plans of action.

4. Enhance your sense of business judgment, as opposed to uncritically accepting the authoritative crutch of the professor or “back-of-the-book” answers.

5. Gaining in-depth exposure to different industries and companies, thereby acquiring something close to actual business experience

If you understand that these are the objectives of case analysis, you are less likely to be consumed with curiosity about “the answer to the case.” Students who have grown comfortable with and accustomed to textbook statements of fact and definitive lecture notes are often frustrated when discussions about a case do not produce concrete answers. Usually, case discussions produce good arguments for more than one course of action. Differences of opinion nearly always exist. Thus, should a class discussion conclude without a strong, unambiguous consensus on what do to, don’t grumble too much when you are not told what the answer is or what the company actually did. Just remember that in the business world answers don’t come in conclusive black-and-white terms. There are nearly always several feasible courses of action and approaches, each of which may work out satisfactorily. Moreover, in the business world, when one elects a particular course of action, there is no peeking at the back of a book to see if you have chosen the best thing to do and no one to turn to for a provably correct answer. The best test of whether management action is “right’ or “wrong” is results. If the results of an action turn out to be “good,” the decision to take it may be presumed “right.” If not, then the action chosen was “wrong” in the sense that it didn’t work out

Hence, the important thing for you to understand about analyzing cases is that the managerial exercise of identifying, diagnosing, and recommending is aimed at building your skills of business judgment. Discovering what the company actually did is no more than frosting on the cake—the actions that company managers actually took may or may not be “right” or best (unless there is accompanying evidence that the results of their actions were highly positive.

The point is this: The purpose of giving you a case assignment is not to cause you to run to the library or surf the Internet to discover what the company actually did but, rather, to enhance your skills in sizing up situations and developing your managerial judgment about what needs to be done and how to do it. The aim of case analysis is for you to become actively engaged in diagnosing the business issues and managerial problems posed in the case, to propose workable solutions, and to explain and defend your assessments—this is how cases provide you with meaningful practice at being a manager.