Study On Corporate Governance In The Middle East Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3520 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Cause and effect essay Did you like this example? Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Region, state-owned enterprises (SOE), Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ,International Federation of National Associations for Accountants and lawyers(INSOL Introduction: Good corporate governance is essential for modern, well-managed corporations. Many Middle Eastern enterprises have reached a stage in their corporate life where improving transparency, professionalizing board practices, and reinforcing shareholder rights have become crucial to their future growth and competitiveness. Recent interactions in the Middle East clearly revealed the importance of governance, with people recognizing both international governance principles and how such principles fit within their individual cultures. Board functions, board and management relations, and directors responsibility to act in the best interests of the company they serve (rather than of those who elected them) were all apparent principles. Fundamental to democracy is citizen participation, the freedom to assemble and the freedom to petition the government. A high level of interaction and dialogue between the state and the private sector on issues of concern increases effectiveness. Business organizations and business leaders must be able to share their positions with the government officials who respect their views. When the private sector advocates for legislative reform to improve the business environment and the countrys economy, and the government responds positively, governments in the Middle East and elsewhere are recognizing the positive benefit to society as a whole. Governance is a journey, not a destination. With the participation and voices of the public and private sectors of all countries, in the Middle East and around the world, we all continue to grow together, positively affecting our companies and our countries. Corporate Governance has been practiced for as long as there have been corporate entities. Yet the study of the important crucial subject is less than half a century old. Indeed, the phrase corporate governance was randomly used until the 1980s.The 19th century saw the foundation laid for modern corporation: this was the century of the e ntrepreneur. The 20th century was the century of management: the phenomenal growth of management theories, management practices, management consultants, management institutions, management teaching, and management gurus, which all simultaneously reflected a pre-occupation with different styles of management. Now the 21st century promises to be the century of thinking on the subject of governance: As the focus swings to the legitimacy and the effectiveness of the wielding of power over corporate entities worldwide. Governance issues arise whenever a corporate entity acquires a life of its own, and the basis of ownership of an enterprise is separated from its management. A much quoted comment by Adam Smith shows that he understood the issue of corporate governance, Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Study On Corporate Governance In The Middle East Finance Essay" essay for you Create order The directors of companies, being managers of the peoples money than their own, it cannot well be expected that they should watch over it with the same anxious vigilance with which the partners in a private copartners frequently watch over their own (smith 1776). New concepts of corporate governances: Overall, corporate governance continues to evolve. The metamorphosis that will determine the bounds and the structure of the subject has yet to occur. Present practice is still rooted in a 19th century legal concept of the corporation that is totally inadequate in the emerging global business environment. Present theory is even less capable of explaining coherently the way that modern corporate organizations are governed and worked. The recent financial crisis prompted by the securitization of sub-prime mortgage loans in the United State, which led to the collapse, takeover and, in some cases, nationalization of banks and other financial institutions around the world raised some fundamental corporate governance issues. There are few questions rise up in my mind: Where were the directors of these failed institutions, particularly the independent directors who were supposed to provide checks on overenthusiastic executives? Did the boards understand their firms exposure to strategic risk? Will those who designed and encouraged the derivative products and securitization systems be held to account? Did the auditors ensure that their clients exposure to risk was reported? Were any of the companies, financial institutions or financial intermediately activities illegal? The global economic and financial crisis is also affecting the MENA region, and threatening its capacity to attain the necessary level of economic growth in order to meet the demands of citizens in search of improved welfare, without destroying natural resources. One of the fundamental lessons to be learned from the global financial crisis is that future strategies cannot be adopted without coordinating public policies at all levels of governance, and without the participation of government, local authorities, legal advisor, civil society and the media at different levels. Around the world, in large and small corporate, in the public and the private sectors, governance has become the focus of attention. The exercise of power over corporate entities, the legitimacy of companies and their directors, the effectiveness of governing bodies, and their accountability in society have become crucial topics. The innovative field of corporate governance is expanding and changing dramatically at very fast pace. Twenty-five years ago the phrase corporate governance was not used in corporate sector but now, it is frequently and prominently being used in corporate world. Corporate Governance in Middle East region: For the past few years a corporate governance movement has been sweeping through the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Practitioners from capital markets, banks, the public and private sectors, and other civil society groups have accepted the need to address corporate governance reform as one of the crucial aspect affecting the international competitiveness, the investment climate and the development of the capital markets of the MENA region. This collaboration is crucial because corporate governance ultimately depends on public-private sector cooperation to achieve the goals of creating a competitive market system and the development of a law justice based society. Recent research and experience show that certain key corporate governance arrangements are critical to private-sector which has led economic growth, enhanced welfare activities, increased flow of investment, development of capital market, financial market efficiency and corporate sector performance. MENA countrie s, in their efforts to stimulate growth, employment and investment, increasing acknowledge the talent and has improved corporate governance for the success of the economic reforms. MENA countries in co-operation with the OECD working group and other multilateral or bilateral association is also working on governance in order to highlight priorities and possible suggestions and recommendations for reform to improve corporate governance frameworks, promote legal changes and progress with reforms of the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises (SOE). In Middle East region, businesses are classified as having: Concentrated ownership, with strong family ownership of both private and listed, companies with state ownership. Dominant family oversight and control, with leadership from the head of the family, entrepreneurial decision making, opaque communications, and relationship base trading. Debt financing in which bank financing is often more than shareholders equ ity. Banking sector equity investment, with banks holding significant shares in companies. The states are typically grouped together as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The MENA region includes: Table: A The MENA states ________________________________________________________________________ Algeria Jordan Iraq Morocco Syria Bahrain Kuwait Iran Sultanate of Oman U.A.E. Egypt Lebanon Israel Qatar Tunisia Djibouti Libya Malta Saudi Arabia West Bank and Gaza ________________________________________________________________________ Sources: https://go.worldbank.org/ Broadly, some of these countries have relatively low GDPs and slow industrial growth. In recent years the oil producing countries, benefiting from rising oil prices, have generated large surpluses, which have been invested abroad. Banking reforms have attempted to channel some of these saving into local growth, but domestic financial markets were not so emergent. States also appreciate the need to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and, therefore, recognize the importance of sound corporate governance. Since the capital markets are not so emergent characterized as small size therefore facing liquidity. Consequently the market does not offer opportunities to investors. Of course there are exceptions to such aforesaid general observations, like Dubai Abu Dhabi (UAE) are making massive investment in tourism and property, whilst attempting to become an international financial centre. Recent evidence shows in UAE, Burj Khalifa is not a just a building, it is a global icon. As the tallest free-standing man-made structure in the world, the gleaming tower reaching to 828 meters in the sky is an example of courage and mans ability to realize the dreams. The MENA region is an economically diverse region that includes countries with a common heritage and significant distinctions in levels of per capita income. Mostly is single-commodity (oil) economy dependent, despite the continuous and tremendous efforts done to diverse the economies. The countries region can be categorized in three distinct economic statutes. The first are the early reformers such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia which embarked on economic reform programs since mid-1980s opening up their economies to foreign investments, privatizing state-owned enterprises, reducing budget deficit and inflation and liberalized their trade. Securities markets in these countries were established and revitalized5 to be the main vehicle for implementing the privatizati on program. The second are the oil exporting states mainly the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in which their economies heavily dependent on producing and exporting oil. They achieved relatively macroeconomic stability mainly for the continuous increase in oil prices and despite of the recent Iraqi war. Despite the strong fundamentals of these economies, securities markets role, in most of GCC countries, yet minimal in growth. The third category are countries still hasnt achieved economic stability yet either due to political instability such as in West Bank Gaza and in Iraq, or they are in their early stages of reforms such as Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen. Securities markets in these countries are either relatively small or doesnt exist. The MENA region GDP, in terms of current U.S. dollars, is near US$ 600 billion, about 2% on average of the Worlds GDP in 2001 and 20027. Due to the substantial increase in oil prices, national savings -especially in the oil producing countries- exceeded investments resulting in substantial accumulation of financial assets abroad. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait constituted 3.3% and 2.4% respectively of total global export of capital flows in year 2001, while in 2002, Saudi Arabia share declined to 2.2% and for Kuwait was below 1%9, which might explains the outstanding performance of both markets recently. Market capitalization of MENA region markets amounts for US$ 209 billion in 2002, about 1% of world market capitalization10 and about 35% of MENAs GDP. Saudi Arabia is the largest in terms of capitalization with 36% of total market capitalization of MENA markets in 2002, followed by Kuwait and Egypt with share 17% and 12% respectively. The most active during year 2002 was Kuwait Securities Market with 61% turnover ratio11 followed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt with 41% and 24%, respectively. Six of the eighteen MENA countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab of Emirates) und ergone the exercise of Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The exercises covered four main areas out of ten. Egypt, Jordan and Morocco are represented in the SP/IFC indices and in the MSCI EMF indices. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are represented only in the SP/IFC indices. With exception of Egypt, Jordan and Morocco which opened their markets to foreign participation since they embarked on economic reform programs, still some shared a main characteristic of restricting foreign participation and ownership, mostly in GCC countries. In GCC countries, access to their capital markets was restricted to GCC nationals and residents only. However under the pressure to diversify their economies and the attempt to be immune from volatile oil prices, regional markets commenced on allowing gradually foreign investment in their market. Bahrain was one of the earliest GCC countries that opened up its market to foreig ners. According to an Amiri decree, non-GCC residences have been allowed to own up to 49% of capital. Also, Bahrain Stock Exchange was the first to list non-GCC Company. Oman opened its market to foreigners since 1998 with the issuance of Royal decree number 80. As for the Kuwaiti market, currently foreigners are allowed to participate in the securities markets. Under the new Foreign Direct Investment Law issued in April 2001 foreigners are allowed to own up to 100% of Kuwaiti companies subject to some conditions. As for portfolio investments, Portfolio Foreign Investment Law issued in September 2000 allowing foreigners to own and trade shares of joint-stock companies listed on the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange condition on neither an individual nor group of foreigners may own more than 5% of capital of a Kuwaiti bank unless approved by Central Bank of Kuwait. Saudi Arabia allows foreign investors to participate in the securities market through investing in open-end mutual funds. In 199 7, the first special purpose vehicle (SPV) was established to facilitate foreign portfolio investment in equities. Qatar, recently, allowed GCC citizens and expatriates to invest in the Doha Securities Market as an initial phase to introduce new law that will allow foreign investments. Dubai Declaration on Corporate Governance: The Dubai Declaration by Hawkamahs first MENA conference in Dubai formulates a road map and key corporate governance initiatives for the region, writes Bhaskar Raj Good corporate governance is a vital key factor in sustaining economic growth and development in the Gulf region. Policy makers are taking the lead and committing to secure significantly higher standards of corporate governance in the member countries of the GCC. Policy makers, regulators, representatives from regional and international organisations, and business leaders from across the Middle East and North Africa, representing countries of Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, gathered in Dubai to jointly issue the Dubai Declaration on Corporate Governance. This was a landmark event for the region, and they agreed upon following initiatives for reforms in governance: The criteria of two taskforces: one focusing on the corporate governance of banks; and a s econd focusing on the corporate governance of State-Owned Enterprises. The issuance of two policy briefs: one for banks; and a second for SOEs; both to be approved by the relevant taskforces. The consideration of issues relating to the corporate governance of Shariah compliant banks and financial institutions and the importance of ensuring that regional corporate governance frameworks and standards are in line with international codes and the key standards, whilst at the same time remaining consistent with Shariah rules. The preparation of a corporate governance survey of SOEs, to be developed on a consultative basis with the cooperation of key organizations and governments. The recognition of a need to tackle issues surrounding insolvency and corporate restructuring. The Hawkamah Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance, is a regional entity whose mission is to assist countries and companies of the wider MENA region in developing sound and globally well-integrated corporate governance frameworks, policy and practices. It supports regional and international initiatives to develop open and transparent markets and sound corporate governance regimes. The OECD and Hawkamah works with INSOL and the World Bank and invite ministries, financial institutions, the judiciary, representatives of OECD countries and other regional and international bodies, to meet and to discuss these issues during the first half of 2007. Executive Director of Hawkamah Nasser Saidi outlined Whilst there is still a need for raising awareness and capacity building in this field, we have made significant headway in terms of taskforces, policy briefs, addressing corporate governance in Islamic banking and finance, corporate restructuring and insolvency, family-owned enterprises and small medium enterprises. We now move towards concrete actions and direction resulting from these principles, facilitating the design of a comprehensive roadmap for corporate governance in our region. This will enable us to achieve our ultimate goals of encouraging investment, project finance, job creation and the development of sound financial markets. Need for successful corporate governance: The values of corporate governance: transparency, accountability, and responsibility offer the key for the modernization of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. The private sector business community can play a leading role in economic, political, and social reforms in the region. In fact, reforms led by the private sector provide the greatest promise for meeting the challenges caused by the regions tepid economic growth and surging youth demographic. Sound corporate governance practices will attract new, much needed investment to the Middle East and North Africa because they improve their management of firms and reduce risk. National institutions, laws, regulations, and practices based on international norms and standards would enable the countries of the region to modernize their corporate sectors, enabling them to attract technology and foreign investment and become internationally competitive. Furthermore, political and sovereign risk would be reduced and econom ic performance and outcomes would be de-linked from ruling political regimes and a dependence on oil and gas resources. Perhaps more importantly, the process of designing and implementing the basics of corporate governance-transparency and regular reporting, independent auditing, removal of conflicts of interest, ethics, protection of minority shareholders rights-provides a foundation for meaningful reform in the economic sector and elsewhere in society. It is clear that there is no one ideal structure for corporate governance. Many alternative structures can work well in the appropriate context. In fact, despite all the commentary on governance structure-unitary and two-tier board, the proportion of INEDs, the separation of chairman and CEO, board committees and the rest, the issue of effective governance is not really about structure but about process. As we have seen some of the different ways countries and cultures apply in the corporate governance, we can now identify the fe w thrust areas that are needed to support successful governance. These include: Accounting and legal professions that are internationally respected, able to discipline their members, and ensure compliance with accounting standards, and legal requirement. A companys registry that facilities comprehensive disclosure, with high levels of transparency. Always vigilance regulatory authorities including securities and future market regulators. A stock market with sufficient degree of liquidity, standing on international norms and foreign and institutional investors. Auditing firms that are professionally managed, reliable, and independent of their clients. A reliable legal system including an independent judiciary, courts that are bias and corruption free, and judgments those are enforceable, free of state or other political pressures. Accountability fix for financial institutions, including brokers, sponsor for new issues, and financial advisors. Professional orga nizations such as director and company secretary qualifying and disciplining bodies. Accountability also given to educational institutions to develop education standard and train for relevant qualifications require for corporate governance. Consulting agencies able to advice companies and its directors. With the support of private and public organization, seminars, workshop to be conducted or organized on different platforms, and conclusion report to be sent to competent authority for taking decisions. Research institution making research on different aspects of corporate governance according to the need of region. Research publications, international conferences and professional journals play a significant contribution to the convergence of corporate governance thinking and practice. Formulate corporate governance codes of good practices. Just implementing Western rules and standards will not improve corporate governance and accounting quality in MENA region. Stan dards alone do not help. There need to be more disclosure on key government variables and related party transactions. They are more important than accounting. Other important changes include building the right market infrastructures and systems for companies to operate, as well as leveling the playing filed between government-owned and privately-owned firms. Conclusion: The paper attempted to provide an overview on corporate governance in the MENA regions markets.. It is evident that MENA markets in the recent decade undergone number of reforms and restructuring on legislative and infrastructure fronts. However, cautious should be taken while adopting and implementing measures of reform. Moving towards a self-regulatory organization (SRO) model without matured institutions is dangerous. Limited institutional capacity, overlapping regulatory functions among authorities and lack of fast track dispute settlement are impediments for SROs. Maturity is not only in terms of laws and regulations but also in terms of practice and enforcement. Thus, adopting self-regulatory organizations (SRO) model remains a future challenge to regional markets. Market discipline, with its various tools, still not yet developed to an extent that improves corporate governance practices; markets are either inefficient or utmost weakly efficient. Thus proper valuation and realized premiums are not really reflective to the soundness corporate governance practice. Thus, market discipline is an element that will not be observed until markets efficiency improves and investors culture develops. Market discipline is both a result and supplementary of massive reforms towards better governance which is only observed in matured efficient markets. Thus, reformers should work on allowing appropriate and even environment for both systems. Which of either system are best for regional markets? Is a question imposes itself. Fundamentally, traditions and cultures should be allowed implicitly to choose their acquaintance with one of the two systems and not vice versa. Using the opposite direction might result in institutional failure, market crises and the collapse of the investors wealth. Previous emerging market crises were good evidence. The key issue is that sound corporate governance practices are reached when trust and confidence is observed. Policy maker s and reformers should realize that better corporate governance practices is function of the soundness of the total system and that this parameter is significant and influential given the characteristics of the regional markets.

The Fence Between Bonnie And Amanda s Property - 1869 Words

The issues generated in consideration of the contested property line between Bonnie and Amanda’s property include: i) Conventional boundaries: Does the fence between Bonnie and Amanda’s house constitute a conventional boundary? ii) Improvements by Mistake of Title: Whether the improvements made by Bonnie constitute an entitlement to the land. i) Conventional Boundaries In circumstances where the true location of a boundary is unascertainable, the conventional line doctrine provides abutting property owners the ability to create one. After a conventional boundary has been legitimately established, Robertson v. Alberta provides that the property owners maintain the security to rely on the boundary to lawfully develop the land under the†¦show more content†¦In fact, the previous Kardashian owners assumed that the fence was an accurate indication of the property line, which they thought was located directly between the houses and therefore never attempted to ascertain the actual location of the boundary. If the uncertainty of the boundary was never acknowledged, the principles found in Bea v. Robinson finds that a conventional boundary could not be existing because was no attempt to ascertain the actual boundary. Bea v. Robinson states that this attempt is a mandatory element in the foundation of a conventional boundary. Even in the presence o f strong evidence that the boundary was agreed upon and treated as a boundary, it seems likely that the test for conventional boundaries must fail in consideration of the fact that the surveyor Amanda hired was able to ascertain the true boundaries which were not consistent with that of the fence. If the doctrine of conventional lines fails, the â€Å"foundational principle† (lecture) of estoppel provides no security for Bonnie in the reliance on the boundary to build. ii) Improvements by Mistake of Title Under the conditions that a person genuinely believes land is their own and is mistaken, statue law provides an equitable remedy when individuals have invested in â€Å"lasting improvements† to the land. The Improvements Under Mistake of Title Act, R.S.S. (1978)

Moral Accountability Essay Example For Students

Moral Accountability Essay Morality depends on the ability of an individual to choose between good and evil, thus, entailing freedom of the will and the moral responsibility of the individual for his actions. It is obvious this is so for the individual, but what about groups and governments? Do they have the ability to choose between good and evil, do they have free will and therefore are they subject to the same paradigms of morality as the individual or does an autonomous morality apply. What if we relate this concept of morality to a present day moral dilemma? Such as should the United States government fire cruise missiles at Serbian cities in order to force the government of Serbia to comply with NATO demands of withdrawal from Kosovo? What moral questions should be asked? Further yet, as we are members of a representative democracy, do the citizens bear any of the responsibility of the governments actions? Am I responsible for the government I choose? Being that it is the actions of a governments we wish to question the morality of, we must know what the present justification for or against the launch of cruise missiles at Serbia and what the consequences of that decision would be. It can be conjectured that the official rational of the United States government in its decision to use cruise missiles on Serbia is based on cost/benefit analysis of what would be in the best interest of the nation and the worlda utilitarian morality. The Serbian government has invaded and seeks to undermine the sovereignty of Kosovo while using genocidal tactics to control the population. The US is acting on what it believes to be the greatest good for the greatest number. But who is the government to place a market value on human life? Is it moral and does the government have the right to place such a value on human life? And who is responsible for their decision? The official utilitarian rationale of the United States government does place a market value on human life Kant writes: Now morality is the condition under which alone a rational being can be an end in himself, for only thereby can he be a legislating member in the kingdom of ends, survival of the individual in a group is the end. If we are to treat men otherwise, as a means to an end, we must make that a categorical imperative and we must treat it as if that action will be a universal law of nature laws to live by). Hence, to do harm to others, to place a market value on man, would be immoral since it would harm humanity. Likewise, it is immoral for the United States to sacrifice ten thousand lives in hope of saving more. It must be asked what if everyone sacrificed ten thousand lives?. According to Kants theory of the Universal law, We must be able to will that a maxim of our action become universal law, this is the canon for morally estimating any of our actions (Kant). Perhaps it is a touch ironic that the very document the US was founded on reads: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This, like Kants moral philosophy of universal maxims, proclaims that man has intrinsic absolute value. Yet, so quickly are we ready to disregard this declaration as our cost benefit analysis dictates. Slavery was abolished on the principle of the absolute value of man. Why should we disregard this now? Do we suspend the unalienable rights to life whenever it would be most prudent? The 24 Hours Essay It must be remembered that by lowering the value of life of others, we at the same time lower our own value. Governments and institutions are composed of a completely different dynamic than that of the individual. This leaves man curious as to whether to obey the same set of morals. These moral issues lead to the question of whether .

John Marshall The Great Chief Justice Essay Example For Students

John Marshall: The Great Chief Justice Essay John Marshall: The Great Chief JusticeJohn Marshall was born in Fauquier County, Virginia on September 4, 1755. He was the first son of Thomas Marshall and Mary Randolph Keith. His role inAmerican history is undoubtedly a very important one.As a boy, Marshall waseducated by his father. He learned to read and write, along with some lessonsin history and poetry. At the age of fourteen, he was sent away to school, anda year later he returned home to be tutored by a Scottish pastor who lived withthe Marshall family. As a young college student, John Marshall was particularly impressed bythe lectures of professor George Wythe. Wythe was a lawyer, judge, and asigner of the constitution. Other students of professor Wythe were ThomasJefferson, John Breckinridge, and Henry Clay. Marshall became a lawyer at the age of twenty five. As Brian McGintysays about Marshall in the article, His first cases were not important, but hehandled them well and made a favorable impression on his neighbors; so favorablethat they sent him to Richmond in 1782 as a member of the Virginia House ofDelegates. He became a prominent lawyer and was on his way to a successfulfuture. Mr. Marshall worked under the administration of John Adams starting in1798. He was offered the position of attorney general under George Washingtonsadministration, but declined because he wanted to stay with his family andpractice law in his home town of Richmond, Virginia. He was one of threedelegates sent to France by John Adams in 1798. His reasoning for taking thejob in France was partly because it was only a temporary mission and alsobecause he wanted to be of service to his country, aiding in peaceful relationswith France. When he found out that France expected to be paid, he was outragedand believed they were soliciting bribery. Although the mission to France was afailure, he returned to the US a hero. Marshall was appointed to the position of secretary of state by JohnAdams in 1800. He was put in charge of foreign affairs and was often left incharge of the government when Adams was gone.Then, later that year, he wasappointed to be chief justice of the US by Adams before Thomas Jefferson tookover the presidency. Thomas Jefferson soon took office and John Marshall was now chiefjustice. Although the two were distant cousins, they held very differentpositions and belonged to opposing political parties. Jefferson believed thatthe constitution should be interpreted strictly to keep the governments powerrelatively low. In the article, Mr. McGinty sums up Marshalls views of whatgovernment should be: Marshall believed in a strong central government, in theConstitution as the key to the laws of the land, and in courts as the supremecustodians of those lawsviews that would influence his shaping of the SupremeCourt. Marshall believed that the Constitution should not be interpreted asstrict, allowing the government to become more powerful. Possibly the most important case of its time was Marbury vs. Madison in1803. In this case, John Marshalls ruling set an extremely important precident. His ruling declared that a law was unconstitutional, therefore setting aprecident giving the Supreme Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional. Because of this ruling alone, John Marshall is a very prominent figure inAmerican history and American law, but his acheivements do not end at that. During John Marshalls life, and particularly during his reign as chief justice,the power of the judicial branch became equally powerful to the other branchesof the US government. .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 , .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 .postImageUrl , .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 , .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06:hover , .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06:visited , .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06:active { border:0!important; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06:active , .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06 .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u0826ee060254721afabe14402b186b06:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Mining In Space -- AIAA And New York Academy Of Sciences On December 1 EssayBiographies

Events Leading To The American Revolution Essays (937 words)

Events leading to the American Revolution During the late seventeen hundreds, many tumultuous events resulted in Colonial opposition to Great Britain. The conditions of rights of the colonists will slowly be changed as the constriction of the parliament becomes more and more intolerable. During the Seven Years' War England was not only alarmed by the colonists' insistence on trading with the enemy, but also with Boston merchants hiring James Otis inorder to protest the legality of the writs of assistance (general search warrants) used to hunt out smuggled goods. "let the parliament lay what burthens they please on us, we must, it is our duty to submit and patiently bear them, till they will be pleased to relieve us....". This is a very strong dictum, that in 1764, the colonists were of a submissive nature, and were weakly pleading for self-autonomy. This small fire of anger will become a huge conflagration as the rights are slowly rescinded. On October 19, 1765 the Stamp Act Congress and Parliamentary Taxation committee's passed some laws that attempted to strengthen the grip of the English crown. "I.That his Majesty's subjects in these colonies, owe the same allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain that is owing from his subjects born within the realm, and all due subordination to that august body, the Parliament of Great Britain." This statement can be used as a summation of the entire document that the Stamp Act Congress had initiated. The statement depicts the colonists has having to be submissive and servile in the view of Great Britain, this policy angered the colonists very much, and was another component of the transition of the colonists' rights and liberties. When the Declatory Act was passed in March of 1766, many colonies were attempting to claim that they were "seceding" from England. "Whereas several of the houses of representatives in his Majesty's colonies and plantations in America, have of late, against law, or to the general assemblies of the same, the sole and exclusive right of imposing duties and taxes upon his majesty's subjects in the said colonies....be it declared ...., that the said colonies and plantations in America, have been, are, and of right ought to be, subordinate unto, and dependent upon the imperial Crown and Parliament of Great Britain;". The Parliament of course denounced the attempt at independance and still dogmatilcally passed the following law to show that the colonists were still british subjects. Again, the colonists were infuriated and later will resist the british imperialism on the colonies. "All before, are calculated to regulate trade, and preserve prpromote a mutually beneficial intercourse between the several constituent parts of the empite"", yet those duties were always imposed with design to restrain the commerce of one part". This statement by the colonist (John Dickinson), shows that th sole rason for new taxes is just for the British gov't to make money, at the expense of the economy of the colonies. Dickinson makes a important distinction between the rights of the colonies and the authority of the parliament. Dickinson's comments were ubiquitous among the colonists, and thus infuriated them to rebellion, and the seizure of basic democratic rights. "From necessity of the case, and a regard to the mutual interest of both countries, we cheerfully consent to the operation of such acts of the British parliament as are bona fide restrained to the regulation of our external commerce, for the purpose of securing the commercial advantages of the whole empire to the mother country , and the commercial benefits of it's respective members excluding every idea of taxation, internal or external, for raising a revenue on the subjects in America without their consent ...." The continental congress had presented it's colonial rights. These rights enable the colonies to be more autonomous with exception to those several states who are under the british control. One important element of the document, is the idea of taxation without representation; the said that raising taxes without consent was illegal and that the commercial benefits of the colony should be shared within the colonies, instead of England becoming more and more economically prosperous. The whole idea of mercantilism was about to be crushed, due to this idea, of self-autonomy with respect to colonial economics. "Ye that oppose independence now, ye know not what ye do, ye are opening a door to eternal tyranny....". This statement made by Thomas Paine shows the foreshadowing, of what colonists would do. The British are trying to prevent independence, and from doing so, they are being tyrannical. Again, the rights of the colonists are being questioned and

Mass Phenomena and the McCarthy Trials essays

Mass Phenomena and the McCarthy Trials essays "America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact - the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality" wrote Adlai Stevenson, a famous politician of the 1950s. Sadly, during this time, the concepts of freedom, responsible government, and human equality were disregarded. They were deemed secondary to fear, violation of civil rights, and false accusations. Indeed, the McCarthy era was a dark time in American history. Many Asian and European nations had fallen to communism, each nation successively closer to the United States of America. This pattern was alarming to the democracy-loving Americans. To calm the panic, Congress passed the Alien Registration Act (ARA) on June 29th, 1940. This piece of legislation stipulated that it was illegal to "advocate, abet, or teach the desirability of overthrowing the government." The sole purpose of this act was to eliminate any threats to the democratic American government while young. The ARA was created especially to eradicate any prominent groups which promoted communism. One such party was the American Communist Party, which had gained recent recognition. Congress also formed the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) under Martin Dies. Essentially, the function of HUAC was to interrogate persons suspected of treacherous behavior. Though it seemed somewhat harmless in the paper, the HUAC was essential in identifying "guilty persons." HUAC targeted Hollywood initially, for information on culpable individuals. By interrogating 41 unidentified people that worked in the motion picture industry, the HUAC accused nineteen people of holding communist beliefs. Ten of these accused nineteen refused to answer any questions. These ten individuals were christened by the press as the Hollywood Ten. Each of these men, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Albert Maltz, Adrian Scott, Samuel ...

Money Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Money Management - Essay Example Investing with exchange traded funds ETFs is an easy way to ensure diversification in any portfolio involving stock, bonds and commodities without having to invest in the individual shares, bonds and commodities themselves. They enable investors to access sectors that would not be available to individual investors (Morningstar 2014b). This takes some of the hassle out of investing. I am very adventurous and I tend to have a liking for the sea. Therefore, my aim is to own a yacht within the next seven (7) years. In order to achieve this specific goal I will be making some medium to long term investments so that I can make a substantial deposit on a new yacht in five (5) to seven (7) years time. The yacht is expected to cost in the range of  £300,000 to  £500,000 by the time I get to the point where I am able to make a substantial down payment. My risk tolerance is medium and so I am willing to take a moderate level of risk in order to achieve a favourable return on my investment. Costa (2011) indicates that the returns that I would achieve are proportional to the risk taken and so I expect moderate returns. My risk profile is consistent with a balanced profile. A balanced allocation has between 0% and 25% cash; 40% to 70% bonds; and 30% to 60% stocks (Costa 2011). This portfolio is characterised by limited risk; however, it can still obtain good returns because of the proportion of stocks that it contains. It is also consistent with the time horizon that I have in mind, which is five to seven years. I have a total of  £50,000 to invest and this will be invested in accordance with the guidelines provided in relation to a balanced risk profile (See Costa 2011). However, I would also like to include a commodity related ETF involving physical gold which is one of the best ways of maintaining asset value. The majority of my investment will take place through the use of exchange traded funds (ETFs). An ETF is an investment