Essays and Research Papers on Personal Finance

A 3 page paper examining economic indicators in the US near the end of 2005. GDP continues to increase at a respectable rate, even though there is uncertainty in several areas of the economy. The outlook for 2006 is that retail sales will follow their normal seasonal pattern; housing will continue to decline ...

A 4 page review of the life and theories of Arthur "Art" Laffer. This paper illustrates the various application of Laffer's so-called Laffer curve. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 15 page paper examines the performance fro the annual accounts and the 10-K of the well known fast food chain McDonalds. The paper answers a serious of questions on the background to the accounts, such as the CEO’s opinion of the performance and recent press articles to the ratio analysis of the 2003 and ...

A 4 page paper discussing examples of Chapter 11, hostile takeovers, mergers and sales of businesses. Bibliography lists 4 sources. KSmgmtMrgXfer.rtf

This 7 page paper answers 5 questions set by the student. Whether futures and options rates are ever accurate and if they are of any use to an investor, the meaning of the beta, the advantage of mutual funds, the use of futures and options and the way investor behaviour may be changed if the ...

This 4 page paper is written in two parts. The first part considers the benefits of using derivatives such as the transfer of risk and increased efficiency in a market, the second part of the paper looks at the potential of moral hazard occurring where a risk is covered. The bibliography cites 5 sources.

A 4 page paper examining the pricing problems at Pecos Printers, where the owner has determined a minimum price based on all costs. The owner refuses to accept any price below $300, which is valid until fixed costs are met. After that, the true costs of production are only the variable costs paid ...

This 18 page paper examines the impact of foreign direct investment on developing countries. The paper stars with a consideration of the two approaches, the beneficial model and the malign model. These models are considered and then the paper looks at how these are seen in the real world using numerous examples. The bibliography cites ...

This 5 page paper looks at 3 questions set by the student. The first looks at how the determine the change in demand when the old and new price and the level of elasticity are known, what is meant by the term ‘social costs’ and how economies of scale are realized. The second part looks ...

This 9 page paper looks at a case study supplied by the student were Cooper are looking at acquiring Nicholson. The paper considers how Cooper may value Nicholson, who the shareholders and the way an offer may be made. The bibliography cites 2 sources.

This 3 page paper discusses recommended fiscal policies to improve the current U.S. economy. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 3 page paper explains the following concepts: equilibrium price, changes resulting from non-determinants of supply and demand, shift versus movement in the supply and demand curves, normal good and inferior good. Examples included. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 3 page paper examining Urban Outfitters' 2005 annual report and answering 22 questions about results, reporting and changes from the previous year. Includes several ratio calculations. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 5 page paper considers the use of statistical testing, the impact of Type I and Type II errors what they could mean in the real world, using the example of testing genetically modified food and then how the potential for each type of error may be reduced. The paper then uses the Three Point ...

A 4 page paper providing an overview of the costs and project plan for implementing the Care+ case management system. The system will require purchasing additional servers and software, and training 12 users. Existing data will be converted to the format of the new software, significantly increasing the cost of the project but ...

In recent years the failure of companies such as Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat have shaken the confidence of the markets and investors. This 6 page paper considers the impact that this has had on corporations and the accounting profession as a whole. The bibliography cites 5 sources.

A 4 page paper examining the most recent annual reports of Nike and Reebok. These two companies will continue to be direct competitors in their industry following Adidas' acquisition of Reebok in the first part of 2006. Nike continues to lead the industry, even after Adidas and Reebok combine to form the world's ...

A 6 page paper examining cash flow at FedEx 2003 – 2005. It was during this period that FedEx acquired Kinko's, a fact reflected in the company's changes in cash; it was shortly before this period that UPS acquired Mailboxes, Etc to create the UPS Stores. The paper includes 10 quotes from an ...

This 3 page paper examines the capital structure of Sysco Corp. looking at the make up of the debt and liabilities ands the equity. Using the 2005 annual accounts the paper calculates the cost of debt, the cost of equity and the weighted average cost capital (WACC). The bibliography cites 1 source.

A 3 page paper assessing whether Citigroup exhibited adaptability in its preparations to enter China and do business there before China acceded to the WTO. The paper identifies how the company did and did not exhibit adaptability to conclude that it failed more extensively than it succeeded in being adaptable to the Chinese market. ...

A 3 page paper reviewing economic factors affecting the construction industry in Southern California during the first quarter of 2006 and for the short-term future beyond. Current price pressures originate with Katrina-related rebuilding and spiraling fuel costs that are leading to increased inflation. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 4 page paper looks at a case study supplied by a UK student. A man is starting a business, expecting to make a loss in the first year and then a £90,000 in following years. The paper looks at the potential tax and national insurance liabilities for remaining self employed or setting up a ...

This 9 page paper discusses the statement that “Implementing international accounting standards will require considerable time and resources but the end results will be beneficial for all UK companies”. The paper looks at the benefits and the costs that will be realised as a result of harmonisation of accounting standards. The bibliography cites 9 sources. ...

This 8 page paper examines the performance of Denny’s the well known casual restaurant chain and compares it to Applebee’s. The paper starts by looking the background of the company and the industry and then undertakes an in depth ratio analysis to compare these two companies. The bibliography cites 4 sources.

This 4 page paper uses Southwest Airlines as an example to demonstrate what impact macro economic factors will have on the company. The factors considered include changes in the GDP, level of unemployment and inflation measures by the consumer process index; CPI. The bibliography cites 4 sources.