Abstract
This paper explains that counter trade mechanisms come in many different forms; the most common form, used especially among lesser-developed countries, involves businesses exchanging commodities without using money, with a bank managing the exchanges. The author describes other forms of counter trade, including buy-back, getting partial cash and partial goods payment for services or good offered; offset, selling a high-dollar contract of equipment to a company in another country, which, in return, agrees to purchase a high-dollar contract of goods back from the country; and bilateral trading agreements between foreign governments. The paper relates that, although there are benefits, there are risks with this form of exchange mechanisms; therefore, it is important to have an agreement in place that meets the legal requirements of both countries involved.

From the Paper
"When a country has freely convertible currency it means that people, both residents and nonresidents of the country, are able to buy an unlimited supply of currency. Conversely, a country is considered to have nonconvertible currency when people, whether residents or nonresidents of the country, are unable to convert foreign currency. In between being a nonconvertible and a convertible country regarding foreign currency is externally convertible. Externally convertible means that nonresidents of the country can freely convert their foreign currency in unlimited amounts."

Tags:agreement, exhange, buy-back, offset, lesser-developed

Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that stock buy-backs and one-time special dividends have accounted for sixty-three percent of total dividends of companies in the United Kingdom since 2003. The writer notes that ordinary dividend growth has failed to keep pace with earnings growth in the United Kingdom as well as the rest of Europe. The writer discusses that while one would not expect this to be necessarily bad news for the investor, European companies have discovered that their buy-back and special dividend preferences in recent years have failed to boost companies' share prices. As a result, they are now turning back to increasing dividends as the preferred way to return capital to investors This paper discuses the advantages and disadvantages of stock buybacks and dividends so that stockholders can make more informed investment decisions.

Outline:
Introduction
Stock Buybacks
Stock Buyback Advantages
Stock Buyback Disadvantages
Dividends
Advantages of Dividends
Disadvantages of Dividends
Recommendations

From the Paper
"Stock buybacks improve a firm's financial ratio. Although a stock buyback reduces cash, return on assets increases because the cash component of assets on the balance sheet is reduced. Return on equity increases because there is less outstanding equity. The buyback also helps to improve the company's price-earnings ratio due to the reduction in outstanding share. All of these metrics, particularly the price-earnings ratio, are considered important metrics to judge investment in a company and their improved positions due to the stock buyback may lead to additional stock demand/appreciation. In addition, stock buybacks send a strong signal to the market that a firm's management believes the shares are undervalued."

Tags:investor, capital, gains, investments

Abstract
The paper describes how this research addresses financial research in an effort to find an explanation for the role of January in stock returns, a longstanding issue for financial economists. The paper explains that the January effect refers to the way many investors at the end of the year become concerned about taxes and sell some stocks so they can write off losses against capital gains. The paper explains the result that is that stocks are down at the end of the year and go back up in January when investors buy back the stocks they sold.

From the Paper
"This research addresses financial research in an effort to find an explanation for the role of January in stock returns, a longstanding issue for financial economists. The January effect refers to the way many investors at the end of the year become concerned about taxes and sell some stocks so they can write off losses against capital gains. The result is that stocks are down at the end of the year and go back up in January when investors buy back the stocks they sold. This is the effect that is not fully understood and that research has shown is affected by such..."

Tags:january, effect, study

Abstract
The paper discusses sustainability issues in terms of the fisheries that were addressed by a Royal Commission in 1980. The paper relates that the Commission concluded that fishing capacity had at least doubled in the previous decade, despite a buyback that had occurred in the 1970s. The paper explains that the Davis Plan was devised to buy back fishing vessels - starting in 1970 and finishing in 1973 - and was funded from vessel license fees and retired vessels sales (Grafton & Nelson, 2005, p. 5). The paper explains that this was the first ever buyback conducted in a Canadian fishery with government officials tackling the program sans models.

From the Paper
"To date, policymakers have put in place five buybacks of either vessels or salmon licenses over the last thirty years in the British Columbia (BC) salmon fishery (Grafton & Nelson, 2005, p.2). However, the two most recent buybacks in history were also the largest (Grafton & Nelson, 2005, p. 17). Sustainability issues in terms of the fisheries were addressed by a Royal Commission in 1980. The Commission concluded that fishing capacity had at least doubled in the previous decade, despite a buyback that had occurred in the 1970s. The Davis Plan was devised to buy back fishing vessels -..."

Tags:management, methods, fishery

Abstract
This paper explains what stock repurchases are and how they work in the business world. It then provides a thorough analysis of a specific company, FPL, which used this practice. It also examines how it affected the company, the reasons behind the move, and the effect on the overall finances of the company.

Outline
Introduction
Discussion
What Is FPL?
The Effects of Stock Repurchases on the Company
What Were Some of the Advantages of Stock Re-Purchases?
Did it Help the Company, Investor or Employees?
Why Did FPL Buy Back Some of their Company's Shares?
Conclusion
References

From the Paper
"The process of buying back its own shares are covered in the law through different procedures and vary from country to country. In UK the concerned laws are Sections 162 and 169 of the Companies Act, 1985. These sections permit a company to make a repurchase of its own stock as long as the purchase does not redeem all the non-redeemable shares of the company. This simply means that all the general shares cannot be removed. There are also certain restrictions regarding the timing, and in general there is no permission for the companies to repurchase shares during a period of two months in advance of the half-yearly or annual performance results. There are also other restrictions in the purchase of shares where only the managers may be in possession of important information that could influence the prices of the shares. Even in cases where all the criteria for purchase of shares are fulfilled, there is still the requirement of getting the permission from the shareholders for an approval that is required before going into the action. (An Analysis of Stock Repurchases on the London Market)"

Tags:bond, share, finance, buyback

Abstract
This paper discusses how for thriving capitalist economies with large commercial spaces for retail, the shuttle trade - buying goods abroad on tourist trips to bring back and sell at kiosks or open air markets - seems like an absurd phenomenon. It looks at how for so-called transition economies, shuttling has become a means of survival for workers who cannot find employment and for consumers who cannot afford to buy goods at conventional retail markets. It shows how although the shuttle business has been declining in the last few years, a majority of consumers in Russia and other CIS countries still buy goods at kiosks, open-air markets, informal stores on the ground floors of apartment blocks, or street vendors because prices are much cheaper than in the newer supermarkets.

From the Paper
"The origins and enormous scale of the shuttle trade in "transition" countries can only be understood against the background of the trade environment during the communist period. The exchange and trading system within communist countries was an extension of the state planning system. It was conducted through an annual foreign exchange plan and only a handful of trading agencies were licensed to engage in external trade. The retail trade industry was very small compared to capitalist economies and as a consequence it was inadequately developed to handle the flow of commodities - even in a centrally planned economy."

Tags:communism, russia, consumers, retail, markets

Abstract
This paper explains that in the case of Riordan Manufacturing, a global Fortune 1000 plastics producer employing 550 people, there are three groups of employees having radically different perspectives on rewards and motivation, valuing everything from interesting work to bigger paychecks. The team analyzes organizational leadership at Best Buy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J.D. Irving Ltd and Baptist Health Care. The paper deduces, from this benchmarking, that upper management must focus less on themselves individually and more on what is best for their employees. The team questions the value of "Six Sigma" as a methodology versus simply getting the best people in the company together with a top priority to solve major problems. The paper expresses that Riordan Manufacturing's compensation plan appears to be somewhat lacking in areas of pay structure and the reward system as compared to General Electric, the Gallup Corporation and Motorola.

Table of Contents:
Situation Background
Problem Definition
Benchmarking Solutions
Organizational Leadership
Best Buy
FBI
J.D. Irving Ltd
Baptist Health Care
Motivation and Performance
Six Sigma
Morale, Just Compensation, Direction, Job Satisfaction
The Good News
Employee Satisfaction
Financial Strength
Corporate Strategy and Goals
Getting Back the Spirit
ERP as a Strategic Enterprise Initiative Challenge
Environmentally Friendly Products
ERP Implementation
Six Sigma versus Just Getting Good People Together
Let My People Go Surfing
Compensation and Pay Structure
General Electric
Gallup Corporation
Motorola
Employee Rewards
Performance Evaluation
Job Descriptions
Salary Administration
Employee Benefits
Flexible Spending Accounts
Flight Centre, Ltd.
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Riordan Manufacturing has a motivation problem. Even though Riordan is profitable and ostensibly well run by looking at the general satisfaction indicators, employees are displeased and demoralized regarding a few key areas of corporate direction and employee compensation and reward systems. This has created a minor crisis for the company. However, the fundamentals of the business remain strong, and this situation should not be blown out of proportion. In fact, that seems to be part of the problem. Whatever problems Riordan is suffering from seem to be magnified under a lens of distortion."

Tags:perspectives motivation, upper management, team-oriented merit

Abstract
This paper explains that a lookback option is path dependent, based on the maximum or minimum underlying value reached during the entire life of the option. The author points out that, at the expiration date of these options, the holder may "look back" over the life of the option and exercise it, based on the optimal underlying value achieved during that period thus giving the holder the ability to buy an asset at its lowest price or sell it at its highest price achieved over the life of the option. The paper relates that, through the lookback option, the investor can achieve economic intelligence and value through the benefit of hindsight; however, lookback options carry risk and are more expensive than standard options. The paper includes several formulas.

Table of Contents
Definition of Options
Call and Put Options
Introduction to Lookback Options
Lookback Options in Greater Depth
The Model
Option Pricing
Discrete Lookback Options
Case Study of Lookback Options

From the Paper
"Put options conversely involve the investor aiming for a stock price decrease. The put option, as mentioned in the introduction, allows the holder to sell an asset by a particular date for a certain price. An example demonstrated by Hull (2006) involves a European option involving an investor who buys the option to sell 100 shares with IBM for a strike price of $70. If the current stock price is $65 and the expiration date is in three months, Hull supposes for example that the option to sell one IBM share is $7. The initial investment, therefore, will be $700."

Tags:retrospect, benefit, hindsight, put, call

Abstract
In this article, the writer examines the history of vice-advertising. The writer then looks at how it has paralleled and departed from general advertising, and how regulation has shaped the industry. The writer points out that the amazing thing about vices, both big and small, is that there has always been a demand for them and there always will be, regardless of the fact that they are not necessities - and thus competition between suppliers can be quite fierce. The writer notes that vice advertising has always had a struggle - getting people to buy what they don't need and getting them hooked so as to keep them coming back. The writer concludes that advertising vice requires titillation of one or more senses to such a degree that natural disinclination toward involvement in a vice is overcome, and throughout history, the vice-advertisers have successfully accomplished this.

From the Paper
"The big three vices, tobacco, alcohol and gambling, are widely advertised today in a broad variety of media outlets. Additional vices, such as prostitution, continue to be popular with consumers, but they do not enjoy the ability to be advertised on a wide scale. When it comes to these three, however, there are quite significant differences in how each is advertised, and how each is presented to the consumer. When we look at the history of advertising for tobacco, alcohol and gambling, we can see that vice has never needed or wanted to be subtle. You don't find cigarette ads hidden in philosophy or metaphors - you see cool people smoking. You don't beer commercials not showing the beer - you see the people you want to be friends with not drinking their beer, but acting like it's great. You see people young and old having a grand time in casinos showing the kind of excitement gambling, drinking, smoking, and being entertained can be. Vice advertising is, by its nature, about exciting the appetite, about creating a connection between the consumer and the product that overrides moral objections, titillates, and drives desire - much like any other advertisement does."

Tags:demand, media, consumer, product

Abstract
This paper explains that culture shock is often an inevitable roadblock that is faced by individuals relocating or studying in a foreign country. Next, the paper describes the six distinct stages most people go through when dealing with cultural shock and discusses strategies for coping with the feelings associated with culture shock.

What is Culture Shock?
Various Stages of Cultural Shock
First Stage - Honeymoon Period or "Look, They Serve Fish and Chips
Here. Lovely!"
Second Stage - Culture Shock or "Ugh...I Hate Fish and Chips!"
Third Stage - Recovery, or "I Don't Mind Fish and Chips So Much"
Fourth Stage - Renewed Culture Shock, or "I Take It Back, Fish and
Chips Stink"
Fifth Stage - Breakthrough, or "I Still Don't Like Fish and Chips, But I
Can See Why You Like Them"
Sixth Stage - Re-integration, or "Where Can I Buy Fish and Chips Around
Here?"
Factors Crucial to Intercultural Adjustments
Conclusions

From the Paper
"Culture can be defined in a number of different ways and through a myriad of various examples. It is a fluid concept; one that is constantly evolving due to factors such as globalization and the media. Neither every person one encounters nor every country one visits is going to hold fast to the stereotypes typically associated with them. Each person will display their own unique behavior or way of viewing things. However, it is important to understand that culture, as a concept, is something that a person or groups of people are born into. It is a set of norms, values and beliefs that one learns through the process of socialization. Culture, therefore, forms a conceptual lens, through which groups of people see themselves, their country, and the rest of the world."

Tags:condition, confusion, anxiety, exposed, alien, milieu, oberg, strain, loss, deprivation