The response of firms' leverage to uncertainty: Evidence from UK public versus non-public firms

This paper empirically investigates the effects of uncertainty on firms' leverage. The analysis is carried out for a large panel of public and non-public UK manufacturing firms over 1999-2008. The empirical results provide evidence that firms use less short-term debt as they go through periods of high uncertainty. The leverage of non-public firms is more sensitive to idiosyncratic uncertainty in comparison to their public counterparts, yet macroeconomic uncertainty affects both types of frms similarly. We fnally end our investigation showing that the total impact of either type of uncertainty on firms' leverage is related to the amount of the cash buer each firm carries.

Rural Institutions and Planned Change in Agriculture: A Comparative Perspective in Two Punjabs

Agricultural change in the Indian and Pakistan Punjabs has been brought about by their respective governments through formal organisations—cooperatives, credit banks, agriculture departments and/or special interest groups at the local level. The changes produced during 1960s and in subsequent period were dramatic but unsettling. Many have argued that the achievement of agricultural change in the region has depended to an important extent on the effectiveness of rural institutions in executing their role as agents of planned change.1 The present paper seeks to review the debate on the role of rural institutions in producing social and economic changes in the agrarian sectors of the Indian and Pakistan Punjabs and present some of the data which have stimulated this debate. The paper commences with an overview of the agrarian change in the two Punjabs. Then the programmes of planned change in the two regions are described, and the particular institution of change—cooperatives, credit banks, agricultural departments etc. are discussed in detail. At the specific level, the study aims at delineating the role played by rural institutions in initiating, stimulating, sustaining or retarding change in agriculture sectors of the two Punjabs. The role of rural institutions as a policy instrument for the promotion of agricultural expansion is examined. And finally the paper points out the implications of the past experience for the future role of rural institutions in the two Punjabs.

A Qualitative Study on Implementation and Avoidance of Labor Policy and Occupational Health and Safety Law in Malaysia

The employment laws are becoming strict due to malpractices by the organizations in the developing countries. The main reason behind conducting research in implementation and avoidance of employment law is that, it is considered as the core responsibility of all organizations to fulfill legal requirements of the employment laws. The main objective of this study is to identify the implementation of labor policy of Malaysia in the corporate sector of Malaysia. The study will focus on the implementation of Malaysia Labor Law 1955. The study will also cover the Occupational and Safety Law (1994), what is the practical implementation of these two laws in the corporate sector. The study is qualitative and will collect the data with the help of interviews. The results of the study will help both the policy makers and the practitioners. Policy makers will come to know the shortcomings in the policies and the law and the practitioners will know the problems faced by the workforce, which if resolved, may improve the productivity of the employees. The industry chosen for analysis of petroleum industry because it has a significant contribution in the economic development of Malaysia. Keywords: Labor Policy, Occupational Health, Safety Law, Malaysi

The Greek letters: Scenario analysis with a reverse butterfly spread

Abstract. The management of risk is the goal of a financial institution that sells an option to a client in the over-the-counter markets. In addition to monitoring risks such as Delta(), Gamma () and Vega(v), option traders often also carry out, a scenario analysis. The analysis involves calculating the gain or loss on their portfolio over a specified period under a variety of different scenarios. The time period chosen is likely to depend on the liquidity of the instrument. The scenarios can either be chose by management or generated by a model.Keywords. Financial institutions, Scenario analysis, Risk management, Portfolio management, Reverse butterfly spread.JEL. G2, G10, G11, G13, G17, H2

Germanys position in the world on globalization, technology and innovation

Abstract. Germany is situated in Central Europe bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Germany is the sixth largest country in Europe. The capital of Germany after a vote from the lower house Bundestag in 1993 was moved from Bonn in the West to Berlin in the East. Germany houses the European Central Bank and according to recent statistics the GDP of Germany stood at 4.0T. Germany is a powerhouse when it comes to technology and innovation. Well-known brands include; BMW, Mercedes, SAP, Volkswagen, Audi, Siemens, Allianz, Adidas, Porsche, Deutsche and Bosch.Keywords. Germany; Globalization; Technology; Innovation.JEL. E58; G01; L25

Corporate social responsibility (CSR): Evaluating/auditing corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices

Abstract. The concepts of corporate social responsibility and social audit have been developed to a great extent in the last century. Analysis reveals a mature and sophisticated philosophical framework developed over the decades to enhance the relationship between the laborers, the state and the local government. Furthermore, there exists a framework to audit the economic and social activities of the business and a concern and focus in both the private sector and the public sector towards sustainable practices and a culture of ethical leadership. An audit criterion is developed and an examination of 3 top fortune companies reveals valuable insights into social audit and corporate social responsibility as well as the current best practices and benchmarks in the literature.Keywords. Corporate responsibility, Social audit, Apple, Amazon, Mckesson.JEL. M14

Berkeley blues; Ford community corps partnership: Integrating environmental ethic, bioethics and the ethics of emerging technology into a comprehensive leadership philosophy. A regional study, Detroit

The following project was conducted in partnership with University of Detroit Mercy and Ford Community Corps. Multiple no-profit were approached to make this project possible such as; ERACCE, Detroit Audubon, Detroit International Wild-Life Refuge, Belle Isle. The non-profit ERACCE has provided the criteria of analyzing power in the organizations that are at risk of environmental violations or have had environmental violations. Furthermore, the non-profit has asked for a comparison of power between non-profits working within the sector, such as Detroit Audubon, Detroit International Wild Life Refuge and Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice and the business sector. Hence, this is where ERACCE believes the gap in power to be and hence, environmental injustice and satisfying the proposals need to impact the community. To this end they have provided a sampling of questions that the interview/research should answer. The project has also been written to enhance Michigan’s competitive advantage in; conservation, environmental stewardship, civil rights, industrial innovation, and entrepreneurship as put forth by the Environmental Justice Workgroup in 2018. Furthermore, the rationale that has been provided is the increase in both the private sector and public sector awareness towards sustainability and push towards higher levels of sustainability by CEO’s. Two Nobel Laureates have been awarded a joint Nobel Peace Prize in integrating technological and environmental advances into economic theory. His Holiness Pope Francis wrote an encyclical towards integrating environmental ethics into religious faith followed by an effort with Notre Dame and Oxford to establish a center to focus on matters of ecology. UN Sustainable goals have been established and work has been done to map out the frontier of sustainable technologies. Furthermore, during the course of the year long projection March 19th the state of Michigan entered into a lock-down due to the pandemic termed Covid-19 and the project and scope were modified to reflect this change. The research confirms the hypothesis that there is an imbalance of power between the business community and the community involved in the work of environmental injustice issues.Keywords. Environmental ethic, Emerging technology, Leadership philosophy, Regional study, Detroit.JEL. F21, F68, O53, K23

Case analysis: Enron; Ethics, social responsibility, and ethical accounting as inferior goods?

Abstract. In 2001 soon after the Asian Crises of 1997-1998, the DotcomBubble, 9/11, the Enron crises triggered a fraud crisis in Wall Street that impacted the market to the core. Since then scandals such as the Lehman Brothers and WorldCom in 2007-2008 and the Great Recession have surpassed it, Enron still remains one of the most important cases of fraudulent accounting. In 2000’s even though the financial industry had become highly regulated, deregulation of the energy industry allowed companies to place bets on future prices. At the peak of the dotcom bubble Enron was named as a star innovator but when the dotcom bubble burst, Enron’s plan to build high speed internet did not flourish and investors started to realize losses. Furthermore, the financial losses of the operations were hid using the market to market accounting technique instead of book value and using special purpose entities to hide debt. The root cause that was identified as a company with a toxic corporate culture focused on officer compensation rather than social responsibility and hence faulty leadership. Is it possible then that; ethical accounting practices, social responsibility and ethics all become inferior goods as income rises in an ‘irrationally exuberant’era?Keywords. Enron (ENE, ENRN), Dotcom bubble, Accounting fraud, Deregulation, Speculation, Corporate culture, Social responsibility, Government intervention, Risk management, Consumer behavior, Energy markets.JEL. N0, M1, M4, M12, M14, G32, K4, K32, H12

Case analysis: Enron; Ethics, social responsibility, and ethical accounting as inferior goods?

In 2001 soon after the Asian Crises of 1997-1998, the DotcomBubble, 9/11, the Enron crises triggered a fraud crisis in Wall Street that impacted the market to the core. Since then scandals such as the Lehman Brothers and WorldCom in 2007-2008 and the Great Recession have surpassed it, Enron still remains one of the most important cases of fraudulent accounting. In 2000’s even though the financial industry had become highly regulated, deregulation of the energy industry allowed companies to place bets on future prices. At the peak of the dotcom bubble Enron was named as a star innovator but when the dotcom bubble burst, Enron’s plan to build high speed internet did not flourish and investors started to realize losses. Furthermore, the financial losses of the operations were hid using the market to market accounting technique instead of book value and using special purpose entities to hide debt. The root cause that was identified as a company with a toxic corporate culture focused on officer compensation rather than social responsibility and hence faulty leadership. Is it possible then that; ethical accounting practices, social responsibility and ethics all become inferior goods as income rises in an ‘irrationally exuberant’era

Employment Contract Practices in UAE: Key Issues and Implications

In the recent past years the number of people working in different countries has increased dramatically. In Pakistan it’s a trend of moving to different countries to get better employment opportunities. For employment Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, and Saudi Arabia are considered as the favorable countries for the Pakistanis. Despite the fact, these countries don’t offer favorable and secured working environment to the immigrants, but still people prefer to go there for better earnings. Employment issues such as low wage rate, preference to residents, absence of contractual nexus, and sexual abuse etc. are common. This study aims to identify the major gaps in the implementation of laws regarding immigrant work force and the conditions of immigrants working in these countries. The study is qualitative and the respondents are those who have work experience of minimum three years. The results of this study shows that employers hardly follow labor laws for the immigrant work force, where as some countries have a clear policy which is enforced by their government. There is a dire need to do legislation regarding the rights of immigrant workforce and its implementation. Keywords: Employment contract, UAE, Immigrant, Labor Law