Unemployment in Hong Kong :: Economics, Unemployment Essays

Introduction The unemployment rate became a hot topic in the past few months when it rose to 3.5 per cent, a recent high for almost 10 years. The jobless rate was higher than the 3.2 per cent unemployment rate recorded in the May to July period. The underemployment rate in the June to August period rose to 2.5 per cent from 2.3 per cent in the May to July period. Until recently, most workers who lost their jobs were from the manufacturing sector. They were middle-aged factory workers with few skills and little education. But in recent months a large number of employees have been laid off in the retail and restaurant businesses. Unemployment has spilled over to the service sector from manufacturing sector. Hong Kong is facing a prolonged economic downturn. The high unemployment rate has raised many social and economic problems. For example, the number of people who commit suicide is increased. It is because more people had lost their jobs for a long time. It is a serious threat to the lives of the poor. The unemployed people may also feel that it is unmeaningful to live. As a result, they will commit suicide to solve the problem. Moreover, the high unemployment rate results in the increase of the rate of crime. There was an unemployed man who stole rice because he was too hungry and he did not have money to even buy food! We can know how serious the unemployment rate is. By the way, higher unemployment rate causes lower purchasing power of people. A lot of kinds of business are affected. Many people lose confidence in economics of Hong Kong. They do not believe unemployment will be improved. Some say that the Government should provide immediate assistance for the jobless. Some also say unemployment is due to the attraction of cheap labor across the border. The Government can no longer play the role of a bystander. All of these above show the influence of the unemployment. In spite of how many people who have talked about the topic of unemployment, everyone will be concerned about this topic. The following sections will analyze this hot topic. Reasons for unemployment in Hong Kong 1. Faster growth in total labor supply relative to that of total employment In 1993 and 1994, the increase in Hong Kong labor force is 2.9% and 3.5% respectively. At the end of 1993, the total labour supply is 2 970 000. Change in the total labour supply is determined by the population growth, total employment and the emigration condition. If the population growth and the total

Greenmail & firing employees Essay

The term is a greenmail is formed by combining the terms greenback and blackmail, invented by journalists and commentators who saw the practices of corporate raiders as a form of blackmail. The target company is financially held hostage, and is legally forced to pay the greenmailer to go away. Greenmailing is a variation on the corporate raid or hostile takeover. The greenmailer commonly targets a publicly traded company that is cash rich but often undervalued, with large assets and possibly a solid customer base. Other targets are companies that are simply inefficient. The greenmailer isn’t really interested in the business of the company. It doesn’t want to own the company, improve it, or further build it up. It will, if forced to acquire the target, sell its parts off piecemeal, which can bring a greater profit than selling the whole target. This is called asset stripping and involves replacing management and firing employees. Greenmail proved lucrative for investors such as T. Boone Pickens and Sir James Goldsmith during the 1980s. In the latter example, Goldsmith made $90 million from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in the 1980s in this manner. Occidental Petroleum paid greenmail to David Murdoch in 1984. However, if a proper greenmail occurs, the greenmailer merely secures a significant stake in the target company. The greenmailer can offer to end the threat to the target company by selling its share back at a substantial premium. The target or â€Å"mark† can also go private with the same results: a profit to the greenmailer. The greenmailer gets away with no oversight, low overhead, and its profits. The target is left poorer and without the assets that attracted the raid in the beginning. A company which agrees to buy back the bidder’s stock position avoids being taken over. In return, the bidder agrees to abandon the takeover attempt and may sign a confidential agreement with the â€Å"greenmailer† who will agree not to resume the maneuver for a period of time. Greenmail is a corporate defense mechanism to buy back shares from shareholders attempting to control the firm. The practice has many critics but it can result to potential windfall for the company by protecting company shares from low takeovr bids and gives the firm the opportunity to restructure management. While benefiting the â€Å"greenmailer†, the company loses capital and other assets. This hamstrings its future growth potential. This means the shareholders lose as well in addition to impacting the supplier and customers economically linked to the company. Generally the company’s existing management may remain in place but the employees usually see their ranks reduced. Courts in states such as Calfornia have favored shareholder lawsuits, based on the contention that greenmailer constituted a breach of fiduciary responsibility. Greenmail is arguably counter productive because once such a payment becomes public others may feign a takeover attempt. Greenmail is money paid by a company (or allied company or individual) to acquire its own shares of stock from a shareholder who is threatening to take control of, or unwanted influence over, the company. In the parlance of the financial community, strategies to prevent a takeover are called a â€Å"Poison pill†. This implies that the corporate raider will suffer if they try to swallow the target of the takeover. This involves a myriad of arcane changes in the details of corporate ownership structure, investment market rules, and may involve legal requirement in the jurisdiction where the company is incorporated. Individual states may pass â€Å"protectionist† laws that impose limits for launching formal bids, or obligations to seek shareholder approval for the buyback of its own shares, and in Federal tax treatment of greenmail gains have all made greenmail far less common since the early 1990s. Heckmann et al. v. Ahmanson trial in July 1989. This was one of the final cases involving the payment of †greenmail†. Greenmail is slang for targeted share repurchases – transactions in which a company repurchases shares from specific holders, rather than on the open market. In the 1980s, it was not uncommon for companies to pay greenmail to large investors who were challenging corporate management and threatening a takeover of the firm. In this case, Disney had paid a premium price to repurchase shares accumulated by Saul Steinberg’s Reliance Group. Working with attorney Michael Hennigan, I explained to the jury how this could damage Disney’s other shareholders and to estimate the amount of the damage. Following my direct examination, as Arthur Liman was standing to begin his cross, the judge decided recess the trial early for the July 4th holiday. During the recess, the case settled. It was the only greenmail case in which plaintiffs received a cash settlement.

Diagnostic Paper on Joan Crawford - 2376 Words

Diagnostic Paper on Joan Crawford Abnormal Psychology Dr. Lewis Ethical Disclaimer In writing this, I am attempting to demonstrate an awareness of ethical practice. In preparation of writing this paper, I have researched information on the famous person indicated in an effort to make an attempt at providing a possible diagnosis of a psychological condition for which two theoretical orientations will be evaluated and used to support what is only an opinion. I am in no way qualified to give a diagnosis for the people mentioned within this document as it is a document written to demonstrate an understanding of educational material as it relates to the field of psychology. Any information mentioned with regard to the mental condition†¦show more content†¦In consideration of some of Crawford’s early childhood occurrences, it may be possible to speculate on the etiology and possible diagnosis for conditions that Mrs. Crawford might have been suffering throughout her life. Joan Crawford was born at the turn of the century as Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas to a single mother as Joan’s father left the family shortly before her birth (â€Å"American Legends,† 2013). Though there are claims that her actual birthdate was before 1908, the date printed at the place of her interment reads as 1908-1977. For Hollywood starlets, lying about age might elongate audience and industry interest especially in regard to women, therefore it is easy to understand why the relentlessly ambitious and accomplished actress might have felt compelled to be untruthful over the years. Crawford had to climb her way to the top never having a moment to assess all the obstacles with which she would face throughout her life though, according to her, she would never have accepted professional assessment during her life as she explains to talk show host David Frost, â€Å"I have never had to go to a psychologist or psychiatrist because I feel if you have an ounce of good sense and one good friend, you’ll never have to go to a psychiatrist† (The David Frost Show, 1970). With attention to the enormous influence of the Roaring Twenties, Joan Crawford certainly embodied the newfound independence, freedom, andShow MoreRelatedManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 PagesEdition Jones−George Driving Shareholder Value Morin−Jarrell Leadership, Fifth Edition Hughes−Ginnett−Curphy The Art of M A: Merger/Acquisitions/Buyout Guide, Third Edition Reed−Lajoux and others . . . This book was printed on recycled paper. Management http://www.mhhe.com/primis/online/ Copyright  ©2005 by The McGraw−Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publicationRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesYork—Buffalo Savannah Clay, Central Piedmont Community College David Connelly, Western Illinois State University Jeffrey Conte, San Diego State University Jane Crabtree, Benedictine University Suzanne Crampton, Grand Valley State University Douglas Crawford, Wilson College Michael Cruz, San Jose State University Robert Cyr, Northwestern University Evelyn Dadzie, Clark Atlanta University Joseph Daly, Appalachian State University Denise Daniels, Seattle Pacific University Marie Dasborough, Oklahoma State