Dodd Frank Wall Street Paper

Dodd Frank Wall Street Paper Dodd Frank Wall Street Paper The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act Implications for energy companies, utilities and other over-the-counter market participants 2 It was July 21, 2010 when President Barack Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Fueled by the backlash of the 2008 financial crisis, this legislation represents the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. financial regulation since the 1930s. Even though the Act centers on the financial services and capital markets industries, it includes provisions affecting all public and private companies. For companies engaged in commodities hedging or trading the most significant aspects of the Act are the rules regulating the overthe-counter (OTC) market. Commonly referred to as â€Å"derivative reform,† these rules are far-reaching and complex. As written, derivative reform addresses all types of swaps: equity, interest rate, foreign exchange, credit default and commodity. For energy companies trading OTC commodity swaps there are four major areas to evaluate for business impact: clearing, data and reporting, position limits and new business conduct rules. Since no current OTC market participant will be left untouched, it is still imperative to understand the full scope of these regulations (see caption below). While the specific rules of derivative reform have not yet been fully promulgated, and much is uncertain about the details of complying with Dodd-Frank, enough is known to assess the impact this legislation will have on companies which enter into OTC contracts today in the energy sector. Non-financial industries which participate in the OTC derivative markets include: Energy Companies - Supermajors - Independent Oil & Gas - Refining & Marketing Electric and Natural Gas Utilities Chemical Mining and Mineral Airlines Agribusiness Consumer Products What is a swap dealer and a major swap participant? The Dodd-Frank Act defines a swap dealer as any person who: Tends to accommodate demand for swaps from other parties; A major swap participant satisfies any one of the following criteria: Holds itself out as a dealer in swaps; Is generally available to enter into swaps to facilitate other parties’ interest in entering into swaps; Maintains a â€Å"substantial position†; Makes a market in swaps; Regularly enters into swaps with counterparties in the ordinary course of business for its own account, or engages in activity causing itself to be commonly known in the trade as a dealer or market maker in swaps. With these characteristics: Tends to enter into swaps on their own standard terms or on terms they arrange in response to other parties’ interest; and Tends to arrange customized terms for swaps upon request, or to create new types of swaps at their own initiative. Holds outstanding swaps which create â€Å"substantial counterparty exposure†; or Is a highly leveraged financial entity that maintains a â€Å"substantial position". End-users enter into swaps to hedge or mitigate commercial risk. 3 Many moving parts Figure 1. Timeline for Derivative Reform Implementation The original timeline for Derivative Reform is aggressive. Market participants are arguing for a phased approach to allow for an orderly, efficient and inclusive transition to the new market. July 2010 December 2010 July 2011 December 2011 December 2012 July 2013 CFTC and SEC issue final regulation on Derivative Reform EFFECTIVE DATE - TBD Bill becomes effective Registration of SDs and MSPs Interim system until â€Å"technologically feasible† Real-Time Reporting of all Swaps Clearing/Exchange Trading - Post-Enactment Swaps OTC derivatives cleared on exchanges Clearing/Exchange Trading - Pre-Enactment Swaps Proprietary Trading Study - Volcker Rule Study Complete Swaps Push Out Rule Trading ceases Transition

Quotes of Alexander Graham Bell

Quotes of Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor who was first to patent a successful telephone apparatus and later commercializes a domestic telephone network. To quote Alexander Graham Bell, we have to start with the first voice message ever transmitted, which was, Mr. Watson - come here - I want to see you. Watson was Bells assistant at the time and the quote was the first sound of a voice ever transmitted by electricity. Alexander Graham Bell Quotes Wherever you may find the inventor, you may give him wealth or you may take from him all that he has; and he will go on inventing. He can no more help inventing that he can help thinking or breathing. The inventor looks upon the world and is not contented with things as they are. He wants to improve whatever he sees, he wants to benefit the world; he is haunted by an idea. The spirit of invention possesses him, seeking materialization. Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds. I may be given credit for having blazed the trail, but when I look at the subsequent developments I feel the credit is due to others rather than to myself. When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it. America is a country of inventors, and the greatest of inventors are the newspaper men. The final result of our researches has widened the class of substances sensitive to light vibrations until we can propound the fact of such sensitiveness being a general property of all matter. Perseverance must have some practical end, or it does not avail the man possessing it. A person without a practical end in view becomes a crank or an idiot. Such persons fill our asylums. A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with – a man is what he makes of himself. Concentrate all of your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus. The most successful men, in the end, are those whose success is the result of steady accretion. Watson, if I can get a mechanism which will make a current of electricity vary in its intensity, as the air varies in density when a sound is passing through it, I can telegraph any sound, even the sound of speech.​ I then shouted into the mouthpiece the following sentence: Mr. Watson, Come here, I want to see you. To my delight, e came and declared that he had heard and understood what I said. I asked him to repeat the words. He answered, You said, Mr. Watson, come here I want to see you.

Business Research Ethic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Research Ethic - Essay Example In recent years, numerous businesses have been found guilty of unethical business research practices. Companies such as Enron and AIG are by far the biggest that come to mind, as they fraudulently reported profits, amongst other falsified reports, that persuaded current shareholders and potential investors that their current business model was more fiscally sound than it actually was. These ‘White Collar’ professionals made the news in recent years due to their big promises and ability to deliver – for a season (Shurden, Santaudreu, and Shurden, 2010, p. 117). Through than many questionable business practices, AIG ended up paying bonuses in the billions of dollars, even in the midst of receiving government bailout money. This one action, almost more than any other, got the public and the government questioning at what point certain business practices become unethical and affect all of society, not only a select few. Business ethics has long been a grey area. As th is article effectively points out, it is often difficult to determine what practices are truly unethical, and which are simply questionable. In the end, it is important to consider this topic because such behavior can truly impact the masses. As the authors state, â€Å"Our laws are a starting point for ethical conduct and are implemented in order for society to avoid extreme situations† (Shurden, Santaudreu, and Shurden, 2010, p. 117). In many of these situations, the injured parties are the shareholders, employees, and anyone in the public directly or indirectly involved in the company. The point is made, therefore, that unethical business research practices affect more than just the immediate parties involved. In the case of AIG, a massive government financial bailout was required to keep the company from failing. The company was deemed to be too valuable to allow the unethical practices to destroy the viability of the institution. To have done so would have not only impac ted thousands of jobs in America, but would have also resulted in repercussions felt around the world as global financial institutions have vast holdings in AIG. Taxpayer money was used, then, to inject needed capital into the company to keep it afloat until such time that the company could be reorganized and new management bought in (Shurden, Sataudreu, and Shurden, 2010, pp. 118-119). Enron is another example mentioned in this article. The unethical business research practices at this company began when they falsified information that it gave to the public. This resulted in people, both outside and inside the organization, believing that the company was financial sound and provided a great investment opportunity. The opposite, in fact, was true and the failure of the company resulted in great hardship not only in America, but globally as well (Shurden, Sataudreu, and Shurden, 2010, pp. 121-122). Society was greatly impacted by both of these examples. When large companies willingly conduct their business research in an unethical manner, trust begins to wither away. Our capitalist system is predicated on a certain amount of trust. We need to believe in the companies that we support in order to help them prosper and thrive in today’s rapidly advancing and global society. Each time that trust is violate, society becomes a bit more

Life under slavery in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Life under slavery in the United States - Essay Example Although slavery was later abolished using peace treaties, it is clear that during the slave period, most slaves experienced serious suffering harsh living conditions under their masters’ care. African-Americans were used as slaves in the 17th century even during the American Revolution and during the adoption of the Constitution in 1787. During this era, there were clear guidelines on when slaves started their work schedule and when it ended on a daily basis. Slaves worked for long hours whereby work started before, dawn, and ended after sunset with only a two-hour break. They worked under constant supervisions with threats of punishment by overseers regardless of who their owners were. There were submitted to harsh conditions and despite their lack of freedom, they were not always rendered powerless victims, as they were able to start important institutions (Reese 208). Europeans settled in America and invested in sugarcane and tobacco plantations, which had thrived in areas like the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages. When European merchants were sailing, they adopted such practices into their new settlements. This early plantations needed labor and the Europeans disliked the labor required in the plantations and the indigenous people refused to work on it, and this led to forced slave labor (Rodriguez 33). There was a massive expansion of the population that was enslaved in Americas, which was possible due to the transatlantic slave trade. The population increased because slaves barred more children and cotton farming started benefiting from the slavery in America in 1800 and it spread to other states (Elkins 35). Slavery was met with resistance as slaves sometimes ran away and hid in forests or visited relatives in other plantations. Some were able to escape slavery for good but some were unlucky as they were severely punished, and others were even shot to death or bitten by the owners dogs

American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

American History - Essay Example tilize the division and hatred that existed at the time within the halls of power in Europe to advance the nascent position that the United States engendered.1 As a case in point, Washington and others actively courted France and sought to curry favor within the halls of French power as a means of securing both financial and military support during and after the American Revolution.2   So great was the level of love displayed for the French during this time that citizens of the newly formed United States sought to divorce themselves fully of nearly every attribute and facet that connected them to England.   Again, although Nicole makes a valuable point with regards to the extent that Washington sought to distance the United States from European squabbles that so often devolved into far flung imperial wars, he was not opposed to massaging the other side of the issue and seeking to work shared distaste, distrust, and hatred for England towards his, and the nation’s,

Analysis of Organs for Sale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Organs for Sale - Essay Example ntries continue to writhe in harsh living conditions, sometimes even lacking food and shelter, rich people suffering from end-stage renal have more than enough money but lack proper mechanisms to acquire kidneys to save their lives. This is to say that rich people in urgent need of kidneys and have the resources to acquire them, but lack legal means to acquire kidneys speedily since they have to wait their turn in the long donor list (Mackay 2). On the other hand, poor people living in third world countries are largely willing to sell their organs such as kidneys for meager amounts if only to save them from starvation and bankruptcy. MacKay’s primary purpose is to articulate how a legal and regulated organ selling environment will allow both donors and recipients to benefit from organ sale, which is presently conducted illegally and without guarantees to both recipient and donor (Mackay 7). MacKay argues that a legal and regulated organ selling milieu will allow donors, whether in first or third world countries to gain financially from their courageous acts of parting with an organ of their bodies. At present, the organ selling business is tilted in favor of the recipients, doctors who perform the operations and agents who arrange for the operation, placing the donors at a disadvantageous position since they receive amounts as low as $1,000 for selling a vital part of their bodies. With regard to the quality of MacKay’s argument, it is evident that she is quite passionate regarding the topic of organ sale. MacKay effectively articulates her stance, using emotion to exemplify her key points and stances. The argument aims at instigating emotional responses such as compassion, empathy and sympathy towards both organ donors and recipients who suffer immensely in the current organ sale environment. The argument draws on the morality of allowing both kidney donors and recipients to benefit from a legal and fully regulated atmosphere in which they can purchase and

Leadership Competencies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leadership Competencies - Essay Example First is the competence to manage change in the organization. This enables the leaders to maintain the focus of the company on achieving its goals and objectives despite the changes that may occur affecting the company’s operations. Setting of strategy and vision is a leadership competence that helps the leaders in my organization to put the entire organization at the focus of the company’s long term goals. Leaders in my organization also enhance business skills and knowledge through mentoring and giving adequate work experience to their juniors (Topping, 2002). Leadership competencies that involve leading one’s self are very critical in the providence of effective leadership in the organization. These involve the demonstration of integrity and ethics by the leaders themselves. The display of purpose and drive while maintaining self-awareness is also an admirable leadership competence. It is usually better for a leader to lead by example. The last category of leadership competencies as witnessed in my organization involves those that concern the leadership of others. This involves effective communication and the building and maintenance of working relationships. They facilitate the coordination of staff towards the achievement of the organization’s