Is Richard III a hero or a villain Essays

Is Richard III a hero or a villain Essays Is Richard III a hero or a villain Paper Is Richard III a hero or a villain Paper The play would probably not be a black comedy in this case. But as it is, Richmond is almost portrayed as a villain due to the fact that the audience has not had a chance to build a relationship with him, so does not know him, he brings the downfall of the male lead, the audiences friend. In many stories plays, the world may be peaceful, with no faults whatsoever; until the villain starts causing chaos. In these stories the people are happy, but there is one jealous bitter villain who is determined to spoil their fun. Richard perfectly fits the bill of this villain. Not only is he bitter jealous, but instead of isolating himself from society, he chooses to spoil everyone elses lives I that am rudely stamped want loves majesty since I cannot prove a lover I am determined to prove a villain and hate the idle pleasures of these days (lines 16-31, act 1 scene 1). This language shows his jealousy want loves majesty, his deep resentment rudely stamped, how instead of living letting live, he is determined to spoil the lives of others enjoy himself in the process since I cannot prove a lover I am determined to prove a villain, showing how he is vindictive, certainly a villainous quality. I think it is important that he uses the word determined, showing it is his true intent, more importantly, all this language shows his actions were not spur of the moment, but pre-meditated, well thought through. I know it is off the subject but Ian Mckellen gave this impression on screen- intelligent, not insane, thinking very clearly, showing his true intent. This is the way I perceive Richard, these qualities are villainous. In his pleading ( twisting) conversation with Anne, Richard shows he is manipulative audacious. He says to her Your beauty was the cause of that effect; your beauty: which did haunt me in my sleep he has the audacity to turn his heinous crimes around on her, when a real hero would show remorse, be pleading for forgiveness, having told the truth. This language is manipulative because not only does he blame the crimes on her your beauty but this is also a huge compliment, and thus an advance on Anne, achieving one of his aims. He even calls her bluff, when a real hero would be true Lo, here I lend thee with this sharp pointed sword. He is saying Here, kill me, if you dont love me. Richard knows she is not heartless enough to commit the crime, and knows that she loves him, and gains evidence of this through his calling her bluff. I dont think this calling her bluff is particularly villainous. It certainly shows him to be intelligent, as it shows he can read her emotions, but I think it does show a certain amount of risk, and therefore courage, on his part. There is every chance in the adrenaline of the scene that she could cut him, and his plan would have failed. However, he does have the courage to take risks, which could be perceived as a heroic or villainous quality. However, the main attribute he shows in this conversation is his manipulation, which most certainly is villainous. Richard is a war hero. He fought for his house in the war of the roses, and would not surrender his kingdom lightly to Richmond, even though he was eventually killed by him. This courage is a heroic quality, but perhaps an essential quality in a worthy villain. The courage in this case could prove to be of a worthy villain, rather than a valiant hero. An important factor, I feel, is the view of Niccolo Machiavelli, whose book of 1513, The Prince met much controversy. It stated that an ideal ruler should be ruthless controlling rather than religious and moral. Richard certainly does fit the bill of Machiavellis ideal ruler. So does that make him a hero? Perhaps it does, but perhaps Machiavelli acknowledged that a good king shouldnt be a hero, but a tyrant instead. It seems likely that Shakespeare will have based his play on Machiavellis work, thus making Richard suitable for the role of an ideal ruler in Machiavellis terms. Since this is most probably the case, this would count against Richard being a hero, since Im sure Machiavelli would not state that the ideal ruler is a hero. Over the course of the play, perhaps the main reason why Richard is a villain, he is directly responsible for the deaths of many people. He even betrayed his brother Clarence into having his confidence, then having him imprisoned then killed. All this time, he didnt even have the courage to admit what he was doing. He made him defenceless, by locking him in the Tower of London, and then had him killed; all the while leading him to believe Richard was his closest friend. He was also responsible for arranging the murders of: King Henry VI, Prince Edward, Rivers, Grey, Vaughn, Hastings, Lady Anne; although there was no evidence of this Richard implies it Rumor it abroad That Anne, my wife, is very grievous sick Anne, at this time of the play is his wife. This language Im sure is delivered in a very brazen fashion, with sarcastic emphasis on the word very. It shows how he is too lazy to even say goodbye to his wife before he has her killed, she is no more use to him, just an obstacle in his way, therefore one that must be removed. This shows his determined ruthless side once more. He is prepared to have his wife murdered at the drop of an eyelid, in one quick request, no sweat, no regrets. Im sure he does not pause to think as he delivers this request, showing it does not take him long to decide other peoples fates, he is ruthless, decisive, with no remorse. It is merely another human being he has killed. Perhaps most importantly, he has Buckingham murdered. Up until Richard tells Buckingham he plans to murder Edward (a child) Buckingham had been his advisor, partner in crime, but as soon as he found out about this plot, Richard suspected him, outcast him, eventually had him killed. After Buckingham questioned Richards plot, Richard responds with a cold High reaching Buckingham grows circumspect which is saying You want the power yet this is a problem for you? Richard questions Buckinghams manhood from this point on suspects him up until he kills him. This is perhaps a main factor in whether Richard is a hero or a villain. Because he is so ungrateful, ruthless backstabbing to kill the person who did a lot of work in getting him where he is, it could classify him as a real villain. However, Buckingham could have been perceived by the audience as a sly, greedy character who had no relationship with the audience, so deserved his death for being ambitious, yet not completely unflinching. The audience may take Buckinghams murder as a sign of Richards ruthlessness, or slight cheekiness, so does not classify him as an outright hero or villain in itself. Overall, my personal verdict is that Richard III is a villain. His evil actions two-faced character contribute to his being a villain. His brazen evil his relentless back stabbing cannot possibly classify him as a hero. Granted, he can be an endearing character to the audience, but Elizabethan audiences would have regarded his deformity as a curse, would have ridiculed him for this. I believe Shakespeare wrote the character of Richard as a villain, someone who the audience hate to love, it does portray the Tudors as the rightful heirs to the throne.

War of 1812 - Fighting in 1813

War of 1812 - Fighting in 1813 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned Assessing the Situation In the wake of the failed campaigns of 1812, newly re-elected President James Madison was forced to reassess the strategic situation along the Canadian border. In the Northwest, Major General William Henry Harrison had replaced the disgraced Brigadier General William Hull and was tasked with re-taking Detroit. Diligently training his men, Harrison was checked at the River Raisin and unable to advance without American control of Lake Erie. Elsewhere, New England remained reluctant to play an active role in supporting the war effort making a campaign against Quebec an unlikely prospect. As a result, it was decided to focus American efforts for 1813 on achieving victory on Lake Ontario and the Niagara frontier. Success on this front also required control of the lake. To this end, Captain Isaac Chauncey had been dispatched to Sackets Harbor, NY in 1812 for the purpose of constructing a fleet on Lake Ontario. It was believed that victory in and around Lake Ontario would cut off Upper Cana da and open the way for an attack on Montreal. The Tide Turns at Sea Having achieved stunning success over the Royal Navy in a series of ship-to-ship actions in 1812, the small US Navy sought to continue its run of good form by attacking British merchant ships and remaining on the offensive. To this end, the frigate USS Essex (46 guns) under Captain David Porter, patrolled the South Atlantic scooping up prizes in late 1812, before rounding Cape Horn in January 1813. Seeking to strike the British whaling fleet in the Pacific, Porter arrived at Valparaiso, Chile in March. For the remainder of the year, Porter cruised with great success and inflicted heavy losses on British shipping. Returning to Valparaiso in January 1814, he was blockaded by the British frigate HMS Phoebe (36) and sloop of war HMS Cherub (18). Fearing that additional British ships were en route, Porter attempted to break out on March 28. As Essex exited the harbor, it lost its main topmast in a freak squall. With his ship damaged, Porter was unable to return to port and soon brought to action by the British. Standing off Essex, which was largely armed with short-range carronades, the British pounded Porters ship with their long guns for over two hours ultimately forcing him to surrender. Among those captured on board was young Midshipman David G. Farragut who would later lead the Union Navy during the Civil War. While Porter was enjoying success in the Pacific, the British blockade began to tighten along the American coast keeping many of the US Navys heavy frigates in port. While the effectiveness of the US Navy was hampered, hundreds of American privateers preyed upon British shipping. During the course of the war, they captured between 1,175 and 1,554 British ships. One ship that was at sea early in 1813 was Master Commandant James Lawrences brig USS Hornet (20). On February 24, he engaged and captured the brig HMS Peacock (18) off the coast of South America. Returning home, Lawrence was promoted to captain and given command of the frigate USS Chesapeake (50) at Boston. Completing repairs to ship, Lawrence prepared to put to sea in late May. This was hastened by the fact that only one British ship, the frigate HMS Shannon (52), was blockading the harbor. Commanded by Captain Philip Broke, Shannon was a crack ship with a highly trained crew. Eager to engage the American, Broke issued a cha llenge to Lawrence to meet him in battle. This proved unnecessary as Chesapeake emerged from the harbor on June 1. Possessing a larger, but greener crew, Lawrence sought to continue the US Navys streak of victories. Opening fire, the two ships battered each other before coming together. Ordering his men to prepare to board Shannon, Lawrence was mortally wounded. Falling, his last words were reputedly, Dont give up the Ship! Fight her till she sinks. Despite this encouragement, the raw American sailors were quickly overwhelmed by Shannons crew and Chesapeake was soon captured. Taken to Halifax, it was repaired and saw service in the Royal Navy until being sold in 1820. We Have Met the Enemy... As American naval fortunes were turning at sea, a naval building race was underway on the shores of Lake Erie. In an attempt to regain naval superiority on the lake, the US Navy began construction of two 20-gun brigs at Presque Isle, PA (Erie, PA). In March 1813, the new commander of American naval forces on Lake Erie, Master Commandant Oliver H. Perry, arrived at Presque Isle. Assessing his command, he found that there was a general shortage of supplies and men. While diligently overseeing the construction of the two brigs, named USS Lawrence and USS Niagara, Perry traveled to Lake Ontario in May 1813, to secure additional seamen from Chauncey. While there, he collected several gunboats for use on Lake Erie. Departing from Black Rock, he was nearly intercepted by the new British commander on Lake Erie, Commander Robert H. Barclay. A veteran of Trafalgar, Barclay had arrived at the British base of Amherstburg, Ontario on June 10. Though both sides were hampered by supply issues they worked through the summer to complete their fleets with Perry finishing his two brigs and Barclay commissioning the 19-gun ship HMS Detroit. Having gained naval superiority, Perry was able to cut the British supply lines to Amherstburg forcing Barclay to seek battle. Departing Put-in-Bay on September 10, Perry maneuvered to engage the British squadron. Commanding from Lawrence, Perry flew a large battle flag emblazoned with his friends dying command, Dont Give Up the Ship! In the resulting Battle of Lake Erie, Perry won a stunning victory that saw bitter fighting and the American commander compelled to switch ships midway through the engagement. Capturing the entire British squadron, Perry sent a brief dispatch to Harrison announcing, We have met the enemy and they are ours. 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned Victory in the Northwest As Perry was constructing his fleet through the first part of 1813, Harrison was on the defensive in western Ohio. Constructing a major base at Fort Meigs, he repelled an attack led by Major General Henry Proctor and Tecumseh in May. A second attack was turned back in July as well as one against Fort Stephenson (August 1). Building his army, Harrison was ready to go on the offensive in September following Perrys victory on the lake. Moving forward with his Army of the Northwest, Harrison sent 1,000 mounted troops overland to Detroit while the bulk of his infantry was transported there by Perrys fleet. Recognizing the danger of his situation, Proctor abandoned Detroit, Fort Malden, and Amherstburg and began retreating east (Map). Retaking Detroit, Harrison began pursuing the retreating British. With Tecumseh arguing against falling back, Proctor finally turned to make a stand along the Thames River near Moraviantown. Approaching on October 5, Harrison assaulted Proctors position during the Battle of the Thames. In the fighting, the British position was shattered and Tecumseh killed. Overwhelmed, Proctor and a few of his men fled while the majority were captured by Harrisons army. One of the few clear cut American victories of the conflict, the Battle of the Thames effectively won the war in the Northwest for the United States. With Tecumseh dead, the threat of Native American attacks subsided and Harrison concluded an armistice with several tribes at Detroit. Burning a Capital In preparation for the main American push at Lake Ontario, Major General Henry Dearborn was ordered to position 3,000 men at Buffalo for a strike against Forts Erie and George as well as 4,000 men at Sackets Harbor. This second force was to attack Kingston at the upper outlet of the lake. Success on both fronts would sever the lake from Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River. At Sackets Harbor, Chauncey had rapidly constructed a fleet that had wrested naval superiority away from his British counterpart, Captain Sir James Yeo. The two naval officers would conduct a building war for the remainder of the conflict. Though several naval engagements were fought, neither was willing to risk their fleet in a decisive action. Meeting at Sackets Harbor, Dearborn and Chauncey began to have misgivings about the Kingston operation despite the fact that the objective was only thirty miles away. While Chauncey fretted about possible ice around Kingston, Dearborn was concerned about the size of the Br itish garrison. Instead of striking at Kingston, the two commanders instead elected to conduct a raid against York, Ontario (present-day Toronto). Though of minimal strategic value, York was the capital of Upper Canada and Chauncey had intelligence that two brigs were under construction there. Departing on April 25, Chaunceys ships carried Dearborns troops across the lake to York. Under the direct control of Brigadier General Zebulon Pike, these troops landed on April 27. Opposed by forces under Major General Roger Sheaffe, Pike succeeded in taking the town after a sharp fight. As the British retreated, they detonated their powder magazine killing numerous Americans including Pike. In the wake of the fighting, American troops began looting the town and burned the Parliament Building. After occupying the town for a week, Chauncey and Dearborn withdrew. While a victory, the attack on York did little to alter the strategic outlook on the lake and behavior of the American forces would influence British actions the following year. Triumph and Defeat Along the Niagara Following the York operation, Secretary of War John Armstrong chastised Dearborn for failing to accomplish anything of strategic value and blamed him for Pikes death. In response, Dearborn and Chauncey began shifting troops south for an assault on Fort George in late May. Alerted to this fact, Yeo and the Governor General of Canada, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, made immediate plans to attack Sackets Harbor while American forces were occupied along the Niagara. Departing Kingston, they landed outside of the town on May 29 and moved to destroy the shipyard and Fort Tompkins. These operations were quickly disrupted by a mixed regular and militia force led by Brigadier General Jacob Brown of the New York militia. Surrounding the British beachhead, his men poured heavy fire into Prevosts troops and compelled them to withdraw. For his part in the defense, Brown was offered a brigadier generals commission in the regular army. At the other end of the lake, Dearborn and Chauncey moved forward with their attack on Fort George. Again delegating operational command, this time to Colonel Winfield Scott, Dearborn watched as American troops conducted an early morning amphibious assault on May 27. This was supported by a force of dragoons crossing the Niagara River upstream at Queenston which was tasked with cutting off the British line of retreat to Fort Erie. Clashing with Brigadier General John Vincents troops outside of the fort, the Americans succeeded in driving off the British with the aid of naval gunfire support from Chaunceys ships. Forced to surrender the fort and with the route south blocked, Vincent abandoned his posts on the Canadian side of the river and retreated west. As a result, American troops crossed the river and occupied Fort Erie (Map). 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned Having lost the dynamic Scott to a broken collarbone, Dearborn ordered Brigadier Generals William Winder and John Chandler west to pursue Vincent. Political appointees, neither possessed significant military experience. On June 5/6, Vincent counterattacked at the Battle of Stoney Creek and succeeded in capturing both generals. On the lake, Chaunceys fleet had departed for Sackets Harbor only to be replaced by Yeos. Threatened from the lake, Dearborn lost his nerve and ordered a withdrawal to a perimeter around Fort George. The situation worsened on June 24, when an American force under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Boerstler was crushed at the Battle of Beaver Dams. For his weak performance, Dearborn was recalled on July 6 and replaced with Major General James Wilkinson. Failure on the St. Lawrence Generally disliked by most officers in US Army for his prewar intrigues in Louisiana, Wilkinson was instructed by Armstrong to strike at Kingston before moving down the St. Lawrence. In doing so he was to link up with forces advancing north from Lake Champlain under Major General Wade Hampton. This combined force would in turn attack Montreal. After stripping the Niagara frontier of most of its troops, Wilkinson prepared to move out. Finding that Yeo had concentrated his fleet at Kingston, he decided to make only a feint in that direction before advancing down the river. To the east, Hampton began moving north toward the border. His advance was hampered by the recent loss of naval superiority on Lake Champlain. This forced him to swing west to the headwaters of the Chateauguay River. Moving downstream, he crossed the border with around 4,200 men after the New York militia refused to leave the country. Opposing Hampton was Lieutenant Colonel Charles de Salaberry who possessed a mixed force of around 1,500 men. Occupying a strong position approximately fifteen miles below the St. Lawrence, de Salaberrys men fortified their line and waited for the Americans. Arriving on October 25, Hampton surveyed the British position and attempted to flank it. In a minor engagement known as the Battle of the Chateauguay, these efforts were repulsed. Believing the British force to be larger than it was, Hampton broke off the action and returned south. Moving forward, Wilkinsons 8,000-men force left Sackets Harbor on October 17. In poor health and taking heavy doses of laudanum, Wilkinson pushed downstream with Brown leading his vanguard. His force was pursued by an 800-man British force led by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Morrison. Tasked with delaying Wilkinson so additional troops could reach Montreal, Morrison proved an effective annoyance to the Americans. Tired of Morrison, Wilkinson dispatched 2,000 men under Brigadier General John Boyd to attack the British. Striking on November 11, they assaulted the British lines at the Battle of Cryslers Farm. Repulsed, Boyds men were soon counterattacked and driven from the field. Despite this defeat, Wilkinson pressed on toward Montreal. Reaching the mouth of the Salmon River and having learned that Hampton had retreated, Wilkinson abandoned the campaign, re-crossed the river, and went into winter quarters at French Mills, NY. The winter saw Wilkinson and Hampton exchange letters with Arm strong over who was to blame for the campaigns failure. A Dismal End As the American thrust towards Montreal was coming to an end, the situation on the Niagara frontier reached a crisis. Stripped of troops for Wilkinsons expedition, Brigadier General George McClure decided to abandon Fort George in early December after learning that Lieutenant General George Drummond was approaching with British troops. Retiring across the river to Fort Niagara, his men burned the village of Newark, ON before departing. Moving into Fort George, Drummond began preparations to assault Fort Niagara. This moved forward on December 19 when his forces overwhelmed the forts small garrison. Outraged over the burning of Newark, British troops moved south and razed Black Rock and Buffalo on December 30. While 1813 had started with great hope and promise for the Americans, the campaigns on the Niagara and St. Lawrence frontiers met with failure similar to those of the year before. As in 1812, the smaller British forces had proved adept campaigners and the Canadians showed a willingness to fight to protect their homes rather than throw off the yoke of British rule. Only in the Northwest and Lake Erie did American forces achieve an undisputed victory. While the triumphs of Perry and Harrison helped bolster national morale, they occurred in arguably the least important theater of the war as victory on Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence would have caused British forces around Lake Erie to whither on the vine. Forced to endure another long winter, the American public was subjected to a tightening blockade and the threat of increased British strength in the spring as the Napoleonic Wars neared an end. 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned

Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Security - Research Paper Example aper will explore the scope of security, responsibilities of a security director, necessary skills for the position, importance of business environment to security operations and the scope security operations in an organization. The general scope of roles of the security in an organization is the protection of organization’s properties. This covers the organization’s internal and external environments. Security ensures safety of property, conducts investigations, administration and management roles. One of the roles of security is to apprehend and enforce immediate discipline on any person found to have breached security measures in the organization. Some of the involved cases in this scope are theft and destruction of property and security devices (Sennewald, 2011). Security department also vets new employees to ascertain their potential to threaten the organization’s security. This role investigates historical code of conduct of selected employees to ascertain their past criminal records. It therefore advises the management on decisions that affect security of the organization’s assets (Sennewald, 2011). Security department is also the custodian of all the access points within an organization monitoring and ensuring safety of property. It keeps copies of keys to secured areas and manages access points into the organization such as gates, doors, and safes. Another role of the security department involves provision of safe dispatch and reception of sensitive documents and assets such as money by offering escorts to and from the organization. This protects the organization’s assets from burglary while on transit. Finally, the security plays a crucial role in maintaining security confidence within an organization. The presence of security personnel in patrols promotes psychological stability for favorable interactive environment for internal operations of the organization and relations with outsiders such as customers (Sennewald, 2011). A security

Flier Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Flier Analysis - Essay Example It is estimated that the average college freshman will gain 15 pounds in their first year of college. This statistic has not gone unnoticed and has gained a reputation as the Freshman-15. While diet has an enormous influence on weight gain, our program will dedicate itself to exercise. Health experts, nutritionists, and physical trainers all agree that diet and exercise are the two most important ingredients to controlling weight gain and maintaining physical health. The components of a healthy diet have been addressed by the various agencies that are assigned to keep our food safe. Fast food restaurants have been pro-active in the reduction of fat, carbohydrates, and trans-fats from their menus. The second component, exercise, has been addressed to a lesser extent and may be easier to promote given our situation. It is from this angle that we have offered the Anti-Freshman 15 Sports Club, an exercise program that is casual, informal, and fun. To promote our Anti-Freshman 15 Sports Club we have developed a flier to be placed strategically around the campus to gain attention to our program and generate interest among the student body. It is designed to be placed on bulletin boards or places where students may congregate. The one page design has been implemented to be used as an inexpensive take-away item to be passed around or used for future reference. The color scheme is meant to attract attention, while the softness of the hue is non-threatening and easy to read. In keeping with the color scheme, the design is gender nuetral and the club is not limited to male or female. This will attract as many students as possible and advocate the program to a wide range of student demographics. While the sports club is called the Anti-Freshman 15 Sports Club, it is for all students or interested campus personnel. The audience may be a freshman who is concerned about

Boston Chicken Case Essay Example for Free

Boston Chicken Case Essay Boston Chicken implemented a franchising strategy that differed from most other franchising companies at the time. Boston Chicken focused its expansion through franchising the company through large regional developers rather than selling store franchises to a large number of small franchisees. In that, an established network of 22 regional franchises that targeted their operations in the 60 largest U.S. metropolitan markets and in order to do so, the franchisee would have been an independent experienced businessman with vast financial resources and would be responsible for opening 50 – 100 stored in the region. Boston Chicken focused on widespread continuous expansion of its operations to become to developed across the board food chain. Scouting for real estate assured the highest standards for developing properties and was critical to the company’s future success. To assist in future growth of the franchises, Boston Chicken implemented a communications infrastructure, which provided a supporting link for communication between its networks of stores. In addition in efforts to improve operating efficiency, the company locked in low rates from its suppliers and developed flagship stores, which did most of the initial food preparation which inadvertently reduced employee training costs. Many of these regional developers were given a revolving credit line to help support expansion. This type of financing came with credit risk while the franchises average revenue from operations were not sufficient enough to cover the expenses which raises doubt for the repayment of such loans. 2. The accounting policy of reporting the franchise fees from Boston Chicken’s area developers as revenue seemed most controversial. These franchise fees, which accounted for more than 50% of total revenue, did not represent revenues from operations. Also, the source of most of the ranchise fees came from the financing provided by Boston Chicken, the franchiser, where the money coming in was the same money that was going out. This overstated earnings of the company. Since the debentures can be converted into shares of common stock, most of the revenue from franchise fees should have been deferred. Reporting revenues that included these franchise fees his the fact the most of the franchised stores were operating at a loss, which provided a false impression to investors. While Boston Chicken, the franchiser reported a net income from operations of $24,611 in 1994, if they excluded the income provided by franchise fees, they company-operated stores would have been operating at a loss, which would have been a more accurate picture for the company’s operations and its question of having a profitable future. 3. Boston Chicken, the franchiser, reports revenue based on franchise fees (includes royalties, initial franchise development costs, interest income from area developer financing, lease income, software fees, and other related franchise fees), and company operated stores. The revenue reported on the income statement does not reflect the operating income or losses generated by the area developers, with most of these area developers operating at a loss. Since the franchiser provides financing to the area developers, it seems that consolidation of the financial statements would provide vital information to the users of the financial statements especially since the repayment of loans relies heavily on the profitability of the franchisees. Basically, Boston Chicken was not reporting the results of operations from its area developers because Boston Chicken did not have an equity position in these firms; rather their stake in these franchises was reported as debt financing. In doing so, Boston Chicken did not have to report the losses that were incurred in these operations. By manipulating the financial statements, the company gave a false impression on its future prospects of the company, allowing them to more freely raise capital through the issuance of common stock, and inadvertently inflating tock prices.

Lithuanian Economy Essay -- Economy, Low Cost Transactions

Introduction In my research project I will be talking about the history of Lithuanian economy and how it had changed since the country became independent and took a place as a member of a European Union. In my work you will be able to see different points of view of being a citizen of the EU and the problems the countries are facing to get this membership. Lithuania’s membership in the European Union would be impossible without the public assent and support. This support was made most explicit during the referendum on the membership in the European Union on 10-11 May 2003, when 91.07% of those participating (the turnout was 63.37%) approved of Lithuania’s accession to the EU. (Euro 2007) The Lithuanian economy has reached high growth rates in the last decade as it entered the European Union together with other Baltic states. The government went in for a flat tax; the unemployment rates were fairly low until a recent recession began. Lithuania has been changing over from the communist planned economy in the Soviet Union since; it got independence that is 1990. Although Lithuania suffered a lot from U.S.S.R. it still kept a good relationship and nowadays Russia is one of the main traders with Lithuania. However, it faced its own economic and financial crisis in 1999, partly due to the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Since then Lithuania had changed its views towards the European Union; it became a member of EU on 1st May 2004. (Wikipedia, 2009) According to the survey of market participants in January and February 2004, the Lithuanian economy grew rapidly. The financial situation of Lithuanian companies improved and the costs of borrowing declined in 2003. At that time GDP in Lithuania reached over 10%. Economic growt... ...e accurate. As I was doing some research for this project I found that the government did this kind of survey in Lithuania, to find out what was general public opinion before Lithuania became EU member. In 2003 over 91% did the survey and almost 64% agreed with Lithuania going for EU membership. The same survey was repeated few years later. What did not surprise me was that people opinion changed after accession to EU. In the survey done in 2008 over 75% of the Lithuanians agreed that Lithuania has benefited from EU membership. In my research plan I would like to do this kind of questionnaire where I could see how the people agree and disagree with membership of EU. I would question them on their perceptions of how membership has affected their country. Also what changes they would like to see especially in areas, which they see as problematic.

Corporate Evaluation Analysis – Avon Products

Table of Contents I. Company History†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Pg. 3 II. Recent News†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Pg. 5 III. Industry Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Pg. 8 IV. SWOT Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Pg. 15 V. Value Line Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Pg. 15 VI. Ratio Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Pg. 18 VII. Regression & Descriptive Statistics – Growth Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Pg. 20 VIII. Growth Analysis, Estimates for Earnings Employed in DDM, DDM including Discount Rate, and Other Assessments of Risk†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Pg. 23 IX. Other Valuation Parameters†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Pg. 26 X. Rule #1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Pg. 28 XI. Conclusions/Final Stock Judgment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Pg. 31 XII. References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Pg. 33 XIII. Appendix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Pg. 35 I. Company History In general, Avon Products, Inc. is a U. S. cosmetics, perfume, jewelry, skin care, personal care and children’s products seller with markets in over 140 countries across the world and sales of $9. 9 billion worldwide. Avon Founder David H. McConnell offered women a rarity in 19th century America: a chance at financial independence. In 1886, it was practically unheard of for a woman to run her own business. Only about 5 million women in the United States were working outside the home, let alone climbing the ranks of any corporate ladder. That number accounted for just 20% of all women (Avon. com). The man behind the company for women was the son of Irish immigrants and grew up on a farm. Yet, it was this young man from rural New York, a visionary leader decades ahead of his time, who would become a pioneer in empowering women. McConnell, a bookseller-turned-perfume entrepreneur, would offer women the opportunity to create and manage their own businesses through what later became known as direct selling. David H. McConnell sold books door-to-door and gave out perfume to entice women to buy his books. His perfume proved to be much more popular than his books, so he then founded the California Perfume Company (CPC) in New York, New York. Mrs. P. F. E Albee, a 50-year old wife and mother of two, became the California Perfume Company’s first Representative. The legendary Mrs. Albee is still considered a role model for Avon Representatives today and is credited with creating the company’s system for distributing products. The California Perfume Company was incorporated on January 28, 1916 by David H. McConnell and Alexander D. Henderson (businessman) in Suffern, New York. By 1918, five million units were sold in North America, and by 1928, sales reached $2 million. In October 1939, the name was changed to Avon Products, Inc; McConnell had visited Stratford-Upon-Avon (UK) and had liked the town so much, that he renamed his company after it. The company was taken public in 1946 with OTC stock. By 1954, sales reached $55 million, and the â€Å"Avon Calling† advertising campaign was introduced, making it one of the largest and most successful advertising campaigns in history (Avon. com). In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Avon was one of Wall Street’s favorite â€Å"Nifty Fifty† stocks, a group of well-regarded, â€Å"buy and hold† blue chips that also included Xerox, Disney, and McDonald’s. These stocks helped drive the bull market of the early 1970s in the U. S. , with Avon’s stock soaring to $140. The Nifty Fifty bubble later bursts, sending U. S. stocks plunging. Avon was listed on the NYSE as AVP in 1964. By 1979, sales reached $3 billion, with one million direct sales agents. Today sales exceed $10 billion worldwide. In June 1989, Avon became the first major cosmetic company to announce a permanent end to animal testing on all Avon-manufactured products. Avon does not conduct animal testing on any of its products or raw ingredients and does not require that suppliers of raw ingredients and finished products produced for Avon conduct animal testing on our behalf. In addition to its corporate pursuits, the Avon corporation is involved in philanthropic causes. The Avon Foundation for Women, an accredited 501(c)(3) public charity, is the largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy for women in the world. Avon has been committed to helping women achieve their highest potential of economic opportunity and self-fulfillment by empowering them through scholarships and support for other forms of educational and occupational training and advancement. The Avon Foundation is currently focused on two key causes: breast cancer and domestic violence. Through 2009, Avon global philanthropy raised and donated more than $725 million worldwide for causes most important to women. Since 1992 in more than 50 countries around the globe, millions of dedicated Avon Representatives have sold special Avon cause products, raising almost $150 million to end breast cancer and domestic violence and to help in times of global emergencies. In 1999, the first woman CEO was named: Andrea Jung. In 2003, â€Å"mark. â€Å", which is targeted to younger, college-aged women, was created to help the company reach out into markets it had not previously serviced. mark. as proven to be successful in reaching a new generation of recruits, primarily young women ages 18–25, with a monthly â€Å"magalog† featuring its products. In 2008, reality star Lauren Conrad became a spokesmodel for the brand. Conrad also designed clothing and accessories for the brand. In 2010, actress Ashley Greene would replace Conrad as the spokes model for the brand. T hroughout the first decade of the new millennium, Avon began operating in numerous new markets, with heavy expansion in Central and Eastern Europe and the Caribbean Islands. Avon is now in more than 100 markets and is coined to be â€Å"the company for women†. II. Recent News AVP has a market cap of $11. 43B, operating cash flow of $702M, and consistent quarterly dividends around $0. 22 per share, making AVP a leader in personal products globally (Investment Underground). Given AVP’s positioning in the personal products industry, Avon could be a prime takeover candidate for competitors such as The Estee Lauder Company (EL) or French conglomerate L'Oreal SA (LRLCY. PK) looking to expand their reach into the direct sales portion of the personal products market. Because AVP currently has one of the lowest operating margins in the sector (11. 0%), competitors such as EL could view AVP as an attractive investment in hopes of increasing profitability. In turbulent times, people turn inward. The argument for large cap consumer staple companies is that they are familiar names that offer the necessities of daily life. Barron’s Magazine presents a list of ten companies that fit this argument. The underlying thesis is that these ten com panies offer cash flow, dividends and predictable growth. This list includes: Avon Products (AVP), Campbell Soup (CPB), Clorox (CLX), Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), General Mills (GIS), Kellogg (K), Molson Coors Brewing (TAP), PepsiCo (PEP), and Proctor & Gamble (PG). Are these companies really good investments for today? |Ticker |Company |Recent |Price Chg. |Dividend |EV/EBITDA |EV/SALES | | | |Price |52W |Yield | | | |AVP |Avon Products, Inc. |26. 59 |-19. 00 |3. 50 |15. 03 |1. 31 | |CPB |Campbell Soup Company |33. 50 |-4. 00 |3. 50 |13. 01 |1. 9 | |CLX |Clorox Company, The |68. 81 |7. 00 |3. 20 |17. 46 |2. 39 | |CCE |Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. |25. 81 |-5. 00 |1. 90 |16. 15 |1. 79 | |CL |Colgate-Palmolive Company |76. 95 |-9. 00 |3. 00 |12. 23 |2. 70 | |GIS |General Mills, Inc. |36. 65 |0. 00 |3. 10 |14. 90 |2. 24 | |K |Kellogg Company |54. 17 |3. 00 |3. 00 |15. 49 |2. 18 | |TAP |Molson Coors Brewing Company |43. 5 |0. 00 |2. 60 |12. 87 |3. 20 | |PEP |PepsiCo, Inc. |63. 24 |-5. 00 |3. 00 |15. 58 |2. 25 | |PG |Procter & Gamble Company, The |60. 60 |-5. 00 |3. 20 |15. 05 |2. 78 | The first item that can be noticed from the above chart is that t hese companies underperformed the S 500 significantly during the past twelve months (Sommer). This lag is not indicative of a turning point. The poor performance reflects high unemployment and consumer uncertainty. The consumer is being more selective in its discretionary spending and seeking alternate, cheaper products. The market seems to reflect this understanding. The high dividend yields provide a measure of support to these stock prices but they also reflect the lack of price appreciation. | Ticker |Company |EPS TTM |2011 EPS |2012 EPS |FCF TTM |Payout Ratio| | | | |(Est. ) |(Est. ) | | | |AVP |Avon Products, Inc. |2. 28 |2. 01 |2. 26 |-0. 03 |38. 0 | |CPB |Campbell Soup Company |2. 36 |2. 43 |2. 53 |1. 15 |47. 50 | |CLX |Clorox Company, The |5. 25 |3. 94 |4. 43 |2. 00 |41. 00 | |CCE |Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. |2. 05 |2. 04 |2. 26 |1. 44 |5. 90 | |CL |Colgate-Palmolive Company |4. 46 |5. 05 |5. 50 |2. 98 |45. 50 | |GIS |General Mills, Inc. |2. 51 |2. 48 |2. 68 |0. 60 |41. 80 | |K |Kellogg Company |5. 6 |3. 47 |3. 78 |-0. 17 |30. 20 | |TAP |Molson Coors Brewing Company |3. 81 |3. 78 |4. 04 |1. 98 |28. 30 | |PEP |PepsiCo, Inc. |3. 97 |4. 48 |4. 90 |3. 21 |47. 60 | |PG |Procter & Gamble Com pany, The |3. 84 |3. 97 |4. 36 |3. 43 |49. 00 | Each of these companies reports solid earnings over that past twelve month period. Consensus analyst estimates for both the current year and next year are less impressive. We believe the estimates reflect expectations for continued weakness from stressed consumers† (Sommers). These companies are all overpriced and have no catalyst for change. The assumption that investors can find safety by identifying sectors or themes is a dangerous one. Avon recorded feeble operating performance in the fourth quarter of 2010. The company's earnings per share plunged 13. 2% to $0. 59 from $0. 68 per share in the year-ago period. The decline was principally due to reduction in operating margin, which resulted from unfavorable product mix, rising commodity cost and a 27% sales decline in Venezuela (Zachs). Moreover, Avon ended fiscal 2010 with a long-term debt of $2,408. 6 million, reflecting a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 59%, which is substantially higher, and could negatively influence the company's credit worthiness and make it more vulnerable to the macro-economic factors and competitive pressures. Additionally, the North American market continues to remain sluggish with volume falling 14. 0% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Moreover, the company's initiatives to change the product mix and reposition the business in the U. S. arket will require significant expenditure to support increased advertising and promotional activities. This is likely to undermine Avon’s overall operating performance, moving forward. Besides, the company is expecting a mid single-digit revenue growth in fiscal 2011, which can be achieved through strong field programs coupled with an innovative. As well, call it luck; on November 08, 2010, Avon sold out its entire ownership interest (74. 67%) in Avo n Japan to TPG Capital, otherwise the scenario could have been worse for the company due to the recent crisis in Japan product pipeline (Zachs). Pulling out of the Japanese market was part of the company's 2010 decision to redouble its efforts in China. It announced the sale of its 75% stake in Avon Japan to private equity firm TPG for $90 million in late 2010. The move also was part of the beauty-products maker's plan to refocus on direct sales. (The Japanese unit typically generated more than half its revenues through direct mail. ) III. Industry Analysis (Personal Products – Cosmetics & Toiletries) Because of the wide arrange of products Avon offers, it is quite difficult to pin point one single industry. Thus, going by their primary selling products, Avon fits most accurately into the Personal Products and Cosmetics & Toiletries industries. Companies that manufacture and/or market personal care products produce cosmetics, fragrances, and razors. The personal care products industry targets many faces – from chubby newborns to 40-something near-goddesses to those newly retired and dreaming of a beachfront condo. While companies in this sector would like to cater to everyone, the industry has found potential in both the Baby Boomers and their children — the teens and ‘tweens. Called Gen Y, Boomer's teens offer an estimated $9 billion in purchasing power (Hoover’s). Leaving no demographic untouched, personal care products makers also are expanding their target markets across gender lines, marketing everything from cosmetics to hair care to men and teen boys, as well as women. With more US consumers reaching the age of 55 (33% by 2030), the industry has targeted this more-vain-than-not age segment and has logged revenue growth in skin care and hair coloring products throughout the past few years as a result. On the other end of the spectrum, the teen girl population age 12 to 19 grew from 14. 3 million in 1995 to 15. 2 million in the US in 2001 (Hoover’s). Industry beauty companies, such as Avon Products, are targeting this demographic with lifestyle brands the likes of Avon's Mark. While women have historically been a target market — primarily because women are the likely shoppers — the buying power of males is not ignored by the personal care industry. In fact, the group's buying power is eagerly sought after. Industry giants are tapping into the revenue potential of personal care products made specifically for men, illustrated by Procter & Gamble's acquisition of Gillette in October 2005 for some $57 billion (Hoover’s). Gillette represents more than razors. In the eyes of the industry, Gillette is the king of marketing to men. As the top marketer to women, Procter & Gamble has counted on its purchase of Gillette to give it the keys to the castle and enable it to become the voice to men, as well. Men offer revenue potential beyond Gillette's Mach3 and Colgate-Palmolive's Mennen brand. A Newsweek magazine poll conducted in mid-2003 revealed that more than half of men age 35 to 55 are â€Å"somewhat† satisfied with their overall appearance. This percentage reflects an increase for this age segment since Newsweek's last poll in 1996. Companies have begun educating men on the topics of sunscreen, lotions, nail care, hair color, and more. Along the way, the personal care industry has been piquing the interest of the male customer and introducing him to the profitable skin care market, as Estee Lauder has with its Aramis and Clinique brands and Beiersdorf has with its Daily Protective lotion (formerly NIVEA for Men). This trend still extends into 2008. Regardless of gender or age, customers access personal care products through a variety of venues, including grocery stores, drugstores, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, specialty retailers, and online e-tailers. Reports about personal care products sales for grocery stores and drugstores are usually prefaced with the phrase, â€Å"excluding Wal-Mart. † (Fidelity) This is a reminder that Wal-Mart Stores, as well as some warehouse clubs, present something of a wildcard to the industry. Outside the brick and mortar, personal care products makers have a polished business model for using direct-selling methods to reach target markets. Cosmetics companies have gained sales advantages — with little or no overhead — by letting their customers sample products at home parties. Direct sellers, such as Avon Products, Mary Kay, and Amway, have long relied on this concept. UK-based natural personal care retailer The Body Shop has tested the US waters by selling through independent consultants and continues to sell in the US after seeing positive results. No matter where a company in the personal care products industry identifies its untapped growth potential — be it in the teenage girls or mid-life males markets — a few of the same factors apply. Staying competitive means implementing innovation fueled by billions of dollars in R&D and a strategy of quick-to-market products. Reaching far and reaching fast are significant parts of the battle. However, expanding as wide as the tentacles of Wal-Mart and maintaining brand recognition and loyalty in a sea of private labels may prove to be the ultimate challenges. Fidelity) [pic] Competitors: Avon faces competition from a variety of products and product lines both nationally and globally. The beauty and beauty-related products industry is extremely competitive and the number of competitors and degree of competition in this industry varies extensively from country to country. Globally, Avon competes against products sold to consumers by other direct-selling and direct-sales co mpanies and through the Internet and against products sold through the mass market and prestige retail channels. The major competitors of the company are L'Oreal SA (LRLCY. PK) and Revlon Inc. (NYSE: REV). Competition from mass merchandisers and specialty and department stores has spurred Avon to not only spend many millions on R&D but set aside just as much — $100 million — to support the launch of a global ad campaign. Avon anticipates driving additional growth based on fragrances (Today, Tomorrow, Always) and skin care (Anew anti-aging) sales. To that end, it signed on award-winning singer Fergie to develop a signature fragrance, which was unveiled in 2010. Previous partnerships have involved French designer Emanuel Ungaro for two fragrances (U by Ungaro for Her and U by Ungaro for Him) and the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter for â€Å"Driven† men's fragrance and a personal grooming line of products. (Yahoo! Finance) [pic] Revlon (REV) is engaged in the production, marketing and selling of an array of cosmetics, hair color, beauty tools, anti-perspirants/deodorants, fragrances, skincare and other beauty care products. The company primarily operates in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. It is headquartered in New York City, New York and employs 4,800 people. Revlon's global brand name, product quality and marketing experience have enabled it to create one of the strongest consumer brand franchises in the world. Revlon’s brand equity among the consumers enabled the company to garner 12. 7% of the US mass retail color cosmetics market; 9. 7% of the hair color market; 4. 6% of the perspirants/deodorants market; and 21% of the beauty tools market, during 2009 (Revlon). Strong brand image of the company facilitates customer recall and allows Revlon to penetrate new markets as well as consolidate its presence in the existing ones. The company recorded revenues of $1,295. 9 million during the financial year ended December 2009 (FY2009), a decrease of 3. 8% as compared to 2008. The decline in revenues was driven by lower net sales of Revlon and Almay color cosmetics and some of the other beauty care products. The operating profit of the company was $170. 8 million in FY2009, an increase of 10. 2% over 2008. The net profit was $48. 8 million in FY2009, a decrease of 15. 7% as compared to 2008 (Revlon). L'Oreal (LRLCY. PK) is one of the largest cosmetic companies in the world. It produces and markets a range of make-up, perfume, hair and skin care products in over 130 countries. It is headquartered in Clichy, France and employs 64,600 people. Since its inception about 100 years ago, the company has developed a strong brand portfolio of 23 international brands. The company's products are sold under well-known brands such as L'Oreal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline, SoftSheen Carson, CCB Paris, L'Oreal Professional, Kerastase, Redken, Matrix, Mizani, Lancome, Biotherm, Helena Rubinstein, Kiehl's, Shu Uemura,and Giorgio Armani. These brands are available through a range of distribution channels ranging from mass market, to selective distribution including hair salons, pharmacies/drugstores and a network of directly owned stores and franchises. Strong brand portfolio lends better visibility and presence in all distribution channels and enables L’Oreal to reach a large customer base, thereby increasing its market penetration opportunities. L'Oreal operates through three business divisions: cosmetics, the Body Shop, and dermatology. The Body Shop division operates a chain of 2,550 stores in 63 countries worldwide specializing in skin and hair care products made from natural ingredients. The company recorded revenues of E17,472. 6 million ($24,367. 8 million) during the financial year ended December 2009 (FY2009), a decrease of 0. 4% compared with 2008. The operating profit of the company was E2,577. 6 million ($3,594. 8 million) in FY2009, a decrease of 5. 4% compared with 2008. The net profit was E1,792. 2 million ($2,499. 5 million) in FY2009, a decrease of 8% compared with 2008 (L’oreal). (Fidelity) [pic] IV. SWOT Strengths |Weaknesses | | | | |Diverse geographic presence enhances |Chinese operations marred with controversy | |scale of operations and mitigates local market risks |and poor performance | | | | |Low cost business model of direct selling |Lack of clear-focus and strategy for non-beauty products | | | | |Strong brand equity |Declining operating margins | |Opportunities |Threats | | | | |Restructuring initiatives for organizational Competitive environment in the global | |Effectiveness |cosmetics industry | | | | |Re-branding strategy to drive consumer |Company’s revenues tied to the | |Demand |performance of the sales representatives | | | | |Emerging markets enhances the scope of |A diversified global operation exposes Avon to currency fluctuation | |growth for the Avon’s value cosmetic |risks | |products | | V. Value Line Analysis On December 24, 2010, Jerome H. Kaplan, a Value Line analyst, points out that investors are not thrilled about Avon’s mediocre progress. The company’s stock price has declined in the last three months. Avon continues to struggle a bit in the U. S. and Chinese markets as is reflected in September-quarter earnings, as well as deteriorating growth in the vital markets of Brazil and Russia. Kaplan states, â€Å"Long-term emerging market-oriented investors should consider this untimely stock. Avon could be viewed as the equivalent of a diversified portfolio in fast-growing regions, such as Latin America, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. (Value Line) Improves margins, profits, and share price will most likely be a result of the growth of these markets by 2013-2015, in addition to savings of over one billion dollars by 2012-2013 from programs reducing Avon’s cost structure. When looking at the Value Line, we notice a Safety rating of 3. A Safet y rating is another way to measure the company’s risk or financial strength. It is measured from 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest and best rating indicating the company has a less likely chance of becoming bankrupt and are less volatile. In Avon’s case, a 3 may be interpreted as being unpredictable. If the score is lowered to a 4 or 5, the greater the short-term price movements the stock may experience. Safety ranks work better than Beta when there is a break in the market (when the market is going down). Arguably the most important investment recommendation found on Value Line is the Timeliness rating. The scale is also from 1 to 5 with again 1 being the most desirable rating which reflects the top 100 stocks within Value Line’s 1,700 stocks. Investors typically are encouraged to buy a portfolio of stocks across six or more industries with a ranking of 1 for Timeliness. After some time, investors are encouraged to keep an eye on this rating and when it falls to a 4 or 5 rating that stock should be sold, as is the case with Avon with a Timeliness rating of 4 (Money-Zine). With a financial strength of a B++, Avon is considered a company that would most likely survive a depression. This means the company has sufficient liquidity to payout their dividends or increase how much they give as dividends. When income is the primary consideration, a strong balance sheet provides greater assurance that a dividend can be maintained (Valueline). Proper financing ensures stockholders that operations can be expanded without having to disperse a portion of the earnings to bank or bondholders. The stock price stability (SPS) is the standard deviation of weekly stock prices over the last five years. It is ranked from 5 to 100 and in increments of 5. A ranking of 100 reflects the lowest standard deviation, which reflects the greatest stability attainable, while 5 indicated the largest standard deviation and the least stability. Price stability along with the company’s financial strength rating determines a stock’s Safety ranking. Avon has a price stability of 75 which puts them not too far from the top and would be considered to be on the lower side of good stability. The price growth persistency (PGP) of a stock is measured in the same format as the stock price stability. A stock that is 100 probably beat the index every year of the last 10 years. Avon’s PGP rating is 45, which is on the low side of average. This measurement rewards this fund for the consistency with which it outperforms the broader universe if equity offerings over an extended period of time. Earnings predictability for Avon is 65. This rating provides a measure of the reliability of an earnings forecast. Ratings with a 100 are noted as the â€Å"best fit† on the regression line, meaning they have a high consistency of earnings. Predictability is based upon the stability of year-to year comparisons, with recent years being weighted more heavily than earlier ones. Reliable forecasts are close to 100 and the least are close to lowest of 5. Being that Avon falls around the middle of these two extremes, it can be said that the company is somewhat reliable and other factors should be considered in conjunction. A stock's beta is a measure of a particular stock's price volatility and risk relative to a broader measure of stock price movements such as a market index (Money-Zine). Many stock beta calculations are performed relative to the S 500; however, the Value Line Beta calculation uses the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index. The most important fact to point out is that the beta measures a stock’s movement in price. If a stock has a beta of 1. 0 or above, which is the value of the market beta, it will experience more movement either up or down relative to the index. In comparison, a stock with a beta of less than 1. 0 is considered less risky and stable with smaller price fluctuations. According to Value Line, Avon has a beta of . 5 right under the market beta, which implies that this stock is not risky and will most likely not experience any drastic changes in its price. The Technical ranking of a stock is almost similar to that of its Timeliness ranking except for the fact th at the Technical ranking does not take into consideration earnings per share projections, only the opportunity for a stock’s price appreciation. With a Technical ranking of 2, Avon, according to Value Line, should be purchased since this rating indicates Avon has short-term capital gains, in the three to six month timeframe (Money-Zine). The plowback method is sometimes used to calculate a company’s earnings after dividends have been paid out. A high rate indicates that a company pays less in dividends and thus reinvests more of its earnings into the company. Investors tend to prefer a lower plowback ratio in a slow-growing company and a higher one in a fast-growing company. Whether or not this is desirable depends on the rate of growth. The plowback rate is calculated using the following formula: ROE x (1 – Payout Ratio (Dividends per share/Earnings per share)). Plugging in the Value Line figures for Avon the result is, . 492 x (1 – (. 84/1. 45)) = . 207 = 20. 7%. To calculate Avon’s free cash flow we need the following = per share earnings + cash flow from operations – required dividends – capital spending. Thus, 1. 45 + . 44 – . 84 – . 69 = $0. 36. VI. Ratio Analysis Profitability |12/31/2010 | |12/31/2009 | |12/31/2008 | |12/31/2007 | |Ratios | | | | | | | | |2006 |5. 5 |   |1. 75 |   |6. 26 |   |60. 28 | |2007 |5. 4 | |1. 81 | |7. 23 | |70. 67 | |2008 |8. 3 |   |1. 81 |   |8. 38 |   |125. 92 | |2009 |6. 1 | |1. 61 | |6. 4 | |64. 27 | |2010 |5. 9 |   |1. 48 |   |4. 74 |   |41. 4 | According to this DuPont Analysis for Avon, all three sectors show inconsistencies and overall fluctuations up and down. In 2008, the company is at its highest level but dramatically goes down in all sectors the year following and continues to decline. Overall, efficiency in all sectors are not very stable. The company has had its off and on days throughout the years without any trend or consistency. Avon needs to control their operations and cost efficiency more closely. VII. Regression & Descriptive Statistics – Growth Analysis Using the data figures for Avon provided through Value Line from 2002 to 2009, a descriptive analysis and linear regression were produced for SPS, Shares, EPS, CF, DIV, ROE, PE, BV, FCF, OM, RTC and NPM (Appendix). A more comprehensive analysis was done for EPS, FCF, PE, and ROE. Included in each financial variable analysis is the calculation of normalized data points for the 7th and 8th periods, which are years 2008 and 2009, respectively. Within this additional analysis the Current to Normalized (CNE) was also calculated, and each resulting figure was compared to the normal expected range of . 85 – 1. 15. In the last step of this additional analysis, growth rate and variability figures were also produced. *Please Note: the ROE figures for the years of 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2008 were noted as â€Å"NMF† on Value Line, thus the figures used in the analysis were calculated using the net income after tax from the income statement and the shareholder’s equity from the balance sheet. Looking at the summary of the results for these four financial variables in the chart given below, only the CNE of EPS, which is . 93 falls within the normal range of . 85 – 1. 15, which means that in the remaining three areas of FCF, PE, and ROE, Avon is operating below the expected and acceptable range. These below average results signify that the normalized points produced are not adequate enough to rely on to calculate appropriate growth rates. As can be seen also in the summary, there is a positive growth rate in both EPS and ROE, but negative in both FCF and PE. ROE may be at a significant high growth rate because of the out of norm results that were calculated for the years of 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2008 as mentioned above. In each of these particular years, shareholders equity was low in comparison to net income (negative in 2002) which resulted in abnormal figures Value Line did not wish to indicate. FCF has a negative growth rate since in 2005 it was at an unsustainable figure of 1. 07 and then drastically declined to . 34 the following year and even lower to . 25 in 2007. This drastic change coupled with another fluctuating high and low between 2008 and 2009 are factors for this negative growth rate. In relation, although not as drastic, for PE results more visibly decline in the last two periods of 2008 and 2009. |Avon Products, Inc Financial Variables Analysis | | | |EPS |ROE |FCF |PE | |Normalized 8th Period | |$1. 55 |$156. 38 |$0. 46 |$22. 18 | | | |   |   |   |   | |Normalized 7th Period | |$1. 51 |$121. 35 |$0. 52 |$22. 7 | | | |   |   |   |   | |Current to Normalized | |0. 93 |0. 31 |0. 79 |0. 84 | | | |   |   |   |   | |Growth Rate | |3. 09% |28. 87% |-12. 80% |-0. 88% | Another aspect of the descriptive and regression analysis that is important to point out are the R-squared and skewness. R-squared, also known as the coefficient of variation, is helpful in providing a measure of how well future outcomes are likely to be predicted by the model. The values for R-squared range from 0 to 1: the closer to 1 the results are, the better the â€Å"fit’ of the predicted values and the more realistic or reliable they are. R-squared can also be explained as the strength of the relationship between time and the variable. For all four financial variables, the R-squared figures range from . 01-. 25, which are indicative of weak relationships between time and each of these variables. None of the data points for these variables are strong measures of how well the regression line approximates the real data points. Skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of the probability distribution of a real-valued variable (Wikipedia. com). The results are usually either positive or negative, or in some instances undefined. A negative skew in characterized and having the mass distribution concentrated on the right of the figure or in most recent years and has relatively few low values. A positive skew has a mass distribution concentrated on the left o the figure or in earlier years and has relatively few high values. For both EPS and PE, the skewness is positive in contrast to ROE and FCF which are both negative. Growth for EPS and PE both took place in recent years while growth for ROE and FCF took place in earlier years. |Avon Products, Inc Financial Variables Analysis | | | |EPS |ROE |FCF |PE | |R-Squared | |0. 1041 |0. 2092 |0. 2527 |0. 101 | | | |   |   |   |   | |Skewness | |1. 0284 |-2. 5446 |-0. 3754 |0. 8432 | For the remaining financial variables, the same analysis was produced. Interestingly enough, the CNE for these variables fall within the normal expected range of . 85 – 1. 15, except for BV which is slightly over at 1. 18. These figures range from . 91 – 1. 04. The growth rates for DIV, CF, BV and SPS are positive, but are negative for Shares, OM, NPM and RTC. The negative growth rate of Shares means that the company is buying back their stock. For R-squared the only strong relationships between time and that variable were DIV at . 584, Shares at . 8963 and SPS at . 9632. The R-squares for BV and RTC are relatively moderate. Skewness for DIV, BV, OM and NPM are negative with growth occurring in earlier prior years and skewness for CF, Shares, SPS and RTC were positive with growth occurring in the latter years. |Avon Products, Inc Financial Variables Analysis | | | | | |EPS 2009 |1. 45 | | | | | |Growth Rate = |3. 9% | | | | | |Payout Ratio = |36% | | | | | |Discount Rate = |7. 10% | | | | |Avon Projections 2010-2019 | | |Period |Years |EPS |DIV |PV | |1 |2010 |1. 49 |0. 54 |$0. 50 | |2 |2011 |1. 54 |0. 55 |$0. 48 | |3 |2012 |1. 59 |0. 57 |$0. 47 | |4 |2013 |1. 64 |0. 59 |$0. 45 | |5 |2014 |1. 69 |0. 61 |$0. 3 | |6 |2015 |1. 74 |0. 63 |$0. 42 | |7 |2016 |1. 79 |0. 65 |$0. 40 | |8 |2017 |1. 85 |0. 67 |$0. 38 | |9 |2018 |1. 91 |0. 69 |$0. 37 | |10 |2019 |1. 97 |0. 71 |$0. 36 | |PV total of dividend payout for the next 10 years: |$4. 26 | Terminal Value The 2019 stock price calculated reflects the value of all future dividends or cash flows in perpetuity. In order to determine the 2019 stock price the following will be needed: Because when using the above process the discount rate is assumed and one of the biggest variables that may fluctuate and thus cause the result to differ, other methods should also be considered when doing a company stock price valuation. One other such popular method is the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) The main purpose of this model is to explain the relationship between risk and the expected return that a stock may yield and is used in the pricing of risky securities (Investopedia). The following formula is used in the calculation of CAPM: o CAPM = Rf + (a (Rm – Rf) Rf = Risk-free rate (Treasury bond rate) assumed at 5% o Rm = Expected market return assumed at 12% o (a = Beta of the security; from Avon’s Value Line beta is . 95 Thus, when using this CAPM formula to calculate the discount rate, the following result is returned: CAPM = . 05 + . 95 (. 12 â⠂¬â€œ . 05) = . 1165 = 11. 65% discount rate (Ke). This new discount rate of 11. 65% is now inputted into the dividends projections table done previously. The new table is shown below with a PV total of dividend payout for the next 10 years now at a reduced amount of $3. 45. The new terminal value also decreases to $16. 87 as well as the PV of this 2019 stock price to $5. 60. The stock remains overvalued with an intrinsic value of $9. 06 compared to the current price of $29. 22. The price-to-intrinsic is now 3. 23. |Variables used to determine PV total of dividend payout for the next 10 years: | | | |EPS 2009 |1. 45 | | | | | | |Growth Rate = |3. 09% | | | | | | |Payout Ratio = |36% | | | | | | |Discount Rate = |11. 5% | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Avon Projections 2010-2019 | | | | |Period |Years |EPS |DIV |PV | | | |2 |2011 |1. 54 |0. 55 |$0. 45 | | | |3 |2012 |1. 59 |0. 57 |$0. 41 | | | |4 |2013 |1. 64 |0. 59 |$0. 38 | | | |5 |2014 |1. 69 |0. 61 |$0. 35 | | | |6 |2015 |1. 4 |0. 63 |$0. 32 | | | |7 |2016 |1. 79 |0. 65 |$0. 30 | | | |8 |2017 |1. 85 |0. 67 |$0. 28 | | | |9 |2018 |1. 91 |0. 69 |$0. 25 | | | |10 |2019 |1. 97 |0. 71 |$0. 24 | | | |PV total of dividend payout for the next 10 years: |$3. 45 | | The only way that Avon stock would be considered undervalued would be at a discount rate of about 4. 9% or below as shown in the table below. |Variables used to determine PV total of dividend payout for the next 10 years: | | | |EPS 2009 |1. 45 | | | | | | |Growth Rate = |3. 09% | | | | | | |Payout Ratio = |36% | | | | | | |Discount Rate = |4. 0% | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Avon Projections 2010-2019 | | | | |Period |Years |EPS |DIV |PV | | | |2 |2011 |1. 54 |0. 55 |$0. 50 | | | |3 |2012 |1. 59 |0. 57 |$0. 50 | | | |4 |2013 |1. 64 |0. 59 |$0. 9 | | | |5 |2014 |1. 69 |0. 61 |$0. 48 | | | |6 |2015 |1. 74 |0. 63 |$0. 47 | | | |7 |2016 |1. 79 |0. 65 |$0. 46 | | | |8 |2017 |1. 85 |0. 67 |$0. 45 | | | |9 |2018 |1. 91 |0. 69 |$0. 45 | | | |10 |2019 |1. 7 |0. 71 |$0. 44 | | | |PV total of dividend payout for the next 10 years: |$4. 75 | | X. Rule #1 The Four M’s †¢ Meaning †¢ Moat †¢ Management †¢ Margin of Safety (Sticker Price) Does the business have meaning to you? Since my tender age of 4, I remember going door-to-door with my mother distributing Avon brochures and samples. Not only was she a single mother at the time, but she also went to school and worked another part-time job. My mother eventually left her part-time job and made Avon her full-time career. She now has 25 years of selling Avon and making a living out of it. My step-father also quit his full-time job and dedicated his time to helping my mother out with the business. My whole life I have seen my mother work her hardest to give me anything and everything she could to raise me and get me to where I am now and she could not have accomplished that if it weren’t for her loyal commitment to Avon Products. She built her business from the bottom up just like any other Avon representative. She now works from home and has all her clients come to her. My mother has always told me that she eventually wants to hand over the business to me and I have taken this opportunity in Finance class to learn more in-depth about the company and what it offers not only as a business owner but also as an investor. Ironically enough, just about a month ago my mother showed interest in investing in the company (yes, after 25 years! ) and asked me about whether she should and if so how much she should invest. This evaluation project gave me even more reason to choose Avon Products, Inc as my chosen company of interest. Does the business have a wide Moat? Or in other words, is the company’s future predictable? Avon has been in existence almost 100 years, 95 to be exact. It has had an exciting development from start to present going from being solely in the perfume/cosmetics market to expanding their products to include an array interests from kids toys to men’s sports watches. They have captured a competitive advantage from the beginning starting off as the first to introduce direct selling and now being a well renown beauty global entity; they have indeed establishes a good name for themselves. Avon continues to do extensive research to keep up to par with their different markets and products and continuously strives to improve what they already have and produce new products. Many companies have hence since followed in Avon’s footsteps, realizing the success Avon has had with focusing on interpersonal sales and customer service. Avon has a well-established name and reputation and many customers have been loyal since their early years. The Management Ever since the beginning up until 2001, Avon has had male CEO’s. Some find that a bit peculiar being that Avon prides itself on being â€Å"the Company for Women†. Let’s keep in mind though the history of this company as mentioned in the first part, Avon was created by a man by accident perhaps, but definitely with good intentions. As of 2001, the new CEO, Andrea Jung, has brought new hope and meaning to the company. Since her leadership started the company has revolutionized into a new identity with Representatives truly feeling and living the motto of the company. Both customers and Representatives have more confidence in the company and it has portrayed overall both in the financial and operational functions of the company. Safety of Margin (Sticker Price) On Rule #1’s website www. ruleoneinvestor. com, Phil Town, provides various calculators that aid in the decision to buy or not buy a particular stock by inputting various company figures to produce the company’s true value. Step 1 Data Input: Current EPS: 1. 45 # Years: 10 EPS Growth Rate: 13% Step 1 Result: Future EPS = $4. 92 Step 2 Calculate Future Value Data Input: Future EPS: $4. 92 Future PE: 18 Step 2 Results: Future Value = $88. 56 Step 3 Calculate Sticker Price Data Input: Future Value/Share: $88. 56 Min Acceptable ROI: 15% # Years: 10 Step 3 Results: Sticker Price: $21. 89 Step 4 Calculate Margin of Safety Data Input: Sticker Price: $21. 89 Step 4 Results: Margin of Safety: $10. 95 Overall Results: $21. 89 ; $29. 22 (Current Price) = Stock is Overvalued = Sell/Not Buy XI. Conclusions /Final Stock Judgment Based on all the analysis previously set forth here, the best recommendation for an investor would be not to buy Avon stock or to sell their Avon stock if they currently hold interest in the company. Finding that the intrinsic value of the company using two separate methods (AAA bond rate & CAPM) both return a valuation that Avon’s current stock price is undervalued, would understandably be sufficient to determine that it would not be the best of choices to invest in the company; at least for the current time. The difficulty as well in trying to formulate a regression analysis for ROE also points to the company’s weaknesses since shareholder’s equity has not shown a constant, positive performance and even at times negative. Income generation for stockholders is not quite strong and would require further, long-term watch if an investor has a personal interest in the company to be able to invest at a later time when the value of the current stock is really what it is worth. Furthermore, recent news indicates it is not the greatest time for Avon in terms of earnings as they have spent a great deal on advertising. Getting out of the Japanese market may have been the most perfectly timed move they have made. Although Avon is currently not seen as one of the strongest companies to invest in at the moment, reviews have said not to leave Avon behind for the future. They are slowly regaining momentum and being that their beta of . 95 is still below the market’s beta of 1. 0, it is not one of the riskiest out there. Also, it must be reminded that with a good Technical ranking of 2, Avon has short-term capital gains, in the three to six month timeframe. At a financial strength of a B++, the company is still in good shape and can most likely survive a depression better than other companies. The company has sufficient liquidity to payout their dividends or increase how much they give as dividends. Investors should still proceed with caution if even in the future the company still maintains a Safety rating of 3 and a Timeliness rating of 4 as these ratings do not give the company enough leverage to be deemed financially reliable. In addition, with a Price Growth Predictability (PGP) of 45, Stock Price Stability (SPS) of 75, and an Earnings Predictability of 65, the company does not perform more than average in all of these areas meaning they don’t really beat the index, they are somewhat stable, and they have an average consistency of earnings. Overall, all of the above inconsistencies and especially the overvalue of the current stock price, will not lead to satisfactory returns. Perhaps in the near future the tables will turn as the company does have many opportunities and room for slow growth, but it will require a watchful eye. Avon is a trusted company with a rich history, especially among women, so there is much possibility of vast improvement and capabilities of big interest to investors if the company is more observant with their financial movement and take care of their shareholders. XII. References Avon Products, Inc. Avon. com. 2011. 2 April 2011 Datamonitor. Business Source Premier. 7 June 2010. 3 April 2011 Fidelity. Fidelity. com. 2011. 8 April 2011 Hoover’s Inc. LexisNexis Academic. 8 April 2011. 8 April 2011 Investment Underground. Seeking Alpha. 21 March 2011. 2 April 2011 Investopedia. Investopedia. com. 2011. 6 April 2011 Kaplan, Jerome H. Value Line. 2011. 2 April 2011 L’Oreal. Loreal. com. 2011. 6 April 2011 Money-Zine. Money-Zine. com. 2011. 4 April 2011 Revlon. Revlon. com. 2011. 6 April 2011 Roberts, Andrew. Bloomberg. 17 March 2011. 2 April 2011 Sommer, Ron. Seeking Alpha. 21 March 2011. 2 April 2011 Town, Phil. Rule #1: The Simple Strategy for Successful Investing in only 15 Minutes a Week. 2011. 9 April 2011 Wikipedia. Wikipedia. com. 2011. 6 April 2011 Zachs. Yahoo! Finance. 16 March 2011. 2 April 2011 XIII. Appendix [pic][pic] [pic] ———————– Corporate Valuation: Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) F

Night Vision Technology

NIGHT VISION TECHNOLOGY 1) Introduction 2) Definition 3) Types of Night Vision Technology 4) Night Vision Devices 5) Generation 6) Application INTRODUCTION Night vision technology is basically allows us to saw in night. It is originally developed for military use. All humans have very poor night vision as compare to other animals. With the poor night vision we cannot see a person standing over so far away (many miles) on a deep dark cloudy night. It is first time invented for military purpose to see the enemy in deep dark and target them easily. The german army gave the idea of night vision and from that time it is fastly develops so strong. They gave the idea in 1935 and start working on it so fastly to cover all battle condition in night time. Then they develop night vision items in their rifles and in other necessary materials of battle field. From there this technology is grown up and all other countries also make sure to use this technology and also to modify this according to their need. These all equipment are use in camera (either simple or in gun front) for the purpose of hunting at night time and in battle affected areas. But they are so advance technology made up of. Then with the help of this equipment they are visible clearly in front of human eyes as in full light to saw it clearly. Today also in houses security and high alert situation these technology is used in vast for the purpose of safety. DEFINITION The definition of night vision technology is basically the detail of its work that how this technology work and what is this in real word. Every one defines it in their own word of experiences, but in my opinion its definition is not its word of expression but its definition is expressed as:†Night vision technology is basically the ability to see things in dark night condition. (Whether by biological or technological mean).Night vision is the combination of two approaches. TYPES OF NIGHT VISION TECHNOLOGY There are two types of night vision technology: 1) Biological Night VisionSome animal like cat and deep sea animal can see in night because they are tissue present in their eye which is called tiputem lucidum. Which is present on the back side of retina? But this layer is not present in human eyes, thus they cannot able to see in night. They need to use some material to saw in night. RODOPOSIN is use for night see. This is a chemical. With help of this chemical human can see for few hours in dark and deep night. Biological is even God gifted senses in humans and animals, by which they saw things in night. These senses are used for night vision. Commonly green eyes of human have the ability to see in night and even in dark night. These all are the naturally created senses in humans and animal eyes. 2) Technical Night VisionTechnical night vision is working in two different ways.In this type of vision many lens are used to achieve pictures in night time. All the material use for this is released specific type of electron which is felt on the picture and they capture the same picture and show on the front of human eyes. Then they saw easily all the things in dark night. As same in the war situation the advance developed material for night vision is used to see the enemy easily in night and mountain dark then with the help of this advance technology they hit the enemy on exact target. Simply technical vision technology is those devices include in which advance technique is used to able one to see in night time in deep dark. Night Vision DevicesNight vision devices are called observation equipment. They observe and detect the pictures and other things in dark night. It is also some time known as night vision goggles. It does works as: the light from night vision excrete and felt on the targeted area this particle is made up of photons which includes all the colors. Then they reflect back and entered in the lens and the whole area is seen to be visible in dark, but it is so sensitive case. Its the same as we see in the games which is made in night scenes. There the whole environment is dark but we clearly saw the targeted area of enemies.All devices which are uses in night vision is shown below: these all devices is used in night time. GENERATIONS 1) 0 GENERATION: The early generation was establishing in (1950-1955) which is not in complete vast Form. 2) 1st GENERATION: In the first generation tubes are used in the equipment in series. They work so will. They also work so perfect than 2nd and 3rd generation. But one defect is present in this generation that the image is show clear at the center but it can distort at all its adages. This heaviest and largest one of first three generation, later is modified and the name has change in other generation. 3) 2ndGENERATION: This generation was made in (1970-1972).A high micro channel plate is used in it. And it is also called high electron multiplier. They also magnify the image in clear form. Its magnifier and resolution is under well developed technology. These channels are built from millions of microscopic hollow glass, and each glass is of 0.0125 in diameter. Sensitive lenses are used in it; they detected the images by its sensitive wavelength. 4) 3rd GENERATION: the previous generations are made advanced and name as 3rd generation. The advancement take place in (1971-1978).the photocathode rays is used in it as an ion barrier. Then they detect images from far distances clear in dark night. It is much better than firstly built generations but not perfect because further development take place fastly in very day life in advance technology world. 5) 4th GENERATION: The American army made advance the 3rd generation with highly developed photocathode lenses and rays and made sure the work of these devices to detect all images in deep dark night clear at center and all of its edges. The ion barrier is also removed which is used in 3rd generation for the purpose to finish the background noise. The switch on and off system made sure rapidly. This generation is used all over the world because it is well developed equipment at all. Higher magnifying lenses are used in it. They are full of all needed and advanced technology materials. APPLICATION The main purpose of night vision technology is to detect enemy target in dark night. Security officers, police officers and also investigating officers use night vision technology broadly according to their need. They trace their position and places in dark night and then perform action on it. Application of night vision is as under below: I. For hunting purposes II. For military purposes III. For security purposes IV. For law enforcement V. For entertainment VI. For navigation purposes VII. For hidden object detection VIII. For surveillance IX. For wildlife observation X. And for automatic brightness control purposes.

Definition and Examples of Titles in Composition

Definition and Examples of Titles in Composition - In composition, a title is a word or phrase given to a text (an essay, article, chapter, report, or other work) to identify the subject, attract the readers attention, and forecast the tone and substance of the writing to follow. A title may be followed by a colon and a subtitle, which usually amplifies or focuses the idea expressed in the title. Examples and Observations It is important to know the title before you begin- then you know what you are writing about. (Nadine Gordimer, quoted by D. J. R. Bruckner in A Writer Puts the Political Above the Personal. The New York Times, Jan. 1, 1991)The title comes afterwards, usually with considerable difficulty. . . . A working title often changes. (Heinrich Bà ¶ll, interview in The Paris Review, 1983) Catching the Readers Interest At the minimum, titles- like labels- should accurately indicate the contents in the package. In addition, however, good titles capture the readers interest with some catchy phrasing or imaginative language- something to make the reader want to buy the package. Barbara Kingsolver uses the title, High Tide in Tucson to catch our interest: What are tides doing in landlocked Tucson, Arizona? Samuel H. Scudders title is a good label (the essay is about looking at fish) and uses catchy phrasing: Take This Fish and Look at It. (Stephen Reid, The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, 2003) Tips for Creating Catchy Titles Titles catch the attention of readers and provide a clue to the papers content. If a title doesnt suggest itself in the writing of your paper, try one of these strategies: Use one strong short phrase from your paper Present a question that your paper answers State the answer to the question or issue your paper will explore Use a clear or catchy  image  from your paper Use a famous  quotation Write a one-word title (or a two-word title, a three-word-title, and so on) Begin your title with the word  On Begin your title with a  gerund  (-ing  word) (Toby Fulwiler and Alan R. Hayakawa, The Blair Handbook. Prentice Hall, 2003) Metaphorical Titles Is there a factor that above all others contributes to making a title intriguing and memorable? Ive studied the titles that have captured the public imagination during my lifetime. Add to The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, The Red Badge of Courage, and The Blackboard Jungle the following titles that almost everyone seems to like, and ask yourself what they have in common: Tender Is the NightA Moveable FeastThe Catcher in the RyeThe Grapes of Wrath All seven of these titles are metaphors. They put two things together that dont ordinarily go together. They are intriguing, resonant, and provide exercise for the readers imagination. (Sol Stein, Stein on Writing. St. Martins Griffin, 1995) Selling an Article or Book An effective title is to your article or book what a good preview of coming attractions is to a movie. It announces what your manuscript is about in such a way that it compels your reader to sit up and take notice. And if that reader is an editor who possibly will buy your material, an enticing title can open doors for you. (John McCollister, quoted by Jim Fisher in The Writers Quotebook: 500 Authors on Creativity, Craft, and the Writing Life. Rutgers University Press, 2006) Subtitles To the prospective reader, a subtitle is to a book what a carnival barker is to a midway: the step-right-up pitchman who peddles a mixture of awe, enlightenment and- no less important- bang for the buck. The marketing-savvy Galileo appended to his volume of heavenly observations, The Starry Messenger (1610), a prose banner that stretches nearly 70 words. In it, the Florentine astronomer promised readers great and very wonderful sights- the moon, sun and stars, literally- and even tossed in a paean to his Medici patron. Modern-day subtitles are generally shorter, yet they continue to tantalize us with invitations to learn the surprising secrets of Americas wealthy, tag along in one womans search for everything, or craft a life of well-being, wisdom and wonder. (Alan Hirshfeld, The Limit of Reason. The Wall Street Journal, May 3-4, 2014) Nick Hornby on the Lighter Side of Titles My advice to young writers: never begin a title with a preposition, because you will find that it is impossible to utter or to write any sentence pertaining to your creation without sounding as if you have an especially pitiable stutter. He wanted to talk to me about About a Boy. What about About a Boy? The thing about About a Boy . . . Are you excited about About a Boy? And so on. I wonder if Steinbeck and his publishers got sick of it? What do you think of Of Mice and Men? Ive just finished the first half of Of Mice and Men. Whats the publication date of Of Mice and Men? . . . Still, it seemed like a good idea at the time. (Nick Hornby, Songbook. McSweeneys, 2002) More on Composition Sentence Case  and  Title CaseWhich Words in a Title Should Be Capitalized?Lead

Cuál es el costo de sacar o renovar pasaporte americano

Cul es el costo de sacar o renovar pasaporte americano Lo que cuesta el pasaporte americano depende de una serie de factores, entre los que se encuentra la edad del solicitante, la urgencia de la peticià ³n, si se trata de una renovacià ³n o de sacarlo por primera vez o, incluso, de si se pide conjuntamente con una tarjeta de pasaporte.. Este documento solo lo pueden solicitar los ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos, incluidas las personas nacidas en los territorios de la Commonwealth, como por ejemplo, el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. Asimismo, se puede solicitar dentro de Estados Unidos o tambià ©n desde el exterior, a travà ©s de una Embajada o consulado. Es importante resaltar que el  pasaporte americano no se compra ni se vende, es necesario previo a solicitarlo haber adquirido la condicià ³n de estadounidense por nacimiento, naturalizacià ³n, derecho de sangre u otra forma derivada a travà ©s de los padres o adopcià ³n. Por el contrario,  sà ­ es posible comprar la residencia en Estados Unidos, es decir, la tarjeta de residencia a partir de una inversià ³n de ms de medio millà ³n de dà ³lares. Este es un modelo similar pero diferente al que siguen  estos 20 paà ­ses que tiene programas de adquisicià ³n ciudadanà ­a (pasaporte) y/o residencia a cambio de inversià ³n. Algunos son realmente interesantes. A continuacià ³n, un desglose del costo del pasaporte americano, segà ºn cada uno de los diferentes casos.. Costo del pasaporte americano para los ciudadanos de 16 aà ±os o ms Tanto en el caso en el que se solicita por primera vez como tambià ©n cuando se renueva la cuota a pagar $110. Adems, cuando  se trata de sacarlo por primera vez a esa cantidad deben aà ±adir separadamente $25 ms, en concepto de gastos de gestià ³n. Es lo que se conoce en inglà ©s como acceptance agent fee. Se tiene que pagar porque un funcionario federal da fe de la firma que se estampa en el pasaporte. Tanto en un caso como en otro si el solicitante quiere, a mayores del pasaporte, obtener una tarjeta de pasaporte deber pagar $30 ms. Estos precios arriba mencionados aplican tanto cuando se solicita el pasaporte en Estados Unidos o en el exterior en la embajada o consulado que corresponda. Todos esos costos son para el caso en los que no hay urgencia para solicitar ese documento y se puede esperar entre 4 y 6 semanas, que es lo que se viene demorando la tramitacià ³n regular. Adems, sà ³lo para los casos en los que el solicitante se encuentre en Estados Unidos podr pedir que la gestià ³n se tramite urgentemente.   Costo del pasaporte americano para los nià ±os menores de16 aà ±os Tanto en los casos en los que se saca por primera vez como en los de renovacià ³n hay que pagar $80 a los que hay que sumar siempre $25 en concepto de gastos de gestià ³n que solo hay que pagar cuando se aplica por primera vez, no al renovar. Si adems se solicitase una tarjeta de pasaporte, aà ±adir $15 al precio. Costo para acelerar los trmites para el pasaporte Si se solicita una gestià ³n de urgencia, pagar otros $60.  Esto aplica tanto en los casos en los que se solicita el pasaporte por primera vez o se renueva. Y no hay distincià ³n de precio segà ºn la edad del solicitante, es decir, pagan igual nià ±os que adultos. Y, adems $12.85 por servicio de mensajerà ­a urgente, si bien este servicio es opcional aunque recomendable. Costo de otros servicios relacionados con el pasaporte Pueden darse las siguientes circunstancias: Cuando el solicitante no encuentra documentos que prueben su ciudadanà ­a: $150 para que el gobierno investigue sobre posibles Reportes Consulares de Nacimientos en el Exterior o posibles pasaportes anteriores.Pasaporte robado o extraviado: $80 si se trata de un menor de 16 aà ±os y $110 para los que han cumplido los 16 o tienen ms edad. No hay que pagar si el solicitante se encuentra en otro paà ­s y su pasaporte ha sido robado o lo han extraviado.Correccià ³n de un error administrativo como equivocacià ³n en nombre o fecha de nacimiento: no hay que pagar.Cambio de nombre: no hay que pagar si el pasaporte actual vigente tiene menos de un aà ±o y se puede documentar legalmente el cambio de nombre (por ejemplo, por acta de matrimonio). Si se solicita un trmite de urgencia, à ©se servicio sà ­ que hay que abonarlo.Segundo pasaporte: $110. Los costos del pasaporte americano siempre se pueden verificar en la pgina del Departamento de Estado. Consejos para el paso de control migratorio y de aduanas Estos son los documentos que pueden utilizar los ciudadanos americanos para ingresar a su paà ­s, es importante estar informado porque aunque el pasaporte siempre se admite en algunos casos es posible que un ciudadano regrese a los Estados Unidos sin necesidad de mostrar el pasaporte. Y recordar que es posible acelerar el paso por el control migratorio cuando se regresa a los Estados Unidos por medio de la participacià ³n en ciertos programas, cada uno con sus propios requisitos. Por ejemplo: Nexus, entre Canad y Estados UnidosSENTRI, paso terrestre o marà ­timo entre Mà ©xico y Estados UnidosY Global Entry y APC para aeropuertos. Doble nacionalidad: quà © pasaporte utilizar en la frontera de Estados Unidos Por à ºltimo, destacar que si un ciudadano americano tiene doble nacionalidad y, por lo tanto, 2 pasaportes, debe tener siempre en cuenta que la ley requiere que el ingreso a Estados Unidos siempre se realice utilizando el pasaporte americano. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.