Strategic and Financial Decision-making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic and Financial Decision-making - Essay Example The brokers of the stock exchanges or any qualified individual can play the role of the analysts. They try to identify the trends by analyzing the past behaviour of the stock and other market important information. The statistical tools such as beta, alpha, regression, time series etc are popular among the analysts. London Stock exchange (LSE) is the prominent exchange in UK and FTSE 100 is a popular index of LSE followed by most of the investors and analysts. Beta of a stock measures the volatility of that particular stock with the market movement. In this report the betas of two FTSE 100 companies will be calculated using covariance and variance, and using the linear regression model. The two chosen companies are Experian (EXPN) and Sainsbury(J) (SBRY). EXPN is one of the leading companies in global information services. It provides data analytical tools and other systems that help an organisation to take proper decisions (Experian, Plc. n.d.). Organisations like banks, government departments or retailers etc are the clients of EXPN. SBRY is UK’s third largest chain of supermarket and convenience store engaged in retail marketing of daily household products like grocery, garments etc. â€Å"Sainsburys Supermarkets is UKs longest standing major food retailing chain, having opened its f irst store in 1869, presently consisting a chain of 525 supermarkets and 303 convenience stores – and Sainsburys Bank† (J Sainsbury Plc. 2010). SBRY and EXPN, both the companies were listed in the LSE on July 11, 1975 and on October 26, 2006 respectively and the stocks of these companies are currently traded at the rate  £323.78 and  £600 respectively (London Stock Exchange. 2010). In order to calculate the betas of both the companies, the historical stock prices are required. The beta will be calculated using the covariance of stock return and market return relative to the variance of market return. The second method uses linear

Political, Religious, Social, and Cultural Changes in Medieval Europe Essay - 1

Political, Religious, Social, and Cultural Changes in Medieval Europe - Essay Example One of the political occurrences between 1350 and 1570 in Europe was the Mongol Rule. The armies invaded China, Russia, and most parts of the Islamic world. The countries had strongholds within the south. This invasion resulted in the increased dependence of Russia on the Mongol empire known as the Golden Horde. The Mongols sent their officials to Russia’s different towns. This made it easier to collect taxes from the Russians. The Mongols married the Russian women and persons who refused became slaves. This led to an increase of many Russian slaves and the prevalence of the slave trade. The Mongol’s hostility towards women made the Russian women start wearing veils like Muslims to protect themselves. Islam became the central creed of the Mongol empire. The forced mixing of the Mongols and Russians led to further cultural differences between Russia and the West. However, the Mongols did not destroy Russia’s political and religious institutions. The Mongol Rule ma de Russia prosper because of the Mongol’s far-flung trade.The revival of Monarchy in Northern Europe also occurred within this period. This revival occurred after the partial end of the divided feudal monarchy. The king and his semiautonomous vassals shared government power in the past. After the revival, the semiautonomous lost the power to impose taxes, initiate wars, and implement laws. These powers became strong in the monarch. Consequently, the king and his selected agents acquired power. Additionally, taxes, wars, and the legal systems became national issues instead of regional like previous occurrences. The independence of the monarchy led to the elimination of decentralization of the political system.