International banking and financial markets coursework Essay

International banking and financial markets coursework - Essay Example This exposes a gold mining company to commodity price risk. Another example is such, a U.S. equipment manufacturer can contract to supply machinery to a foreign buyer in its local currency if the dollar strengthens against the local currency before the buyer makes payment, and the U.S. manufacturer loses. This exposes the U.S. manufacturer to foreign currency risk. As still another example, a real estate financier can offer a fixed-rate mortgage in a profitable manner. This exposes the real estate financier to interest rate risk. To lessen these markets risks, companies enter into hedging transactions, or hedges for short. Hedges are contracts that seek to insulate companies from market risks. A hedge is similar in concept to an insurance policy, where the company enters into a contract that ensures a certain payoff regardless of market forces. A hedge is possible because different parties are affected in different ways by market risks. For example while a gold mining company is concerned with a drop in gold prices, a jewelry maker are potentially interested in a contract to sell (buy) gold at a future date for a fixed price. This is called a forward contract, and often is transacted in a commodities market. Financial instruments such as futures, options, and swaps are commonly used as hedges. These financial instruments are called derivative financial instruments, or simply derivatives. A derivative is a financial instrument whose value is derived from the value of another asset, class of assets, or economic variable such as a stock, bond, commodity price, interest rate, or currency exchange rate. However, a derivative contracted as a hedge can expose companies to considerable risk. This is either because it is difficult to find a derivative that entirely hedges the risk exposure or because the parties to the derivative contract fail to understand the potential risks from the instrument. Companies also use

Eczema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Eczema - Essay Example It is worthwhile to give eczema attention because it can affect very young children who can carry the condition until adulthood. Moreover, anyone with chronic and acute eczema could suffer from frequent loss of sleep, loss of self-esteem (especially in children) due to unsightly sores and skin patches, and other stressful effects like loss of employment, difficulty in patient care and high medical costs. There are several causes of eczema, all resulting in the common symptoms of itchiness and rashes. Eczema can be caused by hypersensitivity or allergy to common compounds in the environment (atopic eczema), contact with irritants (irritant contact dermatitis), and contact with allergens (allergic contact dermatitis) (Brown and Reynolds). Understanding the causes of eczema can provide means to relieve symptoms and treat the condition. The most common form of eczema, atopic eczema is a genetic predisposition to become highly sensitized in response to allergens that are common in the environment. In the process, IgE antibodies are produced. Those with atopic eczema are highly sensitive to materials and elements that normally have no effect on most people. The condition afflicts mostly young children who have an increased chance of developing allergic asthma, hay fever and rhinitis later in life. In atopic eczema, itching is the most common manifestation accompanied by scaling and redness in patches of skin, the face included. Some people are mildly affected with only a few areas on their skin that are dry and scaly. Blisters and skin thickening become common in chronic cases (Brown and Reynolds). The prevalence of atopic eczema varies widely worldwide. However, increased prevalence has not been attributed to genetic factors, but more on environmental effects (Brown and Reynolds). Atopic eczema is more common in urban and industrial settings, and in families with higher