Exam questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Exam questions - Essay Example In addition, exchange rates can make it quite difficult or easier for foreign competition to penetrate the local markets. Exchange rates can also have a direct impact on the losses and profits in a business. Fluctuations in exchange rates can negatively or positively affect both exports and imports. Thus the cost of raw materials that are imported could be more or less on the basis of the exchange rate between two trading nations which may lead to either hard or easy export. When more money is used in producing goods which are exported to a different nation with a less currency rate, it leads to those goods being less priced leading to the business having losses. Because of these changes in exchange rates when importing or exporting, the government gets interested in the exchange rates between currencies of other countries. Thus whenever goods are produced in a different nation, the government concentrates on selling of those goods so as to get more money from other nations from its exports. Production of such goods is usually done at low prices making use of the currency with the country having low currency rate and then profits are gotten by selling the produce in a country having a high currency rate. Such conversion of currencies in the production as well as selling of a similar product is aimed at earning profit. In addition, the government is dependent on some controls that control the exchange rate and these controls are long-term, medium-term and short-term. For instance, in short-term, the major banks like Central Bank operate with foreign markets by either beginning to buy or sell its currency. The interest rate on currency on the medium term can be regulated to make profit only. On the other hand, on the long-term, management of the economy is in such a manner that it results in a direct increase in the demand and value of the products manufactured in the nation (imports) with the demand for foreign currency also increasing. For a country

Corporate Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Corporate Strategy - Essay Example One of the initiatives that assisted HSBC in gaining increasing revenues was introduced in 2000s and called â€Å"managing for value†. The strategy emphasized the Group’s unique balance of business and earnings between the older, mature economies and the faster-growing emerging markets. For example, the acquisition of all of Lloyds TSB’s onshore and offshore assets related to Brazil in 2003 was a strategic step previewed by this initiative. Following the expansion to emerging markets, HSBC has grown from 51 countries in 1991 to 79 in 2003. At the same time, the company was strengthening its presence in developed markets such as the US, Switzerland and Luxembourg through the acquisition of Republic New York Corporation and Safra Republic Holdings S.A. for US $9.85 billion. Through these and other acquisitions throughout 2000s, HSBC aimed at delivering wealth management in key financial centers around the world1. A huge step towards gaining the eurozone market share came with the acquisition of Credit Commercial de France (CCF) in April 2000 for US $ 11 billion. By settling down in France, HSBC has got access to a personal, corporate, investment and private banking of all Europe in this way strengthening its presence in the developed countries. This acquisition and other initiatives contributed to a continuing improvement on the company’s performance, in which profits of shareholders grew from US $4,318 million in 1998 to US $6,239 million in 2002. Another initiative that strongly consolidated HSBC was its initiative to adopt the unified brand using HSBC and its hexagon symbol nearly everywhere it operated. In 2000, the corporation launched Premier round the clock international sercices for the Group’s most valuable personal customers. Since 2002, the HSBC identity has carried the tagline of â€Å"The world’s local bank†, outlining the Group’s experience and understanding of the various markets and cultures. The adoption of the