Bücher von Sabrina Schleimer

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Economics - Finance, grade: 1,7, University of Strathclyde (Business School), course: International Financial Markets and Banking, language: English, abstract: This assignment will examine whether two countries can share the same currency and both prosper. In order to find out, arguments both in favour and in opposition to the research question will be discussed and evaluated. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn.Before starting a detailed discussion, it is vital to establish precise definitions of the terms ¿sharing a currency¿ and ¿prosper¿. For the purpose of this paper, ¿sharing a currency¿ is defined as being a member of a monetary union. According to Bergin (2008), a monetary union, also referred to as a currency union, is an association of at least two sovereign states which give up their national currencies to adopt a new shared currency. The author further states that by doing so, the member countries surrender their control over money supply as well as monetary policy to a shared authority, a new central bank. There are multiple currency unions all over the world, which is why, to apply this broad definition, this paper will use the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as an example. The second important term, ¿prosper¿, is a little more difficult to define as there is a vast number of possible prosperity indicators, such as the unemployment rate or the wage level. For the purpose of this paper, ¿prosperity¿ is defined in accordance with Fritz and Koch (2016) as the level of ¿economic development and material welfare¿. Thus, if this level increases, prosperity in a state also does. Fritz and Koch (2016) argue that the higher the economic development in a country, the higher its individual and social prosperity. In order to gauge the level of prosperity of a state, a number of indicators are very useful. One of the most important indicators for prosperity is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Gross domestic product (GDP), 2016), the GDP indicates ¿the expenditure of final goods and services minus imports¿. In addition to the GDP, the level of trade is an important indicator for a nation¿s prosperity. As explained by the World Bank (Exports of goods and services (% of GDP), 2017), it is determined by the exports of both goods and services as a share of the respective country¿s GDP.

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1,0, University of Strathclyde (Business School), course: Derivatives and Treasury Management, language: English, abstract: The necessity of increased stabilisation and regulation of financial markets, especially over-the-counter markets, has received increased international attention following the financial crisis of 2007-08.1 Previously, swap markets were largely ¿in the dark¿ when compared to exchange traded derivatives. The reactionary regulation, the Dodd-Frank Act, has severely tightened the OTC swaps markets through standardisation, increased collateral requirements and reporting standards and a more refined clearing mandate; to continue our analogy, it has sought to bring the swaps market into the light. Due to this increased regulation and subsequent increased costs associated with trading swaps, large swathes of swap trading migrated onto futures exchanges, in a process known as swap futurisation. This offered market participants regulatory certainty as well as a reduction in some of the more onerous costs and requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act. With eight years of trading under the Dodd-Frank regulation, our investigation into the advantages and disadvantages of swap futurisation will focus on trends seen in American data. Following on we will look more closely at the European Union¿s response, namely the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation.

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1,7, University of Strathclyde (Business School), course: International Financial Markets and Banking, language: English, abstract: This assignment will examine whether credit rating agencies can be regarded as useful. In order to do so, two given academic papers will be analysed and discussed, supplemented by further academic literature. The first of the two is a working paper by Efraim Benmelech called ¿Credit Ratings: Qualitative Versus Quantitative Information¿. The second one is called ¿What¿s Wrong with Credit Ratings¿ and written by Frank Partnoy. Before looking at these papers in greater detail, it is important to provide a general definition of CRAs. Gavras defines CRAs as ¿private companies [which] assess credit risk for companies and governments seeking to take out loans and issue fixed-income securities¿. Arnold states that this risk assessment comes in the form of a rating, which represents the CRAs¿ opinion of the rated entity¿s creditworthiness, i.e. its ¿ability to repay its debt¿. Both Gavras and Arnold remark that the rating ultimately affects the price and interest rate paid by the borrower on the debt instrument. Having generally defined CRAs, the authors of the two given papers also provide their own views. Both Benmelech and Partnoy agree with Gavras regarding the importance of CRAs in today¿s credit markets and the strong influence these agencies have. They also agree that CRAs played a major part in the 2007/08 financial crisis. In his paper, Benmelech evaluates rating by S&P Global Ratings Inc. and concludes that they are vastly quantitative and, thus, can easily be predicted and substituted ¿by an algorithm that uses just ten financial variables¿. On a similar note, Partnoy believes that rating methodologies are highly uninformative, that numerous reforms after the financial crisis have failed, and that the unchanged overreliance of investors and regulators on these ratings should be reduced.

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Economics - International Economic Relations, grade: 1,3, Berlin School of Economics and Law, language: English, abstract: The following extended term paper will analyse MERCOSUR and examine whether it can be regarded as a successful example of regional integration. To do so, the paper will review the objectives set in the founding treaty, the Treaty of Asunción, and analyse whether they have been fully met. At a glance, the objectives of MERCOSUR were to ¿eliminate trade barriers, establish a common external tariff, coordinate macroeconomic policies and develop the harmonization of laws¿ (Arieti, 2006, p. 764). To fulfil these objectives, the development of MERCOSUR was supposed to go through three gradual stages: the first goal was to create a free trade area, this was to be followed by a customs union, and the third and final aim was the creation of a common market. These stages will be analysed to conclude if they have been reached. At the same time, the main achievements and challenges of MERCOSUR¿s integration experience will be presented. The limited scope of this term paper does not allow for an analysis of every aspect in great detail. Due to this, the main focus after the theoretical section will be on the area of trade and on the earlier stages of the agreement, as this is most important to establish the success of MERCOSUR as a regional trade agreement and thus highly relevant to find an answer to the research question. In the era of globalisation, international markets have continued to grow in importance. Many regional economic integration agreements have been negotiated and created to improve competitiveness in global trade. One of these regional agreements is the ¿Mercado Común del Sur¿ (MERCOSUR), in English ¿Common Market of the Southern Cone¿, which was founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in 1991. Its creation was expected to mark an economic transition of the region as ¿the conditions for economic expansion were viewed as highly favourable¿ (ASEAN Studies Centre, 2009, p. 10). 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of MERCOSUR and the regional trade agreement has grown to a significant size over the past years. It is the largest integration agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean, the fourth largest in the world and the fifth biggest economy in the world (MERCOSUR, 2017b). It encompasses around 260 million citizens and had a combined GDP of more than 2.8 trillion USD in 2015 (Campbell, 2015).

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2014 im Fachbereich Soziologie - Konsum und Werbung, Note: 1,0, Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin, Veranstaltung: Politische Ökonomie und Sozialstruktur der modernen Gesellschaft, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: In dieser Hausarbeit beschäftige ich mich mit dem Konzept der ¿Shareconomy¿ in Bezug auf nachhaltiges Konsumverhalten in Deutschland. Ziel der Arbeit ist es herauszufinden, ob dieses Konzept ein erfolgsversprechendes System ist, um den Konsumismus zu verringern und das Konsumverhalten der Deutschen nachhaltig positiv zu verändern. Dabei werde ich im Besonderen auf das Thema Car-Sharing eingehen, als eine der bekanntesten und populärsten Anwendungen der ¿Shareconomy¿.Das Thema ist von großer Bedeutung, da wir durch unser Konsumverhalten die Umwelt in hohem Maße belasten, um unser konsumbasiertes Wirtschaftssystem aufrecht zu erhalten. Daher ist die Suche nach alternativen Konsum-Methoden von hoher Priorität und ¿angesichts globaler Herausforderungen wie Ressourcenknappheit, Klimawandel und anderen sozial-ökologischen Problemlagen in Verbindung mit einer stetig wachsenden Weltbevölkerung ist die Notwendigkeit einer zukunftsfähigen Entwicklung unumstritten¿. Diese zukunftsfähige Entwicklung wird von vielen im System der ¿Shareconomy¿, auch ¿Collaborative Consumption¿ genannt, gesehen. Der Gedanke eines nachhaltigen Konsums ist zwar nicht neu, aber durch die Auswirkungen der Wirtschafts-, Banken- und Finanzkrise sehr aktuell. Das generelle Vertrauen in das Wirtschaftssystem ist geringer geworden und zu großen Teilen setzt sich die Erkenntnis durch, dass sich das Konsumverhalten zwangsläufig ändern muss, wobei die Themen soziale Gerechtigkeit und Umweltschutz eine primäre Rolle spielen.Um herauszufinden, wie diese alternativen Konsum-Methoden, im Speziellen das Car-Sharing, angewandt werden und welche Auswirkungen sie haben, ist die Arbeit wie folgt strukturiert. Zunächst werden die zentralen Grundbegriffe erläutert, also Konsumismus, ¿Shareconomy¿ und Car-Sharing, anschließend wird untersucht welche Auswirkungen diese neuen, alternativen Konsumstrategien auf die Wirtschaft, die Umwelt und die Gesellschaft haben und wie diese Auswirkungen dort sichtbar werden.