Thursday, November 28, 2019

The Theme Of Death In Poems Essay Example For Students

The Theme Of Death In Poems Essay The Theme of Death in PoemsDeath is a common theme in many poems. It is viewed so differently toeveryone. In the poems, Because I could not stop for Death, First Death inNova Scotia, and War is kind death is presented by each narrator as somethingdifferent. To one it is a kind gentle stranger while to another it is a coldcruel being. A kind gentleman stranger personifies death in, Because I could notstop for Death. The narrator of the poem is a busy person, with little time,and definitely no time to die. Her carriage driver, which is death, arrives totake her into immortality. Death isnt hasty, he doesnt take her quickly. Hedrives her past things that the narrator had not taken the time to notice in awhile. The narrator watched as he drives her past a school, where children areplaying, and then on they go past fields. She sees the sun go down, and thecarriage driver past the sun, but she realizes they werent passing the sun, itwas passing them; time was passing by, past her life. Her life has now past herby, and she is arriving at her final destination, which was her grave, yet shedescribes it as her house. In the end she is looking back, and sees howcenturies have passed, yet she isnt passing by anymore, and to her this hundredyears seems as no time at all. Finally she accepts her death, and is able topass into eternity. To her death wasnt harsh like some see it, but a kindly,gentle soul, taking her for a carriage ride to her final home. We will write a custom essay on The Theme Of Death In Poems specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now A child experiences death much differently than an adult. Childrenarent quite able to see death as the sad even that it is. First Death in NovaScotia tells of a young boys death, and his cousins view of it. We are shownArthurs death through the eyes of a child. The little girl, our narrator,describes the scene of her cousins funeral. Her focus however is not how wemight think that she would perceive it. She describes to us pictures of theRoyal family hanging in the room, and of a stuffed loon that her uncle hadkilled. To me it seems that she sees this event, her cousins death, as anesteemed event, one that the most pristine people are attending. She begins bytelling us of the royals hanging in the room, and end talking of them again. In the last stanza, she mentions the gracious royal couples and how they haveinvited cousin Arthur to be the smallest page in their court. It is as thoughshe is trying to make this event an honorable one, instead of one of mourning,and sadness as most see it. In the poem, the colors were mentioned frequently,and the little girl many times mentioned how white cousin Arthur was. Shementioned to white, frozen lake of the loon that was a marble topped table. Thecolor of Arthur was also white, like a doll that hadnt been painted. Sheplayed a lily in his hand, yet another personification of innocense by the colorof the flower. This defining of the color is symbolic, or the youth andinnocence of Arthur. It represents how he was but a child, and his death wasnot such a sad occasion, but the taking of innocence from one place, to a betterone. Again in this poem death was not personified as evil, but as a gentleremoval of the life and youth of an innocent young boy. .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa , .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa .postImageUrl , .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa , .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa:hover , .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa:visited , .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa:active { border:0!important; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa:active , .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufc830543c865e85b3aa600b63fa76caa:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The role of Antonio in Shakespeare's Tempest EssayIn the poem War is Kind the narrator uses sarcasm to display death. He begins in the first stanza, telling a young woman whose lover has been killedin war, how noble his death was. He tell her not to weep because he died inglory. Yet in the second stanza hedescibes the horror of the war, and howuncivilized it really is. He portrays the dying of the many people as in vein,rather than in glory, and honor. The narrator goes back and forth fromglorifying the dying of the soldiers, to telling of its stupidity, and how trulyunhonorable it is. Death is portrayed as vial in this poem, and is shown to bethat through the use of sarcasm. In these three poems death is personified and viewed as severaldifferent things. One sees it as a kind stranger. In another death is viewedas a cold, occasion, yet almost like a party. Lastly we see death and dying asa noble thing in a sarcastic tone. The narrator is relaly telling us how horidthe death really is. While death is a common theme of many poems each poet hasa different view of it, and describes it to us uniquily.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Free Essays on The Media and Society

The Media and Society Throughout time, newspapers and television have had a large effect on society. In the 1940s, German newspapers turned the Germans into Nazis and made them kill six million Jews. This would never have happened without the media. Likewise, television shows like America’s Most Wanted have changed society. More criminals are now caught because of this show, which is watched by almost everyone. So we have to ask: Is the media helpful to society, or isn’t it? Hitler was evil. He was also smart, unfortunately. He made the Germans hate Jews by writing â€Å"Mine Kampf† and other newspaper articles. People read more back then, and almost everyone read the papers. So Hitler was able to brainwash the entire nation in about three years. In addition to six million Jews, many regular Germans died because of Hitler too. Since Hitler started World War II, you could say he caused the deaths of four million more people – the soldiers who died in the fighting. That doesn’t even include Hiroshima, which would add to the total. This is a strong case against the media. Here is something similar. Although not as violent as Hitler, Jennifer Lopez has a bad effect on society. The media constantly shows her in tight outfits, with tight shirts highlighting her breasts and small waist. Her perfect body has turned young girls into anorexics overnight. If they stopped showing her, as well as Brittany Spears, people wouldn’t be as self-conscious and there would be far less eating disorders. â€Å"America’s Most Wanted† is a popular television show. People like to solve crimes, so there are lots of viewers every episode. Last week, the show featured a gruesome killer named Karl Krickstein who strangled his victims with their own shoe laces before cutting off their arms and legs. People like this should be behind bars, and that’s what this show tries to do. This is an example of the media being helpful... Free Essays on The Media and Society Free Essays on The Media and Society The Media and Society Throughout time, newspapers and television have had a large effect on society. In the 1940s, German newspapers turned the Germans into Nazis and made them kill six million Jews. This would never have happened without the media. Likewise, television shows like America’s Most Wanted have changed society. More criminals are now caught because of this show, which is watched by almost everyone. So we have to ask: Is the media helpful to society, or isn’t it? Hitler was evil. He was also smart, unfortunately. He made the Germans hate Jews by writing â€Å"Mine Kampf† and other newspaper articles. People read more back then, and almost everyone read the papers. So Hitler was able to brainwash the entire nation in about three years. In addition to six million Jews, many regular Germans died because of Hitler too. Since Hitler started World War II, you could say he caused the deaths of four million more people – the soldiers who died in the fighting. That doesn’t even include Hiroshima, which would add to the total. This is a strong case against the media. Here is something similar. Although not as violent as Hitler, Jennifer Lopez has a bad effect on society. The media constantly shows her in tight outfits, with tight shirts highlighting her breasts and small waist. Her perfect body has turned young girls into anorexics overnight. If they stopped showing her, as well as Brittany Spears, people wouldn’t be as self-conscious and there would be far less eating disorders. â€Å"America’s Most Wanted† is a popular television show. People like to solve crimes, so there are lots of viewers every episode. Last week, the show featured a gruesome killer named Karl Krickstein who strangled his victims with their own shoe laces before cutting off their arms and legs. People like this should be behind bars, and that’s what this show tries to do. This is an example of the media being helpful...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Media audiences and Media geography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Media audiences and Media geography - Essay Example A potential representation of the traditional media is the folk media that projected the communication channels of the ancient societies. Modern media has a very different and advanced mechanism of mass communication. The mass media in the contemporary age is one of the most effective systems of life support that has pronounced effect on the global future and has the widest distribution all over the world. The contemporary age is essentially the age of information, in which the social and environmental issues continue to grow, that imparts the need of transition to a sustainable economy for every nation. â€Å"There has also been a healthful and general realization that the emphasis on â€Å"mass† audience – meaning an audience of individuals in lonely and direct contact with mass communication was never accurate† (Schramm, 1960, p. vii). The distinction between the audience of the past and the audience of the new age is imperative for the media to customize the content according to the every-changing and modifying needs of the audiences in an increasingly culturally diverse and globalized world. Media has a very strong influence on the society. Klapper (1960, p. 5) defined the consideration of the mass media as a compulsory and sufficient cause behind the effects observed in the audiences as short-sightedness, and recommended the consideration of media as just another influential element amidst other influences. â€Å"[I]t is the presumed power of the media to capture and sway the hearts, minds and behavior of the national public that account for both the fear and anxiety, and the hope and excitement, with which the media are regarded† (Fejes, 1984, p. 219). Media has always been both a trend-setter for and influenced by the audiences of a particular point in time. â€Å"The media are crucial in the social circulation of discourse and thus play a formative role in social and political change† (Fiske, 1996, p. 10). Media place s immense emphasis on the likes and dislikes of the audiences because the success of media fundamentally depends upon the approval of the audiences of the content that the media shows. The first and the foremost basic principle that every would-be programmer is taught through every handbook is â€Å"know the audience† (Ang, 1991, p. 19). â€Å"In order for television to achieve its work – that is, to make meaning and produce pleasure – it has to draw upon and operate on the basis of a kind of generalized societal common sense about the terms of the society and people’s social location in it† (Gray, 1995, p. 9). The research culture has evolved greatly over the passage of time. Although research has been a necessary part of the spread of knowledge in all times, yet the research was never as rampant as it is today. In the past, it was easy to advertise a product by just showing the models endorsing them as the audiences understood that the technology was not quite developed to expect every product to be made after a lot of research. Besides, the audiences themselves were too uneducated and far from being the part of a research culture to think on these lines. Over the decades, there has been immense advancement in technology which has played a fundamental role in the development of a research culture all over the world. Today, scientists are equipped enough to

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Types of Presentation Aids Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Types of Presentation Aids - Essay Example The use of pictures and sound can be communicated and remembered more effectively and efficiently than a speech or presentation without presentation aids. Presentation aids help the important parts of a presentation stand out. The selection of a presentation aid is based on the type of audience, the speech content, and the occasion where the presentation is being given. There are many different types of presentation aids like, objects, models, pictures, graphs, audio clips, videos clips, handouts, and multimedia clips. A presentation can include either one type of presentation aid or many different aids together. Using presentation aids can help make your presentation interesting and it also help you remember your key points easily. Pictures are a very effective presentation aid as it is easier to remember what you see than what you hear. Pictures are of different types such as, diagrams, maps, posters, graphs, pictograms, and the like. A picture can be a two-dimensional image of something or it can also be a schematic drawing that explains how something works. Pictures are best used hen a presentation is lengthy. The audience often looses interest and attentiveness when a presentation in long. The use of pictures can keep the audience engaged and help them remember the key ideas of the presentation. Diagrams, graphs, pictograms help the audience understand the concept of the presentation better. ... Statistical information can be presented much more effectively with the help of graphs, diagrams and charts than just through verbal communication. Pictures can brilliantly describe an event, scene, or object immediately. Using pictures as a presentation aid can also have its own disadvantages. If your picture is not clear and does not completely represent your concept, it can mislead the audience. If the pictures used are too complex and have too much information it does not serve the purpose of keeping the audience engaged, as the audience tend to loose interest if the picture shown is too complex. Also, it is important to have knowledge of graphs and charts when preparing a presentation using graphs or charts as a presentation aid, as it is necessary to use the right kind of chart or graph to present certain kind of data or it can misinform the audience. Another useful presentation aid is objects. Though the use if objects is not very common it is a very handy presentation aid. It is usually suitable for a science presentation or a presentation where the object is helpful in illustrating the actual subject of the speech or one of its main features. Objects can be inanimate or live things, for example, in a science presentation about the human body, a model of the human body can be used as a presentation aid to help the audience understand the presentation better. The use of objects as presentation aids can be advantageous when the topic of the presentation is complex and is difficult to explain just verbally. When an object is used in a presentation the audience is more attentive and engaged in what the speaker is saying as they see and hear the explanation at the same time. Objects also give a

Monday, November 18, 2019

Japanese Americans Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Japanese Americans - Research Paper Example The migration of Japanese Americans to the United States is associated with the Hawaiian sugar industry between 1870 and 1880 in addition to, Japan painful transition to the modern economy that resulted in civil disorder, unemployment, and bankruptcies. This was a major reason why there was a large migration of Japanese to Hawaii. As a result, from 1900, a majority of Japanese in U.S live in Hawaii. Over 30,000 Japanese moved to Hawaii, single men being the majority. They practiced farming and farm laborers, who immigrated as sojourners instead of settlers. They are also said to have gone to Pacific Northwest in 1880 when federal legislation excluded the Chinese immigration and as a result demanded new labor immigrants. The Japanese immigrants comprised of 40 % of railroad laborers in Oregon (Spickard, 2009).As years passed, the Japanese returned to Japan. They anticipated for the legislation of the American Law against the Hawaii contract labor after the Americans took over their pl antations. They imported more than 27,000 Japanese laborers. However, the contracts were void under American laws leaving a number of Japanese free to migrate to U.S. Hawaii still remained the center of concentration for Japanese in many years. The Japanese immigrants preferred to live in Hawaii rather that U.S mainland because of race relations which were worse in U.S mainland than Hawaii.The U.S government was, however; at ease issuing passports for both Hawaii and U.S mainland but still controlled the Japanese emigrants.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Jetblue Airways SWOT and Financial Analysis

Jetblue Airways SWOT and Financial Analysis Executive summary In this report, the financial position of JetBlue Airways Corporation, a low-fare, low-cost passenger Airline Company serving the US market, is studied in order to provide recommendations to the company with regards to its investments plans. By the year 2003, the company is intending to support its growth through the acquisition of several new aircraft over the coming 13 years. The company will thus need a high capital expenditure to support those acquisitions, as well as several related investments. For the purpose of this study, a SWOT analysis of JetBlue as by its position in June 2003 is performed. A background research is conducted in order to assess how other airline companies are financing their aircraft acquisitions and other investments, and in a broader aspect, study the specificities of their financial structures. The different financing alternatives available to the company are presented and studied in relation to the financial position of the company. A non-financial analysis of the debt and equity options is conducted, in order to assess the relevance of each of those options with regards to all areas of the business other than finance. The outcomes of those analyses are combined and a recommendation is issued to the Chief Financial Officer of JetBlue: It is recommended that the company issues common stock in order to finance the needed investments in the second half of 2003. In a longer-term perspective, it is recommended to the company to use leases and secured debt for the upcoming aircraft acquisitions when favorable terms are available to the company, and to finance the remaining parts of the investments through cash generated from operations and through issuance of new equity, in order to compensate for the increasing financial and operational risks of the company. Problem Definition JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-fare, low-cost passenger airline company serving the US market. The company completed an IPO in April 2002, around two years after it was founded. JetBlue has had a successful business model and strong financial results during that period, and performed well in comparison to other airline companies in the US during the period between 2000 and 2003. The company, as by July 2003, is seeing several opportunities to grow by adding new markets and new flights to existing destinations. To accomplish this growth, the company is seeking to purchase 65 new Airbus A320, with an option to buy additional 50 ones, and also committed to purchase 100 Embraer E190 aircraft, with the option to purchase 100 additional ones. The company needs thus to think about a way to finance those acquisitions, as well as other needed investments such as spare parts, new engines, additional hangars and a flight training center. John Owen, the Chief Financial Officer of JetBlue, is in charge of finding the best financing scheme for the company. The problem facing John Owen is twofold: First, he needs to finance the acquisitions planned for the second half of 2003. Indeed, for the period from July 1 to December 31, 2003, the company has committed to purchase 8 Airbus A320 aircraft, for a total amount of $305 million to be paid in 2003 (Exhibit 8). The company is generating cash from its operating activities that amounted to $129,725 thousand for the first half of 2003, and already generated $238,989 thousand from financing activities (Exhibit 6). This will cover for part of this capital expenditure estimated at $570 million for 2003 (Exhibit 9). So John Owen needs to finance the remaining part of this capital expenditure. Second, John Owen needs to think about a long-term financing strategy. Indeed, JetBlue is committed to the purchase of 207 additional aircraft for a total amount of $6.86 billion over 8 years. Owen has to think about the best capital structure for the company and thus the best financing strategy for JetBlues investments, including the aircraft acquisitions and the related investments. SWOT Analysis Strengths The first strength of JetBlue is its founding teams background. Indeed, the company was founded by a veteran in the low-fare airline industry, backed by a group of private equity firms. The management of the company has also the expertise of leading a publicly held company, following the IPO in 2002. The company has a successful business model and exhibits strong financial results, as well as strong revenue growth despite the downturn in the industry following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Thus, JetBlue is a perceived as a solid and growing company by the investors. The low operation costs of JetBlue are one of the most important strengths of the company. The company is utilizing aircraft efficiently generating more revenue per plane. The company is also operating one type of aircraft, the Airbus A320, thus lowering maintenance and training costs and spare parts needs. The workforce of JetBlue is non-unionized and does not benefit from strict work regulations. The distribution costs of JetBlue are also low. Indeed, the company does not provide any paper tickets. The company operates only new airplanes, thus minimizing maintenance costs and offering a good â€Å"flying experience† to its customers. The company also benefits from its reliable on-time performance, comfortable airplanes, and friendly flying personnel to attract and secure its customer base. The company serves densely populated cities in underserved airports, with high fares. This strategy helps the company capture market share in these segments. The company is financing its existing aircraft through secured debt and operating leases, on favorable terms. Those financing possibilities are still available for the company for additional aircraft purchase. Weaknesses A considerable weakness of JetBlue is its small size. The company is operating 42 aircraft, for 73 flights per day and annual revenues of $635 million. The company can probably not rely on its personnel loyalty, due to the non-advantageous working conditions and regulation. The company is operating only one type of airplane, the Airbus A320. This represents a weakness for the company as well. Indeed, the planes have the same age and might all suffer at the same time from an eventual recurrent technical problem on this type of aircraft, which should be catastrophic for the company. JetBlue does not have a line of credit, or short-term borrowing facility. Therefore, the company depends on its operating cash flow to finance its short-term and working capital obligations. The balance sheet of the company also needs to be strengthened. JetBlue also faces one of the airlines principal risks which is the rising fuel price. The company is spending a considerable amount of money in hedging for fuel prices volatility. In addition, as the company is relatively consuming low volumes of fuel, it can suffer from significantly higher prices in case of fuel shortage. JetBlue is a levered company. With a short-term debt of $26,580 thousand and a long-term debt of $731,740 thousand as by June 2003, and equity of $480,594 thousand, the companys leverage ratio is 157.8%, whereas the industry average is around 129.46% (Infinancials). Opportunities Internal The purchase of the new 100-seat Embraer E190 aircraft would allow JetBlue to enter smaller markets while maintaining low operating costs, and increase flight frequency on existing routes. The private placement of convertible debt proposed by JetBlues investment bankers would provide sufficient capital at relatively low interest rates. JetBlue is a fast growing company, and should thus bear having less debt. The company has thus the opportunity to raise additional equity. External The low fares offered by JetBlue would allow it to attract new passengers who might otherwise not fly. The mid-sized market that JetBlue intends to enter will represent a new opportunity for growth to the company. By expanding its activities, the company will purchase larger volumes of jet fuel and would thus have more leverage in procuring fuel than today. The company will thus suffer relatively less from fuel shortages. Threats Internal The company is intending to grow and become an airline company â€Å"like the others†. JetBlue might thus lose its advantages from being low-cost, small and highly profitable. The company is clearly departing from its strategy, which has been the source of its strengths up to 2003. JetBlue plans to purchase a new type of aircraft, the Embraer E190. This is again a departure from the companys initial strategy which is to operate only one type of aircraft. JetBlue might thus incur higher maintenance and training costs, higher spare parts and engines costs, and some negative impact on the maintenance scheduling. JetBlue plans to increase its aircraft fleet from 45 to 252. In addition, the company plans to invest in other domains such as spare parts, new engines, additional hangars and a flight training center. This represents a very big investment and thus a consequent threat for the company. Such an investment will let the company more exposed to financial distress and raises the question of the management ability to cope with such a rapid expansion. The company board members are very concerned about dilution. There is a threat that they will not support John Owen, the CFO, if he recommends to raise new equity capital. With the rapid expansion of the company, the jet fuel expenses, as well as the cost of their hedging will grow rapidly. The company will be more exposed to both the fuel price volatility and the growing cost of hedging it. As the company will get bigger, with higher manpower, those might want to be unionized. External The fuel price is also an external factor due to its non-predictable volatility. JetBlue plans to be the launch customer for the new Embraer E190 aircraft. Although this allowed probably the company to have a price discount, it is also a threat. JetBlue might be exposed to technical and/or non-technical problems that have been not detected by the manufacturer or other users of the jet. The reason for the company to go public was to wean off its dependence on the venture capital and private equity industries. Issuing private debt securities represent a threat for JetBlue as this might lock back the company to such private investors. In addition, those investors and the private investors in general might not be interested by the eventual convertible debenture issued by the company. JetBlue is a small client of Morgan Stanley, the investment bank in charge of proposing financing alternatives for the company. Morgan Stanley might thus charge heavily JetBlue, and/or try to bias the companys choice for its benefit. The competition from other low-cost and regular airline companies which might try to counter JetBlues expansion. The revenues of the company and its growth aspirations are subject to the economic conditions. An economic downturn or additional terrorist attacks might impact negatively JetBlues ability to finance its debt obligations. The company will also have to secure additional airport gates which will represent a threat for the company in case it cannot negotiate advantageous conditions as with underserved airports. The alternatives In order to finance the acquisitions planned for the remaining part of 2003, JetBlue received two financial propositions from the investment banks. The first alternative is to issue additional 2.6 million shares at an estimated $42.50 per share. JetBlue will thus be able to raise up to $110.5 million. The fees and commissions of the bank for this proposal amount to $3,591,250 which represents a cost of 3.25%. The second proposal from the investment banks is to issue $150 million in a private placement of convertible debentures. The debentures will be a 30-year convertible debt with a coupon rate of 3.5%. In addition, the debt will be convertible into shares of JetBlue at $63.75 per share, which represents a conversion rate of 15.6863 shares per $1,000 principal amount of notes. The notes will be unsecured obligations and will rank equal in right of payment with all other unsecured debt. Currently, all of JetBlues debt is secured. The bank will not charge any additional fees for this alternative. JetBlue can consider some other alternatives as well. Indeed, the company can issue some preferred stock. This stock might be considered as equity in accounting, to strengthen the balance sheet of the company, but will at the same time accommodate the board members concern about dilution. This preferred stock option might however fail to attract investors. Another alternative might be the issuance of simple corporate bonds. The coupon rate for those will however be higher than the 3.5% of the convertible bonds. This option will thus cost more for JetBlue than convertible bonds, especially before the companys shares price eventually exceeds $63.75. Issuing public corporate bonds will have higher cost for the company as well. Indeed, those need to be ranked by some ranking agencies and will have higher coupon rates (Exhibit 12). Two other alternatives exist for JetBlue, for the aircraft acquisitions financing: The operating lease and the secured debt (each acquisition debt is secured by the acquired aircraft). Those two options are available for JetBlue at advantageous conditions. Thus, the alternatives that will be retained for the remaining of the analysis are the operating lease and secured debt for the aircraft acquisitions, and the equity issuance and the convertible private bonds for the acquisitions and the other investments. Background Research Some background research has been performed in order to assess how other airline companies are financing their aircraft acquisitions and other investments, and in a broader aspect, study the specificities of their financial structures. This study included some regular as well as low-cost airline companies. British airway, for example, is financing its aircraft acquisitions through debt, all of which being asset related. The group is principally using finance leases and hire purchases contracts to acquire aircraft (British Airways Annual Report 2010, p.104). Delta Airlines, on its side, is using pass-through certificates to finance aircraft (Delta Airlines Annual Report 2010, p.34). In addition, the company has $5.2 billion of loans secured by 287 aircraft (Delta Airlines Annual Report 2010, p.72). United Continental Holdings has a high amount of obligations, including debt, aircraft leases and financings (United Continental Holdings Annual Report 2010, p.53). A substantial portion of the companys assets, principally aircraft, are pledged under various loans and other obligations. The company also uses secured notes, equipment notes, pass-through certificates and multiple financings secured by certain aircraft spare parts, aircraft and spare engines (United Continental Holdings Annual Report 2010, p.55). United Continental Holdings also raises cash from issuance of common stock (United Continental Holdings Annual Report 2010, p.56). The low-cost airline companies seem to be, on their side, more conservative. Indeed, EasyJet is adopting a conservative capital structure policy, including a liquidity target of  £4 million cash per aircraft, and a 50% limit on net gearing (EasyJet Annual Report 2010, p.9). All of the companys debt is asset related (EasyJet Annual Report 2010, p.85). The company holds 62 aircraft under operating leases and 8 aircraft under finance leases, out of 196 total aircraft, principally Airbus (EasyJet Annual Report 2010, p.87). RyanAir, another low-cost airline company, has a fleet of 232 Boing 737-800s. The company makes its firm-order purchases through a combination of bank loans, operating and finance leases and cash flow generated from the companys operations (RyanAir Annual Report 2010, p.42). Both RyanAir and EasyJet exhibit a capital structure that relies less on debt than the regular companies counterparts, as illustrated by the following table: It is important to mention that some small airline companies choose to issue bonds for their investments as well. SpiceJet, an Indian airline company operating to Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Goa and Delhi issued in 2005 foreign currency convertible bonds worth $90 million to fund aircraft acquisitions (IndiaAviation, 2005). All in all, airline companies are using both debt and equity (together with other financing means, including cash flows generated from operations) to raise money. In its ‘Airlines return to capital markets article, David Knibb (2009) summarizes the ways several companies found financings: Lufthansa, Air-France KLM, British Airways, Air Canada, Australias Virgin Blue, Avianca and Indian carrier Kingfisher all issued bonds during 2009. AMR used private lenders to borrow money. Some other companies, smaller, chose to issue shares: SAS, Virgin Blue, AirAsia, Kingfisher, and Icelandair. From this study, it appears that the majority of airline companies are financing their aircraft acquisitions, apart from using cash flow generated by operations, through debt, either leases or secured debt. Other investment needs are financed either through debt or equity, depending on the companies. However, a common trend to low-cost companies seems to be their conservative financial structures, in comparison to bigger, regular airline companies. Financial Analysis of the Alternatives As per June 2003, JetBlue Corporation has a short-term debt of $26,580 thousand, a long-term debt of $731,740 thousand and equity of total $480,594 thousand (Exhibit 5a). In order to compute an average interest rate for the company, data from 2002 are used: The interest expenses for this year equaled $10,370 thousand (exhibit 4), for a total long-term debt of $690,252 thousand (Exhibit 5a), thus an interest rate of 1,5%. The tax expenses as per June 2003 are of $40,188 thousand for a total earnings before tax of $95,503 thousand (exhibit 4), thus a corporate tax rate of 0.42. From exhibit 1, the JetBlues equity beta during the period from April 2002 to June 2003 is 0.69. As per the data from Exhibit 5a for June 2003, the financial structure of the company was as follows: From the Hamadas formula, we can compute the unlevered beta of JetBlue as follows: Beta(u)=Beta(l)/[1+(1-T)*(Wd/We)] With Beta(l)=0.69, T=0.42, Wd=61.21 and We=38.79 Thus Beta(u)=0.36 In addition, from exhibit 12, the Treasury bill interest rate as of June 30, 2003 is 1.09%, this will be used as the risk-free rate of return. Assuming a market rate of return 9 points higher than the risk-free return, we can use the WACC spreadsheet in order to estimate the financial structure of JetBlue that minimizes the WACC of the company: Appendix 1. It turns out that the company has an optimal financial structure, minimizing its weighted average cost of capital, following those estimated figures. Any of the two options, either the convertible debt or the equity, will probably pull the financial structure from its current optimal position. For the first alternative, the convertible debenture, the coupon rate of this bond is 3.5%, for a total amount of $150,000 thousand. The weighted average cost of debt for JetBlue, if they issue such bonds, will be: [(3.5%*150,000)+(1.5%*731,740)]/(150,000+731,740), thus 1.84%. The financial structure of JetBlue will be as follows: Using the WACC spreadsheet, we can see the companys financial position with regards to the optimal financial structure of JetBlue following the new cost of debt: Appendix2. If JetBlue chooses the debt option, the financial structure of the company will no more be the one offering the minimal WACC. The same analysis can be done for the second alternative. Following the shares issuance, the financial structure of JetBlue will be as follows: Using the WACC spreadsheet, we can see the companys financial position with regards to the optimal financial structure of JetBlue following the raise in equity: Appendix3. From this analysis, it can be noted that JetBlue will still have a financial position that minimizes the companys weighted average cost of capital, thus maximizing the overall value of the companys stock. It can be concluded, from a financial point of view, that the best alternative for the investments planned for 2003 is the equity issuance. Non-Financial Analysis JetBlues passenger revenues knew a steady growth from 2000 ($101,665 thousand) to 2002 ($615,171 thousand). The revenues are forecasted to continue to grow up to a level of $1,796.9 million in 2005 (Exhibit 9). This revenue stability and expected high growth provide a strong confidence to JetBlue in its ability to meet its financial obligations, thus having the opportunity to issue either debt or equity. The companys assets amount to $1,565,322 thousand as per June 2003. Those assets are principally composed by operating property and equipment, which are pledged under the operating leases and secured debt of the company. If JetBlue chooses to finance its future aircraft acquisitions by debt, the acquired aircraft can be used to secure the corresponding debt. JetBlue, as any airline company, incurs very high fixed costs due to its high value operating property and equipment. The company has thus a very high operating leverage and is greatly exposed to the risk of cash flow projections errors in case it does not meet the projected revenues figures. Any variation in the estimated revenues, might lead the company to a position where it could not meet its financial obligations related to debt. From this point of view, JetBlue needs to secure its cash flows. As stated earlier, the company revenues knew a high growth for the precedent years and are expected to continue growing steadily. This high level of growth allows the company to rely on equity. JetBlue is a profitable company, in comparison to peers, as stated in the following graph: JetBlue exhibits good levels of gross margin and operating margin. Furthermore, the companys return on sales, return on assets and return on equity are higher than industry averages and the company can be said to be quite profitable in comparison to company peers. This offers some flexibility to the company to rely on debt. JetBlue has a high level of tax rate (0.42), this allows the company to have an even lower cost of debt and offers the company the advantage of being able to rely more on debt in order to minimize its weighted average cost of capital. All of the companys debt is secured. In addition, the company does not have any line of credit, or short-term borrowing facility. The company does therefore not have any control restrictions or obligations towards its creditors. The shareholders of the company are on their side very concerned about any dilution. This fear of losing the control of the company limits the possibility of the CFO to issue new equity. The founding and managerial team of JetBlue is issued from the airline industry. They are used to manage a highly leveraged and public company. They should thus have a positive attitude towards high levels of debt. They should be able to deal with the opposite aspect (issuing more equity) as well. JetBlue does not need any rating agency for the issuance of the bonds, as those are private. The alternative of issuing public bonds has been eliminated as this one will incur higher costs for the company. The lenders of the company seem on their side to have a positive attitude towards the company, which should be able to issue additional secured debt for its aircraft acquisitions with advantageous conditions. The company has been performing well in the recent years. However, many major US air carriers struggled between 2000 and 2003, and some of them filed for bankruptcy protection. The market is impacted by a general economic slowdown caused partly by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The market is also subject to big variations depending on several unpredictable factors, like political stability, weather conditions, natural disasters, terrorist attacks etc. All of this calls for some financial conservatism for the airline industry. The internal stability of JetBlue will probably continue to hold, unless the company faces some financial distress, or if the shareholders are no more supporting the management team. From a short-term point of view, John Owen might lose the shareholders support if he goes for equity issuance. From a mid to long-term point of view, he might as well negatively impact the internal stability of the company if he is not conservative enough to avoid any financial distress situation. The debt offering will afford JetBlue less financial flexibility, especially due to the jet fuel prices. If fuel prices rise, this will incur less operating income and thus some difficulties to the company to meet its additional debt service payments. Owen has also to review his hedging strategy of the fuel prices volatility: If the company chooses to hedge more of its fuel consumption, it will incur much higher hedging costs. If on the contrary the company chooses to reduce hedging costs, it will be more exposed to financial distress when the prices increase. Conclusion: The best solution JetBlues market capitalization can be estimated at around $3.12 billion (74,423,693 * $41.98) as per June 30, 2003. The company is intending to grow heavily in the following years, and has plans to acquire 207 new aircraft for a total $6.86 billion up to 2011,

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway :: Woolf Mrs. Dalloway Essays

Mrs. Dalloway Selection: "How many million times she had seen her face, and always with the same imperceptible contraction! She pursed her lips when she looked in the glass. It was to give her face point. That was her self-pointed; dartlike; definite. That was her self when some effort, some call on her to be her self, drew the parts together, she alone knew how different, how incompatible and composed so for the world only into one centre, one diamond, one woman who sat in her drawing-room and made a meeting-point, a radiancy no doubt in some dull lives, a refuge for the lonely to come to, perhaps; she had helped young people, who were grateful to her; had tried to be the same always, never showing a sign of all the other sides of her-faults, jealousies, vanities, suspicions, like this of Lady Bruton not asking her to lunch; which, she thought (combing her hair finally), is utterly base! Now, where was her dress?" (37). Discussion: The 'diamond' metaphor in the preceding passage is striking and fresh. A diamond is clear but not transparent; it attracts light, yet reflects and refracts it. The diamond possesses many sides but is organic, one whole thing. When Clarissa is 'in the world,' she draws "the parts (of herself) together," she is whole and unified but doesn't show "the other sides of her," as though the social side of Clarissa takes precedence; all others are part of her being but the side she presents to the world best represents the whole. Amazingly, she is aware of this process and one gets the feeling that Clarissa feels that this one-pointed unification represents her at her best, her strongest, and her most real. The diamond is a metaphor for a certain type of human consciousness. The diamond and it's qualities of clarity and many-sided wholeness are alluded to in several places in Mrs. Dalloway. Peter Walsh talks of his own life in terms of holding something in his hand: "The compensation of growing old...[is that] one has gained...the power of taking hold of experience, of turning it round, slowly, in the light" (79); This quote speaks of both satisfaction and detachment.