Factors that influence to increase price of goods

Factors that influence to increase price of goods Introduction Controls the market price of all necessary goods are the prime objective of the government. However, with the price increases of essentials capturing headlines of our national newspaper and TVs almost everyday. This price-hiking problem has become the main social problem in Bangladesh and it has great negative impacts on the people. The poor general mass is suffering most in this problem. Besides, it also hindrance the growth and development of the country. Ultimately, the goals of welfare state hampered due to lack of proper controlling the price of necessary goods. There are many reasons behind this problem. According to the finance and planning adviser, Mizan Azizul Islam, International price hike of essential necessities as being responsible for high domestic prices. In most of the cases, international market price is responsible for domestic inflation. Besides, production and production costing, export and import, preservation system, marketing policies, communication system etc are also responsible for this problem. Moreover, a group of business people are taking the advantages of these and increasing the price of necessary goods. This is unethical and unlawful. Factors that Influence to Increase Price of Goods Some factors are influencing the overall situation of the market to increase the price of necessary goods. They are- Production Production cost Preservation system Marketing strategy Export and Import Unethical business practice tendency Syndication Retail sellers unlawful tendency towards benefit Global market price Lack of government rules and its implementation Production The mass production of goods nationally and globally reduces the price of goods. If it is hampered, then it is impossible to control the price or keep the price of all necessary good in the reach of the poor people. This kind of problem happened when big countries such as China, India, Korea etc fail to produce their necessary goods. Last year due to natural disaster India fail to produce rice as a result demand for rice grows up and a scarcity was arise in the global market and at the same time price for rice goes up at a tremendous rate*. And it had a impacts both in the global and local market. *.Article on the newspaper ( The Daily Star )- Due to natural disaster India fails to produce rice to meet the local demand. So, they are going to buy and preserve rice from the global market. ally recognized levels. Production Cost Production cost depends on availability of production materials such as seed, fertilizer, water, production equipments and the weather. Lack of any of them interrupts the production and increase the production cost. According to the Section 171.1014, 1 taxable entity that elects to subtract cost of goods sold for computing its taxable margin shall determine the amount of that cost of goods sold as provided by this section. Moreover, the cost of goods sold includes all direct costs of acquiring or producing the goods (Labor costs, raw materials costs, handling costs, storage costs, repairing and maintaining costs etc)*. In addition, the cost of goods does not include the following costs in relation to the taxable entitys goods (Renting or leasing costs, selling, distributions, advertising costs etc)*. However, a group of businessperson are not following this rules and regulation and increasing the price of necessary goods for seeking more benefits. On the other hand, the governments are not taking any steps against this group of people though are there rules and regulations to prevent this. The only reason behind is that now a days more than 60% MPs are businessperson. * Section 171.1012. Determination of Cost of Goods Sold. In this section: The cost of goods sold includes all direct costs of acquiring or producing the goods, including: (1) labor costs; (2) cost of materials that are an integral part of specific property produced; (3) cost of materials that are consumed in the ordinary course of performing production activities; (4) handling costs, including costs attributable to processing, assembling, repackaging, and inbound transportation costs; Preservation Lack of proper preservation system has a great impact of the quality of the goods and on its price. Because of this most of the times producer mainly the farmer lose their interest to produce the goods. However, the government tries to make the cold storages in most of the prime cities. Further, it is not sufficient. Moreover, sometimes it is too much costly for the farmers and so on. Every year just for the lack of cold storage, farmers are dropping out their goods in the ponds, rivers. Such as tomato, potato, onion etc. Besides, it is a reason of environment pollution. The government is not taking the necessary steps to prevent this. As a result, the victim farmers are losing their interest for producing this goods and a scarcity is going to rise in the local market. Therefore, price of this goods are going high which is unreachable to the general mass. (5) storage costs, including the costs of carrying, storing, or warehousing property, subject to Subsection (e); (6) depreciation, depletion, and amortization, to the extent associated with and necessary for the production of goods, including recovery described by Section 197, Internal Revenue Code; (7) the cost of renting or leasing equipment, facilities, or real property directly used for the production of the goods, including pollution control equipment and intangible drilling and dry hole costs; (8) the cost of repairing and maintaining equipment, facilities, or real property directly used for the production of the goods, including pollution control devices; (9) costs attributable to research, experimental, engineering, and design activities directly related to the production of the goods, including all research or experimental expenditures described by Section 174, Internal Revenue Code; (10) geological and geophysical costs incurred to identify and locate property that has the potential to produce minerals; (11) taxes paid in relation to acquiring or producing any material, or taxes paid in relation to services that are a direct cost of production; (12) the cost of producing or acquiring electricity sold; and (13) a contribution to a partnership in which the taxable entity owns an interest that is used to fund activities, the costs of which would otherwise be treated as cost of goods sold of the partnership, but only to the extent that those costs are related to goods distributed to the taxable entity as goods-in-kind in the ordinary course of production activ * The cost of goods sold does not include the following costs in relation to the taxable entitys goods: (1) the cost of renting or leasing equipment, facilities, or real property that is not used for the production of the goods; (2) selling costs, including employee expenses related to sales; (3) distribution costs, including outbound transportation costs; (4) advertising costs; (5) idle facility expense; (6) rehandling costs; Marketing Still in our country, there are no proper marketing policies of the government. The lower middle class, middle class and upper class businessperson are controlling the markets. Most of the times the farmers are deprived their due prices. The middle class businessperson is unethically increasing the benefit margins. On the other hand, regarding imported goods, the businessperson are syndicating and increasing the prices of goods very high. As a result, for both of this system nationally produced goods and imported goods the consumers of our country are victims of this unethical business. Most of the times the government are the co-sharer of these unethical activities of the businessperson. In one sense, due to dishonesty and corruption justice is like a golden deer for people of Bangladesh. Therefore, the price controlling is hard to reach without development of the humanity. Besides this in Bangladesh, the business people are not following the perfect marketing strategy. In addition, the government has a lack of control on the over all market condition. Sometimes-due to this many businessperson starts to market their products without testing it and maintaining the quality*. Moreover, they focus on advertisements and start to market the products at a low price. As a result, the reputed companies who are maintaining the quality of the products it becomes tough for them to sustain in the market. Because they cannot able to market the products at a cheaper rate like their competitors. As a result, the general people have to buy the quality products at a higher rate. Communication Problem Communication problem influences to increase the price of necessary goods such as vegetables, imported goods etc. Without proper communication problem, it is tough to distribute the goods properly. It is great problem in Bangladesh and we are suffering this problem year after year. Government is trying to improve the communication problem. However, the steps they are taking are not sufficient for our country. Most of the times in the rainy seasons, prices of goods due to the communication problem. Moreover, every year flood is a common natural disaster for Bangladesh that totally breaks down the transportation system of us. On the other hand, each and every the transportation companies have to face many problems. Our government does not take any steps to secure the communication system. Groups of people take the advantage and collect money from the transportation sectors such as police, Mastans and so on. Due to this types of unethical activities, the cost of goods are incrasing. Export According to the Export Policy 1997-2002 the main objectives are to achieve optimum national growth, narrow down the gaps between export and import, to make the exportable items more attractive, to develop and expand infrastructure and so on*. In the year of 2009-2010, we export $18.36 billion. For Bangladesh the main export items are garments, textiles, jute and jute goods, ships, leather, produce, frozen fish and seafood, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, cement. Our main export partners are US 31.8%, Germany 10.9%, UK 7.9%, France 5.2%, Netherlands 5.2%, Kuwait 4.9%, Japan 4.5%, Italy 4.42% (2000). However, we fail to achieve our export objectives due to political disturbance, economical condition, natural disaster and so on. Every year we are exporting less and importing more. As a result, it create a negative impacts on our economy and price of goods are going up. Because of this unstable economic condition is arising day by day. The economy of Bangladesh is constituted by that of developing country. Its per capital income in 2008 was est. US$1,500. This is lower than India and Pakistan. Bangladesh ranked as the 48th largest economy in the world in 2008. In Bangladesh the economy has grown at the rate of 6-7% p.a. Due to infrastructure problems in transportation, communications, power supply and water distribution Bangladesh can not able to achieve it export objectives. These are the reason, which influence to increase the price of necessary goods. Objectives ( Export policy 1997-2002) The principal objectives of this policy are : 1. To achieve optimum national growth through increase of export in regional and international market; 2.. To narrow down the gap between the countrys export earning and import payment through achievement of the export targets ; 3.. To undertake timely steps for production of exportable goods at a competitive price with a view to exporting and strengthening existing export markets and making dent in new markets; 4.. To take the highest advantage of entering into the post Uruguay liberalized and globalized international market; 5. To make our exportable items more attractive to the market through product diversification and quality improvement; 6.. To establish backward linkage industries and services with a view to using more indigenous raw materials, expand the product base and identify and export higher value added products ; 7. To simplify export procedures and to rationalize and solidify export incentives; 8. To develop and expand infrastructure ; 9. To develop trained human resources in the export sector; 10. To raise the quality and grading of export products to internation Import According to the Import Policy 1997-2002 the main objectives are to make the import policy compatible with the changes in world-market, to ensure the growth of industries and so on*. In the year of 2008 Bangladesh imports$20.205 billion. Our main imported items are machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products. Our main import partners are China 11.4%, India 9.1%, Singapore 8.5%, Hong Kong 7.1%, Japan 6.5%. Government is sincerely committed to fostering a gradual development of free market economy in the light of GATT agreement. For the interest of export promotion investment in the country, it is necessary to have a long term, stable, facilitative liberal Import Policy. The present government has taken steps to extend the duration of the Import Policy from two years to five years. Efforts have been made to make the Import Policy easier and more liberal by relaxing or rescinding the regulatory provisions of the previous Import Policy. Provisions have already been made to allow import of capital machinery and industrial raw materials on consignment basis without the cover of the Letter of Credit. Main objectives of Import policy a) To make the Import Policy Compatible with the changes in world-market that have occurred as a result of the introduction of market economy and signing of the GATT Agreement. b) To simplify the procedures for import of capital machinery and industrial raw materials with a view to promoting export, and c) To ensure growth of the indigenous industry and availability of high quality goods to the consumers at a reasonable price Government has taken steps for quality control in the import of cement, fertilizer etc. In order to protect the interest of the consumers, steps are afoot to ensure that in future all imported consumer items conform to a specified standard of quality. In the present Import Policy Order, second hand/reconditioned machinery are importable subject to fulfillment of certain conditions. Gradually efforts will be made to classify the machinery under H. S. Code. However, lack of proper management sometimes the import polices are disrupted. As a result, it takes too much time to discharge/unload the goods from sea-port. So, the importers have to increase the price of the goods. Besides, syndicating problem is a great reason to increase the market price of imported goods. Unethical Business Practice Tendency Most of the cases upper class and middle class businessperson are dishonest, selfish and they are acting as the head of the society*. They are controlling the local market price as their own wish. Besides, they are controlling the era of devils and making wealth and property. Moreover, they are also responsible for syndicating and increasing the price of local market goods. Among the politician more than 60% are businessperson*, they deals with the politicians and political parties and using their power in the wrong direction. Besides, corrupting the business sectors as much as they can just to make profits. In words, it is the Kingdom of dishonest, wealthy and powerful persons. The mass people are helpless to control the price of necessary goods. According to a report in *Amar Desh (May 11, 2007), prices of essential food items have increased 25 per cent on an average in the past four months. According to a report in New Age (May 11, 2007), prices rose between five and 50 per cent during the same period- most of it under the military-backed interim government of Fakhruddin Ahmed that assumed office after the proclamation of a state of emergency on January 11. According to the governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s own statistics, inflation increased from just fewer than six per cent in January this year to almost 7.5 per cent by March. While the government appears to be in denial suggesting that inflation is not really out of control and quite below the danger level, experts fear that it might, in fact, have crossed the double-digit mark driven by the soaring food prices. *According to SLATE magazine (2007), about our very own mafia groups that group has come to be known, and often referred to in the media, as the syndicate. Despite the fact that academics, researchers and even politicians have acknowledged such collusion, its existence is denied upfront, both by government officials and businesspeople, in a manner that can be likened to that regarding the mafia. For the longest time, the existence of the mafia, or rather Cosa Nostra, was denied by insiders as well as government officials till misconceptions and myths were laid to rest by, what came to be known as, the Maxi Trial in a court in Sicily over a hundred years after its existence was officially reported. As for the syndicate, it has proved to be invincible and even immune to a state of emergency, which has not been able to curb Retail Sellers These types of people are also corrupted. They are mainly creating artificial crises of the product in the local market*. As a result, demand for those goods goes up. Moreover, sometimes the retailers offer gift items with the low quality products. As a result, demand for quality products goes down and they take the advantage by stocking the products. After few days later they market the products at a higher price. Global Market Prices It is also one of the prime reasons for increasing the price of necessary goods. We are insufficient to produce the necessary goods. Therefore, we have to depend on importing goods from foreign countries. Moreover, we need to depend on favorable price of goods of the world market. *THE RESTRICTIVE TRADE PRACTICES, MONOPOLIES AND PRICE CONTROL ACT Commencement: 1st Februar, 1989 An Act of Parliament to encourage competition in the economy by prohibiting restrictive trade practices, controlling monopolies, concentrations of economic power and prices and for connected purposes Government Precaution In all the cases the government steps towards controlling the price is also major factor. However, I am disclosing with regret that the every sector in our country are controlled by the corrupted businessperson. Most of the cases the rules of laws are absent and the implementations of laws are in near zero percentage. Those who will implement the law, most of them are highly corrupted. Therefore, the result is a big zero. The mass people with a new hope changing the government every 5 years. However, the result is more disappointed and more distress. In a word, it is a land of all evils and injustice. Without developing, the morality it is absurd to change this hails condition. We have to start a revolution from young generation. Conclusion Due to all of these lacking it is going to be impossible to control the price of necessary goods. The very poor people are suffering most of the cases by this problem. As a result, the major portion of the people are going as burden for the society. Therefore, we have to take precautions to avoid this problem for making a happy, wealthy and prosperous Bangladesh. If we want to achieve this then we have to take serious action and frame effective laws for the elimination of the middle men groups existing various trading circles, by framing effective measure to control bribery between law enforcing agencies and trades. A strong co-ordination efforts and monitoring cells should be formed to observe and check price level of essential commodities in different trade center of the country. Besides, committees should be established for the co-operation, co-ordination and exchange of information in between different Government officials entrusted to check price level, by re-introducing old rationing system by the Government to stable the prices, by identifying syndicate groups and taking appropriate action against them.

No More Hiroshima and Slough Poem Comparision Essay

There can be no doubt that â€Å"Slough† and â€Å"No More Hiroshima’s† share a large collection of differences. However, they additionally have similarities. The poem â€Å"Slough† written by John Betjeman and is expressing his hatred for the place. This becomes apparent from the beginning when he ask for â€Å"friendly bombs, come fall on slough. † The satirical humour and juxtaposition of â€Å"friendly† and â€Å"bomb† are ironic and portray a dark image of the place, and this is continued throughout the poem with words such as â€Å"Death†, and â€Å"Hell†. Moreover, the imagery of the poem is ferocious and ghastly which greats a sense of negativity towards Slough. The poem â€Å"No More Hiroshima’s† by James Kirkup shares a similarity with Slough due to the aspect of war. No More Hiroshima’s is constructed around the reconstruction of the city Hiroshima’s after having nuclear bombs released on it. Furthermore, both poets are infuriated by the cities. No More Hiroshima’s begins with the tourist arriving at the station, â€Å"At the station exit, my bundle in hand† this already creates a sense of the poet coming off the train being confused at how busy the station is and how he was expecting to see huge inspirational memorials, however he was astonished and disappointed to see no memorials and compares it to any ordinary Japanese town. The poet in Slough wishes for slough to be obliterated as it says â€Å"come bombs, and blow to smithereens† whereas the No More Hiroshima’s poem doesn’t wish for the place to be wounded as the poet still sees Hiroshima as a precious place but it has just been used in the erroneous way due to commercialization of the demolished city. Consequently I believe this portrays a sense of negativity and is extremely idiosyncratic from the poet Betjeman and this continues throughout the whole poem. In the poem No More Hiroshima’s the poet doesn’t present any characters In a clear manner. Therefore he can talk about the place in a more general manner. Conversely in Slough the poet introduces characters as he feels he has to take his emotions out on the people not the city as it says for example â€Å" and get that man with double chin, who’ll always cheat and always win, who washes his repulsive skin In women’s tears,† the poet here is vehement that the people are additionally a cause for the failure of Slough whereas the in No More Hiroshima’s there isn’t blame on the people.

Reflection on Humanities Essay

Art is very important in our lives. It constitutes one of the oldest form and most important means of expression developed by man. It is a language, which is charged with feelings and significance that has sprung up among men living together. For this, I am very glad to experience the beauty of arts, to meet arts within my body and soul. The teaching of the humanities is intended to make us students realize that the mere possession of knowledge is useless unless put to useful ends. Moreover, we would become aware that knowledge alone is meaningless unless it is accompanied by values, sentiments, priorities, insights, inter-relationships and other transcendent realities not subject to empirical proofs also form part of the person’s education. In the humanities, we, students are exposed to these, thus, the development of the whole person, which is the goal of humanities. The humanities are the stories, the ideas, and the words that help us make sense of our lives and our world. The humanities introduce us to people we have never met, places we have never visited, and ideas that may have never crossed our minds. By showing how others have lived and thought about life, the humanities help us decide what is important in our own lives and what we can do to make them better. By connecting us with other people, they point the way to answers about what is right or wrong, or what is true to our heritage and our history. The humanities help us address the challenges we face together in our families, our communities, and as a nation. I am blessed to have met Mr. Apas. I knew and realized the glaring importance and beauty of what he always tell us regarding culture and art in our humanities class. But I pray the effort for each of us to grasp at what he was aiming, might at the very least bring us to a better understanding of arts and culture.

Imagine walking

Imagine walking into a dance club and feeling like you are floating through the door and hovering over the crowd. As you enter the dance floor the music and the lights slam your senses and send your body into overload. The music sounds more real, as if it was inside your head playing only for you. The lights are unbelieveably bright and they seem to hypnotize you. You step on the dance floor and the crowd swallows you in. Your body begins to move to the music without you even thinking about it. The music seems to be perfect and the crown around seems to be in perfect harmony with you and the music and lights. You dance with many people and you seem to have the perfect moves to go with any song that is played. Your mouth in constantly dry and you find yourself drinking gallons of water to keep from dehydrating. You dance all night long, loving every minute of your roll. Your senses are in a state of complete magnification and you love every minute of it. This is ECS! There is a new drug taking over in this millennium. This drug is different than drugs of the past. It is used by the younger generation, by clubbers, and generally by young people looking for a good time and a great high. Ecstasy has changed the way we look at drugs. Its not physically addictive and for the most part it is only used when people go out, to a party or a dance club. This drug is very popular and it has many people worried. No one really knows what it does to the body yet, and there are always rumors of death from taking these pills. Throughout this paper I will give the facts on ecstasy, its role in society, and its effects on human body. First off Im going to tell what ecstasy really is. The chemical makeup of ecstasy is, (C11H15NO2). The name for this compound is Methylenedioxy Methamphetamine or MDMA. One of the most challenging things that law enforcement is facing is the fact that this drug is easy to make and distribute. ...

Inertia and the Laws of Motion

Inertia and the Laws of Motion Inertia is the name for the tendency of an object in motion to remain in motion, or an object at rest to remain at rest  unless acted upon by a force. This concept was quantified in Newtons First Law of Motion. The word inertia came from the Latin word iners, which means idle or lazy and was first used by Johannes Kepler. Inertia and Mass Inertia is a quality of all objects made of matter that possess mass. They keep doing what they are doing until a force changes their speed or direction. A ball sitting still on a table wont start rolling around unless something pushes on it, be it your hand, a gust of air, or vibrations from the surface of the table. If you tossed a ball in the frictionless vacuum of space, it would travel on at the same speed and direction forever unless acted on by gravity or another force such as a collision. Volker Mà ¶hrke / Getty Images Mass is a measure of inertia. Objects of higher mass resist changes in motion more than objects of lower mass. A more massive ball, such as one made of lead, will take more of a push to start it rolling. A styrofoam ball of the same size but low mass may be set in motion by a puff of air. Theories of Motion From Aristotle to Galileo In everyday life, we see rolling balls come to rest. But they do so because they are acted on by force of gravity and from the effects of friction and air resistance. Because that is what we observe, for many centuries Western thought followed the theory of Aristotle, who said that moving objects would eventually come to rest and needed continued force to keep them in motion. In the seventeenth century, Galileo experimented with rolling balls on inclined planes. He discovered that as friction was reduced, balls rolled down an inclined plane attained almost the same height rolling back up an opposing plane. He reasoned that if there were no friction, they would roll down an incline and then keep rolling on a horizontal surface forever. It wasnt something innate in the ball that caused it to stop rolling; it was contact with the surface. Newtons First Law of Motion and Inertia Isaac Newton developed the principles shown in Galileos observations into his first law of motion. It takes a force to stop the ball from continuing to roll once it is set in motion. It takes a force to change its speed and direction. It doesnt need a force to continue moving at the same speed in the same direction. The first law of motion is often referred to as the law of inertia. This law applies to an inertial reference frame. Corollary 5 of Newtons Principia says: The motions of bodies included in a given space are the same among themselves, whether that space is at rest or moves uniformly forwards in a straight line without circular motion. In this way, if you drop a ball on a moving train that is not accelerating, you will see the ball fall straight downward, as you would on a train that was not moving.

Realism and the Lord of the Ring 3 Movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Realism and the Lord of the Ring 3 Movie - Essay Example Yet again, the absence of a regulating body makes the agents relate with one another on their own without being directed by a higher authority according to Crawford (45). It is also noted that since the players in the realism pitch do so in an environment that is unstable as they scramble for the same resources. As a result, sometimes the players engage in war in which case they have themselves to depend on. Before nationalism came into being as a political doctrine, realism in the political scene involved such jurisdictions as ruling dynasties and kingdoms (Mearsheimer 87). Generally, the realist ideology demands that the relevant agent ensures its own interests and survival before it can extend a glance to others’ needs. Connection between Realism and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) The epic fantasy film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King which is based on the preceding volumes of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In brief, Sauron has been se eking to launch his conquest of Middle-earth. On the other hand, Theoden King of Rohan and Wizard Gandalf join forces to defend Minas Tirith (the capital of Gondor) from the impending danger. In the end, Aragorn claims Gondor’s throne and seeks the help of an army of ghosts to battle against Sauron. Even with the massive and remarkable force behind them, they realize that their lot is bound to be defeat. Sam, Frodo and the Hobbits have to shoulder the Ring’s burden and deal with Gollum’s treachery. A long journey sees them arrive in Mordor, a land that is quite full of danger. They desire to destroy the One Ring where it was created – using Mount Doom’s volcanic fires. The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the... Realism has continued to gain ground especially following the events of the Second World War. Realism, according to political scientists may be defined as the belief that reality essentially exists without respect to observers. Politically, realism is seen at play in international relations whenever national or territorial interests and security are given higher priority over social reconstructions, ideology and moral concerns. Ideally, the growing interest in realism comes about with the view that competitive self interest is the main driver of world politics. The application of realism or realist notions and perspectives is prevalent across the world. The main characteristics of realism include the desire for agents to secure themselves against threats and to protect their interests first before considering those of other players or agents. In the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, realism is beyond doubt in existence. The various battles that are fought in the movie are aimed at protecting the interests of particular jurisdictions or individuals. Yet again the security of the jurisdictions is considered whenever threats seem to emerge from external forces. The absence of a governing body makes the playing field open to conflict as the fight for resources becomes evident. In spite of the above facts, it cannot be ignored that some players overcome the temptations associated with seeking power in a move that downplays the ideals of realism. The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King is an epic-fantasy movie that starts off with the evil Sauron launching the final phases of his take-over of Middle-earth while Gandalf and Theoden assist in defending Minas Tirith.

International Business paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

International Business paper - Essay Example Australian newspapers have similarly been blazing on about the changes in the economic policy and big business. The Age reported on February 25th about the Australian clothing company Pacific Brands moving its manufacturing facilities to China (Draper 2009). This has been in line with moves by a range of such businesses in the country deciding to place their facilities in Asia. Brands espoused by the company have been seen to be quintessentially Australian with a large following. This decision has been seen with a reflection of how many other local manufacturers in the food industry and others have slowly been taken over by foreign based companies. However, The Age reports that Pacific Brands, which retains Australian ownership, stresses that it remains very much Australian. Despite its manufacturing facilities now located in Asia and the subsequent layoff of workers in the country, the company's top management is quick to point out that the idea generation and organization will always remain Australian and thus it will not lose its focus towards the country (Draper 2009). In another article, The Canberra Times comments on the possible measures being contemplated by the Government to limit free trade by ranking up tariffs and subsidies (Barnett 2009). This is seen as a possible deterrent to the adverse effects of the international financial crisis and that it would help local businesses to stand up. Globalization is seen by some circles to be blamed for the recession that is leading to layoffs and a drop in production. It is believed that such restrictive measures can be used, despite remaining WTO legal to help the Australian economy. However it is argued that it could potentially be devastating since the country now has a big population and in recent years has been witnessing floods in rural areas and bush fires along with other troubles. It requires the elements of free trade to be present so that cheap imports can be brought in to meet local needs as the local economy may not be as self sufficient as is predicted (Barnett 2009). Question 1 Both these articles can be said to fall into the study of international business. The article by The Age speaks of the move by one Australian company that is typical of the trend being adopted by companies worldwide to find cheaper labor costs and costs of manufacturing to get higher profit margins. This shows the emergence of the global economy that we are witnessing today and the worldwide marketplace such that it is viable for businesses to shift their facilities to different parts of the world as comparative advantage shifts (Hirst 2002). It further has implications for local employment and that in the area to which the company shifts where the company will have to adapt to the local culture and practices in the case of its workforce there. It may further have to deal with exchange rate changes, a possible reliance on hedging techniques and be involved in the foreign exchange market which further links the company with others around the world. The other one by The Canberra Times talks about the Australian government's response to a global financial crisis and the ensuing recession. This is relevant to international bus