Financial System

Case Study on Financial Ethics: The Bernie Madoff Case

On December 11, 2008, as the arrest of Benard Madoff, the former non-executive chairman of NASDAQ and chairman of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, many investors, big firms, banks, charities, universities and even governments were in panic, realizing that they were involved in a giant financial fraud, ‘all just one big lie’. According to an official document on March 12, 2009 from the Department of Justice of United States, Madoff pleaded guilty to eleven felony counts related to a massive Ponzi scheme and faced a statutory maximum sentence of 150 years in prison.

Actually, what Mr. Madoff did was simple; He continually paid high returns to existing clients with the funds injected by new investors without engaging in any form of legitimate investment activity and this is what people call ‘the Ponzi scheme’, named after Charles Ponzi who did such kind of financial fraud in 1920’s.… Read the rest

Abey Francis

Depositary Receipts – Definition, History and Types

A Depositary Receipt (DR) is a type of negotiable (transferable) financial security traded on a local stock exchange but represents a security, usually in the form of equity, issued by a foreign, publicly-listed company. The Depositary Receipt, which is a physical certificate, allows investors to hold shares in equity of other countries. One of the most common types of Depository Receipts is the American depository receipt (ADR), which has been offering companies, investors and traders global investment opportunities since the 1920s.

Since then, Depository Receipts have spread to other parts of the globe in the form of global depository receipts (GDRs).… Read the rest

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Money Laundering

Money laundering is a process used by offenders who attempt to conceal the true origin and ownership of the proceeds; these proceeds are results of criminal activities. It allows them to maintain control over the proceeds and provide a legitimate cover for their source of income.

The laundering of the proceeds that result from criminal activity is done through the financial system. The people who are involved in such an action exploit the facilities of the financial institutions of the world. Such an action is done easily under these conditions of free movement of capital. Banks involved in such actions risk to lose their market reputation.… Read the rest

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How Interest Rates Can Influence Financial Decisions?

Interest rates exert the following economic influences.

  • Interest rates in a country influence the foreign exchange value of the country’s currency.
  • Interest rates act as a guide to the return that a company’s shareholders might want, and changes in market interest rates will affect share prices.

A positive real rate of interest enhances an investor’s real wealth to the income he earns from his investments. However, when interest rates go up or down, perhaps due to a rise or fall in the rate of inflation, there will also be a potential capital loss or gain for the investor. In other words, the market value of interest-bearing securities will alter.… Read the rest

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Role of Stock Markets in an Economy

Financial market is one of the components of financial system. Financial market facilitates the efficient allocation of financial resources of the economy so as to achieve socially desirable and economically productive purposes. Existence of an efficient financial market is a pre requisite for promoting savings, investments and consequent economic growth.

Financial markets are extremely important to the general health of an economy. The main function of financial system, viz. capital formation takes place practically in financial markets. Financial institutions work as financial intermediaries and establish link between suppliers and users of funds in financial market. Financial products, including the supply of credit, mortgages, company shares and insurance, are bought and sold in primary and secondary financial markets.… Read the rest

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Positive and Negative Effects of Debt

Debt can be viewed as good and sometimes also can bad too. Debt makes people and organizations that they would not allowed to do. All this while, people use it to purchase houses, cars, and others things with their cash on hand. With the debt, they can spend as much as they want on expensive things.

Besides, for those companies also use the debt as to influence the investment made in their assets. This influence of debt is considered as an important part in determining the riskiness of the investment. As we know that, the more the debt per equity, the more risky we will face.… Read the rest

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