Wherever You Go, Thats Who You Are - 1134 Words

A person’s surroundings have a strong influence on the course of their lives and their character. This is shown in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The main character in the story, Amir, lives in Kabul, Afghanistan with his successful and respected father, Baba, and their two servants Ali and Hassan. Amir and Hassan grow up together as very close friends, but their friendship often suffers from the tension of Amirs insecurities, as well as their societys negative view on Hassans Hazara ethnicity. The final thread holding their friendship together is broken when Amir fails to protect Hassan from being raped from the terrorizing Assef. After Hassan leaves Amirs life, political events cause Amir and his father to flee to America, where they take on the challenge of adjusting to a new country. Amir spends years building a life in America, a family and a career, until an old friend calls him back home to offer a chance of redeeming his wrong-doings in his youth. On ret urning to a very different Afghanistan from the one he used to call home, Amir learns Hassan is his illegitimate brother, faces his past, and finds relief in atoning for his sins by rescuing Hassan’s son from Assef. Hosseini uses layered settings: a traditional Kabul, an Afghan community in America, and a Taliban ruled Afghanistan, that intertwine with Amir’s life to create a unique novel. The traditions and mindset of the pre-Taliban Kabul, Afghanistan during Amir’s youth played a large role in hisShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Patrick Barclay s Award Winning Work1537 Words   |  7 Pagessignificance, while none of those parts relates to the previous one, not in context of Jose Mourinho’s life, but of his traits as an individual as well as a manager. The eight parts are: 1. The Premier One 2. Welcome to England 3. The Formative Years 4. Jose Who? 5. Behind the Mask 6. From Infighting to Ecstasy 7. Mayhem in Madrid 8. 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The Movie The Cage Essay - 720 Words

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Financial Ratio Analysis of Firms

Question: Discuss about the Financial Ratio Analysis of Firms. Answer: Introduction:- The investment related decisions highly depends on the return generating capacity of the investment. Potential investors always intend to invest in such companies, which can provide higher returns. The investors and stakeholders can evaluate the potentiality of any company in respect to its return generating capacity by proper analysis of its past financial performances. Thomas Cook Group Plc. is a popular global travel company with having its headquarter at Peterborough in United Kingdom. Though, it is mainly UK based company, the company uses to operate around all over Europe. The basic operations of the company include world-wide tour-operating services and airline services in UK and Belgium. The company also runs the website, named Hotels4u, for booking hotels. Presently Thomas Cook Group has almost 33,000 employees and 3,000 service outlets. As per the turnover and operation, it is considered as the second largest travel company in allover UK and Europe, as well, after TUI travel. In the last few decades, tourism industry has developed quite significantly. Introduction of low fare airlines has triggered the development and attracted more clients, especially, from the third world countries. Like the other international travel companies, Thomas Cook has also enjoyed the benefits of the industrial growth. However, it has faced tough competition from many low budgeted regional travel companies. Moreover, the company also suffered from financial crisis in the last few years due to high rise in the fuel costs and the unstable political conditions in Middle East Northern Africa, which is one of the favored regions amongst European tourists. The report is prepared to evaluate the financial performances of Thomas Cook Group Plc. for investment related decisions. The financial performances of the company for the last five years have been evaluated under various aspects by using ratio analysis technique. Apart from the financial factors, other important non-financial factors have also been considered for the decision-making process. The financial performance of any company can be classified under different groups in accordance to the different financial aspects. The different aspects help to describe the financial condition of the company from different perspectives. Therefore, the performance evaluation should also be conducted under these different aspects for better analysis (Uechi et al. 2015). The financial performance of Thomas Cook is also evaluated under different aspects through related financial ratios. Profitability:- Profit is the primary objective for any form of business. All the business firms use to invest capital and operate its business activities to earn profit. It not only helps the business firm to fund its business operation but also is the source of returns to the investors of the firm. Hence, it is necessary to evaluate the profit generating capacity of the company before any investment. The profitability ratios of Thomas Cook are presented in the table below: Profitability Ratio Analysis:- Particulars 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Revenue (A) 7812 7834 8588 9315 9491.2 Gross Profit (B) 5990 6062 1868 2020 7415.9 Net Profit/Loss (D) 9 19 -115 -213 -590.1 Total Assets (F) 6955 5958 5794 6285 5906.8 Common Stock(H) 391 368 285 548 457.9 Current Liabilities (I) 4630 3702 3894 3688 3540.1 Capital Employed (J=F-I) 2325 2256 1900 2597 2366.7 Operating Profit (K) 205 211 54 13 -319.3 Gross Profit Margin Ratio (C/A) 76.68% 77.38% 21.75% 21.69% 78.13% Net Profit Margin (D/A) 0.12% 0.24% -1.34% -2.29% -6.22% Return on Capital Employed (K/J) 8.82% 9.35% 2.84% 0.50% -13.49% Return on Assets (A/F) 0.001 0.003 -0.02 -0.03 -0.10 Return on Equity (A/H)) 0.02 0.05 -0.40 -0.39 -1.29 The table exhibits that the gross profit margin of the company has fallen down in 2013 and 2012,but again it has increased quite significantly in the last two years. Though from 2012 to 2014, the company the net profit margins were negative, the company has been able to turn into positive. However, still the net profit margin in very low. It has also improved its return on capital employed over the period. Like the net profit margins, the return on assets and equity were also negative in the first three years and have begun to improve in the last two years, though the return rates are not satisfactory at all. It can be stated that from above discussions that from 2012 to 2014, due to high amount of operating and other non-operating expenses, the company could not convert its revenue and gross profits into net profit, rather ended up with net losses. However, it has shown some improvement in the last two years and has been able to generate some net profits. The company has also failed to utilize its assets for generating adequate amount of profit also. During the financial crisis, it had not provided ant return on equity. However, currently it is providing nominal rate of return to the invested equity capital (Babalola and Abiola 2013). Dividend and Market Performance:- Dividends and market performance in terms of stock market are two major factors, considered by the investors. The following table describes the dividend policy and market performances of the company: 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Earning Per Share 0.8 1.6 -8.2 -17.1 -67.2 Proposed Dividend 0.5 0 0 0 0 Book Value per Share 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Market Value per Share 92.74 140.83 166.29 41.38 12.72 Total Assets 6955 5958 5794 6285 5906.8 Total Equity 391 368 285 548 458 Dividend Payout Ratio 63% 0% 0% 0% 0% Dividend Yield Rate 0.54% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Assets Value per Share 1.78 1.62 2.03 1.15 1.29 P/E Ratio 115.93 88.02 -20.28 -2.42 -0.19 The table shows that the Dividend payout ratio and dividend yield rate, both were nil in the initial four years. It has been caused as the company was unable to pay dividends due to the huge losses, incurred in the first three years.. However, in the current year, the company has paid 63% of its net earnings as dividend. The dividend yield rate, which reflects the return rate in accordance to the market price per share, is presently 0.54%, which can be regarded as poor also. The P/E ratio describes the net earning generating capacity of any company in comparison to the market value per share. It had been negative also from 2012 to 2014. However from 2015, it has become positive and currently it is quite high comparing to the last 4 years. It can be sated that though the company was unable to provide any returns to its shareholders during the first few years, the market performance has improved in the last two years. The company is providing returns to the investors in terms of net earnings and dividends. However, the return rates are not very satisfactory in comparison to the other companies (Bodie et al. 2014). Financial Stability Liquidity:- Financial stability and liquidity position implies the financial strength of any business. Financial stability describes whether the business is able to continue its operation in long term or not. The stability ratios of Thomas Cook are shown below: b) Long-Term Stability Ratio Analysis:- 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Total Equity (A) 391 368 285 548 457.9 Total Liabilities (B) 6,564 5,590 5,509 5,737 5,449 Total Assets ( C) 6955 5958 5794 6285 5906.8 Debt to Equity Ratio (B/A) 16.79 15.19 19.33 10.47 11.90 Equity Ratio (A/C) 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.09 0.08 Debt Ratio (B/C) 0.94 0.94 0.95 0.91 0.92 The table states that the debt-to-equity ratio and debt ratio are very high, whereas, the equity ratio is too low for all the five years. It implies that the company uses to raise its capital mostly through debt financing. The assets are majorly funded by debt capital also. It may help the company to lower down its cost of capital, but it also indicates that the company does not have any internal reserve to continue its operation (Heikal et al. 2014). The liquidity ratios describes the ability of any firm to cover its current liabilities through its current assets. The ratios of Thomas Cook are calculated in the following table: c) Short-Term Liquidity Ratio Analysis:- 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Total Current Assets (A) 2656 2035 1829 1933 1524.2 Inventory (B) 43 52 34 38 30.5 Income before Interest Taxes ( C) 15 29 -106.8 -195.9 -373.9 Interest Expense (D) 6 10 8.2 17.1 216.2 Total Current Liabilities (F) 4630 3702 3894 3688 3540.1 Current Ratio (A/F) 0.57 0.55 0.47 0.52 0.43 Quick Ratio [(A-B)/F) 0.56 0.54 0.46 0.51 0.42 Time Interest Earned Ratio (C/D) 2.50 2.90 -13.02 -11.46 -1.73 From the table, it can be stated that the current ratios and quick ratios during the period were below 0.6. The time interest earned ratios over the first three year were negative, whereas, in the last two years, it is above 2. It indicates that the company does not maintain sufficient current assets to pay off its current liabilities. Moreover, due to huge losses, initially the company did not have the ability to pay its interest expenses out of its net income. However, after improving its profit earning capacity in the last two years, it has enough income to cover the interest expenses (Wahlen et al. 2014). There are many other financial factors, which may create impact on the market value of the company. The factors, which should be considered for evaluating Thomas Cook are described below: Important Information:- The important information, disclosed by the companies regarding its financial performance and other activities, often affect the market price of the stocks. Thomas Cook provides many important details in its official website. The quarterly and annual financial reports, published in the website, help the investors to evaluate the growth or downfall of the performance properly. Moreover, many corporate news, like, introduction of new own brand hotels and announcement of new partnership ventures with Fosun and Ingo Burmester, also create impact on the performances (Thomascookgroup.com, 2017). Such news helps the company to attract new investors and increase the share value in the stock market. Market Report:- Apart from the companys reports, it is necessary to analyze the market reports of the company from various sources. The UK tourism statistics report for 2015 provides detail description of the industry performance for the last few years. It states that the huge loss, incurred by Thomas Cook in the initial period, were not caused only for the poor performance of the company. Most of the large travel companies, as well as, the airlines companies, faced the same consequences. It had been caused due to drastic increase of fuel costs. The travel companies were unable to provide economic tour packages to the clients and loss many customers accordingly. Many customers shifted to lower budgeted packages, offered by the small travel companies. However, within the last few years, the large travel companies have developed many economic plans to recover its clients. It has been observed that to offer low budget tour packages and maintain the service quality, as well, most of large travel agencies have merged with small airlines companies so that they can control the travel cost accordingly (www.tourismallianc e.com, 2017). Thomas Cook has also introduced its own airlines company under the brand name Condor. It has also planned to introduce own hotel chains. Thus, the company is not only trying to reduce the travelling cost, but also, the accommodation and fooding costs, as well. Higher Management:- Higher management and the board directors of any company use to take all the important decisions. Hence, the credentials of the higher management and the directors should be checked also for investment decisions. The board of directors of Thomas Cook is consisted with one chairman, two executive directors and five non-executive directors. Currently, Peter Fankhauser is the Group Chief Executive Officer, who governs over all the departments of the company and Michael Healy, the other executive director, looks over the finance department mainly. The other non-executive directors work independently (Thomascookgroup.com, 2017). Conclusion:- From the above discussion, it can be stated that Thomas Cook Group Plc. was suffering from financial crisis for the last few years due to the poor performance of the company and overall tourism industry, as well. Currently it is recovering its financial strength and financial position gradually. The company has begun to earn profit again, but the profit margins are very low. Moreover, the company has still not recovered its financial strength completely. It has large debts in the market. The liquidity position is also not stable yet. The asset value per share of the company, as shown above, is very low in comparison to the market price per share. It indicates that the market price of the company stocks is overvalued, as it is not supported by sufficient amount of asset. However, the poor financial performance of Thomas Cook is a result of industrial downfall. The company has taken several initiatives to improve its financial position in the next few years. Therefore, it can be concluded that though Thomas Cook Group Plc. has shown improvement in its performance in the recent years, considering its poor return rate and unstable financial strength, it is better to invest in its stock after observing its performance for the next year also. References Babalola, Y.A. and Abiola, F.R., 2013. Financial ratio analysis of firms: A tool for decision making.International journal of management sciences,1(4), pp.132-137 Bodie, Z., Kane, A. and Marcus, A.J., 2014.Investments, 10e. McGraw-Hill Education Heikal, M., Khaddafi, M. and Ummah, A., 2014. Influence analysis of return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), net profit margin (NPM), debt To equity ratio (DER), and current ratio (CR), against corporate profit growth in automotive In Indonesia stock exchange.International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences,4(12), p.101 Horngren, C.T., Sundem, G.L., Schatzberg, J.O. and Burgstahler, D., 2013.Introduction to management accounting. Pearson Higher Ed. Kaplan, R.S. and Atkinson, A.A., 2015.Advanced management accounting. PHI Learning Thomascookgroup.com. (2017).Thomas Cook Group Board of Directors. [online] Available at: https://www.thomascookgroup.com/board-of-directors/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017]. Thomascookgroup.com. (2017).Thomas Cook Group Corporate News. [online] Available at: https://www.thomascookgroup.com/category/corporate-news/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017]. Thomascookgroup.com. (2017).Thomas Cook Group Reports and Presentations. [online] Available at: https://www.thomascookgroup.com/reports-and-presentations/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017]. Uechi, L., Akutsu, T., Stanley, H.E., Marcus, A.J. and Kenett, D.Y., 2015. Sector dominance ratio analysis of financial markets.Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications,421, pp.488-509 Wahlen, J., Baginski, S. and Bradshaw, M., 2014.Financial reporting, financial statement analysis and valuation. Nelson Education Weygandt, J.J., Kimmel, P.D. and Kieso, D.E., 2015.Financial Managerial Accounting. John Wiley Sons www.tourismalliance.com. (2017).UK Tourism Statistics. [online] Available at: https://www.tourismalliance.com/downloads/TA_390_415.pdf [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017]. Financial Ratio Analysis of Firms Questions: 1. Identify the profits, earnings- discuss, the 5 years trend, economic condition, calculate the ratios and interpret the results for 5 years on the financial performance? 2. Identify dividends (including a comprehensive ratio analysis) calculate the ratios and interpret the results for 5 years on the financial performance? 3. Financial stability and liquidity (including a comprehensive ratio analysis)calculate the ratios and interpret the results for 5 years on the financial performanc? 4. Research the webpage for any information about the companys performance or any news that has an impact on their performance? Answers: Introduction:- The investment related decisions highly depends on the return generating capacity of the investment. Potential investors always intend to invest in such companies, which can provide higher returns. The investors and stakeholders can evaluate the potentiality of any company in respect to its return generating capacity by proper analysis of its past financial performances. Thomas Cook Group Plc. is a popular global travel company with having its headquarter at Peterborough in United Kingdom. Though, it is mainly UK based company, the company uses to operate around all over Europe. The basic operations of the company include world-wide tour-operating services and airline services in UK and Belgium. The company also runs the website, named Hotels4u, for booking hotels. Presently Thomas Cook Group has almost 33,000 employees and 3,000 service outlets. As per the turnover and operation, it is considered as the second largest travel company in allover UK and Europe, as well, after TUI travel. In the last few decades, tourism industry has developed quite significantly. Introduction of low fare airlines has triggered the development and attracted more clients, especially, from the third world countries. Like the other international travel companies, Thomas Cook has also enjoyed the benefits of the industrial growth. However, it has faced tough competition from many low budgeted regional travel companies. Moreover, the company also suffered from financial crisis in the last few years due to high rise in the fuel costs and the unstable political conditions in Middle East Northern Africa, which is one of the favored regions amongst European tourists. The report is prepared to evaluate the financial performances of Thomas Cook Group Plc. for investment related decisions. The financial performances of the company for the last five years have been evaluated under various aspects by using ratio analysis technique. Apart from the financial factors, other important non-financial factors have also been considered for the decision-making process. The financial performance of any company can be classified under different groups in accordance to the different financial aspects. The different aspects help to describe the financial condition of the company from different perspectives. Therefore, the performance evaluation should also be conducted under these different aspects for better analysis (Uechi et al. 2015). The financial performance of Thomas Cook is also evaluated under different aspects through related financial ratios. 1. Profitability:- Profit is the primary objective for any form of business. All the business firms use to invest capital and operate its business activities to earn profit. It not only helps the business firm to fund its business operation but also is the source of returns to the investors of the firm. Hence, it is necessary to evaluate the profit generating capacity of the company before any investment. The profitability ratios of Thomas Cook are presented in the table below: Profitability Ratio Analysis:- Particulars 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Revenue (A) 7812 7834 8588 9315 9491.2 Gross Profit (B) 5990 6062 1868 2020 7415.9 Net Profit/Loss (D) 9 19 -115 -213 -590.1 Total Assets (F) 6955 5958 5794 6285 5906.8 Common Stock(H) 391 368 285 548 457.9 Current Liabilities (I) 4630 3702 3894 3688 3540.1 Capital Employed (J=F-I) 2325 2256 1900 2597 2366.7 Operating Profit (K) 205 211 54 13 -319.3 Gross Profit Margin Ratio (C/A) 76.68% 77.38% 21.75% 21.69% 78.13% Net Profit Margin (D/A) 0.12% 0.24% -1.34% -2.29% -6.22% Return on Capital Employed (K/J) 8.82% 9.35% 2.84% 0.50% -13.49% Return on Assets (A/F) 0.001 0.003 -0.02 -0.03 -0.10 Return on Equity (A/H)) 0.02 0.05 -0.40 -0.39 -1.29 The table exhibits that the gross profit margin of the company has fallen down in 2013 and 2012,but again it has increased quite significantly in the last two years. Though from 2012 to 2014, the company the net profit margins were negative, the company has been able to turn into positive. However, still the net profit margin in very low. It has also improved its return on capital employed over the period. Like the net profit margins, the return on assets and equity were also negative in the first three years and have begun to improve in the last two years, though the return rates are not satisfactory at all. It can be stated that from above discussions that from 2012 to 2014, due to high amount of operating and other non-operating expenses, the company could not convert its revenue and gross profits into net profit, rather ended up with net losses. However, it has shown some improvement in the last two years and has been able to generate some net profits. The company has also failed to utilize its assets for generating adequate amount of profit also. During the financial crisis, it had not provided ant return on equity. However, currently it is providing nominal rate of return to the invested equity capital (Babalola and Abiola 2013). 2. Dividend and Market Performance:- Dividends and market performance in terms of stock market are two major factors, considered by the investors. The following table describes the dividend policy and market performances of the company: The table shows that the Dividend payout ratio and dividend yield rate, both were nil in the initial four years. It has been caused as the company was unable to pay dividends due to the huge losses, incurred in the first three years.. However, in the current year, the company has paid 63% of its net earnings as dividend. The dividend yield rate, which reflects the return rate in accordance to the market price per share, is presently 0.54%, which can be regarded as poor also. The P/E ratio describes the net earning generating capacity of any company in comparison to the market value per share. It had been negative also from 2012 to 2014. However from 2015, it has become positive and currently it is quite high comparing to the last 4 years. It can be sated that though the company was unable to provide any returns to its shareholders during the first few years, the market performance has improved in the last two years. The company is providing returns to the investors in terms of net earnings and dividends. However, the return rates are not very satisfactory in comparison to the other companies (Bodie et al. 2014). 3. Financial Stability Liquidity: Financial stability and liquidity position implies the financial strength of any business. Financial stability describes whether the business is able to continue its operation in long term or not. The stability ratios of Thomas Cook are shown below: b) Long-Term Stability Ratio Analysis:- 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Total Equity (A) 391 368 285 548 457.9 Total Liabilities (B) 6,564 5,590 5,509 5,737 5,449 Total Assets ( C) 6955 5958 5794 6285 5906.8 Debt to Equity Ratio (B/A) 16.79 15.19 19.33 10.47 11.90 Equity Ratio (A/C) 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.09 0.08 Debt Ratio (B/C) 0.94 0.94 0.95 0.91 0.92 The table states that the debt-to-equity ratio and debt ratio are very high, whereas, the equity ratio is too low for all the five years. It implies that the company uses to raise its capital mostly through debt financing. The assets are majorly funded by debt capital also. It may help the company to lower down its cost of capital, but it also indicates that the company does not have any internal reserve to continue its operation (Heikal et al. 2014). The liquidity ratios describes the ability of any firm to cover its current liabilities through its current assets. The ratios of Thomas Cook are calculated in the following table: c) Short-Term Liquidity Ratio Analysis:- 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Total Current Assets (A) 2656 2035 1829 1933 1524.2 Inventory (B) 43 52 34 38 30.5 Income before Interest Taxes ( C) 15 29 -106.8 -195.9 -373.9 Interest Expense (D) 6 10 8.2 17.1 216.2 Total Current Liabilities (F) 4630 3702 3894 3688 3540.1 Current Ratio (A/F) 0.57 0.55 0.47 0.52 0.43 Quick Ratio [(A-B)/F) 0.56 0.54 0.46 0.51 0.42 Time Interest Earned Ratio (C/D) 2.50 2.90 -13.02 -11.46 -1.73 From the table, it can be stated that the current ratios and quick ratios during the period were below 0.6. The time interest earned ratios over the first three year were negative, whereas, in the last two years, it is above 2. It indicates that the company does not maintain sufficient current assets to pay off its current liabilities. Moreover, due to huge losses, initially the company did not have the ability to pay its interest expenses out of its net income. However, after improving its profit earning capacity in the last two years, it has enough income to cover the interest expenses (Wahlen et al. 2014). There are many other financial factors, which may create impact on the market value of the company. The factors, which should be considered for evaluating Thomas Cook are described below: 4. Important Information:- The important information, disclosed by the companies regarding its financial performance and other activities, often affect the market price of the stocks. Thomas Cook provides many important details in its official website. The quarterly and annual financial reports, published in the website, help the investors to evaluate the growth or downfall of the performance properly. Moreover, many corporate news, like, introduction of new own brand hotels and announcement of new partnership ventures with Fosun and Ingo Burmester, also create impact on the performances (Thomascookgroup.com, 2017). Such news helps the company to attract new investors and increase the share value in the stock market. Market Report:- Apart from the companys reports, it is necessary to analyze the market reports of the company from various sources. The UK tourism statistics report for 2015 provides detail description of the industry performance for the last few years. It states that the huge loss, incurred by Thomas Cook in the initial period, were not caused only for the poor performance of the company. Most of the large travel companies, as well as, the airlines companies, faced the same consequences. It had been caused due to drastic increase of fuel costs. The travel companies were unable to provide economic tour packages to the clients and loss many customers accordingly. Many customers shifted to lower budgeted packages, offered by the small travel companies. However, within the last few years, the large travel companies have developed many economic plans to recover its clients. It has been observed that to offer low budget tour packages and maintain the service quality, as well, most of large travel agencies have merged with small airlines companies so that they can control the travel cost accordingly (www.tourismallianc e.com, 2017). Thomas Cook has also introduced its own airlines company under the brand name Condor. It has also planned to introduce own hotel chains. Thus, the company is not only trying to reduce the travelling cost, but also, the accommodation and fooding costs, as well. Higher Management:- Higher management and the board directors of any company use to take all the important decisions. Hence, the credentials of the higher management and the directors should be checked also for investment decisions. The board of directors of Thomas Cook is consisted with one chairman, two executive directors and five non-executive directors. Currently, Peter Fankhauser is the Group Chief Executive Officer, who governs over all the departments of the company and Michael Healy, the other executive director, looks over the finance department mainly. The other non-executive directors work independently (Thomascookgroup.com, 2017). Conclusion:- From the above discussion, it can be stated that Thomas Cook Group Plc. was suffering from financial crisis for the last few years due to the poor performance of the company and overall tourism industry, as well. Currently it is recovering its financial strength and financial position gradually. The company has begun to earn profit again, but the profit margins are very low. Moreover, the company has still not recovered its financial strength completely. It has large debts in the market. The liquidity position is also not stable yet. The asset value per share of the company, as shown above, is very low in comparison to the market price per share. It indicates that the market price of the company stocks is overvalued, as it is not supported by sufficient amount of asset. However, the poor financial performance of Thomas Cook is a result of industrial downfall. The company has taken several initiatives to improve its financial position in the next few years. Therefore, it can be concluded that though Thomas Cook Group Plc. has shown improvement in its performance in the recent years, considering its poor return rate and unstable financial strength, it is better to invest in its stock after observing its performance for the next year also. References Bibliography:- Babalola, Y.A. and Abiola, F.R., 2013. Financial ratio analysis of firms: A tool for decision making.International journal of management sciences,1(4), pp.132-137 Bodie, Z., Kane, A. and Marcus, A.J., 2014.Investments, 10e. McGraw-Hill Education Heikal, M., Khaddafi, M. and Ummah, A., 2014. Influence analysis of return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), net profit margin (NPM), debt To equity ratio (DER), and current ratio (CR), against corporate profit growth in automotive In Indonesia stock exchange.International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences,4(12), p.101 Horngren, C.T., Sundem, G.L., Schatzberg, J.O. and Burgstahler, D., 2013.Introduction to management accounting. Pearson Higher Ed. Kaplan, R.S. and Atkinson, A.A., 2015.Advanced management accounting. PHI Learning Thomascookgroup.com. (2017).Thomas Cook Group Board of Directors. [online] Available at: https://www.thomascookgroup.com/board-of-directors/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017]. Thomascookgroup.com. (2017).Thomas Cook Group Corporate News. [online] Available at: https://www.thomascookgroup.com/category/corporate-news/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017]. Thomascookgroup.com. (2017).Thomas Cook Group Reports and Presentations. [online] Available at: https://www.thomascookgroup.com/reports-and-presentations/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017]. Uechi, L., Akutsu, T., Stanley, H.E., Marcus, A.J. and Kenett, D.Y., 2015. Sector dominance ratio analysis of financial markets.Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications,421, pp.488-509 Wahlen, J., Baginski, S. and Bradshaw, M., 2014.Financial reporting, financial statement analysis and valuation. Nelson Education Weygandt, J.J., Kimmel, P.D. and Kieso, D.E., 2015.Financial Managerial Accounting. John Wiley Sons www.tourismalliance.com. (2017).UK Tourism Statistics. [online] Available at: https://www.tourismalliance.com/downloads/TA_390_415.pdf [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017].

The Truman Doctrine

Historical background The outcome of the World War II (WWII) led to emergence of two supers power; The United States and Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). This meant that the two had assumed greater responsibility in world affairs.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Truman Doctrine specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They both embarked on setting up foundations that would establish them as the new masters of the new world, albeit with different approaches which were largely shaped by their traditional ideologies dating centuries ago. Because of fundamental differences in their ideologies; capitalism and communism, and having defeated a common enemy and therefore no common goal of union, divisions ensued. The Soviet Union quickly and aggressively moved to establish its influence in Europe. It succeeded in Eastern and Central Europe and Far East Asia setting up communism governments in Bulgaria, Romania, Lao s, Thailand, Vietnam and Northern Korea. It further sought to maintain and expand its territorial control over Poland in disregard to the Yalta Accord which granted it control over Eastern Poland and left the North and West to the Polish government ironically going against one of the goals of the just concluded war; to stop territorial violations. In the Middle East, the Soviet Union was reluctant to withdraw from Northern Iran as earlier agreed with Western Powers perhaps due to the huge oil resources in the region. In repositioning itself as the main power in Eastern Europe, it started seeking direct route to the Black sea; a passage that would have been beneficial in the event of an outbreak of war with the West. This required that it presses Turkey to grant it access to Bosporus and Dardanelles Strait, something which was unlikely Turkey would accept. Soviet expansion tendencies even grew evident in the Far East where it continued its hold on Manchuria (the most highly industria lized portion of China) despite the surrender of Japan. The Soviet Union also adopted a confrontational stance against the United States, at one point Stalin, the Soviet Leader, perhaps aware of United States sentiments about their expansions remarking that â€Å"conflict with the capitalist West was inevitable† (Watson, Gleek and Grillo 49). The Union had also shown great disinterest in diplomatic efforts by United States to maintain friendly ties in recent post-war treaties and accords.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Prior to the World War II the US had â€Å"practiced a policy of isolationism† whereby, it did not actively participate in political affairs outside its boundaries (Watson et al.42). Even after the end of the World War II it did not start to aggressively sell it ideologies to friendly nations. However, it soon became impossible to ignore the growing expansi on of the Soviet bloc. Pressure starting mounting for it to act. In 1946 the media reported that a Soviet ring was working in the United States passing secrete information on nuclear programs to Kremlin. This created and elevated anti-soviet sentiments in the public. The Republicans also became critical of the ruling democrats policies towards the Soviets which they considered ‘soft ’and ineffective (Watson et al. 46). In 1946, The United States sprang to action, withdrawing recognition of the communist Bulgarian government, openly supporting Iran on independence and strengthening ties with Turkey thus setting the stage for confrontation with the Soviet Union (Watson et al, 46). However, what would set off the containment of soviet expansion, and its eventual collapse would follow later. Britain, under Winston Churchill also bore the brutality and ruinous effects of the WWII. At the end of war, it lost all of its vast colonial empire and harvested a dire financial crisi s at home. This made it halt it financial obligations abroad. In the final days before its departure it formally requested the United States to take over the responsibility of Greece whom it had all along supported. At this time, the Greek government was facing a financial crisis and an insurgency from communist groups in the north of the country. It was agreed that the Greek government had to be kept in power. It was feared its fall could have set a bad precedent and negatively impact on adoption of capitalism in the region (Watson et al. 48). In addition, strategic Turkey had also to be economically supported to weaken Soviet infiltration and maintain order in its neighbors (Fried n.pag). Another important development in the build up to the containment policy was a situation-analysis telegram sent from the American ambassador to Moscow, George. F. Keenan. In his telegram Keenan made a strong case for the containment of the growing spread of soviet influence over Europe. These deve lopments presented an opportunity to formally launch a policy offensive against the Soviet Union and on March 12, 1947 President Harry S. Truman, in an address to a joint session of congress, requested for approval of economic aid to Greece and Turkey.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Truman Doctrine specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The speech marked the beginning of the policy of soviet containment. This policy came to be known as the Truman Doctrine and would significantly shape the United States foreign policy for many decades to come. Significance and Impact In his speech, Truman stated that: â€Å"I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure† (Hollitz 176). This statement has been cited by many as the best indication of the policy which was later adopted and implemented, the polic y of soviet containment. In an apparent reference to Soviet Union, he stated that: â€Å"The†¦ United States has made frequent protests against coercion and intimidation, in violation of the Yalta agreement in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. I†¦also state that in a number of countries, there have been similar developments† (Hollitz 176). Truman also proposed that the policy be effected through help urging that â€Å"†¦ our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and political processes† (Hollitz 176). In this respect he requested congress appropriate $400 million for military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece. This was later approved. By acceding to Britain’s request, the US had formally assumed greater role and responsibility in these regions (Pulis 68). It also signified the start and was the basis of United States policy on ‘cold war’ which was characterized by large sc ale espionage activities between the two superpowers that continued late into the 20th century. The Truman Doctrine had many lasting effects. It ushered an era of active involvement of United States in overseas affairs. It led the United States to actively pursue what it considered as vital interests abroad. The policy also completely polarized the world into east and west.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The West (United States and Western European nations) practiced and championed democratic system and capitalism. The East (Soviet Unions and its satellite nations) was governed on communism and socialism principles. Legacy The Truman Doctrine has been hailed by many as a success for United States and its allies. Its proponents claim it succeeded in containing the spread of communism to Western Europe (Watson et al). They hold that the economic aid revamped the economies of these nations leading to peace and stability that is still enjoyed to date and that this was achieved without direct military intervention. This has been attributed to massive economic aid under The Marshall Plan, which some believe was â€Å"simply an extension of the Truman Doctrine† (Pozuelo-Monfort 221). They also point out that the policy also contributed to the eventual disintegration and fall of other only other superpower, USSR (Fried). The doctrine, to a large extend, also entrenched United States involvement in world affairs and buried centuries of policies of isolationism.It also significantly contributed to the US emerging as only superpower after the 1989 collapse of the Soviet Union and as the â€Å"leader of the free world† (Pulis 69). David Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs on the 60th anniversary of the Truman Doctrine wrote that it â€Å"cemented the promotion of democracy [and] in terms of human freedom and dignity, †¦ represents perhaps the most successful foreign policy initiative undertaken by the United States† Critism Opponents of the doctrine have claimed that it did not leave up to its promises of freeing the oppressed from totalitarian regimes. They cite cases where the United States supported anticommunist but openly tyrannical regimes in Philippines, Indonesia, Iran Nicaragua, Iran and Iraq (Briley n.pag). They also claim that the doctrine â€Å"set the precedence of using troubled nations as pawns in a gigantic context of will with the Soviet Union† (Pulis, 69). Others have termed it as simply a calculated move to â€Å"dictate the domestic politics of foreign nations† (Watson et.al 49). It has also been alleged that the anti-communism goal of the doctrine led to the ‘Cold War’ and wars in Korea and Vietnam that only served to create and â€Å"elevate global resentment towards the United States† (Briley n.pag). Conclusion The implementation of Truman Doctrine policy certainly was without blemish. However, its overall outcome has years later, proved more beneficial to the world. Today much of the world enjoys peace and stability thanks to simple but strong statements outlined by a bold leader more than half century ago. It should serve as a good example that the potential effects of a presidential doctrine of a powerful nation should never be taken lightly. It may greatly influence foreign policies for many years to come. Work Cited Briley, Ron. â€Å"Mixed Legacy of the Truman Doctrine†. Milestonedocuments.com. Schlager Group, 29 Mar.2010.Web.23 Apr.2011. Fried, Daniel.†Enduring Legacy†. NYtimes.com.New York Times Company, 12 Mar.2007. Web. Hollitz, John. Contending Voices: Since1865 (vol 2).3rd ed. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2010.Print. Pozuelo-Monfort, Jaime. New Architecture of Capitalism.Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. 2010. Print. Pulis, Fred. Impact and Legacy Years. 1941, 1947, 1968.Bloomington: Traford Publishing, 2007.Print. Watson, P Robert, Charles Gleek and Micheal Grillo. Presidential Doctrines: National Security from Woodrow Wilson to George W.Bush. New York: Nova Publisher, 2003. Web. This essay on The Truman Doctrine was written and submitted by user Joslyn Carver to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. The truman doctrine