...Wall Street It seems ironic that this film was set in the early 1980’s which was the same time that I was working for a privately owned Fortune 500 company. I gained a lot of experience with this company by learning how to handle different situations that would arise, but mostly how to work with a diversity of personalities. Both Fox and Gekko quoted “it’s another dog with fleas” and that reminded me of my feelings during this tenure of employment which was ‘it’s a dog eat dog world.” Our firm had a group of headhunters that would scour the colleges to bring new talent into the company. Every year we would receive a group of sales trainees and they would work in various departments learning the business from the bottom up. We were privileged to host these young men (there was never a female trainee at that time) for a period of six weeks. Many would start the program ready to tackle the world. They were aware of the fact that “if you do good, you get perks.” These perks could include that “corner office with a view” or a prime sales territory. Any advantage the trainees could achieve over one another worked to the benefit. It was apparent that there was indeed “trench warfare out there.” As I would work with these young men, who were often the same age as myself, I could sense an undertone of greed. Hey had but one goal, and that was to succeed in the company. There were two young men that really caught my attention and I feel helped to mold me into the manager...
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...The movie Wall Street (1987), written and directed by Oliver Stone, is about a fledgling and ambitious stock broker, Bud Fox, trying to learn from and become like his idol, a greedy, immoral, and wildly successful corporate raider named Gordon Gekko. In the movie, Bud Fox makes his way into Gekko’s office initially through persistence but makes his mark by informing Gekko of inside information regarding a company, Blue Star Airlines. Gekko rewards Bud Fox by showing him the rich and fast life, and Bud Fox continues to help Gekko make money in an illegal fashion. Eventually, Bud Fox wants to be in on part of a deal that involves Blue Star Airlines, for which his father is a labor union head. The deal goes sour for Bud Fox when he finds out that Gekko plans to dismantle the company and sell its parts, destroying his father’s and father’s friends’ jobs, rather than the initial plan of changing how the company is run and helping it succeed. This causes Bud Fox to go to Gekko’s enemy, Sir Larry, for help in order to successfully save the airline. All in all, I believe that Gordon Gekko, though a greedy corporate raider, is a great strategist who brings value to the shareholder while having many skills as an effective administrator sans one in human skill that leads to his eventual downfall. The term ‘corporate raider’ or ‘takeover artist’ often has a negative connotation associated with it in the English language. I believe this is due to one of the ways that corporate raiders...
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...Occupy Wall Street no fue el primero que empezó la idea de “ocupar.” Entonces cómo empezó este movimiento y quiénes son los que desempeñaron un gran papel para su inicio? Muchas veces Adbusters es conocido como el grupo que impulsó Occupy Wall Street. Adbusters es una revista canadiense con el motivo de traer cambios en el mundo con su idea anti-consumista y anti-capitalista. Unos eventos que motivó esta revista fueron el boicot de Starbucks y del Huffington Post. Y todo fue porque estas compañías gigantes impedían el desarrollo de las que son pequeñas o locales. Entonces Adbusters, viendo que (la causa del movimiento), pidió que 90,000 manifestantes llenen la calle de Wall Street. Sin embargo, en verdad Adbusters no fue el inicio, sino fue un grupo de artistas, escritores, activistas, y estudiantes que se reunieron en el 16 Beaver Street para debatir sobre cambiar el mundo. Además de neoyorquinos, los miembros de estas reuniones incluían muchos de los que vinieron de todas partes diferentes como España, Egipto, y Japón, quienes ya antes habían participado en otras protestas en sus propios países. Ellos empezaron este tipo de reuniones en el verano del 2011, solamente para compartir sus ideas sobre las políticas y economía y los cambios que querían ver, no para empezar una protesta. Nadie de ahí sabía que ellos mismos iban a impeler un movimiento. Begonia y Luis, quienes vieron suceder el Movimiento 15-M en España (una protesta de “ocupar” donde 20,000 personas indignadas por...
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...With Occupy Wall Street gaining headway and the country seeing greater inequality than ever, anarchists and socialists protested in the streets of Lower Manhattan’s “Corner” in a rage at the banking systems. Before the turn of the century, the feelings projected toward the financial barons of New York were all but tranquil. Because the majority of the wealth among a few happened at the expense of laborers and echoed with Americans, its result lead to terrorism (King 2011). On September 16, 1920, an explosion tore through the streets of Lower Manhattan’s “Corner”. The Wall Street Bombing of 1920 was the deadliest terror attack on American soil until the Oklahoma bombing 75 years later. The blast killed 38 people and injured hundreds of others (Andrews, 2015). Although the case remains unsolved to this day, there were many suspects. Investigators believe their strongest lead was the Italian anarchists of the time. On Thursday September 16, 1920, an unknown driver pulled a horse drawn wagon filled with one hundred pounds of dynamite and sash weights up to the corner of Wall and Broad Streets in Lower Manhattan, an area often called “The Corner”. “The Corner” was described by author John Brooks as “the precise center, geographical as well as metaphorical, of financial America and even of the financial world.” The building on “The Corner”, housed the most powerful financial institution in the world, J.P. Morgan Co., as well as professionals like J.P. Morgan Jr. and Thomas Lamont...
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...In this essay I will be discussing what affect ‘The Wall Street Crash’. There was many reasons for the crash and the crash had effect on all the people in America. I will be discussing the way the depression effected people. One reason why there was a depression was because wealth was not shared out fairly in the USA. Sixty per cent of American families were living below the poverty line. As a result many Americans could not afford to buy the products like vacuum cleaners and cars. By 1928 American factories were over producing. They could not sell their goods abroad because tariffs were high on American products. Factories had a cut production off by laying off workers. As result unemployment grew. Another reason for the depression was because farmers were experiencing serious problems. In the 1920’s farmers were producing too much food and it was going to waste. As a result food prices fell. Farmer’s incomes fell so they borrowed money from the banks. They also tried to produce more food which meant prices fell even lower. As a result farmers were unable to pay back the money they borrowed from the banks. The banks ended their mortgages and took their houses and their forms. Thirdly speculation and the Wall Street Crash caused depression. Millions of people had borrowed money to buy shares hoping to have better lives and become wealthy. People who had brought shares lost a lot of money. They could not repay the money they had borrowed from the banks. Hundreds of banks...
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...THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE WALL STREET CRASH AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION The economic boom of the 1920’s came to a sudden end in October 29, 1929. In June 1929 prices of stocks and shares had reached new highs. The Stock Market seemed to be a quick and easy way to get rich. The Stock Market is the place where stocks are traded. More and more people wanted to ‘play the market’ (Buy and sell stocks). [pic] The Wall Street stock market (located in New York City) was not regulated .Anybody could buy shares and they could be bought ‘on the margin’-This is when the stock broker and the stock holder merge their money to buy stocks, for example, people could buy $1000 worth of stocks for only $100 and borrowed the rest from stockbroker. Buying on the margin became a common practice. People waited for the share prices to go up again and then resold their shares for a profit. It was usually easy to pay back the loan and still make money. The day of the crash: By the summer of 1929 there were 20 million shareholders in America and prices continued to rise. But in October 1929, things began to change. Some people realized that share prices had risen too high and wanted to sell before they fell. THE CAUSES OF THE WALL STREET CRASH 1. OVERPRODUCUCTION- New mass-production methods and mechanization Meant that production of consumer goods had expanded enormously. In fact, there was overproduction (more being made than could be consumed).The market was becoming...
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...In 1929 the Wall Street crash ended the economical boom and marked the start of the depression. The Wall Street crash was when share values fell dramatically this happened due to a number of reasons and in this essay I shall try and explore the main reasons for this. Overproduction was one of the main reasons for the Wall Street crash. During the boom businesses were overproducing which meant that they were making more than they were selling. This was because also due to the new way of manufacturing. Production lines were most commonly used which meant that they factories could make more product in a shorter amount of time and during the boom this was a good thing as the demand for products was great but as early as 1926 the demand for goods was decreasing but business kept producing as they had been as they thought that the demand would rise again but it didn’t as many people that could afford the goods had bought them earlier on and they didn’t need any more. Not everyone had benefitted from the boom and the groups that were poor could not afford the luxuries. Even farmers had been overproducing which meant that even food prices went down and so even farmer couldn’t make a profit. A drop in sales and product values meant that businesses had to fire many workers and many farmers lost their which mean that many people had less money to spend. After the First World War America introduced the idea of isolationism which meant that America had little to do with foreign policies...
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...RESEARCH QUESTION: How far was the Wall Street Crash the main cause for the Great Depression? A. Plan of the Investigation 1 B. Summary of Evidence 1 C. Evaluation of Sources 3 D. Analysis 5 E. Conclusion 7 F. Bibliography 8 A. Plan of the investigation The investigation considers the extent to which the Wall Street Crash was the main cause for the Great Depression that hit the Unites States throughout the 1930s, whose effects were spread worldwide. For this purpose the investigation assesses the significance of the crash in the stock market in relation to other factors that were also relevant. Through the selection and summary of relevant written sources, the investigation examines the 1920’s the domestic and international problems during the “prosperous” years that triggered the crisis. In order to reach a conclusion two of the sources: The Great Depression by Lionel Robbins and The Great Depression and The New Deal by Robert F. Himmelberg are evaluated for their origin, purpose, values and limitations. Word count: 120 B. Summary of evidence By the time the United States entered the First World War in 1917, the USA was the world’s biggest economic power[1]. Its role in providing extra equipment and a supply of fresh soldiers was instrumental in the final Allied victory[2]. The artificial prosperity of the war years was followed by an inevitable collapse[3]...
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...No one argues that Wall Street needs reforms after the financial debacle of 2008. But then it has always needed reforming, because it has been in a constant state of evolution for 218 years. And most of that reform was accomplished by Wall Street itself, not government. In the early days of Wall Street the trading that took place there was so limited that little regulation was needed. On Mar. 16, 1830, the New York Stock and Exchange Board--as the New York Stock Exchange was then called--traded a grand total of 31 shares. But the Civil War changed everything. As the national debt soared from $65 million to $2.7 billion, and as the economy expanded enormously to meet wartime needs, Wall Street exploded in size. By 1865 it was second only to London. But regulation was almost nonexistent. New exchanges had sprung to meet the hugely increased trading, and the curb market operated on Broad Street with no regulation whatever. Worse, New York state and city governments were utterly corrupt; an English magazine of the time reported that "in New York there is a custom among litigants as peculiar to that city, it is to be hoped, as it is supreme within it, of retaining a judge as well as a lawyer." When Cornelius Vanderbilt tried to buy enough common stock in the Erie Railway to control the company, members of the Erie board just started printing more and more of it. "If this printing press don't break down," one of the directors said, "I'll be damned if I don't give the old hog all...
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...Occupy Wall Street Movement November 2nd 2012 Business Ethics Occupy Wall Street In the fall of 2011, in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, hundreds of protestors were evicted because they were protesting main issues such as social and economic inequality, greed, and corruption. The Occupy Wall Street slogan, “We are the 99%”, addresses the inequality income and wealth distribution in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. The protesters have put their faith in the last seemingly credible force in the world: each other. The movement is really about the balance of give and take of Wall Street, how there are people who make things to add to the distribution of goods in America, who help America’s growth by keeping consumers money and resources in America, and there are takers who take from Wall Street and do not give anything in return and that is where there the problem is because they don’t provide anything to the benefit and progression of America’s financial status. Moral and economic implications of Occupy Wall Street Movement “Like a lot of the young protesters who have flocked to Occupy Wall Street, Joe had thought that hard work and education would bring, if not class mobility, at least a measure of security (indeed, a master’s degree can boost a New York City teacher’s salary by $10,000 or more). But the past decade of stagnant wages for the 99 percent and million-dollar bonuses for the 1 percent has awakened the kids of the middle class to a national...
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...Kevin Eberle Professor Cox English Comp October 17, 2011 Occupy Wall Street Movement: There is a growing movement in the United States that started in New York City and is now spreading out to many other cities It is the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The first people that came to this movement were some punks, liberals, artists and socialists. They did not just come for a one day protest they came again and again. Then other people began to take notice and the movement has been doubling in size every three days since mid September. Now there are young people, middle age and retirees, the employed and the unemployed just to name a few. How this movement has differed from other protests in the past for example, those against the Vietnam War in the 1960’s, the protestors are not just unruly mobs of young people fighting for one cause. Instead it is people with several different yet similar grievances. Contrary to the idea of Occupy Wall Street just being comprised of young people we now see that the younger element has sometimes been the majority. In this movement we see a diversity of people, varying ages, life situations, and grievances. Some are first time protestors. There are a few common denominators of the protestors but the most outstanding seems to be about economic injustice and the corporate influence on our government. Because the middle class are tired of the corporate injustices they have now come to rally for justice. It is interesting how this movement...
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...Occupy Wall Street By: Jennifer Pates 2/1/2013 Professor Chester Galloway Bus301: Business Ethics I have to admit that even though the Occupy Wall Street Movement has been all over the news I did not truly understand the stance of it, nor did I really get involved with it. While doing research for this paper I was able to get a better understanding of the basis of the movement as well as the facts pertaining to it. The movement started on Wall Street but has spread across the US. The basis of the movement focuses on social & economic inequality, greed, corruption and the influence of corporations on the US government, primarily from the financial sectors of businesses. The main slogan of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is we are the 99%, which addresses the growing income inequality and wealth distribution in the US between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. Huffington Post reporter, Paul Taylor said the slogan is "arguably the most successful slogan since 'Hell no, we won't go,'" of Vietnam war era, and that the majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans see the income gap as causing social friction The initial basis of the movement was to protest the global crisis of monetary insolvency, and the increasing disparity of wealth. Without offices, paid staff, or a bank account, Occupy Wall Street quickly spread beyond New York. People gathered in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, Atlanta, San Diego, and hundreds of other cities around the United...
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...ESE 99 07/21/15 The Wolf on Wall Street The movie, The Wolf on Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese is a great movie for many reasons. The Wolf on Wall Street gives a deep message to viewers that reflect on the American Dream although in the movie it tells a story of a corrupted American dream. I definitely recommend The Wolf on Wall Street for its talented actors, the plot, and its unique message it gives to viewers. Having talented actors is the key to a good movie because they contribute to its audience emotions. Many viewers can relate to this movie especially to those who love money. The Wolf on Wall Street takes place in New York in the late 80’s. It reflects to the American dream to corporate greed, Leonardo DiCaprio plays the role of Jordan Belfort. Belfort is an American author, motivational speaker, and former stockbroker who pleaded guilty to fraud and related crimes in connection with stock market manipulation and running a boiler room as part of a penny stock scam. Belfort spent 22 months in prison as part of an agreement under which he gave testimony against numerous partners and subordinates in his fraud scheme. In the movie The Wolf of Wall Street Belfort goes from penny stocks and righteousness to IPOs and a life of corruption. Excess success and wealth in his early twenties as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont warranted Belfort the title "The Wolf of Wall Street." Belfort came from mostly humble beginnings, and after getting married...
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...implications involved in the movement. The moral implications of this movement that I noticed were people felt cheated (the 99%). The remaining 1% were the rich that actually Occupy Wall Street. They cheated and exploited their way to the top. As if that were not bad enough, we the taxpayers then had to bail them out after these companies crashed the economy. They didn’t take the peoples opinion into the matter. The companies that were bailed out should start paying back what they owe, instead of using the taxpayers money. Going into student loans, we the students have these subsidized loans that we’ll take months maybe even years to pay off. If the government didn’t have to monitor (control) these loans schools would be more affordable. If everyone’s cost were the same, the outcome would be everyone paying the same price. But in some market systems, you have some employees that work harder or lack better skill; unfortunately it will always come down to the fact that some people will make a greater contribution than that of their peers. Some of the economic implications of this movement Occupy Wall Street shut down a shipping port in Portland on a Monday morning as part of a larger effort to cut corporate profits. "By shutting down work at the ports this [is] one more day that Goldman Sachs and Wall Street firms are unable to create profit," said Occupy Portland spokeswoman Kari Koch, according to the Portland Tribune. These types of protests also took place in a port in Oakland...
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