Typical of british banks

Typical of british banks ‘This is absolutely typical of British banks. As soon as you have any success they want to pull the plug and stop you trading. Loretta Long was very angry. She is the managing director of Park Leisurewear Ltd (PL), and had just received a letter from the businesss bank requiring a significant reduction in the overdraft. ‘This is ridiculous agreed Jimbo Juggins, the production director. ‘Last year we had an excellent year and it looks set to continue. We had a big order in from Totspur Plc just this morning. If we cant keep up the overdraft, we wont be able to fulfil that order. Totspur was one of several national chains of casual and sportswear stores which was placing substantial orders with PL, usually to be sold under the Park label, but in some cases under the stores ‘own brand label. PL had been started by Loretta and Jimbo five years ago. The business is a designer and manufacturer of casual and leisure clothes aimed particularly at the younger, higher income market. Before starting the business both Loretta and Jimbo had been employed as senior managers with White Hart Plc, a large UK clothes manufacturer. They decided to create PL after their ideas for developing a new range of clothes for younger people had been welcomed by White Hart Plc but investment capital had not been available. From the very outset, Loretta and Jimbo decided that PL would be a design and marketing led business. Much of the forward planning was concerned with integrating the product design and development with the sales and marketing operations of the business. The new business had taken a lot of trouble and spent a lot of money on employing a young and talented design team, led by Heena Hussein who had been employed previously as a chief designer for a leading sportswear brand. The range of clothes designed by Heena and her team was greeted with enthusiasm by the major buyers and this was converted into firm orders by the marketing team led by Loretta. PL grew slowly at first. However, sales started to increase significantly as the brand gained acceptability in the UK and as export markets in France and Switzerland were opened. Loretta and Jimbo were both surprised and delighted by the speed with which the sales of the business had grown in recent years and by the growing base of regular customers. The order just received from Totspur was seen as particularly important. If Totspur became a regular customer, the sales of the business were likely to increase rapidly over the next few years and would establish PL as a major player in the market. This, Loretta and Jimbo felt, would build upon their success, success evidenced in the year to 30 September 2007 by the Cash Generated from Operations (as shown on their published Cash Flow Statement) of  £6,608,000. Loretta and Jimbo had both invested their life savings in the business and had also taken out large mortgages on their respective houses to help finance the new business. However, this provided only a relatively small amount of the total ordinary share capital needed. In order to raise the remaining share capital, friends, family and business contacts were approached. The largest shareholder of the business was Crowley Estates Ltd owned by Alan and Tim Crowley. The two Crowley brothers had made large profits by land speculation over the years but were keen to diversify into other areas as their business had been particularly hard hit by the recent recession. They had known Loretta for many years and were convinced she and Jimbo would make a success of the new business. PLs directors and their shareholdings were as follows: Loretta Long Managing Director and Marketing Director (700,000 shares) Jimbo Juggins Production Director (700,000 shares) Heena Hussein Design Director (40,000 shares) Alan Crowley Chairman (2,000,000 shares owned jointly with brother Tim through Crowley Estates) Tim Crowley Non-executive director In addition to his role as production director, Jimbo tended to look after financial matters. Though the business had accounts staff who dealt with the day-to-day transactions, there was no one at PL who had any great financial expertise. When there was a problem, the businesss auditors were normally asked for advice. That said, Loretta and Jimbo had not consulted the auditors in October 2007 when they had purchased new equipment and buildings for  £8,670,000, part of which had been funded by an additional bank loan. On the day the letter from the bank was received, a meeting of the board of directors was due to take place to consider the draft financial statements for the year that had ended two months earlier. At this meeting, the letter from the bank was also distributed to board members for discussion. Jimbo Juggins began the discussion by saying: ‘Weve just received the draft accounts from the auditors which seem to confirm our success. Profit has more than doubled. I really cant see how the cash situation is so poor. I know that we spent a lot on that additional plant and that we didnt get anything from the old machines we got rid of, but most of that was covered by the bank loan. Really, the cash situation should be even better than the profit level implies because the expenses include about  £2.8 million for depreciation and we dont have to write a cheque for that. Loretta Long, who was still angry at what she regarded as the high-handed attitude of the bank, pointed to the difficulties that the banks demands would cause: ‘The bank wants us to reduce the overdraft by half over the next six months! This is crazy I tried to explain that we have important orders to fulfil but the manager wasnt interested. How on earth can we find this kind on money in the time available? We are being asked to do the impossible. Both Jimbo and Loretta had, before the meeting, hoped that the Crowley brothers would be prepared to help out by purchasing further new shares in PL or by making a loan. However, it was soon made clear by Alan Crowley that further investment was not a possible option. Crowley Estates had been experiencing considerable problems over recent years, as a result of a couple of unprofitable overseas projects, and simply did not have the money to invest further in PL. Indeed, the Crowley brothers would be prepared to sell their shares in PL to generate much-needed cash for their own ailing business. Finding a prospective buyer for the shares was not, however, a likely prospect at this point. Both Alan and Tim Crowley had been heavily involved in recent years with the problems of Crowley Estates and had taken little interest in PLs affairs. The board meeting made them realise that they should have been much more attentive and now faced the prospect of being major shareholders of two failed b usinesses unless things could be radically improved. PLs financial statements for the past two years are set out below on the next two pages: *Note: Opening net book value of NCAs (8,600) Depreciation charge for the year 2,800 Closing net book value of NCAs 14,470 NCA additions during the year 8,670 The board of directors was not able to agree on a way of dealing with the financial problem faced by PL. Loretta believed that their best hope was to continue to wrangle with the bank over its demands. She felt that their was still a chance that the bank could be persuaded to change its mind once the draft financial statements for last year were made available and the bank was informed of the implications for PL of paying off such a large part of the overdraft in such a short period of time. Jimbo and Heena, on the other hand, were not optimistic about the prospects of changing the banks position. PL had breached its overdraft limit on several occasions over the past few years and they knew that the patience of the bank was now wearing thin. They believed that the only real solution was for the board to look for someone who was prepared to make a significant investment in the business. They felt that only a large injection of new funds could keep PL on track. Like Loretta, they belie ved that the financial statements demonstrated the success of PL over recent years and that this evidence would make the business attractive to a potential investor. The Crowley brothers rejected both of these views as being impractical. In addition, they were against the idea of introducing another major shareholder as this was likely to dilute their influence over the future direction of the business. The brothers believed that the board required drastic and immediate action, although they were not sure what form of action should be taken. After several hours of discussion, it was clear that the financial issue was not going to be resolved at the meeting. Instead, it was agreed that expertise from outside PL should be sought to help the business find a feasible solution to the problem. The board decided to approach BUS021 Financial Consultants, a firm which specialises in helping businesses with financial problems, and to ask the firm to analyse the financial performance and financial health of the company.

Complicated Rheumatic Mitral Stenosis Health And Social Care Essay

A 76 twelvemonth old lady with a recent diagnosing of arthritic mitral valve disease and a history of repeated lower respiratory tract infections, came with symptoms of gastritis unrelated to the primary disease but farther workup in the infirmary revealed atrial fibrillation, grossly dilated left atrium with two big left atrial thrombi and mitral valve country & A ; lt ; 1 cm2. Mitral commissural calcification and important pneumonic high blood pressure were besides noted. After legion treatments it was decided that the best possible attack in our patient was mitral valve replacing with mechanical prosthetic device, despite the usual tendency of utilizing bioprosthesis in aged. The determination was influenced by the fact that patient would necessitate chronic anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation anyhow. The intent of our instance presentation is to exemplify an remarkably late showing instance of arthritic bosom disease with assorted associated complications ensuing in a challen ge to take the best possible direction. Our patient, an aged lady with late diagnosed arthritic mitral valve disease presented with legion challenges in seeking to make up one's mind the best possible intervention: old age, atrial fibrillation necessitating long-run anticoagulation, left atrial thrombi, mitral valve calcification and grossly dilated left atrium. By showing this instance we aim to supply a logical attack in make up one's minding the intervention for similar instances with an accent on old age and long-run endurance benefit. We besides aim to foreground how the intervention should be individualized, taking into consideration all the factors in a peculiar patient. A 76 year old female, occupant of Mumbai, and a homemaker came to the casualty of Sir JJ Hospital with ailments of 5-6 episodes of purging since forenoon that twenty-four hours. The puke was non-bilious and contained nutrient atoms. Past history was positive for perennial admittances for lower respiratory tract infection and a history of arthritic bosom disease with mitral stricture diagnosed 3 old ages back. The patient did non retrieve holding any symptoms suggestive of arthritic febrility in her childhood. On scrutiny, she had irregularly irregular pulsation at the rate of 108/minute, blood force per unit area of 100/70 millimeter of Hg, normal jugular venous force per unit area and a pale visual aspect. Chest scrutiny revealed apical urge on the left 5th intercostal infinite and a tangible parasternal haeve and diastolic daze. Auscultation of the thorax revealed first bosom sound ( S1 ) of variable strength, loud P2 and a systolic mutter in the tricuspid country which increased on inspiration. Electrocardiogram showed right package subdivision block and atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular rate. Chest X ray showed enormously dilated left atrium and right atrium and ventricle. Computed imaging of the thorax revealed a massively dilated left atrium ( 11 x 10 centimeter ) , right atrium ( 9.5 x 8 centimeter ) and right ventricle with reflux of blood seen in inferior vein cava and hepatic venas. Mitral valve showed calcification. It besides revealed two make fulling defects/thrombi, one attached to the anterior wall of left atrium of size 6.5 ten 3.7 centimeter and 2nd attached to the posterior wall of size 3.2 ten 2.1 centimeter. Consequences of 2D echocardiography included: thickener of mitral valve, mitral valve commissural calcification with a valve country of 0.9 cm2 on planimetry, an echo mark of 8/16 and grounds of thrombi in left atrium- one superiorly 4.6 centimeters x 3.7 centimeters and other attached to the sidelong wall 3.1 centimeter x 2.1 centimeter. M-mod e echocardiography showed decreased left ventricular internal dimensions at diastole and systole, decreased terminal systolic and diastolic volumes, a normal expulsion fraction ( 60.2 % ) and the left atrial dimension of 8.6 centimeters x 7.8 centimeter. Colour Doppler showed a mitral valve country of 0.9 cm2, estimated pneumonic arteria systolic force per unit area of 70mm of Hg ( normal: 15-30mm of Hg ) and grade 1 mitral regurgitation. She was diagnosed as a instance of gastritis in a known instance of arthritic bosom disease and mitral stricture complicated by pneumonic high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and left atrial thrombi. The gastritis seemed to be unrelated to the implicit in arthritic bosom disease, but the workup drew attending to the primary job of terrible mitral stricture. The patient later underwent mitral valve replacing with mechanical prosthetic device. She was besides started on anticoagulation with Coumadin with a mark INR scope of 2.0 to 3.0. Patient showed good recovery in the immediate post-operative period and regular follow up for a month later, showed a good response to the surgery and better ventricular rate control with drugs. There was a gradual autumn in pneumonic arteria systolic force per unit area following surgery. Arthritic bosom disease has been the cause of important morbidity and mortality in the development states. Bing an autoimmune upset, it has been known to preponderantly impact younger persons following a throat infection with group A streptococcus. Mitral stricture, associated with arthritic bosom disease, can stay symptomless and present every bit tardily as in-between age or beyond. In such instances, the patient may non ever retrieve about an onslaught of arthritic febrility in childhood, giving the feeling of late onset arthritic bosom disease. We report a instance of an aged adult female who was late diagnosed with arthritic bosom disease and mitral stricture. Though it is hard to notice when the disease really started in our patient, we believe that the bosom disease had been benign until its presentation at an age good beyond the usual age of presentation in arthritic bosom disease. By this instance study we besides try to discourse the possible attacks to an aged patient with critical mitral valve disease with important calcification. Though antecedently symptomless, the demand for intercession in our instance was reiterated by the presence of grossly dilated bosom and important pneumonic high blood pressure. In critical mitral stricture that requires surgery, normally valvular fix is given the first consideration. The challenges in the direction of our patient were: old age, significantly enlarged left atrium, presence of left atrial thrombi, mitral valve country & A ; lt ; 1cm2, mitral valve calcification and pneumonic high blood pressure. Significant calcification of commissures and valve cusp inspissating with decreased cusp country are contraindications to mitral valve fix [ 1 ] . A survey conducted by Wei T and co-workers [ 2 ] concluded that patients with mitral commissural calcification with an echo mark of & A ; acirc ; & A ; deg ; Â ¤ 8/16 have small betterment in valve country after balloon mitral valvuloplasty, ensuing in a hapless result. Because of the commissural calcification and left atrial throm bi in our instance, it was decided to travel with mitral valve replacing. The presence of atrial fibrillation with left atrial thrombi raised the possibility of long-run anticoagulation. With grossly dilated left atrium and the chronicity of atrial fibrillation, cardioversion would hold been unsuccessful. Anticoagulation in aged must be used with cautiousness because of important hazard of haemorrhagic complications and the lowest effectual dosage should be used. [ 3 ] Proper monitoring of the dosage and INR is necessary as the effectual dosage for anticoagulation in aged is frequently lower than in the younger topics. Another inquiry was the pick of prosthetic device: mechanical or biological. In patients & A ; gt ; 70yrs of age, biological valves are preferred [ 4 ] . This is preponderantly because of lower life anticipation in these patients, non-requirement of anticoagulation with these type of valves and lower rates of bioprosthetic impairment in aged [ 4,5 ] . Sidhu P and co-workers [ 6 ] performed a comparing survey over the long term efficaciousness of mechanical and bioprosthesis over a period of 20 old ages in patients over the age of 70. The survey concluded that bioprosthesis does non supply any survival benefit over mechanical valves in aged. Mechanical prosthetic device has been known to be more lasting but this advantage is offset by anticoagulation-related mortality in patients non necessitating anticoagulation otherwise [ 4,6 ] . Since our patient already required long-run anticoagulation, anyhow, usage of mechanical prosthetic device became possible and suited. [ 7 ] Figure 5 illustrates an algorithm for taking the type of prosthetic valve in a patient. [ 8 ] From the instance study and the reappraisal of literature we can reason that: The presentation of mitral stricture may be delayed as the valve upset may follow a benign class compatible with normal life. It is non uncommon for mitral stricture to show every bit tardily as old age. Anticoagulation in aged with atrial fibrillation demands to be used with cautiousness. Proper hazard stratification and monitoring are required and the lowest possible dosage of anticoagulation demands to be used. Balloon mitral valvuloplasty may non be an effectual option in patients with important commissural calcification. The pick of prosthetic device should be determined on an single footing, sing the presence of co-morbidities and other conducive factors like demand for anticoagulation.

The May Revolution in Argentina

In May of 1810, word reached Buenos Aires that the King of Spain, Ferdinand VII, had been deposed by Napoleon Bonaparte. Rather than serve the new King, Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s brother), the city formed its own ruling council, essentially declaring itself independent until such time as Ferdinand could reclaim the throne. Although initially an act of loyalty to the Spanish crown, the â€Å"May Revolution,† as it came to be known, was eventually a precursor to independence. The famous Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires is named in honor of these actions. Viceroyalty of the River Platte The lands of the eastern southern cone of South America, including Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Paraguay, had been steadily growing in importance for the Spanish crown, mostly because of revenues from the lucrative ranching and leather industry in the Argentine pampas. In 1776, this importance was recognized by the establishment of a Viceregal seat in Buenos Aires, the Viceroyalty of the River Platte. This elevated Buenos Aires to the same status as Lima and Mexico City, although it was still much smaller. The wealth of the colony had made it a target for British expansion. Left to Its Own Devices The Spanish were correct: the British had their eye on Buenos Aires and the rich ranching land it served. In 1806-1807 the British made a determined effort to capture the city. Spain, its resources drained from the devastating loss at the Battle of Trafalgar, was unable to send any help and the citizens of Buenos Aires were forced to fight off the British on their own. This led many to question their loyalties to Spain: in their eyes, Spain took their taxes but did not hold up their end of the bargain when it came to defense. The Peninsular War In 1808, after helping France overrun Portugal, Spain was itself invaded by Napoleonic forces. Charles IV, King of Spain, was forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII. Ferdinand, in turn, was taken prisoner: he would spend seven years in luxurious confinement in the Chà ¢teau de Valenà §ay in central France. Napoleon, wanting someone he could trust, put his brother Joseph on the throne in Spain. The Spanish despised Joseph, nicknaming him â€Å"Pepe Botella† or â€Å"Bottle Joe† because of his alleged drunkenness. Word Gets Out Spain desperately tried to keep news of this disaster from reaching its colonies. Since the American Revolution, Spain had kept a close eye on its own New World holdings, fearing that the spirit of independence would spread to its lands. They believed that the colonies needed little excuse to cast off Spanish rule. Rumors of a French invasion had been circulating for some time, and several prominent citizens were calling for an independent council to run Buenos Aires while things got sorted out in Spain. On May 13, 1810, a British frigate arrived in Montevideo and confirmed the rumors: Spain had been overrun. May 18-24 Buenos Aires was in an uproar. Spanish Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros de la Torre pleaded for calm, but on May 18, a group of citizens came to him demanding a town council. Cisneros tried to stall, but the city leaders would not be denied. On May 20, Cisneros met with the leaders of the Spanish military forces garrisoned in Buenos Aires: they said they would not support him and encouraged him to go ahead with the town meeting. The meeting was first held on May 22 and by May 24, a provisional ruling junta which included Cisneros, Creole leader Juan Josà © Castelli, and commander Cornelio Saavedra was created. May 25 The citizens of Buenos Aires did not want former Viceroy Cisneros to continue in any capacity in the new government, so the original junta had to be disbanded. Another junta was created, with Saavedra as president, Dr. Mariano Moreno, and Dr. Juan Josà © Paso as secretaries, and committee members Dr. Manuel Alberti, Miguel de Azcuà ©naga, Dr. Manuel Belgrano, Dr. Juan Josà © Castelli, Domingo Matheu, and Juan Larrea, most of whom were creoles and patriots. The junta declared itself rulers of Buenos Aires until such time as Spain was restored. The junta would last until December 1810, when it was replaced by another one. Legacy May 25 is the date celebrated in Argentina as the Dà ­a de la Revolucià ³n de Mayo, or May Revolution Day. Buenos Aires famous Plaza de Mayo, today known for protests by family members of those who disappeared during Argentinas military regime (1976-1983), is named for this turbulent week in 1810. Although it was intended as a show of loyalty to the Spanish crown, the May Revolution actually started the process of independence for Argentina. In 1814 Ferdinand VII was restored, but by then Argentina had seen enough of Spanish rule. Paraguay had already declared itself independent in 1811. On July 9, 1816, Argentina formally declared independence from Spain, and under the military leadership of Josà © de San Martà ­n was able to defeat Spains attempts to retake it. Source: Shumway, Nicolas. Berkeley: The University of California Press, 1991.

Movie Review Star Wars - 1971 Words

Star Wars has become an American classic in pop culture. George Lucas is the brilliant mind behind the movie who came up with all of what we call now Star Wars. He is the creator of such a brilliant phenomenon in the pop culture. He could not do this all by himself, there were many people involved in the production of the movies. An essential factor to the production of the movies is the music. Lucas decided to give that responsibility to John Williams, a well-known composer, because he had listen to his outstanding work done to other movies. He was looking for someone with that particular detail to the classical orchestral music. Williams wrote all the scores for all the Star Wars Movies. This was a great responsibility, but nothing that†¦show more content†¦Williams is famous for the use of the leitmotifs which he practiced this in the first trilogy greatly. In the prequel or second trilogy we see less of the use of leitmotifs, but can still find that connection between th e characters and the music. The romantic themes such as: Leia’s theme, Han and Leia’s theme, Luke and Leia’s theme, Mother’s theme and the Love theme, also known as Across the Stars, are played throughout the Star Wars saga in different movies and different parts to create that sense of romanticism and giving that utterly necessary feminine touch. Leia’s theme is beautifully constructed with horns, flutes, violins and winds in between parts of the melody. It is a soft and sweet mellow that transmits a sense of beauty not only to Princess Leia, but to the song itself. The theme is first played in Episode IV: A New Hope, the first movie of the trilogy. At first it may be strange to have this consuming feminine melody being related to Princess Leia. The theme goes more along the lines of a romantic, vulnerable, and passive woman; to which Princess Leia is the total opposite to. Princess Leia is an independent, courageous and strong woman that is able to take care of herself without a Prince Charming. Even though the theme may sound as the contradictory to her character, the theme can still relate to her. She is the main female character in the first trilogy and even though she can be seen as a