The Future of Hybrid Electric Vehicles Essay Example for Free

The Future of Hybrid Electric Vehicles Essay The hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) are the special types of vehicles that make use of two things together, i. e. conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric propulsion system, which together help in achieving fuel efficiency as compared to any other vehicle. The degree of efficiency and improvement provided by the HEVs depend on the degree and the type of propulsion systems they make use of. The engineers have succeeded in adding several additional features such as special breaking etc. for making sure that these vehicles provide high fuel efficiency and effectiveness. The HEVs are being widely used all over the world and its usage will keep increasing every day. There are various ways in which these vehicles can be classified and these classifications are all discussed below. One common way of classifying the hybrid electric vehicles is on the basis of the power that is supplied to the drive-train of the vehicle. The first vehicle is known as the parallel hybrid, wherein the wheel gets special power from the ICE, as well as the electric motor that are both connected to the mechanical transmission. These parallel hybrid cars are shown to be much more efficient than the ones that are non-hybrid and are suitable for highway and urban style usage and running. There is another series of vehicles known as the series hybrids, wherein only the electric motor is used for supplying power to the drive-train. The batteries are shown to be rechargeable. These cars are less efficient than the parallel hybrid cars but still give extremely high performance when used in cities. The combination of the parallel and series cars can also be used for increasing the overall efficiency. These cars are called the power-split hybrids. Though they are slightly more costly than the other cars, they also demonstrate higher efficiency. While the earlier discussed classification was based on the source of power supply, there is another classification that is based on the degree of hybridization that is included in the design. One type of devices can be full hybrid in nature. These vehicles are also known as strong hybrid and are usually operated based only on the engine. The drive-train is shown to demonstrate extremely high flexibility and high power output. The vehicles can also be classified as mild hybrid, wherein the electric motor is the only source of functioning for the cars. Not only do they provide fuel savings but are also more compact in nature. Thus, we see that there are different types of HEVs that are used by the people. The nature and the type of HEV that is used, depend on the requirements of the person and the cost savings and fuel efficiency that is desired. Reference: http://classof1. com/homework-help/electrical-engineering-homework-help/.

Pablo Escobar Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio

Pablo Escobar The paper traces Escobar's life from humble peasant beginnings to powerful cocaine drug dealer and kingpin. The paper discusses the sound financial decisions Escobar made as well as the way he invested in legitimate projects using the funds he gained illegally. The paper explores the influence Escobar had and the way he worked, ultimately unsuccessfully, to establish a no-extradition clause into the Colombian constitution. Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was born on December 1 1949 and died on December 2, 1993. Pablo Escobar was a man of power and riches during his time in history. He become famous as a Colombian drug wholesaler . Pablo Escobar beacome so rich and powerful in the drug business that in 1989 , Forbes magazine had listed him as the seventh richest man in world. richest man in the world.He is actually considered to be one of the most most brutally cruel, determined and prevailing drug dealer in history. Pablo once told his mother that he wanted to be "big" someday but I don't think this was what she had in mind. Pablo started out making money by sneaking into grave yards at night and stealing the tombstones from the deceased he would then sand blast the engraving off of the tombstone and sell them as new grave markers to the Panamanians. By age twenty Pablo was also an accomplished car thief. His small time crimes would never amount to what he was going to become. His reputation grew after a well known Medellin drug dealer named Fabio Restrepo was murdered in 1975 ostensibly by Escobar,all of Restrepo's men were informed that they now worked for Pablo.. It was here that he began his pattern of dealing with the authorities by either bribing them or killing them. During the 1980s, Escobar ... ... special. He wanted to get to the top quickly and as a child decided he was not going to take the slow and steady path that law abiding citizens took. He began a life of crime, without regard to who he hurt and killed along the way. His eventual success in the community did not negate the means he used to gain that success however and when he tried to use his gained political popularity to change the constitution in a manner that would erase his past the public turned on him. He went to prison, escaped and died. Had Escobar not existed, the business aspects of the drug world would not be as organized as it is. He was able to develop solid financial and business practices in an illegal world. He left a mark in which is name will always be associated with the notorious drug lords of the world. Pablo Esobar wanted the good life, but he didn't care who he hurt to get it."

Blaine Kitchenware Case Study Answers Essay

1. ABOUT THE COMPANY Blain Kitchenware, Inc. (BKI), founded in 1927, is a mid-sized producer of small appliances for residential kitchens. BKI has an approximate 10% market share of the $2.3 billion U.S. market for small kitchen appliances, with 65% of sales originating from the US market. The company is public since 1994, and the majority of the shares is controlled by the founder’s family (62% of outstanding shares), who also have a strong representation in the board of directors. Mr. Dubinski – the CEO since 1992 and great-grandson of one of the founders, successfully completed an IPO in 1994 and gradually moved the production abroad in the early 90s. BIK`s current strategy is to complement its product offerings by acquiring small independent manufacturers or the kitchen appliance product lines of larger diversified manufacturers. The financial data at the end of 2006 reflects a strong financial position: The company has raised nearly no debt, it is very liquid, but also under-levered. BKI is one of the strongest companies in this industry in terms of EBITDA margin (22% in 2006), high level of cash holdings and no debt. However, the shift toward higher-end product line could not prevent the margins from a slight decline over the last three years. This was mainly explained by the integration costs and inventory write-downs due to the acquisitions completed so far. The other reason was that its organic revenue growth had suffered in recent years, as some of the core products lost market share. The growth of the top line was mainly due to the acquisitions. BKI’s annual return on equity is significantly below that of its publicly traded peers: 11% compared to an average of 25,9 and a median of 19.5 %. Now the over-liquid and under-levered BKI is facing strong pressure from a private equity group interested in buying the company`s common stock. Thus, the CEO considers a stock repurchase to avoid a hostile takeover. The company decided to distribute all excess cash as a dividend. The second step will be the recapitalization plan to hold permanently $ 300m of debt on the balance sheet, which is a difficult decision due to the first sign of the mortgage crisis. Moreover, the company expects annual revenue decline of 4%  in 2007-2009, and a permanent 2% growth rate afterwards. 2. METHODOLOGY AND VALUATION From a company`s perspective, the benefit of debt is the tax shields created, which are captured by equity holders. The family-controlled company in our case has little experience with holding debt and the board of directors might not easily accept the restructuring plan. What they should know is that the right amount of debt increases the firm’s value and discourages the takeovers. However, a too-high level of debt can lead to financial distress, lower credit rating, and higher interest expenses. For BIK, the credit rating regressed from A (Iteration 1) to A- (Iteration 10), accordingly changing the credit spread from 1.40% to 1.65%. Our aim is to asses the how the proposed recapitalization will affect the enterprise value, after the distribution of the excess cash as dividends, by using APV. We estimate the present value of the firm as if it were all-equity financed (VU), then we add the present value of tax shield associated with the new debt (permanent debt with market value of 300 mln USD), and subtract the present value of bankruptcy costs. We have to estimate expected after-tax operating cash flows , the expected tax shields and discount them at two different discount rates: (unlevered cost of capital) and (usually , cost of debt). For the present value of the bankruptcy costs, we have to first estimate the risk-neutral probability of default of the company. VL = VU + PV (future tax shields from debt) – PV (bankruptcy costs),  or rewritten as  threshold coverage ratio for default  probability of firm default conditional on surviving up to a specified period We start with a forecast of expected after-tax operating cash flows. We assume the annual 4% decline in revenues between 2007 and 2009 from the 2006 level, and a permanent 2% growth afterwards. Analysing the historical values of the operating margins from the Income Statement, we forecast values for the 2007-2009 period. The executives of BKI expect the firm to achieve operating margins at least as high as the historical ones. Thus, we took averages and slightly adjusted them toward higher values. Since the declining tendency in the last three years was cause by integration costs and inventory write-downs associated with acquisitions, which already have been completed. To the EBIT, estimated by using those margins, subtract the taxes, Capex, adjust for Depreciation, Amortization and change in Working capital. The capital expenditures were just over $10m on average per year. The company is expecting the Capex remain modest. Thus, we assumed a Capex of $10m for the next three years. We estimated Net Working Capital by using the average ratio of NWC/Net income of the last three years. Finally, we come up with the value for the operating after-tax operating cash flows for the next three years and the terminal value. We calculate the present value of these cash flows by discounting by the unlevered cost of capital, rU given as 8.7%, which gives us a value of the unlevered firm of ca. $566m. Secondly, we estimate the expected tax shields from the debt level: a permanent amount of $300m market value, and a constant tax rate of 40%. Then we calculate their present value using the appropriate discount rate reflecting the risk, rT (or rD). For the bankruptcy cost, we have the percentage of the unlevered-firm value of 20%, but for the present value, we need to estimate the risk-neutral probability of default q. This probability is calculated iteratively starting from the coverage ratio (EBITt-1 / Interest Expense). We match the coverage ratio number with the corresponding credit rating, which then has a corresponding default. This gives us the yield on debt y, the cost of debt rD, and the risk-neutral probability of default q. The formula for q is q=  where Ï  is the recovery rate in case of default, given here as 41%. In order to calculate the expected interest coverage ratio, we took the average EBIT between 2007 and 2009 for the mean of pre-tax cash flows, as well as the according standard deviation, since our estimation is future based. 2. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION We can conclude that by raising debt of $300m the company would be better of, since the value of the levered firm would be 16% higher that the value of the unlevered firm and will discourage the takeovers. However, the sensitivity analysis gives us an optimal value of debt of $354m, which would lead to an optimal ratio between the PV of tax shields and bankruptcy costs and, thus, a value of maximal levered firm of $680m, given that our assumptions for AVP will be realized in the future.

Martin Luther King Jr. - 1332 Words

Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader in the Civil Rights Era, advocating for the Civil Rights Act’s passage and eventually passage of the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s. In his capacity as a Civil Rights leader, MLK delivered his famous â€Å"I have a dream† speech after the march for Civil Rights in Washington, D.C. His speech was delivered on August 28th in front of the Lincoln Memorial. In his speech, MLK made sure to emphasize the hope that many African Americans had in the United States. Furthermore, MLK makes it clear that hope to him is defined as, â€Å"Sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners can sit down at the table of brotherhood†¦ that Mississippi will someday be turned into an oasis of freedom and justice†¦ that [his] children will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.† (King, 219) MLK’s sense of hope is shared by his need for the humane and equal treatment of African Americans. Moreover, MLK stands and speaks in front of Abraham Lincoln’s National Monument, alluding to the historic signing of the Emancipation Proclamation which abolished slavery. The significance of this allusion helps to show the progress that has yet to be made, the fact that African Americans 100 years later still need to fight to be treated like human beings. MLK hopes to lead a movement which will see the abolishment of segregation between people of color and white people, as well as the right for African Americans to vote and reform theirShow MoreRelatedMartin Luther King Jr.867 Words   |  4 Pagespeople, one of them is Martin Luther King Jr. He made the world a better place for black citizens by doing non-violence movements and marched the way to freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta Georgia as Michael King Jr., but changed his name to Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of Protestant Martin Luther. Through his activism, King played a pivotal role in ending the legal discrimination of African American citizens. During his childhood, Martin Jr.’s father stronglyRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr1194 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Simmons 1 Gabrielle Simmons Mrs. Fitzgerald Social Studies 8A 4/27/10 Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a well known and an inspiring man to all cultures of the world. King was and still is one of the most influential heroes. King s views and believes helped African Americans through the 50 s and 60 s to the rights and liberties that was their right. King faced many obstacles on his journey, things like jail and even assassination attempts. Despite these obstacles,Read MoreMartin Luther King Jr.1078 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr., was a very strong person, constantly fighting for what he believed in, which was equality for African Americans. He was not scared to stand up and tell the world what he wanted for society. He was fearless and did everything in his power to prove a point. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the strongest individual of his time, for he fought until death, which proves how much he was willing to risk his life to make the world an equal place. Growing up, he had a very interestingRead MoreMartin Luther King, Jr Essay1153 Words   |  5 Pagesbe slaves, African-Americans saw a road trip to equality through the eyes of Martin Luther King, Jr. Even after being emancipated from slaves to citizens, African-Americans were not ready to wage the battle against segregation alone. The weight which African Americans carried on their back, was lightened when they began to see what Martin Luther King, Jr. brought to the table against segregation. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the single most important African-American leader of the Civil Rights MovementRead MoreBiography of Martin Luther King, Jr745 Words   |  3 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born on in his mothers parents large house on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the second child, and was first named Michael, after his father. Both changed their names to Martin when the boy was still young. King JR was born into a financially secu re family middle class with that, They received better education in respect to most people of their race. King Jr, noticed this and this influenced him to live a life of social protestRead MoreEssay on Martin Luther King, Jr.591 Words   |  3 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born at home on Tuesday, January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents were Martin Luther, Sr. and Alberta King. He was born into a world where segregation was the law. Where his boyhood best friend, who was white, wasnt allowed to play with him once they started school. Where black people went to separate bathrooms, drank from separate water fountains, couldnt eat in whites only restaurants, and had toRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr.1144 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King Jr. (January 15 1929-April 4, 1968) Brief Summary (of who MLK Jr. is): Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and an activist who led the civil rights movement in the 1950. He was a fundamental force behind the civil rights movement that ended legal segregation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. But he was sadly assassinated in 1968 on a second floor balcony of Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee†¦ Childhood: Martin Luther was never poor. He lived with a middleRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr.2405 Words   |  10 PagesMartin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist, who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. IN THESE GROUPS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERS FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO DIED IN 1968 FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO WENT TO PRISON FAMOUS CAPRICORNS Show All Groups 1 of 19  «  » QUOTES â€Å"But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice.† —Martin Luther King Jr. Read MoreMartin Luther King Jr. Essay1862 Words   |  8 Pagesbut the content of the character,† (Martin Luther King Jr,1963) Martin Luther King Jr. was a smart child and had a good childhood. He learned values from his parents, and Martin Luther King Jr was a man of much wisdom during his time. He was a major contributor to the civil rights movement, and those contributions have profound effect even today. Michael Luther King was Martin Luther King Jr’s name when was born. His parents changed his name to Martin Luther King when he was just a young boy. TheyRead More Martin Luther King Jr. Essay637 Words   |  3 Pages Martin Luther King, Jr. was perhaps one of the most influential person of our time. As the father of modern civil rights movement, Dr.Martin Luther king, Jr., is recognized around the world as a symbol of freedom and peace. Born January 15, 1929, King was the son of an Atlanta pastor. King accomplished many achievements during his life. He graduated from Morehouse as a minister in 1948 and went on to Crozer Theological seminary in Chester, Pa., where he earned a divinity degree. After that King