Behavioural Finance Viev On Market Bubbles Essay

Behavioural Finance Viev On Market Bubbles - Essay Example This paper investigates these market events through relevant research material and identifies the anatomy and behavioral finance phenomena of the events using information. The tulip bulbs speculation, which was at its peak in February 1637, and the consequent market crash that followed mark the most notorious economic hard times in the History of Dutch (Goldgar, 2007:5). Together with Britain’s Sothern Sea Buble in the 18th century, these are the earliest example of irrational market behavior that affected investors in Europe. The Semper Augustus, a tulip bulb type, was both sublime and prosaic than any comparable bonds or stocks, it was extraordinarily beautiful with its pure white top and midnight petals combined with accents of crimsons flares. In history, it remains the most valuable flower to date. Back in the early 1624, an individual in Amsterdam in possession of the last dozen specimens of tulips was o be given a high of 3,000 guilders, an equivalent of a wealthy merch ant’s annual income, but turned down the offer. This is the height of how speculations had raised the prices of the tulip. Nonetheless, the tulip craze was not only in Dutch. The flower was an enchantment for the rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the Persians in late 1550s, but it was in Holland where the flower found its fertile ground, economically (Goldgar, 2007:15). Holland was in the Golden Age in the early 1700s and all the resources that the country had directed towards the fight with Spain for their independence were now concentrated on commerce. Amsterdam was strategically at center of the East Indies trade, which enabled a single voyage to gain four times its value in the lucrative market place. Flower gardens surrounding their grand estates usually evidenced their success in the trade. This was the trigger for the tulip craze. Tulip prices began rising significantly as the rich lot in Holland not considering the value of the tulips. The tulip business became the new order of business setting by professional tulip traders with the customers coming from tulip fanciers (bloemisten) in middling groups rather than the nobles or artisans. The enthusiasm of owning prized specimens of tulips was a cultural credential display. The cultural credential associated with the tulips, combined with the fact that the seed takes seven years to grow, and that a mother bulb can only last a few years, was the foundation of the supply crisis. There were many buyers for the bulbs with a limited supply, which in economics results to a rise in the price of the commodity (Goldgar, 2007:86). The prices of the bulbs rose consistently over the early 1930s because of more speculation. The farmers and traders mortgaged all their assets in order to raise more capital for the trade. By 1936, any tulip bulbs, even the ones the current society considers garbage, could simply trade for hundreds of guilders. The peak of the tulip mania was in the early 1937 when a single tulip bu lb could change hands up to a maximum of ten individuals in a single day. The exact all time high of the tulip trade was at an auction whose proceeds would benefit seven orphans who had inherited 70 tulips from their father.

Georgia State Flag Issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Georgia State Flag Issue - Research Paper Example This essay discusses that the state of Georgia has had the greatest number of flags in the United States’ history. Controversies over the design of the Georgian State Flag have existed for a long time. Recently, Georgia’s flag was changed thrice between January 2001 and May 2003. The reason for these changes was the presence of the Confederate Battle symbol on the flag. The inclusion of the Confederate Battle Flag on the Georgian flag in 1956 has caused the greatest controversy in the history of Georgia’s flags. Criticisms of the flag began as soon as the flag was authorized and continued until the design was changed in 2001. The announcement by Governor Zell Miller of Georgia in 1992 that he would support the removal of the Confederate Battle symbol from the Georgian flag aroused renewed arguments. Governor Zell Miller attempted to redesign the Georgian flag but his efforts were thwarted by intense debates by the state’s elected representatives. Efforts t o redesign the flag were revived in 2000 when some black leaders from Atlanta pushed for the removal of the Confederate stars and bars from the flag or else they would boycott events such as the NCAA basketball tournament. A new flag design was revealed to the public and legislators. The new flag was meant to unite all Georgians and it minimized the prominence of the Confederate Battle flag from the Georgian flag. However, the Georgians were not satisfied with this flag and another one was designed in 2003. Currently, the Georgians use the 2003 flag design that they voted for in a referendum in 2004. This paper explores the controversy surrounding the Georgian flag and the reasons for changing the flag design numerous times. The legislators who championed the change of the flag are also discussed. Causes of Georgia’s Flag Controversy The main source of controversy was the inclusion of the Confederate Battle Flag in the Georgian flag. This flag was used by the Confederate Stat es of America during the Civil War. The Confederate States of America consisted of Southern American States that had broken away from the Union. The Confederate Battle Flag, also referred to as the Southern Cross, consisted of a blue St. Andrews cross on a red square background1. Thirteen white stars were enclosed on the blue cross representing the number of the states of the Confederacy. The blue cross was enclosed in thin white borders. This flag was widely accepted by the members of the public and the soldiers. The Confederate Battle symbol was incorporated into Georgia’s flag in 1956. There was a proposal to include the Confederate Battle Flag in Georgia’s state flag in 1955. Senate Bill No. 98 was introduced by Senators Willis Harden and Jefferson Lee Davis to change the design of Georgia’s state flag. The law authorizing the use of the new flag design was signed in 1956 by Governor Marvin Griffin. This was a sign of defiance to the Federal government for i nterfering with the rights of the state. One of the contentious issues at that time was racial integration in schools. The legislators were fighting the move by the Supreme Court to allow integration of races in public schools. The symbol was widely used in entertainment, books, and clothes and was used to show opposition to the Federal government. This flag was used in the state of Georgia as from 1956 to 2001. However, during this period, there were protests from Georgians because of the inclusion of the Confederate Battle Flag. Many people were dissatisfied with the design2. In the 1980s and 1990s, several Bills were introduced in an attempt to change the flag to the previous design3. Since the inclusion of the confederate battle flag in Georgia’s flag, there have been several attempts to change it. However, the controversy that occurred between 1990 to the present was the most intense, leading to the change of the