Thursday, December 26, 2019

Women, Sisters, And Wives Women Essay - 1485 Words

Princesses, Sisters, and Wives: Women Portrayed in Ancient Greece It is convenient to pride modernity for all the progression it has made since ancient times, particularly when it comes to gender equality. In Homer’s The Odyssey and Sophocles’ Antigone, the ancient societal view of women is blatant in the text whether it is in Creon’s sexist remarks or referring to the disloyal maids of Odysseus as â€Å"sluts, who lay with suitors† (Homer, XXII.516), but in these same works, this status quo is challenged by providing many examples of hospitable, strong willed, and dedicated women. In Antigone specifically, the plays overarching theme of righteousness standing up against powerful corruption is analogous to the gender specific struggle of having societal views of, in the case of the Ancient and Classical Greeks, inferiority enforced upon women. These works provide an ancient cultural outlook on women but challenges them through the characters, such as a xenia filled princess, an idealistic, fiery sister, and a faithful ye t skeptical wife. The cultural outlook upon women is very clear from both of these narratives. At the beginning of Antigone, Ismene reminds her sister, â€Å"We must remember we are women, / so not to fight with men.† (Sophocles, 61-62) This internalized hopelessness enflames Antigone’ frustration and connects to the larger ethos of truth that is defined by Plato: â€Å"True reality will be denied by the individuals who have not witnessed other realities, believing that theShow MoreRelatedDiscrimination Of Women In The Color Purple By Alice Walker712 Words   |  3 PagesNearly three in ten women are in a, or have been in an abusive relationship. The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a novel about a girl named Celie, and her sister Nettie, who are stuck in the south in the early twentieth century. Celie and her sister battle for their lives, against the discrimination of colored women. After Nettie escapes, Celie is left to fend for herself married to a man who abuses her. Men believe th at they can take advantage of women until the women prove them wrong. At the beginningRead MoreSexual Revolution971 Words   |  4 Pagesrestrictions behaviorally, there was restriction on â€Å"sexual liberation.† Women eventually revolted against oppression, aiming for their â€Å"sexual liberation,† by showing more skin with their clothing options. Rupp declared in lecture that states and cultures both mobilize and contain women’s sexuality: sometimes both at the same time. She said that we tend to think of containing sexuality: publicly about honor killings of girls and women, and sometimes even if raped, in Afghanistan or Pakistan or TurkeyRead MorePolygamy1035 Words   |  5 PagesIs Polygamy Socially Acceptable? The reality TV show Sister Wives follows the lives of a polygamist family of 22. The husband, Cody Brown, has 4 wives: Meri, Janelle, Christine, and the latest addition Robyn. The number of polygamists in North America, estimated at 50,000 or more, is doubling every decade. Polygamy by definition is a marriage that includes more than two partners. When a man is married to more than one woman at the same time it is called polygany and when a woman is married to moreRead MoreWomen Of Deh Koh There Is An Extreme Amount Of Pressure On Women1267 Words   |  6 Pagescommunity, and even people within an oppressed community. In Erika Friedl’s Women of Deh Koh there is an extreme amount of pressure put on women to follow societal norms. The novel takes place in a remote village in Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The previous government was replaced with one based on Islamic law and women are subjected to its provisions, which are often times unequal and creates disparities in society. The women in this village experience pressure from the men in their communityRead MoreAnalysis Of Gibsons `` Television Special `` Polygamy On The Christian Family?1116 Words   |  5 PagesGibson (2010) also frames polygamy in the context of women struggles and not being able to control their own lives. Gibson gives his opinion on polygamy and how it violates the Christian family. Gibson (2010) argues that polygamy came about because of â€Å"systematic patriarchy.† Gibson gives information on Anderson Cooper’s television special Polygamy in America, Cult or Calling? which discusses the capture of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. Gibson (2010) explains how America’s recent fascinationRead MoreComparison Of Fanny Fern And Charlotte Perkins Gilman982 Words   |  4 Pagesshort stories. â€Å"Hints to Young Wives,† by Fanny Fern, is about a woman desperately trying to warn young wives about their sneaky husbands.  Gilman’s piece, â€Å" The Yellow Wallpaper† is about a young wife and mother who has recently began to suffer symptoms of depression and anxiety. Although she does not believe that anything is wrong with her, John, her physician husband, diagnoses her with a nervousness disease, curing it only with rest. In Ferns writing Hints to Young Wives as well as Gilman’s The YellowRead MoreEssay about Confucianism and Raise the Red1275 Words   |  6 Pagesa new theme emerging in society especially amongst the Chinese reformers: the theme of individualism oppose to familialism. Today, would the Confucian family be more and more aware of abuse to women and children? The rituals and traditions can be seen as both positive and negative. The ways in which women suffered affirm that some rituals were abusive. There are multiple signs indeed that something has gone badly wrong with the Chinese family traditions that led to family instability. To beginRead MoreSummary Of Wives Of The Dead 952 Words   |  4 Pages Brianna Veal Hensley 11 English Honors 2nd 20 January 2017 ?Wives of the Dead? Summary Nathaniel Hawthorne sets the scene of his lesser known short story, ?The Wives of the Dead,? in a Bay Province seaport on a dreary autumnal day. In this short story, the two main characters are Mary and Margaret, two women who were the recent brides of two brothers who had been killed on Atlantic voyages and in Canadian warfare. The women, although they were thankful for the kindness of their sympatheticRead MoreThe Legalization Of Polygamy1349 Words   |  6 Pagesunnatural as it seems, many successful people have been in multiple marriages at once. The founder of the Mormons, Joseph Smith Jr., had up to thirty-three wives, all ranging from the ages of fourteen to sixty. One of the most widely known polygamous families even has their own television show. TLC’s Sister Wives tells the tale of a man and his four wives and seventeen kids living a happy and prosperous life in Utah. In hopes to raise awareness of polygamous families, they keep the show running to fightRead MoreT he Women s Rights Movement1711 Words   |  7 PagesFrom the beginning of time women have always had it harder than men. Rights were always limited for women. Till today there is still that a disadvantage for women in areas such as the work place and how women earn less money than men do. Like many rights women did not have, women were not allowed to vote. It was not until June fourth of 1919 congress passed the nineteenth amendment that guaranteed all American women the right to vote and it was ratified on August eighteen of 1920. If it was for

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Notes On Value Of Money - 1031 Words

In this chapter 4, Time Value of Money we discussed about Future Value, Present Value, Rates of return and Amortization. Future value is the value of an asset at a particular date that means a given sum of money is â€Å"worth† at a specified time in the future with certain interest. It is product of present value and accumulation function. Present value also known as Present Discounted value. It is less or equal to the future value because of money has interest rate. For example â€Å"A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow† because it can be invested and earn a day’s worth of interest so it makes more than a dollar tomorrow. A rate of return is measure of profit as a percentage of investment. Suppose I invest $500 in a business, and it†¦show more content†¦The important thing is Amortization refers intangible, Depreciation refers tangible and depletion refers to natural resources. CHAPTER 5 In chapter 5, Bonds, Bond Valuation, and Interest rates we discussed mainly about key features of Bonds, Bond valuation, measuring yield and Assessing risk. Generally Bonds are income investments, the bond’s issuer agrees to pay a certain rate of interest at regular intervals for a set period until the bond matures or the principal is repaid. The features are set maturity dates, Interest payments, Principal Investment Repayment, credit ratings, callable bonds, minimum investment. The benefits are reliable source of income, liquidity, and exempt from taxation, low risk. Bonds are classified into different type’s corporate bonds (money borrowed by institution or corporation), Municipal Bonds (are issued by states, countries, cities and local) and Us Government securities. Bond valuation is determines the fair value of a particular bond. It calculates the present value of the bond’s future interest payments (cash flow), and the bond’s value upon maturity, als o known as its face value or par value. Yield curve risk refers to the probability that the yield curve will shift in a manner that affects the values of securities tied to interest rates- particularly bonds. Also known as the term structure of interest rates, the yield curve is a graph that plots the yields of similar quality bonds against their maturities, ranging from shortest

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Islamic Finance for Journal of Economic Surveys-myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Islamic Finance for Journal of Economic Surveys. Answer: Introduction The main purpose of this assignment is to identify the similarities and differences which are present between Islamic and Conventional finance framework. In order to understand the difference between Islamic finance and conventional finance system, it is essential to first understand what the key concepts which are used in Islamic finance[1]. Modern Financial Institutions are solely based on interests which is as per Muslim law is against Sharia and it is expected that Muslims do not keep money with such financial institutions. A non-performing loan is a loan which was granted by the financial institution on which no schedule payments have been made for a period of more than 90 days. Such loans are either in default or at the risk of getting default. In other words, any loan amount which is expected to be in default then the loan is termed as a non-performing loan. In addition to this, if the debtor fails to make payments within specified period than also such will be considered as a non-performing loan. In case of a non-performing loan the lender has the right to take necessary actions to recover the principal amount of the loan. This is mostly seen when the loan is covered by an asset as a security for loans. The conventional bank will take steps like seize the asset, foreclosure process. In case of Conventional banks non-performing loans can be sold to investors in order to reduce the risks associated with a non-performing loan and in the process clean up their balance sheet. In the case of both Islamic financing institutions and conventional institutions, non-performing loan affect the business and therefore it is up to the management to manage the same effectively. In case of conventional banking system, where non-performing loans have been identified and there is a risk of default which is related to the loan than the bank in general cases creates provisions for such loans. Such non-performing loans are firstly classified on the basis of criteria which is substandard and doubtful debts. On the basis of such classifications the provisions for such debts are created. The provisions which is created for doubtful debts are generally more than the substandard category. In the case of Islamic financing as well the banks need to effectively manage non-performing loans[2]. The purpose of identifying of non-performing loan is to ensure that the banks are able to create provisions so that the impact and risks which are associated with loan term loans can be averted. A case study shows tha t Islamic banks are affected by non-performing loans and the essence of a non-performing loan is because it reflects the channelization of the loans and financing. Moreover, research show that high Non-performing loans for an Islamic bank and Conventional banks is a cause for the fall in profitability of the banks. Thus, it is important for both Islamic and conventional banks to effectively measure and maintain non-performance loans. As the risk and rewards are both shared by investors the non-performing assets risks also fall on the investors or depositors of such banks. In case of short term as well long-term loans which are to be issued by Islamic financial institutions, the viability of the project is to be analyzed carefully by the investors and then the loan amount is to be approved. As the risks of non-performing loans are to bear the investors the system is that the loan needs to be approved by the investors after he is satisfied by the viability of the project[3]. In case o f further defaults in the payment of the non-performing loans the banks can impose penalty on such non-performing[4]. The penalty which is imposed by the banks are used for the purpose of charity. As per the research the Islamic banks are developing in most parts of Saudi Arabia, parts of the middle east as well. In case of Islamic banks, equity-based sources of money are more preferred than debt-based sources. The depositors of an Islamic banks are basically shareholders of the banks. A bank which is more dependent on the equity sources like Islamic banks uses lending methods like mudarabah which is one-party joint partnership and a multi-party joint partnership which is known as musharaka. Moreover, the risks are shared by the depositors which is not the case in debt financing which is majorly used by conventional banks. In case of conventional banks, the risk are on mostly on the banks and not on the investors. another main difference between Islamic banks and Conventional banks which uses Equity financing and debt financing respectively is the basis of recording assets and liabilities in balance sheet. In case of Islamic banks, the asset side will contain certain cash which are kept as fixed assets and cash reserves and certain amount of equity as well and on the liability side investment profit and loss account deposits. As per the analysis of the work processes of a conventional banking system and Islamic banking system, Islamic banks are based on the profit and loss principle and does not charged interest whereas the conventional banks are dependent on the interest factor. The conventional banks charge interest on the loan amount which it lends to clients whereas no such interest is charged by Islamic banks and the main source of revenue is from the profits which are earned from investments which are shared with the depositors of such banks[5]. The main principles of an Islamic bank is based on the equity based policies which involves using the capital of its own and also the capital which it acquires from deposits which is used for investments through which profits for the banks are generated[6]. In case of conventional banks, the structure is based on debt policies. The major source of income for conventional banks is through lending of money as debts on which the bank charges interests following the time value of money concept[7]. As per the data which is available from secondary sources, it is clear that the Islamic banks are not responsible for the risks which are associated with the investment. In the case of Islamic banks, the risks are also to be bear by the investors same as they have share in the profits of the investments[8]. This is a point of difference between an Islamic bank and a conventional bank who borne all the risk part of the investors and also provides a fixed reward for the same. Hypothesis There is a wide range of differences between Islamic finance and conventional system of finance. The hypothesis which is used for the explanation of the same depends on the secondary data which is collected from various journals and works of other authors. The secondary data helps in the research and also is useful in developing the reasons and points which makes Islamic financing practices different from conventional system of financing[9]. The major difference which arises is that the conventional system of financing by institutions are heavily dependent on interest which is not the case in Islamic financing[10]. In the case of Islamic financing, the structure is based on the profit and loss principle which means that even though Islamic financing institutions are does not deal in interest as in the case of conventional institutions but share in the profits which are generated from the use of funds. The depositors of such Islamic institutions also have a share in the profits genera ted at pre-determined ratios which is stipulated by the institutions. The asset side of such Islamic bank show the transactions with the depositors in the asset side and transaction with the investment clients in the liability side. Whereas in the case of conventional institution shows taking deposits and paying interest and on the other side lending and charging interest are shown. In addition to this Islamic financing institution are based on the equity-based system, whereas the conventional banks are based on debt-based system. In case of conventional system, the shares capital of conventional system is that the nature of the capital is of permanent nature and in case of Islamic financial institution is that the capital is based on term investments. The process which is adopted by Islamic financial institutions for the purpose of accepting deposits from the public is quite different from the technique which is adopted by conventional financial institutions. The system which is fo llowed by Islamic financial institution follows the sharia or the rules of Islam. All the collection process of deposits is same in both cases of Islamic finances and conventional system of finance[11]. The point of difference lies in the area where the rewards are distributed for the deposits kept with institutions. In a conventional bank the rewards which are associated with deposits are fixed and generally provided in the form of interests. Whereas in the case of Islamic finance, the rewards are not fixed and the deposits are accepted through Musharaka and Mudaraba. Musharaka literally means to share profits in a partnership whereas Mudaraba is also related to sharing of profits. The difference between the two is that Musharak requires also involves sharing of losses strictly between the partners. Then there is the risk and return factor which is a point of difference between the two. In case of conventional system of financing the entire risks are borne by the banks and they pro vide securities to the depositors and the rewards totally belongs to the depositors. However, in the case of Islamic finance the both the risks and returns are equally shared by the depositors[12]. Thus, from the above discussions it can be clearly stated that there exists certain key difference in the principles which are followed and the structure of Islamic banks and conventional banks. Methodology The general differences and similarities of an Islamic banks and conventional banks can be analyzed through qualitative data analysis. Qualitative data refers to the facts and information which can be obtained for the purpose of a research through the works of other authors or journal other authors. The first step will be involving collection of data from various sources such as journals on conventional and Islamic banks which can provide information regarding the structure of the banks and also treatments of various items in the financial statements which are prepared by such banks. Then the next step will be involving detailed analysis of data which is collected from various journals and works of other authors in order to determine the structure and processes which are used by such banks and also the accounting treatments of deposits and payments and all other related information. As per the research, the financial statements can also be used to identify the difference in treatments of deposits and payments[13]. As per analysis, the partnership for profits and deposits are placed in the asset side whereas the transactions between the bank and the investment client are place on the liability side of a balance sheet. In case of a conventional banks, funds for which the banks nee d to pay interest are placed in the liability side and for the funds which are lend out and interest charged are placed in the asset side of the balance sheet[14]. Moreover, in case of Islamic banks as they do not charge interest or pay interest to the depositors of the banks, the treatments will be different for the profit sharing which is done in an Islamic bank in the financial statements. Thus, information about the difference in treatments can be collected by comparing the financial statements of both the types of banks. Then there is a difference in the strategies which are followed by Islamic banks in case of risks which are associated with the business. The risks are directly borne by the investors of the banks and not by the Islamic banks as it is in the case of conventional banks. Moreover in case of Islamic banks the principle of risk sharing is followed where the risks are shared by the depositors of the business. Results and Conclusion The results which can be drawn from the analysis work which is done above, it can be clearly stated that there exists difference between Islamic banks and conventional banks. There are various point of differences but the most crucial one is the basis on which the bank functions that is by charging and allowing interest from debtors and depositors respectively in case of conventional banks and by means of sharing profits for the investors of the company in case of Islamic banks. The Islamic banks strictly follows the Sharia framework where in some activities which are considered to unethical or prohibited in Islam are not allowed to be financed by such banks. Some of the restrictions which are discussed above relates to the prohibition of Islamic banks to allow or charge interest on the cash depositing and lending activities of the business. An aspect of Islamic finance which is not present in case of conventional banks is that the financing is either made on the principles of sharing risks and rewards or those financing which are backed by assets. Another unique feature of financing in an Islamic financing system is that it is in the form of mudaraba which can play an important role for overall development of the society. In Mudaraba form of financing a partnership is formed between funds which are provided by the banks and the skills which are there in a person who lacks the capital to have him backed and therefore it is an effective means to provide self- employment. From the analysis of the case it can be stated that the developing Islamic banks are not just there as a copy of conventional banking system. There has been difference in the working process of Islamic banks and conventional banks due to the Sharia principles which are followed by the Islamic banks. However, research shows that due to this sharia principle Islamic banks misses out on opportunities which conventional banks are able to enjoy such interest factor which covers up for the time vale of money aspect, investment in governmental bonds which bear significant amount of interests are missed out by Islamic banks. In spite of all this, the growth and development of Islamic banks have been tremendous in last two years in Pakistan and middle east countries. The system which are followed by conventional banks are different from that which are followed by Islamic banks. Reference Abedifar, P., et al., Islamic banking and finance: recent empirical literature and directions for future research.Journal of Economic Surveys, (2015)29(4), pp.637-670. Abedifar, P., Molyneux, P. and Tarazi, A., Risk in Islamic banking.Review of Finance,17(6), pp.2035-2096. (2013). Ahmed, H., Islamic banking and Shariah compliance: a product development perspective.Journal of Islamic finance.,(2014) 3(2), pp.15-29. Beck, T., Demirg-Kunt, A. and Merrouche, O., Islamic vs. conventional banking: Business model, efficiency and stability.Journal of Banking Finance, (2013)37(2), pp.433-447. Gheeraert, L. and Weill, L., Does Islamic banking development favor macroeconomic efficiency? Evidence on the Islamic finance-growth nexus.Economic modelling, (2015).47, pp.32-39. Iqbal, M. and Molyneux, P.,Thirty years of Islamic banking: History, performance and prospects. Springer. (2016). Karim, R.A.A. and Archer, S.,Islamic finance: the new regulatory challenge. John Wiley Sons. (2013.) Khan, M.S. and Mirakhor, A.,Theoretical studies in Islamic banking and finance. BookBaby. (2015). Makri, V., Tsagkanos, A. and Bellas, A., Determinants of non-performing loans: The case of Eurozone.Panoeconomicus, (2014).61(2), p.193. Rahman, I. and Sulfia, D.J.,Islamic Banking and Finance. Anchor Academic Publishing (2015). Samra, E., Corporate governance in Islamic financial institutions. (2016). karica, B., Determinants of non-performing loans in Central and Eastern European countries.Financial theory and practice, (2014).38(1), pp.37-59. Waemustafa, W. and Sukri, S., Systematic and unsystematic risk determinants of liquidity risk between Islamic and conventional banks. (2016) Wilson, R., The development of Islamic finance in the gulf cooperation council states.The Transformation of the Gulf: Politics, Economics and the Global Order, (2013).146, pp.47-76.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Whole Foods Individual Case, Financial Analysis Essay Example

Whole Foods Individual Case, Financial Analysis Paper This report is written in order to perform financial analysis on Whole Foods Market Inc and its competitor Safeway Inc. This in depth report is both to determine which company is doing financially better and how also how they are doing comparing them to their whole industry. The ratios in this report are going to be used to compare WF to its competitior and also to compare its financial performances to the whole Grocery store industry (SIC: 5411) to see how Whole Foods Inc is doing in regards to the whole industry. It is crucial to compare a company’s ratios with the industry’s, because they may appear good or bad when comparing with the company’s competitors, however, when comparing these ratios to the industry a different conclusion could be drawn. Another purpose of this paper is to show the trends and relationships of this company which will allow us to assess Whole Foods’ weaknesses and strength. In this report, you will come across profitability ratios, liquidity ratios and asset utilization ratios of both companies and also the industry’s. Background Both Safeway and Whole Foods Market are major players in the Grocery stores industry and they are both leading the natural organic food field. from a Wall Street perspective, the highest profile player in natural / organic foods is likely Whole Foods (WFMI). The company’s revenues have increased 18% a year, on average (Value line). The company’s merchandise line of over 1,500 items includes organically grown. he company owns about 287 store locations in 38 states and Washington, D. C. , as well as five stores in the U. K and Canada. We will write a custom essay sample on Whole Foods Individual Case, Financial Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Whole Foods Individual Case, Financial Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Whole Foods Individual Case, Financial Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer From 2010 through 2013, Whole Foods plans to open 53 new stores, including eight relocations(Plunkett research). The original whole foods Market opened in 1980 in Texas with a stuff of 19 only. Safeway Inc opened its first store in 1915 in Idaho. Safeway Stores, is one of the largest food retailers in North America, operating 1,712 stores. The company recently expanded its O Organics line of certified organic foods and beverages to over 300 exclusive products. Exhibit 1: source Industry ratios : retrieved November 4th 2010 from ,Reuters. om | | | |Whole foods | | | | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 |Industry | |ROA |7. 22% |9. 98% |5. 69% |3. 39% |3. 88% |2. 38 | |Profit Margin |2. 90% |3. 63% |2. 77% |1. 4% |1. 83% |1. 8 | Exhibit 1 | | | |Safeway | | | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 | |ROA |3. 56% |5. 35% |5. 03% |5. 52% |-7. 78% | |Profit Margin |1. 46% |2. 17% |2. 10% |2. 9% |-2. 69% | In analyzing the profitability ratios, we see that WF had better profit margin than Safeway ev ery year in the last five years, except 2008. However in 2009, WF’s profit margin was 0. 3%lower than the industry’s average. In 2008, safeway outperformed WF’s profit margins 0. 75%. However, in 2009 Safeway had a negative profit margin due to their net income loss. Looking at both company’s profit margins in 2008 and 2009, we can conclude that both companies are struggling to make high profit margins. WF’s (ROA) suggests a good profitability from 2005 to 2007; however, it started to decline in 2008 and 2009. WF’s (ROA) was 1. 5% higher than the average industry ratio. Safeway’s ROE rations were lower than WF’s every year in the past 5 years, except from 2008 again, where their ROA was 2. 13% higher than WF’s. This shows that WF’s has been doing a better job than Safeway at using its assets to generate a profit. Based on the Profit margin and ROA and we could conclude that WF is doing a better a job than Safeway at managing its assets efficiently in order to generate a profit. Moreover, we could also conclude that WF has been doing really well comparing it to the other compnay’s in the same industry since all its profitability ratios were higher than the industy’s. | | | | whole foods | |Industry | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 |2009 | |inventory turover |26. 09 |26. 78 |24. 42 |23. 90 |23,27 |20. | | | | | safeway | | | | |inventory turnover |9. 92 |10. 58 |11. 08 |11. 72 |11. 43 | | Source: Industry ratios from Reuters. com, exhibit 1 Inventory turnover: Comparing inventory turnover is extremely crucial especially for the Grocery industry where it all comes down on how fast you sell your inventory. Every year since 2005, Whole food’s inventory turnover is more than twice. This reveals that whole Foods turns its inventory twice as fast as Safeway. This high inventory turnover demonstrates WF’s strong sales. This could explain the company’s revenues that have been increasing18% a year, on average, so far this decade. By comparison, Kroger and Safeway (SWY) have seen their revenues increase at low single-digit rates over the same stretch( Value line. com). WF fast growth could be also explained by the growth in consumption of organic food, it jumped from 5 Billion $ in 1997 to almost 25 billion in 2008( look at exhibit 5). Revenue Growth of Whole Foods. Source  : Retreived Novermber 4th, from http://www. plunkettresearchonline. com database [pic] We can see from this charts that sales have been constantly growing over the past decade and that is the best growth in sales in the supermarket industry ( Standard and poors). Advanced dupont method Chart3 , exhibit 1 Metric  : I belive that there are many important metric in the retail industry, but the most important one is sales per square foot. | | | |Whole foods | | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 | |RONA |9. 54% |15. 70% |8. 12% |5. 38% |5. 89% | |Spread |2. 76% |15. 71% |7. 78% |3. 21% |3. 14% | |fin lev |1. 38% |0. 61% |50. 67% |61. 67% |48. 15% | |ROE |9. 98% |14. 52% |12. 3% |7. 60% |9. 02% | | | | | | | | | | | |Safeway | | | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 | |RONA |7. 78% |10. 49% |5. 03% |10. 35% |-7. 78% | |Spread |2. 85% |4. 7% |4. 59% |5. 45% |-16. 53% | |fin lev |109. 83% |88. 88% |69. 50% |69. 27% |88. 16% | |ROE |11. 41% |15. 36% |5. 03 % |14. 22% |-22. 19% | Advanced dupont method Chart3 , exhibit 1 [pic] Source : Retreived on November 4th from, http://www. netadvantage. standardandpoors. com The advanced Dupont model is used to separate the effects of operating and financing decisions which was not possible with the old dupont version. As shown in the formula above ,the higher the RNOA, Spread and Financial leveraged, the higher the ROE will get. Throughout the last 5 years expet from 2008, WF had a higher RONA and higher spread than Safeway, but they end up with a lower ROE in both years( see chart 3). WF’s higher RONA in those 4 years shows that WF uses its assets more efficientely than Safeway It also reveals that WF controls its costs better than Safeway. Looking at Safeway’s Balance sheets and income statement, we can conclude that Safeway has a low RONA( exibit 2, 3 and 4) and it is due to their low Net Operating profit. This could mean that Safeway has too much fixed assets that is not used efficiently, or it may also indicate that Safeway manages its expenses poorly comparing it to WF. Safeway is planning to reduce the size of its stores when opening new once( Standard Poors),showing they want to improve their RONA. During 4 out of these 5 last years, WF has been having a better spread than Safeway, because they have been getting a better RONA and because Safeway’s net borrowing cost is really high comparing it to their RONA. In 2009, we can see that Safeway had a negative RONA of -7. 8% due to the negative Net operating profit after tax. This affected their spread negatively since it is directly related to the RNOA. We could see from chart 3 that the reason why Safeway were getting higher ROE during in 2005, 2006. And 2008 is because they were using a lot financial leverage. In 2005 and 2006 Safeway’s Financial leverage was 109,83% and 88,88%, against only 1. 38% and 14. 52% for WF. Even if Safeway had a negative ROE in 2009, they used 88. 16% of financial leverage against only 48. 15%. This shows that the reason why Safeway got better ROE in 2005. 006. and 2008 is because they increased it with they increased it with their high leverage. Therefore we could conclude form the advanced Dupont analysis that WF has been doing better in terms of operating performance and that Safeway relies much more on financial leverage than WF. Conclusion. : We can conclude that after analyzing both companies’ ROA, RONA, Sread, asset turnover and Financial leverage, we can infer that Whole is using its assets better than Safeway and that it is growing its sales at a faster pace than Safeway. Comparing WF ratios with its industry, It is apparent to see that WF is doing really well against the average of the whole industry. Bibliography Retrieved November 4, 2010 http://www. reuters. com/finance/stocks/financialHighlights? symbol=WFMI. O Retrieved November 4, 2010 http://www. valueline. com/ Retrieved November 4, 2010 http://www. netadvantage. standardandpoors. com Retrieved from November 4, 2010 http://www. mergentonline. com/compsearch. asp Retrieved November 4, 2010 http://www. plunkettresearchonline. com .