Financial Analysis of a Publicly-Traded Company Research Paper

Financial Analysis of a Publicly-Traded Company - Research Paper Example However, after conversion of preferred stock held by the US government into a common stock, US government is the largest stakeholder of the company to the tune of over $25 billion (Stempel, 2009). Q.2 Identify the five (5) forces of competition and how it impacts the company. Porter's five forces of competition describe Citigroup’s relative standing in the financial market and the impact these forces may crate on the company can be elaborated under the following heads (Porter, 2008). Threat of Entry from Other organizations Banking business requires huge resources and credibility to begin with and that will surely create an entry barrier for a new entrant. The economies of scale go in favor of the Citi as that helps Citi to provide the services to the consumers at affordable cost. There is always a moderate threat from overseas players to enter in the niche area of Citi. Supplier Power Citi is in the business of financial services. Deposit holders provide huge chunk of capital to the Citi. In most of the cases, they do not have any bargaining power as they are in millions scattered all around and individually too small to dictate any terms. Currently, money flows globally and forward and backward integration of the companies in financial service business can create some turbulent times to the Citigroup but that applies to all firms within the financial market. Buyer Power Being in the financial services business, retail buyers do not have any bargaining power as such and they need to buy as per the market offerings. It is true that business moves in favor of the market-driven company but buyers bargaining power in the financial sector is not substantial to tilt the scale against the companies in this sector. Institutional buyers are the informed buyers and they do possess bargaining power to a certain extent because they buy in bulk; however, that bargaining power is not always one-sided. Financial products are inherently complex in nature and buyers hav e limited capacity to understand them though they do get substitutes in the market. This factor is not likely to affect much to the company like Citigroup. Rivalry Factor There are numerous competitors in the financial services business in retail and the institutional sectors; however, brand equity is superb in case of Citi. Mergers and acquisition is a common phenomenon in the financial sector. Size of the corporation does matter and Citigroup is one of the giant in the financial sector business so that is always a plus point for the company. Usually, companies change the hands but do no prefer to exit completely as sector offers lucrative business opportunities in the long run. Product differentiation is always possible to carve a suitable niche for the company and Citi has been doing the same for several decades. Substitution Threats Due to numerous players in the financial service sector business, substitute products are always available and the consumers weigh them with all pro s and cons. Citi also faces the issue of

Conference Diplomacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Conference Diplomacy - Essay Example In layman's term, diplomacy can be defined as the friendly way of kissing and making up whenever two countries have disputes in order to avoid the perils of war. The following paragraphs explains the nuances of conference diplomacy and its relations to negotiators' values or perceptions (Hughes,2002 : p.173) Conference diplomacy is a necessary action for international peace to prosper(Richardson, 1995: p. 205). War lives in the hearts of traditional paradigms. No one can forget the horrors of Hitler's German Army that had murdered many Jews in its concentration camp(Kaplan, 1998: p. 145). No one can also forget the long Great Britain war against the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte of France. Had Diplomacy been used, there would have been peace pervading the air in these European Countries. Many well known figures were recognized for their diplomacy to use peace actions in the pursuit of their individual and community goals while others specifically wage war to impose their beliefs and traditions. Some of these peace diplomats are the charismatic and personalities like Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi. All these three renounced the use of war or force and instead preached that diplomacy was the best way to win an argument or misunderstanding. Also, the North Korean - United States nuclear diplomatic talks prove that conference diplomacy may facilitate negotiation for it did not change negotiators' values or perceptions. North Korea used its nuclear reactor facilities in Yongbyon as one of its ace cards to force the United States to provide security assurances and political and economic ties to North Korea. But for three years, the U.S. did now WANT to engage itself in an on-going diplomatic give and take with North Korea. The U.S. wanted North Korea to comply with It first insisted I.A.E.A conditions as before talks could begin. During the U.S. -North Korea Talks, the U.S. did not want to state what it would give in return for North Korea's dismantling its nuclear weapons. Furthermore, when the U.S. and North Korea talks concluded with conditions imposed on the U.S. and North Korea, the U.S. did not comply with their diplomatic agreements. The U.S. stated that its compliance was dependent on other nations to fulfill them . Furthermore, North Korea's volatile and ever- changing government leadership was one of the causes of their failed diplomatic agreements. To help, Seoul, South Korea supplied the lubricant needed to keep the U.S. North Korea nuclear talks open(Sigal, 1998: p.168).Furthermore, many diplomacy- inclined persons think that with a world that cannot be changed, many reasonable persons adapt and accommodate these unavoidable changes(Watson, 1991: p. 40). These people decided to group together in diplomacy to make peace a reality. After many years of war against each other such as World War I and World War II. The first steering committee met to agree on a global action to prevent war, This is an international coalition to abolish armed conflict and genocide. They predicted that diplomacy among nations can result to gradual dismantling of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Their diplomacy centers on removing all capacity to attack another country(De-Magalhes, 1988, p. 101). In fact, global