Real Estate Bubble and Financial Crisis

Real Estate Bubble and Financial Crisis Introduction The most significant economic event in 1990s was the Financial Crisis in East Asian, which also affected the world economy in the next few decades. People probably question the specificity of the East Asian Crisis. Radelet and Sachs (1998.p.1) gave a response to this question: The East Asian financial crisis is remarkable in several ways. The crisis has hit the most rapidly growing economies in the world. It has prompted the largest financial bailouts in history. It is the sharpest financial crisis to hit the developing world since the 1982 debt crisis. It is the least anticipated financial crisis in years. In my view, Asian financial crisis is triggered by real estate bubbles. This paper is organized around the topic the collapse of real estate bubble causes Financial Crisis as below. Section 1 introduces what is real estate bubble; what are the factors inducing the occurrence of a real estate bubble; and by what measurements to identify this phenomenon. Then, Section 2 discusses the effects of real estate bubble in Financial Crisis reflect in different approaches: theoretical economic approach statistical data and historical facts. In conclusion, besides summarize the main idea of the overall contents, the exposure of the limitation of the theoretical economic approach will be mentioned. Real estate bubble The real estate bubble, also known as property or housing bubble is considered as an economic bubble, which is also a cyclical phenomenon occurs in the local or worldwide real estate market. Its prime feature is that the valuation of housing is growing swiftly, however, once the peoples financial situation and economic indicators unable to sustain such upward trend of price that follows the collapse of housing pricing. That implies a negative equity in investment for the proprietors. (Investor Dictionary. Com) There are several factors that induce the burst of the real estate bubble in Asia from 1997 to 1998. The following focuses on several main reasons: An excessive support of bank lending The developers are unable to cope with the investment of the real estate based on their own capital due to the function of this industry-capital-intensive. Thus, bank lending becomes a major source of funds. Before the mid-90s, the Asian real estate is fairly booming. However, because of the lack of a formal system of banking supervision, banks competed for developers by lowering interest rate. (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan and Wachter, 2004) Governments improper macro-guidance and control Government intervention influences the real estate bubble in two perspectives: On the one hand, the land market and economic system is not mature or perfect enough. On the other hand, it is the limitation of the land resources and the market mechanism. Therefore, inappropriate regulation contributes to the growing of the real estate bubble. (An International Comparison of the Real Estate Bubble, 2009) Some other reasons For example, the relaxed financial environment; excess international capital flows (An International Comparison of the Real Estate Bubble, 2009); excessive amount of house ownership; speculate in purchasing; and bad lending practice ( Merriam, 2009) When economists acknowledge the reasons of bubble burst, they strive to distinguish the breading real estate bubble by the measurements of financial ratios and economic indicators. That aims to prevent the bubble burst. Housing affordability index Monthly housing affordability index (HAI) is a method to identify whether housing is becoming more or less affordable for the typical household. The HAI incorporated changes in key variables affecting affordability: housing prices, interest rates, and income. The formula is: HAI= (Median Family Income/Qualifying Income)*100% HAI ratio denotes the level of affordability. When HAI ratio is high, more people are able to buy a house. (Dr. Econ, 2003) This index facilitates banks to adjust fiscal policy. Assumed that the HAI is high, banks probably adopt liberal policies to extend loans, such as decrease the lending rates. Price to earnings ratio The real estate price to earnings ratio (P/E ratio) is the basic measurement to evaluate the comparatively assessment of the equities. This ratio is determined by three factors: The price of purchasing a house; the price of renting a house; and the spending on renting a house. The formula is: Real Estate P/E Ratio: House price/ (RentExpenses) This ratio provides an intuitive analysis that how purchasing houses restricts other family expenses. (The Real Estate Bubble in the 2000s-Housing Market Indicators, n.d.) Give an example of Washington DC House P/E ratio, which provides an integrated thinking about how purchase interacts with rent. The graph below states a rapidly grow in the ratios, which implies that the speed of raising purchasing price is extremely faster than that of renting price. It seems that such increasing trend will lead to real estate bubble, if none approaches is using to control it. (Eric, 2006) Some other financial ratios or economic indicators: Such as real estate price to rent ratio; gross rental yield; ownership ratio; housing debt to income ratio; housing debt to equity ratio; or deposit to income ratio. (The Real Estate Bubble in the 2000s-Housing Market Indicators, n.d.) Real estate bubble cause Asian Financial Crisis The growing booming economy of Southeast Asia is known as the the tiger economies between the late 90s and early 20s. Counties in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Hong Kong (China) were regarded as the states with the most remarkable economic growth worldwide. According to the Gross Domestic Product, it seems that economies of these states increased by 6% to 9% annually. However, good times do not last long, from June 1997 to January 1998, the burst of financial crisis this Asian miracle was dashed to the ground. In the end of 1997, collapses of the stock and currency markets in these state occurred frequently, then, at the beginning of 1998, the stock market lost more than 70% of their profits. (Hill, n.d.) In the economy system, real estate, compare with other sectors, it is the most highly leverage sector that cause a financial crisis of the utmost probability. The increasingly compound of issues or difficulties lead to the real estate deviates from the normal development. That not only generates a breeding ground of the real estate bubble, but also potential risks for financial crisis. Because of the rapidly decrease of real estate price, there was a disastrous loss of bank lending in some Asian countries, which also affects the current monetary assets. (Lanka Rating Agency Limited, n.d.) There is a theoretical economic approach (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) that analysis the correlation between the return of real estate and the fluctuation in the spreading of bank loans. If the numerical value of the correlation is below zero, which indicates a phenomenon of under pricing, which prick up the exacerbation of financial crisis. This assumption could be explained though a formula, that calculates the housing price for trade: P=V () M (, s ()) +B Here are the meanings that each symbol denotes: V denotes the basic valuation of a house; M denotes the valuation of bank lending for having a mortgage on a house and the par valuation of bank lending for having a mortgage on a house with certain deposit rate; denotes the intending fluctuating level of a house; s denotes spreading of the bank loan according to certain deposit rate. Assumed that set an accurate price for mortgage, a houses marketable valuation is equivalent to par valuation, in addition, price for trade is equivalent to the basic valuation of a house. Suppose that is an independent variable, while s is a dependent variable, thus: 0 = 0 is equivalent to zero, as the spreading of the bank loan modulates according to recoup the bank for the transformations in the value as a result of the put option is included in the mortgage lending. When is equivalent to zero, it means the transformations in the growing fluctuating level of a house ( is completely spread round. However, when is below zero, it means the intending fluctuating level of a house ( has an impact on the covariance of the house return with the market. When the house price changes in response to the spreading: = 0 ; = 0 ; 0 Thus, if the growing fluctuating level of a house ( is completely spread round, then the correlation between the house price for trade and the spreading of bank loan is equivalent to zero. Furthermore, if this correlation influences the covariance between the house and the whole market is influences, it on the verge of zero. From another point of view, assumed that the spreading of the bank loan transforms according to under price rather than the intending fluctuating level of a house (, the house price changes in response to the spreading is completely distinctive: = 0; = 0; and 0 Therefore, correlation between the house price for trade and the spreading of bank loan is below zero, as following equations: = ) ) 0 These two distinctive house prices which are influenced by default spreading generate an appropriate effect of under price: Under pricing of the default risk in non-recourse lending produces a negative correlation between asset returns and changes in the default spread. Correctly pricing the default risk in non-recourse lending produces no correlation between asset returns and changes in the default spread. Countries that experience under pricing, experience larger market crashes following negative demand shocks. On the base of this theoretical economic approach, we could analyze the practical cases, in 1997 Asian Financial crisis, to support the idea that the collapse of real estate bubble causes Financial Crisis The financial crisis was began from Thailand and then extended over the whole Asian even the whole world. During that period, the characteristic of its economy is overheating with a deficit of 8% in 1997. The valuation of housing increased swiftly and collapsed swiftly. The main element that generated difficulties for financial institutions was the loans to real estate. (Hunter, Kaufman, and Krueger, 1999) According to the data from the Investment Property Databank , (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) the figure below is obtained. Based on the theoretical economic approach, the numerical value of correlation below zero will lead to a result of under pricing. Such under price may cause a great amount loss of funds, which will finally deteriorate into a financial crisis. From the above figure, Thailand is the typical example that explains the real estate bubble causes financial crisis. At the beginning of the 1990s, a massive amount of foreign funds continued to flow in the Asia market until the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis started. During that period, the lower deposit interest rate in the country encouraged people to seek investment channels with higher return. Meanwhile, foreign funds benefited the growing of the real estate industry. Additionally, because bank expanded the total amount of lending though decreasing the lending rate, under pricing became uncontrollable. (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) In the In 1996, Thailand loaned to the real estate sector US $160 billion, which accounted for 30% to 40% of the total lending. (Mera and Renaud, 2000) The figure below illustrates the amount of funds finance companies lend to industries related to the real estate and manufacturing from 1987 to 1996 in Thailand. It is obviously that the loans to real estate sector rapidly grew between 1989 and 1990, after that the percentage of real estate loan to the total loan maintained at a relative high level, which was between 20% and 30%. (Source: Bank of Thailand) Another support case is Malaysia. Between 1992 and 1996, over 70% of the bank lending was invested in real estate sector and stock market. (Mera and Renaud, 2000) The massive amount of funds injected into the real estate industries lead to a rapidly increase in GDP in that period. It is the fact that GDP increased by 40%, 62% 115% and 70% in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand respectively, that was much greater than that in Germany (19%), United Kingdom(16%) and United States (21.5%). However, this accelerated the formation of the Asian real estate bubble. (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) It shown in the below figure that Malaysia, Philippine, and Singapore also generated an negative correlation before the occurrence of financial crisis Conclusion To summarize this paper, at the beginning a briefly introduction of the real state bubble is given. In this part it includes the definition, the reasons for breeding real state bubble, for example banks compete by lower lending interest rates to excessive support the real estate industry, and governments improper macro-guidance and control. Follow that are the measurements of financial ratios and economic indicators, such as housing affordability index and price to earnings ratio, which benefit to identify the signal of bubble burst. The most important part in the paper is to analyze the relationship between the real estate bubble and the financial crisis to produce a result that the real estate bubble is a factor that triggers the start of the Asian financial crisis. A theoretical economic approach is given with some statistical data, figure and real facts of Asian financial crisis. However, there some limitations in this theoretical economic approach, that do not agree with the reality. In the above figure, Hongkong and Japan generate positive correlation, according to theory this do not according with under pricing lead to financial crisis. The fact is that Japan is a typical example to illustrate that governmental action has negative impacts on the real estate industries. The Nikkei 225 index increased rapidly from 10000 to 38916 (peak value) between 1985 and 1989. Facing this, the manager of the Bank of Japan focused on dealing with the inflation rather than shrinking monetary policy, which reflected a decrease trend in housing price. The real estate bubble burst. (Frankel and Tschoegl, 1993) This is one of the limitations of the economic approach, which need further improve.

Digital Fortress Chapter 123-126

Chapter 123 An ashen technician ran to the podium. â€Å"Tunnel block's about to go!† Jabba turned to the VR onscreen. The attackers surged forward, only a whisker away from their assault on the fifth and final wall. The databank was running out of time. Susan blocked out the chaos around her. She read Tankado's bizarre message over and over. PRIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI â€Å"It's not even a question!† Brinkerhoff cried. â€Å"How can it have an answer?† â€Å"We need a number,† Jabba reminded. â€Å"The kill-code is numeric.† â€Å"Silence,† Fontaine said evenly. He turned and addressed Susan. â€Å"Ms. Fletcher, you've gotten us this far. I need your best guess.† Susan took a deep breath. â€Å"The kill-code entry field accepts numerics only. My guess is that this is some sort of clue as to the correct number. The text mentions Hiroshima and Nagasaki-the two cities that were hit by atomic bombs. Maybe the kill-code is related to the number of casualties, the estimated dollars of damage†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She paused a moment, rereading the clue. â€Å"The word ‘difference' seems important. The prime difference between Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Apparently Tankado felt the two incidents differed somehow.† Fontaine's expression did not change. Nonetheless, hope was fading fast. It seemed the political backdrops surrounding the two most devastating blasts in history needed to be analyzed, compared, and translated into some magic number†¦ and all within the next five minutes. Chapter 124 â€Å"Final shield under attack!† On the VR, the PEM authorization programming was now being consumed. Black, penetrating lines engulfed the final protective shield and began forcing their way toward its core. Prowling hackers were now appearing from all over the world. The number was doubling almost every minute. Before long, anyone with a computer-foreign spies, radicals, terrorists-would have access to all of the U.S. government's classified information. As technicians tried vainly to sever power, the assembly on the podium studied the message. Even David and the two NSA agents were trying to crack the code from their van in Spain. PRIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTS RESPONSIBLE FORHIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI Soshi thought aloud. â€Å"The elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki†¦ Pearl Harbor? Hirohito's refusal to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"We need a number,† Jabba repeated, â€Å"not political theories. We're talking mathematics-not history!† Soshi fell silent. â€Å"How about payloads?† Brinkerhoff offered. â€Å"Casualties? Dollars damage?† â€Å"We're looking for an exact figure,† Susan reminded. â€Å"Damage estimates vary.† She stared up at the message. â€Å"The elements responsible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Three thousand miles away, David Becker's eyes flew open. â€Å"Elements!† he declared. â€Å"We're talking math, not history!† All heads turned toward the satellite screen. â€Å"Tankado's playing word games!† Becker spouted. â€Å"The word ‘elements' has multiple meanings!† â€Å"Spit it out, Mr. Becker,† Fontaine snapped. â€Å"He's talking about chemical elements-not sociopolitical ones!† Becker's announcement met blank looks. â€Å"Elements!† he prompted. â€Å"The periodic table! Chemical elements! Didn't any of you see the movie Fat Man and Little Boy-about the Manhattan Project? The two atomic bombs were different. They used different fuel-different elements!† Soshi clapped her hands. â€Å"Yes! He's right! I read that! The two bombs used different fuels! One used uranium and one used plutonium! Two different elements!† A hush swept across the room. â€Å"Uranium and plutonium!† Jabba exclaimed, suddenly hopeful. â€Å"The clue asks for the difference between the two elements!† He spun to his army of workers. â€Å"The difference between uranium and plutonium! Who knows what it is?† Blank stares all around. â€Å"Come on!† Jabba said. â€Å"Didn't you kids go to college? Somebody! Anybody! I need the difference between plutonium and uranium!† No response. Susan turned to Soshi. â€Å"I need access to the Web. Is there a browser here?† Soshi nodded. â€Å"Netscape's sweetest.† Susan grabbed her hand. â€Å"Come on. We're going surfing.† Chapter 125 â€Å"How much time?† Jabba demanded from the podium. There was no response from the technicians in the back. They stood riveted, staring up at the VR. The final shield was getting dangerously thin. Nearby, Susan and Soshi pored over the results of their Web search. â€Å"Outlaw Labs?† Susan asked. â€Å"Who are they?† Soshi shrugged. â€Å"You want me to open it?† â€Å"Damn right,† she said. â€Å"Six hundred forty-seven text references to uranium, plutonium, and atomic bombs. Sounds like our best bet.† Soshi opened the link. A disclaimer appeared. The information contained in this file is strictly for academic use only. Any layperson attempting to construct any of the devices described runs the risk of radiation poisoning and/or self-explosion. â€Å"Self-explosion?† Soshi said. â€Å"Jesus.† â€Å"Search it,† Fontaine snapped over his shoulder. â€Å"Let's see what we've got.† Soshi plowed into the document. She scrolled past a recipe for urea nitrate, an explosive ten times more powerful than dynamite. The information rolled by like a recipe for butterscotch brownies. â€Å"Plutonium and uranium,† Jabba repeated. â€Å"Let's focus.† â€Å"Go back,† Susan ordered. â€Å"The document's too big. Find the table of contents.† Soshi scrolled backward until she found it. I. Mechanism of an Atomic Bomb A) Altimeter B) Air Pressure Detonator C) Detonating Heads D) Explosive Charges E) Neutron Deflector F) Uranium Plutonium G) Lead Shield H) Fuses II. Nuclear Fission/Nuclear Fusion A) Fission (A-Bomb) Fusion (H-Bomb) B) U-235, U-238, and Plutonium III. History of the Atomic Weapons A) Development (The Manhattan Project) B) Detonation 1) Hiroshima 2) Nagasaki 3) By-products of Atomic Detonations 4) Blast Zones â€Å"Section two!† Susan cried. â€Å"Uranium and plutonium! Go!† Everyone waited while Soshi found the right section. â€Å"This is it,† she said. â€Å"Hold on.† She quickly scanned the data. â€Å"There's a lot of information here. A whole chart. How do we know which difference we're looking for? One occurs naturally, one is man-made. Plutonium was first discovered by-â€Å" â€Å"A number,† Jabba reminded. â€Å"We need a number.† Susan reread Tankado's message. The prime difference between the elements†¦ the difference between†¦ we need a number†¦ â€Å"Wait!† she said. â€Å"The word ‘difference' has multiple meanings. We need a number-so we're talking math. It's another of Tankado's word games-‘difference' means subtraction.† â€Å"Yes!† Becker agreed from the screen overhead. â€Å"Maybe the elements have different numbers of protons or something? If you subtract-† â€Å"He's right!† Jabba said, turning to Soshi. â€Å"Are there any numbers on that chart? Proton counts? Half-lives? Anything we can subtract?† â€Å"Three minutes!† a technician called. â€Å"How about supercritical mass?† Soshi ventured. â€Å"It says the supercritical mass for plutonium is 35.2 pounds.† â€Å"Yes!† Jabba said. â€Å"Check uranium! What's the supercritical mass of uranium?† Soshi searched. â€Å"Um†¦ 110 pounds.† â€Å"One hundred ten?† Jabba looked suddenly hopeful. â€Å"What's 35.2 from 110?† â€Å"Seventy-four point eight,† Susan snapped. â€Å"But I don't think-â€Å" â€Å"Out of my way,† Jabba commanded, plowing toward the keyboard. â€Å"That's got to be the kill-code! The difference between their critical masses! Seventy-four point eight!† â€Å"Hold on,† Susan said, peering over Soshi's shoulder. â€Å"There's more here. Atomic weights. Neutron counts. Extraction techniques.† She skimmed the chart. â€Å"Uranium splits into barium and krypton; plutonium does something else. Uranium has 92 protons and 146 neutrons, but-â€Å" â€Å"We need the most obvious difference,† Midge chimed in. â€Å"The clue reads ‘the primary difference between the elements.' â€Å" â€Å"Jesus Christ!† Jabba swore. â€Å"How do we know what Tankado considered the primary difference?† David interrupted. â€Å"Actually, the clue reads prime, not primary.† The word hit Susan right between the eyes. â€Å"Prime!† she exclaimed. â€Å"Prime!† She spun to Jabba. â€Å"The kill-code is a prime number! Think about it! It makes perfect sense!† Jabba instantly knew Susan was right. Ensei Tankado had built his career on prime numbers. Primes were the fundamental building blocks of all encryption algorithms-unique values that had no factors other than one and themselves. Primes worked well in code writing because they were impossible for computers to guess using typical number-tree factoring. Soshi jumped in. â€Å"Yes! It's perfect! Primes are essential to Japanese culture! Haiku uses primes. Three lines and syllable counts of five, seven, five. All primes. The temples of Kyoto all have-â€Å" â€Å"Enough!† Jabba said. â€Å"Even if the kill-code is a prime, so what! There are endless possibilities!† Susan knew Jabba was right. Because the number line was infinite, one could always look a little farther and find another prime number. Between zero and a million, there were over 70,000 choices. It all depended on how large a prime Tankado decided to use. The bigger it was, the harder it was to guess. â€Å"It'll be huge.† Jabba groaned. â€Å"Whatever prime Tankado chose is sure to be a monster.† A call went up from the rear of the room. â€Å"Two-minute warning!† Jabba gazed up at the VR in defeat. The final shield was starting to crumble. Technicians were rushing everywhere. Something in Susan told her they were close. â€Å"We can do this!† she declared, taking control. â€Å"Of all the differences between uranium and plutonium, I bet only one can be represented as a prime number! That's our final clue. The number we're looking for is prime!† Jabba eyed the uranium/plutonium chart on the monitor and threw up his arms. â€Å"There must be a hundred entries here! There's no way we can subtract them all and check for primes.† â€Å"A lot of the entries are nonnumeric,† Susan encouraged. â€Å"We can ignore them. Uranium's natural, plutonium's man-made. Uranium uses a gun barrel detonator, plutonium uses implosion. They're not numbers, so they're irrelevant!† â€Å"Do it,† Fontaine ordered. On the VR, the final wall was eggshell thin. Jabba mopped his brow. â€Å"All right, here goes nothing. Start subtracting. I'll take the top quarter. Susan, you've got the middle. Everybody else split up the rest. We're looking for a prime difference.† Within seconds, it was clear they'd never make it. The numbers were enormous, and in many cases the units didn't match up. â€Å"It's apples and goddamn oranges,† Jabba said. â€Å"We've got gamma rays against electromagnetic pulse. Fissionable against unfissionable. Some is pure. Some is percentage. It's a mess!† â€Å"It's got to be here,† Susan said firmly. â€Å"We've got to think. There's some difference between plutonium and uranium that we're missing! Something simple!† â€Å"Ah†¦ guys?† Soshi said. She'd created a second document window and was perusing the rest of the Outlaw Labs document. â€Å"What is it?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"Find something?† â€Å"Um, sort of.† She sounded uneasy. â€Å"You know how I told you the Nagasaki bomb was a plutonium bomb?† â€Å"Yeah,† they all replied in unison. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Soshi took a deep breath. â€Å"Looks like I made a mistake.† â€Å"What!† Jabba choked. â€Å"We've been looking for the wrong thing?† Soshi pointed to the screen. They huddled around and read the text: †¦the common misconception that the Nagasaki bomb was a plutonium bomb. In fact, the device employed uranium, like its sister bomb in Hiroshima. â€Å"But-† Susan gasped. â€Å"If both elements were uranium, how are we supposed to find the difference between the two?† â€Å"Maybe Tankado made a mistake,† Fontaine ventured. â€Å"Maybe he didn't know the bombs were the same.† â€Å"No.† Susan sighed. â€Å"He was a cripple because of those bombs. He'd know the facts cold.† Chapter 126 â€Å"One minute!† Jabba eyed the VR. â€Å"PEM authorization's going fast. Last line of defense. And there's a crowd at the door.† â€Å"Focus!† Fontaine commanded. Soshi sat in front of the Web browser and read aloud. †¦Nagasaki bomb did not use plutonium but rather an artificially manufactured, neutron-saturated isotope of uranium 238.† â€Å"Damn!† Brinkerhoff swore. â€Å"Both bombs used uranium. The elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both uranium. There is no difference!† â€Å"We're dead,† Midge moaned. â€Å"Wait,† Susan said. â€Å"Read that last part again!† Soshi repeated the text. â€Å"†¦artificially manufactured, neutron-saturated isotope of uranium 238.† â€Å"238?† Susan exclaimed. â€Å"Didn't we just see something that said Hiroshima's bomb used some other isotope of uranium?† They all exchanged puzzled glances. Soshi frantically scrolled backward and found the spot. â€Å"Yes! It says here that the Hiroshima bomb used a different isotope of uranium!† Midge gasped in amazement. â€Å"They're both uranium-but they're different kinds!† â€Å"Both uranium?† Jabba muscled in and stared at the terminal. â€Å"Apples and apples! Perfect!† â€Å"How are the two isotopes different?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"It's got to be something basic.† Soshi scrolled through the document. â€Å"Hold on†¦ looking†¦ okay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Forty-five seconds!† a voice called out. Susan looked up. The final shield was almost invisible now. â€Å"Here it is!† Soshi exclaimed. â€Å"Read it!† Jabba was sweating. â€Å"What's the difference! There must be some difference between the two!† â€Å"Yes!† Soshi pointed to her monitor. â€Å"Look!† They all read the text: †¦two bombs employed two different fuels†¦ precisely identical chemical characteristics. No ordinary chemical extraction can separate the two isotopes. They are, with the exception of minute differences in weight, perfectly identical. â€Å"Atomic weight!† Jabba said, excitedly. â€Å"That's it! The only difference is their weights! That's the key! Give me their weights! We'll subtract them!† â€Å"Hold on,† Soshi said, scrolling ahead. â€Å"Almost there! Yes!† Everyone scanned the text. †¦difference in weight very slight†¦ †¦gaseous diffusion to separate them†¦ †¦10,032498X10?134 as compared to 19,39484X10?23.** â€Å"There they are!† Jabba screamed. â€Å"That's it! Those are the weights!† â€Å"Thirty seconds!† â€Å"Go,† Fontaine whispered. â€Å"Subtract them. Quickly.† Jabba palmed his calculator and started entering numbers. â€Å"What's the asterisk?† Susan demanded. â€Å"There's an asterisk after the figures!† Jabba ignored her. He was already working his calculator keys furiously. â€Å"Careful!† Soshi urged. â€Å"We need an exact figure.† â€Å"The asterisk,† Susan repeated. â€Å"There's a footnote.† Soshi clicked to the bottom of the paragraph. Susan read the asterisked footnote. She went white. â€Å"Oh†¦ dear God.† Jabba looked up. â€Å"What?† They all leaned in, and there was a communal sigh of defeat. The tiny footnote read: **12% margin of error. Published figures vary from lab to lab.

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 989 Words

Gatsby Essay Hayden Gordon The overall theme of â€Å"The Great Gatsby† by Scott Fitzgerald is the rise and death of the â€Å"American Dream†. The theme is shown to us through the life of Nick Carraway and the high-class society of which he lives amongst. The characters continually hint at the falsified â€Å"American Dream† in their actions and viewpoints throughout the novel. This dream is built through false hopes and crushed by failed goals. The American Dream is the pursuit of prosperity and hope, and with hard work, every person is given an equal chance of achieving this dream and earning happiness. In the novel, â€Å"Great Gatsby† the â€Å"American Dream† is symbolized throughout the entire book in several characters such as Jay Gatsby and Myrtle. Both desire different ambitions, but fundamentally derive from the overall theme of the book, the â€Å"American Dream†. As a boy, Jay Gatsby ventured on luxurious trips with friend and boss, Dan Cody, on his yacht . He later inherited twenty five thousand dollars after his death, but never received it because Cody’s girlfriend took it. From that moment on, he devoted his life to making money and earning the luxurious lifestyle he always wanted. Later on while serving the military, he met Daisy, and fell madly in love with her. After Gatsby left, Daisy married Tom. In hopes to recreate the passion he felt back in the day, he decides to make her fall for him once again. Jay Gatsby then sees wealth as the solution to this problem and ventures intoShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1393 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald was the model of the American image in the nineteen twenties. He had wealth, fame, a beautiful wife, and an adorable daughter; all seemed perfect. Beneath the gilded faà §ade, however, was an author who struggled with domestic and physical difficulties that plagued his personal life and career throughout its short span. This author helped to lau nch the theme that is so prevalent in his work; the human instinct to yearn for more, into the forefront of American literature, where itRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1343 Words   |  6 PagesHonors English 10 Shugart 18 Decemeber 2014 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life. The Great Gatsby is about the lives of four wealthy characters observed by the narrator, Nick Carroway. Throughout the novel a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby throws immaculate parties every Saturday night in hope to impress his lost lover, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby lives in a mansion on West Egg across from DaisyRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1155 Words   |  5 PagesThe Great Gatsby The Jazz Age was an era where everything and anything seemed possible. 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The usage of the literary theories of both Biographical and Historical lenses provide a unique interpretation of the Great Gatsby centered aroundRead MoreThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald845 Words   |  3 PagesIn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, colors represent a variety of symbols that relate back to the American Dream. The dream of being pure, innocent and perfect is frequently associated with the reality of corruption, violence, and affairs. Gatsby’s desire for achieving the American Dream is sought for through corruption (Schneider). The American Dream in the 1920s was perceived as a desire of w ealth and social standings. Social class is represented through the East Egg, the WestRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagesrespecting and valuing Fitzgerald work in the twenty-first century? Fitzgerald had a hard time to profiting from his writing, but he was not successful after his first novel. 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Scott Fitzgerald1607 Words   |  7 Pages The Great Gatsby is an American novel written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. One of the themes of the book is the American Dream. The American Dream is an idea in which Americans believe through hard work they can achieve success and prosperity in the free world. In F. Scott Fitzgerald s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream leads to popularity, extreme jealousy and false happiness. Jay Gatsby’s recent fortune and wealthiness helped him earn a high social position and become one of the mostRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1592 Words   |  7 PagesMcGowan English 11A, Period 4 9 January 2014 The Great Gatsby Individuals who approach life with an optimistic mindset generally have their goals established as their main priority. Driven by ambition, they are determined to fulfill their desires; without reluctance. 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Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation Essay - 709 Words

A century and a half ago, Karl Marx established a theory that today is known as the backbone to modern socialism and communism. Marx viewed the early capitalism of his own day as inherently exploitive. At the core of capitalist production is what is considered surplus value, the value left over after the producer (in Marx’s case, factory owner) had paid the fixed costs of production such as raw materials, machinery, overhead and wages. The left over amount was kept as profit, a profit that Marx saw that was earned from the sweat of the labor. Derived from his idea of surplus value was that of alienation. Marx gave an economic interpretation to alienation. People were alienated from their own labor; their work was appropriated by someone†¦show more content†¦In realizing that the capitalist had a new tool with which they could barter or trade, they also realized they now had an effective tool to keep the cost of the labor commodity down and in effect control those of t he labor community that would become trouble for the new way of doing things in this new capitalist, industrial, power creating realm. The first casualty was and is always the worker in a capitalist society, according to Marx. See, first of all, Marx saw the many workers as victims who were or are taking advantage of by the owners of the factories and other means of production to satisfy the gain of profit by the few capitalists. Marx argued that under capitalism labor seldom receives more than bare subsistence. According to Marx, the surplus remaining is appropriated by the capitalists as their profits. This was a belief that many laborers, trying to organize to obtain better wages and work conditions during early commercial capitalism, held and acted upon. Arguing that â€Å"the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles,† (500) and that liberal governments and ideology were merely agents of the exploiting owners of property, Marx advocated the abolition of private property and predicted the demise of capitalism after a series of recurring crises. The abolition of property, and therefore of classShow MoreRelated Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation Essay665 Words   |  3 PagesKarl Marx - Capitalist Alienation THE TERM alienation in normal usage refers to a feeling of separateness, of being alone and apart from others. For Marx, alienation was not a feeling or a mental condition, but an economic and social condition of class society--in particular, capitalist society. Alienation, in Marxist terms, refers to the separation of the mass of wage workers from the products of their own labor. Marx first expressed the idea, somewhat poetically, in his 1844 Manuscripts:Read MoreEssay on Karl Marx and Capitalist Alienation1828 Words   |  8 Pages The concept of alienation plays a significant role in Marxs early political writing, especially in the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1848, but it is rarely mentioned in his later works. This implies that while Marx found alienation useful in investigating certain basic aspects of the development of capitalist society, it is less useful in putting forward the predictions of the collapse of capitalism. The aim of this essay is to explain alienation, and show how it fits into the patternRead MoreKarl Marx s Theory Of Alienation Essay1686 Words   |  7 PagesSociologist Karl Marx concentrated deeply on economic problems and related these matters to social issues. For example, when Marx examined capitalism in the labour sector he came to the conclusion that it drove workers to feel alienated from the product, themselves and those surrounding them. This essay will firstly give a brief overview of industrial capitalism and discuss Karl Marx’s early life and how he came up with the theory of alienation through his influences and life experiences. SecondlyRead MoreThe Economic And Philosophic Manuscripts Of 18441592 Words   |  7 Pages1844 was not published in Karl Marx’s lifetime. It is a series of fragmentary notes. Part of these notes is a piece called â€Å"Estranged Labor†. In this piece Marx rarely disputes the alienation of the bourgeoisie and focuses on the alienation of the proletariat relating to the hard work in factories in a capitalist society. I believe Marx is correct on his point of workers during his time and even so, it’s still relatable to today; there is alienation of the worker and of theRead MoreKarl Marx : A German Influential Philosopher And One Of The Intellectual Fathers Of Communism1477 Words   |  6 PagesKarl Marx is known to be a German influential philosopher and one of the intellectual fathers of communism, writing when the industrial revolution and imperialism per iod was changing the nature of both the economies of individual nations and the global economy itself. He eradicated his view on the effects these changes had on individual workers and society. This introduced many of his theories, one of which was the idea of alienated labor. Alienated labor was written in 1844, Marx sets the view thatRead MoreAdolf Marx : A Central Concern For The Young Karl Marx Essay1729 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Alienation‟ was a central concern for the young Karl Marx. Discuss the dimensions of this alienation in connection to Marx’s critique of capitalist society and comment on the contemporary relevance of this concept. Karl Marx is a critically renowned, prolific and revolutionary figure amongst historic academia and is considered to be one of the three founding fathers of Sociology. Working throughout the 19th century Marx’s work included the theory of ‘alienation’. Born in Germany, young Marx wasRead MoreEmile Durkheim vs. Karl Marx1689 Words   |  7 Pages------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Emile Durkheim vs. Karl Marx Durkheim vs. Marx Introduction: For so many years, authorities from each field have deliberated normative theories to explain what holds the society together. Almost each specialist, from structural functionalism, positivism and conflict theory perspective, had contributed their works trying to illustrate main problematic to our society. In one way, one of the EmileRead MoreKarl Marx And Alienation ( 2000 )1034 Words   |  5 PagesKarl Marx and Alienation (1,800 – 2,000 words) Introduction about Marx (1818 – 1883): mention the materials that are going to be used to back up your points (minimum of 5 scholarly materials) Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) was a German theorist who had taken the theory of alienation into consideration. He was also involved in communist party in Germany, trying to overthrow the class system. Marx had been banished from Germany for his critical thinking, and moved to England where he had become a communistRead MoreEssay about Karl Marx and a Capitalist Society764 Words   |  4 PagesKarl Marx and a Capitalist Society Through out history money, wealth and capital have dictated a way of life to the masses. Wealth dictated the lives that the rich lived and the lives of the poor that worked for and surrounded them. In some cultures your class could never be escaped in life, you had to wait for your next incarnation, while in other cultures the idea of wealth transcended a life and allowed for growth from one class to another. This is the reality of a capitalist society thatRead MoreKarl Marx, Alienation of Labor784 Words   |  4 PagesKarl Marx believed that there are four aspects of a mans alienation that occur in a capitalist society. The product of labor, the labor process, our fellow human beings, and human nature are the four specific aspects of alienation that occur in a capitalist society. Marx said that in the product of labor the worker is alienated from the object he produces because it is bought, owned and disposed of by someone else, the capitalist. In all societies people use their creative abilities to produce