The debt ceiling (or limit), the legal limit the federal government may borrow, is set currently at $14.294 trillion. In his latest report, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner predicts that the United States will reach the current debt ceiling around May 16, 2011, and the Congressional Research Service estimates the federal government will have to issue an additional $738 billion in debt above the current statutory limit to finance obligations for the remainder of FY2011. Congress is currently considering whether it should raise the debt ceiling. This is not new territory. Congress has raised the debt ceiling ten times in the last ten years. However, raising the debt ceiling for the eleventh time in as many years without recognizing and correcting systemic problems would have consequences beyond merely tapping revenue and assets to meet FY2011 budget commitments. Continuing to pass debt ceiling increases without proper spending reforms would be irresponsible. The United States should not consider defaulting on its debt, nor should it put itself in a position where it has to postpone payment to contractors or “manage” other non-debt obligations. Neither, however, should Congress be forced to raise the debt ceiling under false pretenses. By our calculations, the United States has enough expected cash flow (tax revenue) and assets on hand to avoid either of these unattractive options until at least the end of the current fiscal year in September, perhaps even longer.
The well-known economic theory predicts that consumer price will fall after a horizontal merger when the amount of marginal cost reduction from operating synergies exceeds the pre-merger markup of a merging firm. However, when a horizontal merger occurs in a multi-tier decentralized supply chain where a finite number of firms compete at each tier, we show that this result holds only when a merger occurs at the tier that acts as the leader in the supply chain. In this supply chain, a horizontal merger at any other tier will decrease consumer price when the cost reduction exceeds a certain threshold that is larger than the pre-merger markup. Moreover, this threshold is increasing as the supply chain gets longer and can be substantially larger than the pre-merger markup. When accounting for subsequent entry after a merger in long-run equilibrium, contrary to a common belief, a larger synergy from a merger does not necessarily benefit consumers more.
Equity, which means equalization or levelling down any arbitrary preferences or denial of justice, is derived from a Roman term ‘aequitas’. According to Sir Henry Mane, equity is "fresh body of rules by the side of the original founded on distinct principles and claiming to supersede the law by virtue of a superior sanctity inherent in those principles." Inadequacy of the remedies at law and the elastic willingness of equity to use its discretion directly with reference to the conscience of the individual were two main foundations of equitable belief. Equity is aimed at preventing a defendant from acting unconscionably (literally, contrary to conscience) in circumstances otherwise where the common law would have allowed to do so. In layman’s language it can be said to interfering to protect some underlying right of the victim either because of a contract with the shyster, or because the shyster has control over some property which is rightfully theirs or because one may feel that the actions of the shyster may affect the victim in the future in some way or the other. Most of the equitable principles and rules have, in India, been embodied in the statute law and has been made applicable to the extent of the provisions made therein. That, the provisions of equity in Indian statute books might have their source in common law or in equity or in an adjustment between the two, is immaterial. The equitable doctrines featuring in the Indian Contract Act are mainly, the doctrine of penalties and forfeiture, stipulations as to time in a contract, equitable relief on the ground of misrepresentation, fraud and undue influence. The statutory recognition of the principles of equity in the Specific Relief Act is regarding injunction, specific performance, cancellation, rectification and recession etc. Incorporation of the maxim in Indian Laws Aequitas sequitur legem i.e. equity follows the law – Equity does not claim to override the law. Equity generally operates by recognising the legal rule and adding some further rule, remedy or the other machinery of its own. The Court of Chancery, which developed equitable law never wanted to give the equity an overriding effect to the common law. The jurisdiction of equity is debarred from overreaching the boundaries established by the prior course of adjudication. Another maxim which needs a mention in this discussion is 'Aeguitas nunquam contravenit leges' i.e., equity never counteracts law. In India, since there is no distinction between a legal interest and equitable interest, therefore, in all matters relating to legal as well as equitable interests, the statutory provisions shall apply if there are any. Section 38 of the Specific Relief Act provides that on adjudging recession of a contract, the Court may require the party to whom such relief in granted, to make any compensation to the other which justice may require. Section 30 and 38 also provide that on adjudging the cancellation of an instrument, the Court may require the party to whom such relief is granted, to make compensation to the other which justice may require. Though equity was faced with conflict with the laws in England in the earlier stages, it has always played a major role in the Law of Contracts. The Indian Contract Act lays that "when consent to an agreement is caused by undue influence, the argument is a contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused. Any such contract may be set aside either absolutely or, if the party who was entitled to avoid it, has received any benefit there under, upon such terms and conditions as the court may deem first." (Section 19A) Further section 64 and 65 of the Indian Contract Act are also based on the doctrine ‘he who seeks equity must do equity’. The maxim, however, does not apply when relief sought by the plaintiff and equitable right or relief secured to or sought by the defendant belongs to or originates from two entirely separate and distinct matters. Further, it is not applicable where the plaintiff seeks to enforce purely legal rights. Other provisions giving effect to the maxim Equity delights in equality are section 42 of the Indian Contract Act that applies the principle of tenancy-in-common, section 43, 63-70,146-147 of the Indian Contract Act.
In a previous article, “The Gettier Problem and Legal Proof,” I argued that epistemic conditions that undermine knowledge in Gettier-type cases also potentially undermine legal verdicts. For this reason, I argued, there is a deeper connection between knowledge and legal proof than is typically presupposed or argued for in the scholarly legal literature. Thus, I concluded, legal proof includes something like a knowledge requirement – in the sense that legal verdicts aim not only at truth and sufficient evidential support but also, as with knowledge, an appropriate connection between their truth and justifying evidential support. This conclusion is compatible with different ways of articulating further epistemological details, and the argument that supports it does not depend on any novel or particularly controversial conceptions of the epistemic concepts or analysis of the Gettier problem. In a thoughtful reply to my article, Mark McBride focuses on the epistemic concept of safety as it applies to legal proof. McBride argues that my analysis depends on an account of knowledge in which safety is a necessary condition, and he argues that this dependence challenges my central claim. In this response, I explain why neither McBride’s specific examples nor general analysis undermine my central claim. They do, however, further clarify and illuminate epistemological issues underlying my central claim in ways that are useful and instructive.
Proof beyond reasonable doubt has not been defined. Prof. Wigmore in his classic Treatise on Evidence highlights the difficulties in ascertaining how convinced one must be to become convinced beyond a reasonable doubt. He says that “the truth is that no one has invented or discovered a mode of measurement for the intensity of human belief. Hence, there can be as yet no successful method of communicating intelligibly a sound method of self-analysis for one’s belief. And yet the choice of the standard of proof makes the difference.” The standard that must be met by the prosecution's evidence in a criminal prosecution: that no other logical explanation can be derived from the facts except that the defendant committed the crime, thereby overcoming the presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Vodak v. City of Chicago conditions on academic research and rules municipalities have been overly protected from liabilities of their officials. Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stevens states Congress should enact legislation to allow suit for prosecutorial misconduct, shortly after Justice Ginsburg read aloud the court’s dissent in Connick v. Thompson. Waiting in the wings is the most sacred cow of all – absolute immunity for judicial acts. There are two prongs to the proof. One prong shows common law did not desire absolute immunity at the time of ratifying the constitution. The other prong establishes that a policy of absolute immunity is not socially equitable as per the constitution.
Three classic cases of burden of proof disputes are analyzed, showing how metadialogue theory can solve the problems they pose. The solution is based on five dialectical requirements: (1) global burden of proof needs to be set at the confrontation stage of a dialogue, (2) there need to be special mechanisms for resolving disputes about burden of proof at all four stages of the dialogue, (3) they are especially significant during the argumentation stage, where burden of proof often shifts back and forth at each move, (4) such local shifts need to be partly regulated by the global burden of proof already set, and (5) the connection between burden of proof and the speech act of making a presumption in a dialogue needs to be clarified.
Charges of labor rights abuses and environmental harm are increasingly common for major brands sourcing in today’s globally expanded supply chains, often presenting major reputational risks at minimum. However, the standard response of attempting to police supply chains by emphasizing compliance standards is often unlikely to be a sufficient or effective long-term solution. Apparel retailer Gap Inc. went from a typical compliance-oriented approach to develop instead a genuine, comprehensive and much more effective stakeholder engagement strategy. Developing strategic stakeholder engagement involves five key steps: 1) stakeholder mapping to get internal engagement; 2) identifying the material issues; 3) defining objectives; 4) resolving issues collaboratively; and 5) embedding engagement. Our research with Gap Inc. management and its external stakeholders shows how this approach proved to be more effective by contrasting two comparable child labor incidents in the company’s supply chain. However, it took time to develop and required a different mindset, including a shift from risk aversion to partnership, from “quick fixes” to sustainable solutions, and an expanded conception of supply chain responsibility going beyond attention to first tier suppliers. As well as solving if not averting problems in the supply chain (and elsewhere), strategic stakeholder engagement helps management see the future, facilitates trust, and can improve the company’s public image. More fundamentally, it provides a deeper understanding of a company’s obligations to its stakeholders and thus is consistent with authentic commitment to corporate social responsibility.
Ghana has discovered oil in commercial quantities under her soil at Cape Three Point in its territorial waters in the Western region of Ghana. There was total jubilation on the part of the central Government, ordinary Ghanaians and entrepreneurs in the country because they foresee many opportunities arising as a result of that. Although, this is good news, strategic decisions must be taken to ensure that all objectives are realized. In light of this, the research has highlighted some African countries that were lucky to also have oil to enhance an explicit comparative study. The research, by way of methodology selected countries such as Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Congo and Sudan for a comparative study. Out of this study, issues of concern were raised as lessons for Ghana. Though Africa has about fifteen oil producing countries, the ones selected for the study were highly relevant to the course of this article. It was recommended to the central Government to deal with border demarcation issues, security issues, a constant review of contracts and empowerment of the private sector since that could help the entrepreneurs in the country to expand their frontiers. As a result of that, unemployment and other social problems could be prevented. A greater percentage of expectations from the Government, entrepreneurs and indigenes would be fulfilled if the lessons from the comparative study are addressed well.
On the basis of the news making rounds, it seems the stake sale in Patni by promoters and General Atlantic seems to be in the final lap. While there was anticipation for the deal for more than 2 to 3 years, it appears probably some deal will be finalized this time. It needs to be seen what will be the final terms & conditions of the deal. However, on the basis of the market expectations, the deal price may be in the range of about Rs. 525 - 550 per share. However, it has to be carefully assessed if there is any 'non-compete fees' involved in the deal structure. If there is any such 'non-compete fees', then only promoters will be entitled for such fees. And, the minority shareholders will not be entitled for such non-compete fees. As we have seen in the case of Vedanta-Cairn deal, wherein Rs. 405 per share is offered to the promoters of the company. However, there was Rs. 50 per share of non-compete fees given exclusively to the promoters. Hence, this results into Rs. 355 per share for minority shareholders. After such structuring, the share price of Cairn has significantly corrected. Hence, the minority shareholders may need to be careful before venturing into investing into Patni, in the anticipation of the deal, as there is always a risk of 'non-compete fees' element in the structuring. An employee of Patni has created Infosys. An employee of Infosys has created iGate. Now, iGate is pursuing to buy Patni. What a turn of events! It needs to be seen who will be the final 'pati' to this Patni.
Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing segments of global financial industry. In some countries, it has become systemically important and, in many others, it is too big to be ignored. Islamic finance is based on shariah, an Arabic term that often is translated to “Islamic law.” Shariah provides guidelines for aspects of Muslim life, including religion, politics, economics, banking, business, and law. The basic sources of Shari’ah are the Qur’an and the Sunna, which are followed by the consensus of the jurists and interpreters of Islamic law. The central feature of the Islamic finance system is the prohibition in the Qur’an of the payment and receipt of interest (or riba). Islamic finance is a rapidly growing industry. While it represents a small proportion of the global finance market (estimated at 1%-5% of global share), the Islamic finance industry has experienced double-digit rates of growth annually in recent years (estimated at 10%-20% annual growth). Industry experts estimate that assets held under Islamic finance management doubled between 2007 and 2010 to reach around $1 trillion. This paper tries to note the main Principal of Islamic finance. In addition to discuss the improvement can be made in several areas to promote and enhance the providing Islamic financial services.
Human actions, interactions and decisions should have a certain degree of predictability that can be obtained by establishing rules. Institutions, in general, are defined by sets of rules known by the public and applicable for the community. Their existence is essential for the economic activity, as it cannot develop in a vacuum. At the same time, the type and the quality of institutions make the difference in implementing economic aspirations of individuals and in supporting economic overall growth. Institutions provide a minimum of regulations that in conjunction with the particularities and the interests of individuals and communities become the foundation for economic, political and social decision-making processes.
This review of "The Supportive State: Families, Government and America’s Political Ideals" highlights Maxine Eichner’s important theoretical contributions to both liberal political theory and feminist theory, applauding her success in reforming liberalism to account for dependency, vulnerability, and families. The review then considers some implications of Eichner’s proposals and their likely reception among feminists. It concludes that The Supportive State is a sound and inspiring response to recent calls that feminist theory move from being strictly a school of criticism to developing a theory of governance.
China is Europe’s second largest trading partner and number one source of imports and the international transactions between European businesses and their Chinese counterparts form the backbone of this large volume of trade. Nevertheless, businesses and lawyers tend to feel some discomfort about Chinese law and the legal system they will encounter in their business dealings with their Chinese counterparts. This article provides comparative observations from a European perspective on Chinese contract law. In the context of international business transactions, in particular international sales, businesses frequently contract on the basis of standard form contracts. This raises issues of contract formation and the freedom of contracting parties to establish the terms of their contract. For this reason, this article pays particular attention to the corner stone of modern contract law in Europe, freedom of contract, and to what extent Chinese contract law recognizes freedom of contract as a fundamental principle underlying contractual relations, the rules of contract formation, and in particular the battle of forms, as well as the control of standard terms. It also provides a brief overview of the sources of Chinese contract law.
Performing a valuation exercise of decentralized companies that explore and exploit natural resources (such as Pemex) interpreted from the perspective of a “Special Purpose Vehicle” (SPV), modeled as structured debt, allowing a deeper analysis when the entity does not own the generating assets of its operating cash flow when capital has a negative book value, the generation of free cash flows is negative and it is subject to tax royalty payments that do not allow for deductibility of debt. Moreover, given its high tax burden and that it is forced to issue debt to finance their capital investments, it is unclear whether it can generate resources to meet its labor and/or financial liabilities, particularly if energy prices would fall. These obligations are modeled as options. In summary, this exercise helps to identify key factors in its operations and finances
The bachelor thesis describes current budget system and budget process in conditions of the Czech Republic. The thesis deals with the characteristic of the budget system, its structure and process on the central and local level. It also deals with principles and rules. The attention is focused on budget of local government in whole thesis. The thesis uses the analysis that compiles in the practical part concrete data of financing of public domains on the regional level. The budget of the South Bohemia region and other incidental budgets are analyzed. For this purpose are monitored budget years 2007, 2008 and 2009 from the data of the South Bohemian Regional Authority. The classes of revenues and expenses of budgets are compared for these years. The purpose of using of financial instruments and assessment of the management of South Bohemia region is also analyzed. The topic of the bachelor thesis solves the issue of public budgets that is - not for the first look - touching each of us. Each citizen pays taxes, administrative charges or local taxes, etc., that are revenues of local budgets. It is important to understand how significant the principal of the fiscal decentralization is and when competences are delegated from the central level to the level of regions and municipalities - on this level, they are closer to the citizen. This stands even for local budgets that the citizen can control, influence by elected representatives or he can go to meetings of the representative board on the regional and even on the municipal (local) level because of the decentralization.
The bachelor thesis describes current budget system and budget process in conditions of the Czech Republic. The thesis deals with the characteristic of the budget system, its structure and process on the central and local level. It also deals with principles and rules. The attention is focused on budget of local government in whole thesis. The thesis uses the analysis that compiles in the practical part concrete data of financing of public domains on the regional level. The budget of the South Bohemia region and other incidental budgets are analyzed. For this purpose are monitored budget years 2007, 2008 and 2009 from the data of the South Bohemian Regional Authority. The classes of revenues and expenses of budgets are compared for these years. The purpose of using of financial instruments and assessment of the management of South Bohemia region is also analyzed. The topic of the bachelor thesis solves the issue of public budgets that is - not for the first look - touching each of us. Each citizen pays taxes, administrative charges or local taxes, etc., that are revenues of local budgets. It is important to understand how significant the principal of the fiscal decentralization is and when competences are delegated from the central level to the level of regions and municipalities - on this level, they are closer to the citizen. This stands even for local budgets that the citizen can control, influence by elected representatives or he can go to meetings of the representative board on the regional and even on the municipal (local) level because of the decentralization.
Being an important system of modern constitutionalism,local autonomy is beneficial for shaping people's democratic characteristic,inhibiting over centralization and strengthening the function of responsible government.After 120 years' development,Japanese constitutionalism becomes the most mature one in Asia,three times of local autonomy reforms being its unique feature.Autonomous and sufficient finance is not only the base,but also the guarantee of local autonomy.At the end of the 20th century,to match the constitutionalism and local autonomy,the local financial legal system was set up by decentralization reform in Japan.So being at the key stage,China may refer to Japan's trinity frame in order to realize local autonomy through local financial legal system establishment and even further constitutionalism through local autonomy.
In this paper, I consider two heterogeneous economies that engage in a currency union. The small economy adopts the currency of the large and is highly dependent on its wealthier partner for trade. The effects of a currency union, deficit financing and institutional restraints on inflation are analyzed in a dual economy with different wage-setting mechanisms. In the model, Northern Cyprus is the small economy and Turkey, being the only country that acknowledges it as an independent state is its larger partner. Features of the labour markets determine the wages. We make a conjecture that wage determination in Northern Cyprus (NC) is conducted with reference to centralized-bargaining and that decentralized bargaining sets the wages in Turkey (TR). Hence, the differences in wage-setting procedures cause a dual labour market. In order to incorporate monetary dependence into the analysis, we let the Turkish central bank to decide on the economic policy measures, in this case the inflation rate and unemployment. The institutional restraints such as economic sanctions increase the inflexibility in the NC and cause shocks to affect the economy more. In order to compensate for the losses that might be endured by the government in NC, TR finances the budget deficit of NC. Therefore, TR government needs to consider the burden of this financing issue.
Since the foundation of New China,the reform and development of financial management system of state-owned enterprises falls into three periods.The first period,from 1949 to1978,China implemented planned economy system,in which the finance of enterprises actually was the extension of national finance,while the state controlled over the income and expenditure,and was responsible for the losses and and enterprises barely had autonomy in management.The second period can be devided into two parts.From the end of 1978 to 1984,China was dominated by planned economy and supplemented by market adjustment,the financial management system of enterprises began the initial reform of decentralizing power and allowing profits retained within enterprises;from 1984 to 1993,China began to carry out planned market-oriented economy system and separate government functions from enterprise management,the financial management system entered into the period that the state expanded enterprises' power and allowed more profits retained within enterprises,and took partial responsibility for the losses and profits.The third period,from the 3th plenary session of the 14th CPC Central Committee in 1993 till now,China has established the socialist market economy system,basically set up the modern enterprise system and modern financial management system that state-owned enterprises self-management in finance and full responsibility for their own losses and profits.
As a conclusion derived from empirical analyses,Wagner's Law has forecasted properly that the amount of government's public expenditure would rise with economic development.However,Wagner's Law has been given a fierce attack theoretically and practically because of the continuous evolution of public administration,especially the beginning and expanding of New Public Management around the world whose main content includes optimization to government's function,government reform of the personnel system,public services reformation,reforms of administrative decentralization and the reform of social security system.However,as an integral part of New Public Management Movement all over the world,fiscal reformation of China is deeply affected by Wagner's Law at present.In order to improve the system of government revenue and expenditure,the transfer payment system,system of centralized collection,public budget system and finance supervise system,it is coming to reflect the applicability to public finance in China of Wagner's Law.