Interest and Exchange Rates Influence on Multinational Corporations Essay

Interest and Exchange Rates Influence on Multinational Corporations - Essay Example Interest rates play an important part in investment and saving decisions. Interest rates are the main instrument of central banks to conduct their monetary policies. Interest rates have impact on foreign exchange rates. Higher relative interest rates (↑) attract higher financial investments in the short-run due to expectations for higher returns. The simplest way to explain this is to compare bank interest rates between two countries. If, in UK interest rates for deposits are 5%, compared to US deposit interest rates of 3%, then it will be economically sound for businesses to transfer their bank accounts to UK banks for higher returns. This, in turn will increase demand for UK currency, also increasing supply of US dollars. Increased demand will increase the value of the UK pound as compared to the US dollar, thus positively influencing the foreign exchange rate of the pound (↑). On the other hand, expectations for future changes also influence exchange rates. Higher interest rates (↑) have negative long-run effect on investment decisions of international businesses. Although higher interest rates attract more bank deposits, they are associated with unfavourable business situation and higher business risks for returns on investments; therefore they result in higher cost of capital (Barron’s, 1994, cited by Murphy, 1996). Since businesses worldwide are highly dependent on loan conditions, it is economically justified for businesses to invest in regions where business climate is securer, i.e. interest rates are lower.

The Nursing Shortage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Nursing Shortage - Essay Example It is vital to know that recruitment is not enough to assure an adequate supply of nurses. American Nurses Association has created a national initiative to deal with the issues that have galvanized the profession. Every hospital in the country must focus on both retention and recruitment as future cornerstones of an adequate workforce. A nursing shortage as defined by IOM â€Å"is a condition whereby there are not enough of professional nurses to provide quality of care of patients† (as cited in Quinn, 2002, p.2). National studies and reports have identified factors that have led to a profound nursing shortage: the aging of society (Martin et al., 2001); an aging nursing workforce (Buerhaus, Staiger, and Auerbach, 2000a; Minnick 2000) a decline in nursing enrollments (American Association of Colleges or Nursing [AACN], 2001); this shortage is uniquely serious in that it is connected to both an increased demand for, and also a decreased supply of nurses. There have been lots of articles published in both nursing journals and public newspaper across the country about the worldwide nursing shortage. First and foremost is aging of the nursing workforce. The average age of nurses in the United States is 46 (Buerhaus, 2000). There has also been declining enrollment in nursing programs over the past decade, as women are able to move into other science focused roles besides nursing (Buerhaus, 2000). Also, highschool counselors tend not to recommend nursing to male or female students interested in science. The salary structures in many health care facilities keep experienced registered nurses at lower salaries compared to other industries. A decreasing emphasis on retention of working nurses by many hospitals has caused nurses to feel that their concerns about stress and patient safety are not being heard or acted upon. Poorly trained managers or brusque, unkind preceptors often leave staff nurses feeling undervalued and not appreciated. The